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The Buffalo Bills have decided to use their first-round pick to draft Stephon Gilmore at No. 10 overall. While the Bengals' first pick is still seven picks away, this will obviously affect their game plan. The only other cornerback that many feel they could seriously be interested in is Dre Kirkpatrick and seven picks is a long time to see if he'll still be on the board. If they were to decide to pass up on him at No. 17, the time between the 18th, 19th and 20th picks would seem to take forever too and there's a very good chance that he wouldn't be on the board at No. 21.
The Bengals Need a cornerback. Leon Hall may not be fully recovered from his Achilles injury at the beginning of the season and even though the Bengals have signed free agents like Jason Allen, Terence Newman and re-signed Adam Jones and even though they still have Nate Clements, after the 2012 season, the only starter-worthy corners will be Hall and Allen. The Bengals will need a guy like Dre Kirkpatrick to start opposite of Leon Hall in 2013.
Due to the fact that Gilmore is no longer available, the Bengals may feel pressured to use the No. 17 overall pick on Kirkpatrick and then pick the best player available at No. 21. We'll have to wait and see.