5 prospects in play if the Bengals trade down in 2022 NFL Draft
By Glenn Adams
Trey McBride, TE (Colorado State)
The Bengals are interested in the Rams’ tight end, which is good news.
Looking at the 2022 Draft for the #Bengals
— Just Eric (@JUSTERIC__) April 1, 2022
So far it’s confirmed through multiple sources that they’ve met with the following prospects :
Cam Jurgens - Nebraska C
Trey McBride - CSU TE
Grant Calcaterra - SMU TE
Jamaree Salyer - UGA OL
McBride is not as good of a blocker as Wisconsin’s Jake Ferguson. Yes, Zac Taylor’s offense must have a tight end who can block one-on-one against defensive ends. However, McBride is a devastating run blocker. He can have some issues with trying to block in space, which teams should pay attention to if they need a good pass-blocking tight end.
McBride is not perceived as a receiving threat in the same way as Isaiah Likely is, for some reason. Last year, McBride exploded for 90 catches,1,121 yards, and accounting for 34% of Colorado State’s passing targets.
To put that into perspective, Penn State wide receiver, Jahan Dotson, finished the season with 91 receptions for 1,182 yards, accounting for 30 percent of the Nittany Lions’ passing targets.
Recently at his Pro Day, McBride ran a 4.52 40, which will assuage some concerns about his straight-line speed.
Right now, Pro Football Focus ranks McBride 64th overall but he will be gone before then. Mock Draft Database ranks him 57th overall. After his performance at his pro day, he may be gone before then as well.
According to the above rankings, if the Bengals do target McBride, they could trade back into the late 30s or early 40s and still be able to select the Colorado State tight end but, they should not go further than that.