According to NFP's Aaron Wilson, the Bengals held a private workout with Kansas State running back Daniel Thomas, who was awarded the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2010 after rushing for 1,585 yards and 19 touchdowns while playing for the Wildcats.
According to Wilson, Thomas impressed coaches and scouts during position drills and ran a 40-yard dash between 4.50 and 4.58 seconds.
ESPN Draft Tracker has Thomas ranked as the fifth best running back in this year's draft class and worthy of a third-round pick, saying that he's more of a power back than a speed back.
A big back. Can flash some power when momentum is behind him. Churns legs at end of runs and generally falls forward. Displays good body control through cuts and rarely loses balance. However, he's much more finesse than he is power. Runs a bit high and needs to be more consistent lowering his shoulder to initialize contact. Doesn't run with as wide of a base as his size would indicate. Legs get taken out too easily at times.
The Bengals let their feature back, Cedric Benson, walk out the door without a new contract when the March 4 deadline came and went, and, as of right now, the only running back on the current depth chart that's under contract is Bernard Scott. There has been serious concerns about Scott's ability to be a feature back, especially in the tough AFC North division, and if the Bengals are unable to re-sign Benson, who has rushed for over 1,000 yards in the last two years, they will need to address the position in the draft. However, it's unlikely that they'll look to draft a running back early because there are other, more pressing needs. If Thomas falls to the Bengals in the third round, or even the fourth, it would be surprising if they passed him up.