The 2022 NFL Draft might be in the rearview mirror but there are already mock drafts for the 2023 NFL Draft floating around on the internet. Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports did a mock draft for next year’s event and, first of all, had the Cincinnati Bengals drafting 22nd. He also had them going with a wide receiver.
The pick for Cincinnati is Jordan Addison of Pittsburgh.
Trapasso wrote:
"The Bengals add more explosion to their receiver room with a bunch of their young weapons up for new contracts in the not-so-distant future."
Despite the Bengals having a stacked WR trio, both Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins are slated to hit free agency following the 2023 season, so this pick wouldn’t be shocking. It might put Cincinnati in a position where maybe they trade Boyd or Higgins if they don’t feel a new contract is going to be possible for either of them.
Bengals take Jordan Addison in 2023 mock draft
Addison would give the Bengals another Pittsburgh wide receiver (Boyd played there in college as well) and he’d be an explosive addition to this offense.
In 2021, Addison hauled in an astounding 100 receptions for 1,593 yards and finding the end zone a whopping 17 times. He was a huge weapon for Kenny Pickett and we’ll see if he’s able to continue that dominance with Pickett now off to the NFL.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bengals make wide receiver a bigger priority in next year’s draft but we have an entire year to see how things play out. Maybe Higgins and Boyd both agree to extensions, but with how many top receivers have been traded this offseason (Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, to name a couple), parting ways with either, or both, of those guys shouldn’t be off the table.
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The good news is that the Bengals offense can stay competitive as long as they keep adding the necessary weapons. Jordan Addison would be just that for this offense.