Bengals 7-Round 2024 NFL Mock Draft: Tee Higgins traded, Cincinnati moves on

The Cincinnati Bengals enter into the 2024 NFL Draft with a ton of draft capital, which is a huge positive because there are certainly some holes that need filling within the roster.

One of the biggest questions of the offseason has revolved around wide receiver Tee Higgins, though, and whether or not he will end up leaving another major hole on the team.

Before we get into the potential Higgins trade, let's kick off our latest 2024 NFL mock draft with the Bengals going and getting a bit more protection for their star quarterback, Joe Burrow.

The Bengals begin this mock draft by selecting Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson

Ted Karras is fine, but if the Bengals have an opportunity to snag the best center in the draft, then that's exactly what they'll do here.

Oregon's Jackson Powers-Johnson is by far and away the best center in this class, possessing a mauler's mentality and looking like one of the closest things we've seen to Quenton Nelson from an interior lineman.

Powers-Johnson is built like a Mack truck in terms of his broad build. It's automatically a disadvantage for just about any defensive lineman going up against his frame. He has overly strong hands and a powerful upper body, but he can also move well in space.

Powers-Johnson is going to be one of the best centers in the NFL in no time. Between the power, footwork and overall football IQ, won't take long before we see him dominate.

Before the second round kicks off, the Bengals then make the big move to trade franchise-tagged wide receiver Tee Higgins to the New York Giants.

In this trade, the Bengals get a second-round pick this year, plus a third and fifth rounder in next year's draft. The Giants, meanwhile, get Higgins and a sixth rounder this year. Moving forward, the Bengals obviously have a huge hole at wide receiver without Higgins or Tyler Boyd.

That's going to be addressed shortly, though, and in a big way.