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The Cincinnati Bengals made it a point to have a presence at Louisville's Pro Day on Wednesday.
After all, when the head coach is in attendance, you know there's at least one guy your team has their eye on. Marvin Lewis made his way to Louisville with the likes of Bill Belichick and other NFL coaches and scouts.
Mike Tomlin and Marvin Lewis in attendance checking out Louisville's 18 prospects @CoachPetrinoUL pic.twitter.com/6WLPbDYxYn
— LouisvilleFootball (@UofLFootball) March 11, 2015
Marvin Lewis and @CoachPetrinoUL chat during Pro Day on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/1WCSH1WDDB
— LouisvilleFootball (@UofLFootball) March 11, 2015
Easily the best prospect the Cardinals possess is DeVante Parker. The 6-3, 209-pound receiver was a monster throughout his college career, and he'll be an instant-impact guy his first year in the NFL. Parker missed the first seven games of his senior season with a foot injury, then returned to catch 43 passes for 855 yards and five touchdowns in the final eight games; he was a second-team All-ACC selection.
Parker also tied the school record for career touchdown receptions with 33 and had 10 100-yard games in his career. A team like the Bengals should pounce on him if he falls to pick No. 21, but it's highly unlikely he makes it past the Browns at No. 19. Rob Rang's most recent mock has Parker going No. 14 to Miami.
Here's an excerpt of his NFL.com profile:
NFL COMPARISON: Hakeem Nicks BOTTOM LINE:
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Cardinals offensive lineman John Miller and Jamon Brown are also two quality prospects. Both had good showings during the postseason all-star games, and Miller is the kind of mauler the Bengals want. However, Cincinnati is keeping Clint Boling and Eric Winston and with Trey Hopkins returning next year, the offensive line is pretty full. That could keep Miller and Brown off the Bengals' radar, but they're still worth watching.
At defensive back, Gerod Holliman and James Sample were two quality safeties the Bengals could look at after Round 2 and Charles Gaines was a solid corner who could challenge Chris Lewis-Harris for the fifth CB spot.
Lorenzo Mauldin is an interesting prospect. Like Bud Dupree of the rival Kentucky, he was more of a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker whose NFL position is up in the air. Zierlein reports that an AFC scout told him, "He'll get pegged as a 3-4 rush 'backer, but a 4-3 team could look at him as a situational pass rusher if he is there late second day."
The Bengals pick late in the second day, so keep an eye out for him. I know some services like CBS Sports have him pegged as a 3rd-to-4th rounder, I expect him to go within the first 100 picks. An NFC North scout also said of Mauldin, "I'm cheering hard for this kid, and I'll bang the table for him when the time is right."
Given that the Bengals had their head coach in attendance, it's safe to assume one or more of the aforementioned guys are on their radar in the first three rounds of the 2015 draft.
Here's the rest of the top Cardinal prospects, via CBS Sports:
RANK |
PLAYER |
POS. |
POS. RANK |
CLASS |
HT. |
WT. |
PROJ. ROUND |
|
12 |
DeVante Parker |
WR |
3 |
Sr |
6-3 |
209 |
1 |
|
96 |
John Miller |
OG |
6 |
Sr |
6-2 |
303 |
3 |
|
110 |
Gerod Holliman |
FS |
4 |
rJr |
6-0 |
218 |
3-4 |
|
116 |
Lorenzo Mauldin |
OLB |
9 |
Sr |
6-4 |
259 |
3-4 |
|
147 |
Charles Gaines |
CB |
19 |
rJr |
5-10 |
180 |
4-5 |
|
175 |
Dominique Brown |
RB |
16 |
rSr |
6-2 |
234 |
5 |
|
193 |
James Sample |
SS |
7 |
rJr |
6-2 |
209 |
5-6 |
|
249 |
Gerald Christian |
TE |
14 |
rSr |
6-3 |
244 |
7 |
|
271 |
Michael Dyer |
RB |
22 |
rSr |
5-8 |
218 |
7-FA |
|
287 |
Jamon Brown |
OT |
22 |
Sr |
6-4 |
323 |
7-FA |
|
318 |
B.J. Dubose |
DE |
29 |
Sr |
6-4 |
284 |
7-FA |
|
432 |
Jake Smith |
C |
14 |
rSr |
6-3 |
309 |
-- |
|
475 |
Deiontrez Mount |
DE |
40 |
Sr |
6-5 |
243 |
-- |
|
539 |
Terell Floyd |
CB |
56 |
Sr |
5-9 |
187 |
-- |
|
604 |
Matt Milton |
WR |
78 |
rSr |
6-5 |
205 |
-- |
|
779 |
Eli Rogers |
WR |
106 |
Sr |
5-10 |
182 |
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