Every Bengals first-round draft pick since 2000

2017 NFL Draft: John Ross, WR (Washington)

With the ninth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Bengals reached on Washington wide receiver John Ross. It's a good thing that the Bengals landed Joe Burrow three years later because otherwise, they'd forever be looked at as the team who drafted John Ross one pick ahead of Patrick Mahomes.

Ross flew up the Bengals' draft board because of his blazing-fast 40-time at the 2017 NFL Combine but everyone knew at the time that Cincinnati reached on him. He was not worthy of a top 10 pick and he went on to prove that with his lackluster performance on the field.

Ross finished his four-year Bengals career with just 51 catches for 733 yards and 10 touchdowns. He had seven touchdowns during the 2018 season but that was about it when it came to the good surrounding Ross' time in Cincinnati. He was injury-prone, not productive, and arguably the worst draft pick in franchise history.

2018 NFL Draft: Billy Price, C (Ohio State)

Cincinnati has clearly struggled to find decent offensive linemen in the first round of the draft and Billy Price was another failed prospect on that long list. Price played at Ohio State so Bengals fans were pretty familiar with him before he became a member of the Cincinnati Bengals but he did not live up to his first-round status.

The team tried to play him at both guard and center and he wasn't good at either spot. The only good thing that came from Price's time in Cincinnati was that he was traded in the 2021 offseason for B.J. Hill, which was a downright steal for the Bengals organization.

Price spent the 2021 season with the Giants and played for the Cardinals in 2022.