Bengals Draft: Duke Tobin leaves door open for taking wide receiver

Duke Tobin, the Director of Player Personnel for the Cincinnati Bengals, spoke to the media on Friday afternoon with less than a week to go before the 2022 NFL Draft kicks off. What did he have to say about the Bengals’ draft plans? 

The 2022 NFL Draft gets underway on Thursday night at 8 EST and it’ll be the first round only. The Cincinnati Bengals are drafting the latest they ever have been in the first round after coming up short in the Super Bowl and holding the No. 31 pick as a result.

Tobin mentioned that the team is “flexible” with their first-round selection. He knows that at that point in the draft, the top tier players are going to be off the board, so if the best player available is at a position that isn’t as strong of a need but could help the team win now, Cincinnati is all for it.

Part of why the Bengals can be in this situation is that they don’t really have any major weaknesses on their roster. Tobin noted that the team really doesn’t have immediate needs at any of their starting positions and I’d agree, to be honest. Yes, some positions aren’t as strong as others but the Bengals have solid starters at every position.

One position that fans might feel the team needs to add help at is cornerback. Tobin addressed that, mentioning that more bodies at the position is a pretty obvious observation. He said the team won’t force adding a cornerback just because it’s a stronger need.

My favorite part of Tobin’s presser was that he left open the idea that the team would add a wide receiver in the draft. He said that if there’s a Marvin Jones later on, they’ll be happy to add the guy.

The Bengals drafted Ja’Marr Chase with the fifth overall pick last year, spent a second-rounder on Tee Higgins in 2020, and a second-rounder on Tyler Boyd in 2016, so they’re no strangers to targeting the position early on. They don’t need to target one early this year but they should look to add depth at the position so it’s great to see that’s on the agenda.

Duke Tobin says Bengals draft plans could involve WR

Tobin closed things out by discussing the offensive line and how he loves what the team has done at the position. Alex Cappa, Ted Karras, and La’el Collins might take some time to gel but in the long run, this is going to make the Bengals a better team.

It was good to hear from Duke Tobin as the draft inches closer and while we still have no idea what this team is going to do in the first round, we have a little more information on the team’s viewpoints.

This is the most important draft in Cincinnati Bengals history and it’s good to see they’re exhausting all options.