The Cincinnati Bengals hold the No. 31 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. It’s the latest they’ve ever drafted and it’s a feeling that fans aren’t used to.
With the front office emptying their pocketbooks to fix the offensive line in free agency, the team doesn’t have any pressing needs. That could put them in a position to trade out of the first round come draft night.
That’s exactly what Kevin Hanson of Sports Illustrated predicted Cincinnati would do in his latest mock draft.
In this mock, Hanson has the Seahawks moving up to pick No. 31 and the Bengals dropping out of the first round. Here’s the trade he proposed for the two teams.
"Projected trade: The Bengals send No. 31 to the Seahawks. The Seahawks send No. 40 and No. 72 to the Bengals."
In this scenario, the stripes move back nine spots and also pick up another third-round pick. This would be a very Cincinnati-like move, as they’d pick up an extra draft selection and that could be put toward upgrading their young team as this group looks to replicate what they did in the 2021 season.
Trading out of the first round makes sense for the Bengals
In case you were wondering, the Seahawks use that pick to then take Matt Corral out of Ole Miss. Teams can get desperate when it comes to drafting a quarterback and if a team is willing to swap spots with the Bengals late in the first round, they’d be smart to consider doing so.
This is assuming, of course, that there isn’t a player on the board that Cincinnati is in love with when their turn comes up. If that’s the case, then they’ll obviously stay put and add the guy to their roster that they think would help them the best in 2022. Otherwise, trade out of round one, add an extra pick, and make those Day 2 selections count.
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