We've been posting mock drafts almost daily over the past two weeks now and today was no exception. The folks over at Mocking the Draft have kicked it up a notch (or four) by releasing their five-round mock draft today. They really did their homework, noting each team's perceived needs and going through a mock draft, which even includes some compensatory picks, through five rounds.
Agree or disagree with the experts at MTD, but they claim that the Bengals 2012 needs, as they stand right now, are: cornerback, running back, safety, offensive guard, wide receiver, defensive end, defensive tackle and strong-side linebacker. Through the five rounds of their draft, they had the Bengals fulfilling six of those seven needs, leaving only strong side linebacker as unaddressed.
For their first pick at No. 17, they held the popular notion that the Bengals would take the embattled cornerback out of North Alabama, Janoris Jenkins. It seems that the Bengals still haven't shed their image of taking chances on "risky players", as Jenkins goes to the Bengals in most mock drafts we've published. At No. 21, MTD had the Bengals taking the big guard out of Georgia, Cordy Glenn. For those interested, Alabama's Trent Richardson went to Seattle at No. 12, and Stanford's David DeCastro went to Dallas at No.14. They have the Browns getting quite the first round haul, as they are mocked to snag Baylor quarterback, Robert Griffin III, and Miami running back Lamar Miller.
In the second round, MTD has the Bengals sensibly taking a running back. David Wilson out of Virgina Tech is projected to the Bengals here, which would be a pretty good value at that spot. What's interesting about this selection is that Boise State's Doug Martin was (theoretically) still on the board and they still had the Bengals going with Wilson. For those of you who are big fans of Alabama safety Mark Barron, he slid all the way to the middle of the second round in this mock, landing with the Jets.
They then have the Bengals looking back at defense in the third round, selecting Purdue defensive tackle, Kawaan Short. For those unfamiliar with Short, he is noted as being a relatively big tackle at 6'3", 310 pounds, but still maintains good athleticism. He is not a fit for many teams that run a 3-4 defense, but sounds like a prototypical, versatile Bengals defensive lineman.
In round four, the Bengals are projected to look back at shoring up their offense as they are mocked to take Arizona wide receiver, Juron Criner. He is a wideout who isn't heralded coming out of college, but he runs good routes, has good hands and isn't afraid to make a tough catch. I'm not sure if Criner is a player that could come in and immediately take over the No. 2 wide receiver spot for the Bengals, but he would definitely contribute.
The Bengals have two more selections in the fifth round, as they have New England's late pick from the Chad Ochocinco trade. For their first selection in the round, the have them taking a defensive lineman out of Clemson, Chandler Jones. He's an interesting player who was once viewed as a "'tweener", somewhere between a linebacker and defensive end. He fought a knee injury last season which caused his stock to drop, but he's apparently added weight to his frame, making him more imposing. Their second pick in the fifth round is projected as the safety out of Wisconsin, Aaron Henry. The Bengals don't typically use high-round picks on safeties (Robert Sands was drafted in the fifth round last year), so this makes sense. A lot of value was projected in the fifth round of this mock, as Cincinnati's Isaiah Pead and Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles were mocked in this round.
What do you think of this draft?