2012 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft - The Cincinnati Bengals Select...

With the 17th pick in the 2012 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft, Jason Garrison selected for the Cincinnati Bengals, who received the No. 17 overall pick from the Oakland Raiders by trading quarterback Carson Palmer.

With the No. 17 overall pick in the 2012 Cincy Jungle Mock Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select...

Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama

I have to admit, this wasn't my first choice. To be honest, I was hoping Stephon Gilmore would be available here, but I wasn't anticipating the Lions to be so aggressive as to trade up and take him off the board. And then it was risky to sit back and hope that the four teams that selected before the Bengals after Gilmore was off the board wouldn't take Kirkpatrick. Luckily they didn't, because the fact is, the Bengals need a cornerback and Kirkpatrick could be that guy.

Leon Hall is attempting to come back from a season-ending Achilles injury last year and there's a very real chance that he won't be back to 100 percent by the start of the season. That would leave the Bengals with Nate Clements, who's on the last year of his contract, Adam Jones, who signed a one-year contract this offseason, Jason Allen, who signed a two-year contract this offseason and then guys like Rico Murray and Brandon Ghee. If Hall isn't back to 100 percent, Kirkpatrick may not start still, but he'd contribute heavily.

Then there's the 2013 season. The only guys the Bengals would have under contract would be Hall and Allen and if they draft Kirkpatrick, he could start along side Hall. Kirkpatrick is a big and physical cornerback. He may not be the best in man coverage, but he'll still be able to cover good wide receivers, especially in zone defenses, and he'll give the Bengals the best cornerback duo since Johnathan Joseph left for the Texans. He'll also be good in run support.

Like I said earlier, I would have rather had Gilmore with this pick for a few reasons, but if I pass on Kirkpatrick here, there's a decent chance he's not on the board at No. 21 and if that's the case, the Bengals could be in trouble at the cornerback position. On top of that, there's a decent chance that Kirkpatrick could be moved to strong safety as well as playing cornerback.

Dre Kirkpatrick Highlights:

Joe Goodberry's Instant Analysis:

Cincinnati had a pretty easy choice here. I imagine it came down to Kirkpatrick and Kendall Wright after DeCastro, Gilmore, Barron and Richardson were gone.
Kirkpatrick provides physicality and youth to the CB position. He'll never be great in man-coverage, especially off-man but he's very natural in zone and extremely good in run support. I wonder if Kirkpatrick starts (or subs) at safety until there's less of a veteran presence at CB in 2013.
Grade: B+
Value: +1

Draft Overview: