2. Cordell Volson
Speaking of fourth-rounders, the Bengals grabbed Volson in round four of the 2022 draft and no one expected much out of the North Dakota State grad. Volson managed to beat Jackson Carman for the rights to the starting left guard job and ended up starting every single game in 2022.
While there's certainly room for improvement from Volson, the fact that the Bengals found their starting left guard in the fourth round is pretty impressive. He gets this second spot.
1. Evan McPherson
The best Day 3 pick for the Bengals since Zac Taylor took over as the head coach is, without a doubt, Evan McPherson. Sure, at the time, people scoffed at the team taking a kicker in the fifth round but no one was saying things like that once McPherson put on the show he did as a rookie.
During his rookie campaign, McPherson -- or "Money Mac" as he likes to be called -- managed to kick the Bengals into the AFC Championship Game and into the Super Bowl and called his shot both times. McPherson finished his rookie season with a field goal percentage of 84.8, missing just five kicks while missing only two extra points.
While McPherson only missed five kicks again in 2022, his completion percentage was "down" to 82.8 and he missed four extra points. He seemed a little off in year two but when looking at the numbers, it doesn't really suggest that that was the case.
With all of that said, Evan McPherson is easily the Bengals' best Day 3 draft pick of the Zac Taylor era.