Every Bengals first-round draft pick since 2000

The Cincinnati Bengals have had an interesting history when it comes to their first-round picks. Prior to the turn of the century, the Bengals had some pretty big misses in the first round, drafting Ki'Jana Carter and Akili Smith in the first round, neither player panning out.

How have things gone for the Bengals since the calendars flipped to the year 2000? Let's take a look at every single first-round pick Cincinnati has made since the year 2000.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference

2000 NFL Draft: Peter Warwick, WR (Florida State)

With the fourth overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, the Bengals drafted Peter Warwick out of Florida State. Warwick was coming off a season where he had 71 catches for 934 yards and eight touchdowns when the Bengals drafted him. The year before that, he was even better, tallying over 1,200 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.

Warwick never became a franchise wide receiver during his time with the Bengals, spending just five years with the franchise. His best year came in 2003 when he had 79 receptions for 819 yards and seven touchdowns in 15 games.

Warwick left the Bengals following the 2004 season and played for the Seahawks in 2005 but only had 180 yards in what ended up being his final NFL season.

2001 NFL Draft: Justin Smith, DE (Missouri)

For the second straight year, the Bengals owned the fourth overall pick in the draft. This time, they selected Justin Smith out of Missouri to help bolster their defensive line. Smith spent seven of his 14 NFL seasons in Cincinnati and finished his Bengals career with 43.5 sacks.

After seven seasons, Smith signed with the 49ers where he finished out the final seven years of his career. Funny enough, he also had 43.5 sacks with San Francisco, giving him a total of 87 sacks throughout 14 NFL seasons.