Cornerback

A lot of mock drafts have the Bengals taking a Round 1 cornerback with either Dre, Janoris, Gilmore, etc...

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The conventional thought is that we still need to replace J Jo, and therefore need to take a Round 1 corner.

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But.... i'm not sure i see them doing that.

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In 2012 the Bengals already have $19.8 million tied up in 3 Cornerbacks: Hall $8.4, Clements $7.3, Allen $4.1

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Anybody they sign in the first round is going to be somebody expected to start right away.

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Even with Hall possibly out to start the season, they are paying Clements & Allen to start at CB, which means that any corner drafted would only be a 3rd corner / depth guy. And when Hall comes back, the corner they draft would then only become a 4th corner.

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After this year, we only have 3 corners under contract (Hall, Allen, Ghee). But 2 of them are 2 starters (Hall & Allen), so if we draft a round 1 corner in 2012, there is a chance that in 2013 he may not be any more than a 3rd corner.

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Therefore I’m thinking that they may take a corner, but it will be a little later in the draft – somebody like Ghee who they can hope to develop, but not a round 1 cornerback who they expect to start right away.

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Safety

Safety is an area of immediate need where a round1 pick could be plugged in right away. Nelson is locked up for 4 years, but the other starter (Crocker) is no good and needs to be replaced. Sands is unproven, and Mays has yet to crack a lineup after 2 seasons. Those are the only safeties on the roster (I think Murray & Miles are listed as corners).

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So I could easily see them drafting a round 1 safety to be a starter...the only problem is that there is only 1 safety worth drafting anywhere near round 1 (Barron). It’s not like a couple years ago when E Berry & E Thomas were both worthy of high 1st round picks. If Barron falls to the Bengals, do they even like him? He is from the SEC and the Bengals have an SEC bias, so I could see that happening. But what if Barron is taken before round 1? Another option would be to do what the Saints did in drafting M Jenkins a few years ago and moving him from college corner to nfl safety. But I’m not sure if the Bengals’ front office could figure out how to do such a thing.

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So I’m looking at the mocks drafts and asking myself....”I just don’t see them drafting a round 1 guy who would start out as the 4th person on the depth chart. So I don’t see them drafting a round 1 corner. But I can see them taking a round1 safety. But what if Barron isn’t still there, what would they do? No Def Back until later in the draft? Maybe just RB/OG in the 1st round?”

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+++The one caveat to this would be if they move a corner (Allen/Clements) to safety, but they’ve given no indication that they would be open to this. If they move one of their present corners to safety, then I could see them drafting a round 1 cornerback.