clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Bengals' Hue Jackson at Florida State Pro Day

As many as nine Florida State Seminoles could hear their names called within the first 100 picks of the 2015 NFL draft.

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Bengals were among all 32 NFL teams present at Florida State's much-heralded Pro Day on Tuesday.

The event was broadcast on both ESPNU and the NFL Network, and several times Hue Jackson was seen on screen. The Bengals offensive coordinator probably wasn't too concerned with Jameis Winston, the likely No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft.

Instead, Jackson was likely eyeing Winston's favorite targets from this past season: Rashad Greene and Nick O'Leary. The 5'11", 185-pound Greene would be a great No. 2 receiver next to A.J. Green. He's more of a possession receiver, but can beat his man enough that defenses have to respect his deep-threat ability.

That actually describes current Bengals receiver Marvin Jones, whom NFL.com's Lance Zierlein compared Greene to:

NFL COMPARISON Marvin Jones

BOTTOM LINE Very productive in big games and at big times. Greene has the athleticism and quicks to get open and has a natural smoothness in his routes. He might get pigeon-holed into a slot position, but that might not be a bad thing. Greene needs more route polish but should be able to compete for snaps right away.

As for the 6'3", 252-pound O'Leary, he'll be a nice complimentary tight end at the NFL level after a productive college career. Zierlein actually compares him to former Texans and Eagles H-back James Casey:

NFL COMPARISON James Casey

BOTTOM LINE O'Leary has the competitive spirit and toughness that teams look for in a dual-threat tight end, but he lacks the physical traits. Based on how Florida State used him, he is an easy projection to an H-back spot where he should be an effective move-blocker and pass-catcher.

Another guy Hue may have had his eye on is center Cameron Erving. He began his college career at offensive tackle before moving to center this past season, where he thrived to the point he now may be a first-round pick at that position. There's also the possibility a team like the Bengals draft him, play him as a backup guard/center as a rookie, then move him to tackle next year. The Bengals could look to replace Andrew Whitworth or Andre Smith with a guy like Erving if either leave in free agency.

On the defensive side, the Noles feature several prospects the Bengals could use, the biggest of which being Eddie Goldman. The 6'4", 336-pound nose tackle would be an upgrade over Domata Peko if that's where Cincinnati wants to go in the first round. He's been routinely mocked to the Bengals this offseason.

Defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. was once the No. 1 overall high school prospect, but likely won't hear his name called until late in Round 2 in the NFL draft. The 6'3", 279-pound Edwards had only eight sacks in three years of college, but does look like the developmental lineman the Bengals like taking at some point every year.

Here's how CBS Sports ranked all of FSU's draft-eligible prospects:

RANK

PLAYER

POS.

POS. RANK

CLASS

HT.

WT.

PROJ. ROUND

2

Jameis Winston

QB

1

rSo

6-4

231

1

25

Cameron Erving

C

1

rSr

6-5

313

1

32

Eddie Goldman

DT

5

Jr

6-4

336

1-2

37

P.J. Williams

CB

4

Jr

6-0

194

1-2

60

Rashad Greene

WR

10

Sr

5-11

182

2

66

Ronald Darby

CB

8

Jr

5-11

193

2-3

68

Tre' Jackson

OG

3

Sr

6-4

330

2-3

69

Mario Edwards Jr.

DE

8

Jr

6-3

279

2-3

120

Josue Matias

OG

7

Sr

6-5

309

3-4

147

Nick O'Leary

TE

8

Sr

6-3

252

4-5

168

Karlos Williams

RB

15

Sr

6-1

230

5

370

Bobby Hart

OG

21

Sr

6-5

329

--

457

Desmond Hollin

DT

32

Sr

6-3

285

--

491

Nick Waisome

CB

51

Sr

5-9

182

--

547

Austin Barron

C

17

Sr

6-3

293

--

655

Kevin Haplea

TE

34

rSr

6-3

247

--

725

Christian Green

WR

98

rSr

6-1

196

--