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The Bengals haven't been active in free agency thus far, but they have had several players in for visits over the past two weeks. One of those players who visited last week was defensive end Robert Ayers.
Ayers was one of Denver's first-round picks in 2009, the 18th overall, and started his career as an outside linebacker. He was switched to defensive end for the 2011 season. In 2013, Ayers played in 15 games, starting three of them while registering 5.5 sacks.
With the free agency market drying up, Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus believes Ayers is one of the best unsigned players left:
Though he’s not the most spectacular player, Robert Ayers is useful when used in the proper role. He always grades positively against the run, but last year he even showed well as a pass rusher picking up 42 hurries on 330 rushes. Ayers is a perfect example of draft position unfairly defining a player’s career.
The former first rounder certainly hasn’t lived up to those lofty expectations, but taking draft position out of it, he’s found a nice niche in the league. He’d be a nice fit in Dallas where he can join former Broncos teammate Jeremy Mincey in shoring up some of the Cowboys’ woes against the run.