The Cincinnati Bengals selected Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. The likelihood of that selection happening surprised the Bengals, who contemplated trading up to snag Dennard, as they worried another team would pick him first or that San Diego would trade up to claim him;
"But as one of their players they had ranked in the top ten, Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard, keeps dropping past the Steelers at No. 15 and edges ever closer to them, they begin making phone calls to see if they can move up," writes Bengals.com scribe Geoff Hobson. "They don't see how Dennard gets past the corner-starved Eagles at No. 22 and there’s a fear the No. 25 Chargers jump ahead of them."
Mike Brown said, NO!
But the price is too high in trade for the draft room chaired by Bengals president Mike Brown. This is a good draft for third- and fourth-rounders and the Bengals need plenty after that first pick, like a starting center and an edge rusher to replace Michael Johnson. And a big, young running back to team with Giovani Bernard would be nice.
The story penned by Hobson highlights the risks of trading up. Using a third or a fourth round pick to move up in the first round could cause you to lose out on players like Michael Johnson or Russell Bodine.
Then again, while Bengals.com praised Bodine for playing a significant number of snaps in 2014, Pro Football Focus ranked Bodine as the 33rd-best center. Though, this is also the team that used a third and/or fourth round pick on Jordan Shipley (retired), Dontay Moch, Brandon Ghee, Orson Charles, and Shawn Williams... and Chase Coffman. Bodine was a rookie last season... which has become the overall excuse for his poor grade/production. Fine. I'm in agreement with that excuse, as well as Pro Football Focus' score. And yes, you're allow to have both opinions. Let's see how this works out in 2015.
The moral of the story is that the Bengals won't trade up in the first round these days -- not at the risk of losing third or fourth round picks. Let's face facts about another aspect: The Bengals are on the clock at No. 21 -- and there are many organizations with draft boards that are so erratic that one team could view a prospect at No. 60 whereas another team views that same prospect at No. 20. Trade back? We fully support that idea.