The Cincinnati Bengals already have a full quarterbacks room in Paycor Stadium with Joe Flacco and Josh Johnson signed to back up Joe Burrow. Sean Clifford is also still in the building as well as a training camp arm.

That’s not stopped Cincinnati from identifying a potential long-term backup option for Burrow. Flacco and Johnson are only signed through the 2026 season.

Illinois QB Luke Altmyer is an option to fulfill that role. He’s one of several passers projected to go off the board right before the draft ends in the seventh round. Cincinnati recently had a virtual pre-draft meeting with him, per SI’s Justin Melo.

If the Bengals also talked to Altmyer’s coach, they may be even more intrigued by him.

Bret Bielema backs Luke Altmyer’s pro prospects

Altmyer was a three-year starter for the Fighting Illini after transferring from Mississippi. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema had Altmyer for the majority of his current five-year run with the program. No coach knows him better as he enters the next level, and the veteran coach believes he’ll be an ideal backup QB in the NFL.

“I’ve had a lot of people reaching to me since the combine, on him,” Bielema said to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. “Being in that league for three years, everybody’s going to pay that premier guy $150 million. But they need that next guy, in case things don’t work out from an injury standpoint, or emergency substitution. And Luke prepares so well every week, I think he’ll be a guy that’s drafted in the league as a quality backup. Really, really good arm talent. He’s got that ability to create with his legs. If you get two first downs every game by creating first downs with your legs, that’s a really, really big deal.”

That is the profile of a developmental backup. When the starter goes down, you want someone with a good enough arm, and the mobility to escape a pocket he’s not accustomed to handling.

Jake Browning fit the bill for this, but the moment became too big for him last year. He’s now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after holding Cincinnati’s backup gig for nearly three full seasons.

Altmyer could be the long-term answer after Flacco and Johnson. The selection could even prompt the club to move on from Johnson sometime in the summer, giving him a shot to stick on a roster elsewhere.

“Not flashy, but he is a winner.”

Anonymous Big Ten coach on Altmyer

The Bengals have not drafted a QB since Burrow in 2020. Ryan Finley was selected in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. Altmyer could break the trend in one of the final two rounds. Pick him yourself with the A to Z Sports NFL Mock Draft Simulator!