Peter King Mock Draft: Bengals Select Courtney Upshaw And Dre Kirkpatrick

As if we couldn't possibly find another mock draft to break down, Peter King with Sports Illustrated offered his mock draft on Tuesday, which from Cincinnati's perspective may offer up a more reasonable mock if one were to base the selections on word of mouth -- or smokescreens.

King has the Cincinnati Bengals selecting tweener Courtney Upshaw at No. 17, writing:

Good move by the Bengals—instead of holding their defensive line together with spare parts, they're giving defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer a true three-down end who not only rushed the passer in college but also dropped into coverage effectively. If he's still on the board when Cincinnati picks, the choice won't be hard.

The Bengals will stick with Alabama players with their No. 21 selection in his mock draft, cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick. However King writes that Cincinnati should think about LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers.

Cincinnati has but one good cover corner, Leon Hall, so Kirkpatrick makes sense here. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Bengals follow the advice of trusted front-office aide John Cooper, the former Ohio State coach, and grab a Big Ten offensive lineman here, but the better pick in my view would be another reinforcement for the defensive line.

All three players that King mocks or suggests Cincinnati should take have visited the Bengals, with a little birdy saying that the Bengals hope Upshaw is available with their second first-round selection.

And for those gearing up for a bitch and moan with a smoke and a coke, guard David DeCastro is gone at No. 13 and safety Mark Barron is picked up at No. 14.