Latest 7-round NFL Mock Draft features the Bengals stopping the fall of a potential first-round pick in the second round

Reaching for need is a practice the Cincinnati Bengals need to avoid in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Bengals' roster could use the injection of talent thanks to any value pick presented to them. Reuniting a player with his college coach in the process would be the cherry on top. That's what A to Z Sports NFL […]

John Sheeran Cincinnati Bengals News Writer
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Notre Dame corner back Benjamin Morrison (20) walks with his team during warm ups before a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Northern Illinois at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend.
Notre Dame corner back Benjamin Morrison (20) walks with his team during warm ups before a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Northern Illinois at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend. © Michael Clubb / USA TODAY NETWORK

Reaching for need is a practice the Cincinnati Bengals need to avoid in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Bengals' roster could use the injection of talent thanks to any value pick presented to them. 

Reuniting a player with his college coach in the process would be the cherry on top. 

That's what A to Z Sports NFL Draft guru Ryan Roberts cooked up in his latest 7-round mock draft

Bengals snag Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison with 49th overall pick in 2025 NFL Mock Draft

Cincinnati is expected to be on the defensive early in the upcoming draft. That's why Roberts linked the team to Michigan NT Kenneth Grant in the first round.

Back-to-back defensive selections wouldn't be surprising. A guy like Morrison being that second pick would be. 

A to Z Sports' Mock Draft Database has Morrison No. 33 with an average draft position of 36.95. That's a borderline first-round pick, though a fall to the top of the second round is very much in play. 

Morrison notably suffered a hip injury and missed the second-half of Notre Dame's 2024 season that culminated in an appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship. He only played the first six games, but the 20-year old was the top cornerback in a stout unit that was coordinated by new Bengals defensive play-caller Al Golden.

Roberts covers the Fighting Irish here at A to Z Sports, so if anyone has an inkling as to where Morrison could end up in the draft, it's him. 

Missing a good chunk of his junior season didn't stop Morrison from declaring for the draft and forgoing his remaining eligibility. Guys like that have the chance of going in the first round, and if Morrison tests at next week's NFL Scouting Combine, he may seal that grade for himself. 

Morrison's week in Indianapolis will really revolve around teams getting to know his official medical report. If there's skepticism about his hip, he may indeed fall to the Bengals' second-round pick.

And if the Bengals clear him medically, you can bet Golden would love to have his top cornerback from South Bend follow him to the Queen City.