The opinion of ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. carries some serious weight when it comes to NFL Draft coverage and analysis. Given his depth of knowledge on the subject, fans are always interested in his thoughts, and understandably so. With that said, Bengals fans should be pretty excited about what Kiper had to say about the team's 2024 draft class.
In all, Cincinnati made ten total selections in this year's draft, with exactly half of the picks being spent on offensive players and the other half being used for defenders. With their picks, Kiper thought that the team did a solid job of filling in some glaring holes in the roster.
Kiper gave the Bengals a 'B' for the '24 draft class
Kiper graded every team's class after the '24 draft, and he gave the Bengals a 'B'. For what it's worth, only two teams -- the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles -- received an 'A'.
In his review, Kiper praised Cincinnati for addressing areas of need, but he dinged them for potentially reaching on a couple of picks. Overall though, it was a solid assessment.
From Kiper:
"The Bengals hit needs with all four of their top picks. Amarius Mims (18) might have been a top-five pick if he had a little more experience; he made just eight career starts at Georgia. He has outstanding physical abilities and some of the longest arms I've ever seen. He'll likely slot in as a rookie starter at right tackle.
". . . With 10 selections here, the Bengals were able to target their roster holes, but they overdrafted a couple of guys, which limits the ceiling on this grade."
So, if Bengals fans were looking for a reason to feel good about the team's draft class, they now have one courtesy of Kiper.