NFL Draft insider pinpoints Bengals' first-round pick as the spot teams picking behind them are worried about
Every NFL mock draft ends up being wrong due to trades. The NFL Draft will feature several transactions between teams trying to move up and down the draft order for the sake of landing their guy, or securing more swings later on. We can't accurately predict every trade that happens, but sometimes we can identify […]
Every NFL mock draft ends up being wrong due to trades. The NFL Draft will feature several transactions between teams trying to move up and down the draft order for the sake of landing their guy, or securing more swings later on.
We can't accurately predict every trade that happens, but sometimes we can identify certain teams that are in the market for moving down.
Two teams picking right in front of the Cincinnati Bengals are in that conversation with a week remaining until the draft begins.
NFL Draft trade interest could revolve around the Bengals
Cincinnati holds the 17th overall pick in the first round. Sportskeeda NFL Draft insider Tony Pauline is still a firm believer that the Arizona Cardinals, holders of the 16th overall pick, will get calls from clubs looking to jump the Bengals in order to draft an edge rusher.
Pauline also reports that the Atlanta Falcons could be the team who trades back from the 15th pick instead of Arizona.
Sources presently put the over/under on trades in the first round at three a little more than a week away from the event. I’ve mentioned several times that I believe the Arizona Cardinals, who hold pick No. 16, could be a flashpoint for a team that wants to jump in front of the Cincinnati Bengals and draft an edge rusher. Yet people believe the Atlanta Falcons, the team selecting just ahead of the Cardinals, could be the spot teams jump up to. They point to the fact that the Falcons would be open to moving down as they own just five draft picks this year, including a pair in the final round, and they could still get a good frontline defensive player late in the first. The other team I’m told could be on the move downwards is the Minnesota Vikings. – Sportskeeda's Tony Pauline
A previous report from Pauline stated teams are expecting Cincinnati to use its first-round pick on an EDGE. All-Pro Trey Hendrickson is wanting a contract extension, and the club has not yet reached the number he's eyeing.
Speculation from the ongoing Hendrickson situation points to the Bengals drafting insurance for him. If other teams looking to draft an EDGE behind want their guy, jumping Hendrickson's team is the surest path to accomplishing that.
But speculation is exactly what all of this is. Cincinnati could be operating as if Hendrickson will not only be on its roster this year, but he'll also eventually sign the offer in front of him. The front office has waited him out before, and all signs point to them taking that same route again.
The less other teams know, the less likely they'll be able to interfere with whatever the Bengals actually have planned with the 17th pick. If it is an EDGE, then the situation with Hendrickson will look a lot different than it does now.
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