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The Cincinnati Bengals have announced the signings of fifth-round quarterback A.J. McCarron and seventh-round cornerback/safety Lavelle Westbrooks.
McCarron, who had a 2-3rd-round grade on him coming into the draft, fell to the Bengals at pick No. 164.
McCarron stands as one of the top winning QBs in college history, having led Alabama national championship teams in 2011 and 2012, and he holds multiple Crimson Tide season and career passing records.
The 6’3", 220-pound QB led the Crimson Tide to the 2011 and 2012 BCS National Championship. This past year, McCarron set the Alabama record for passing yards after he completed 226 of 336 passes (67.3%) for 3,063 yards with 28 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions.
The final 2014 draft pick of the Bengals came in the form of Westbrooks, who hails from Georgia Southern. He has experience at both safety and cornerback, and that kind of versatility is what the Bengals value, especially in late-round projects like Westbrooks will likely be.
He started at cornerback in '12 and tied for the team in lead in pass breakups after posting 75 tackles, 14 pass deflections and four interceptions. He started 41 games over four years at Georgia Southern and was named a second-team All-Southern Conference selection in 2013.
With the Bengals, he's likely going to play cornerback.
"He has great ability around the receiver," Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis said. "He’s been very, very instinctive. He has a chance to come in here and compete for one of our cornerback spots and continue to give us some youth and depth there."
These latest signings bring the Bengals' count to four draft picks now under contract after Marquise Flowers (sixth round, Arizona) and WR James Wright (seventh round, LSU) agreed to deals on Wednesday.
More than likely, Westbrooks, Flowers and Wright will be competing for spots on the final 53-man roster, while McCarron figures to make it as the third-string QB with backup Jason Campbell only being signed for on year.