Ranking the 5 best Day 3 picks of the Zac Taylor era

Zac Taylor became the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2019 offseason. During that time, there have been 21 picks made on the third and final day of the draft. Instead of sifting through 21 picks (many of whom didn't amount to much in the pros), I figured let's grab the five best and rank those players.

I'll preface by saying this list is a heavy dose of 2020 picks, which goes to show how epic that class truly was. While we won't see Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins, and Logan Wilson on this particular list, the guys who were drafted after them weren't too shabby considering when they were selected.

On that note, let's begin.

All grades and snap counts courtesy of PFF and Pro Football Reference

5. Hakeem Adeniji

In the sixth round of the 2020 NFL draft, Cincinnati snagged the Kansas offensive lineman to add depth to their o-line. Adeniji was thrown to the wolves during his rookie year, playing 233 snaps at tackle with the majority of those coming at left tackle. He was forced to step up when Jonah Williams missed time due to injury and he did okay for a first-year player.

In year 2, Adeniji played more but this time only lined up at right guard, playing 555 snaps at the position. He struggled in that role and the easiest piece of evidence to prove that is his Super Bowl performance.

The 2022 season saw Adeniji playing his fewest snaps yet but he ended up spending time at both tackle spots due to injuries to Williams and La'el Collins. While some fans might roll their eyes at Adeniji being considered one of the Bengals' best recent Day 3 signings, a sixth-round pick playing as much as he has is pretty impressive.