The Athletic

Welcome to mock draft season! Yes, mocks have been flying off the shelves for months, but those have been pretty flimsy. The post-free-agency period is when true draft projections can begin. Teams know their needs and where they fell short of their free-agency goals. On top of that, The Athletic’s NFL staff conducted a mock draft this week to gain an exponentially better feel for how the first round will go. Using that as the starting point, I went through a seven-round, 10-pick mock draft for the Cincinnati Bengals. We know the hole at defensive tackle got bigger and the safety hole disappeared. Positional priority ticked up for wide receiver and cornerback, as well, with no external pieces added at either spot. Even with the signing of Trent Brown, offensive tackle joins defensive tackle at the top of the needs list.