Top 15 draft picks in Cincinnati Bengals history

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Ken Anderson, Cincinnati Bengals, Bob Johnson (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

7. Bob Johnson

Drafted 2nd overall in 1968

Dubbed “The Original Bengal”, Bob Johnson was the first-ever draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals, going second overall in the 1968 NFL Draft. Back in the late 1960s, center might have been one of the most important positions in football considering how much more teams relied on the run game.

The center out of Tennessee made perfect sense for the Bengals considering they had to be tough up front and they got that out of Johnson. He spent 12 seasons in the league and all of them were in the Queen City.

Johnson can be the answer to a trivia question for many reasons. One is that he was indeed the first-ever player drafted by the Bengals organization. Another is that his No. 54 jersey is the only number to be retired by the franchise.

There’s no debating that The Original Bengal himself deserves to be on this list.

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