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It was believed that the Cincinnati Bengals were eyeing Oklahoma defensive tackle Jordan Phillips at No. 53 until the Miami Dolphins snagged him one pick before them. Instead of overreacting, they relied on their board and went with Oregon offensive tackle Jake Fisher in the second round.
Later during the third round, Cincinnati began eyeing Texas linebacker Jordan Hicks when their first third round pick was approaching. Philadelphia pulled the trigger on Hicks at No. 84, and Cincinnati, again relying on their board, selected Rutgers tight end Tyler Kroft at No. 85. Cincinnati used their No. 99 pick to select linebacker Paul Dawson, fulfilling that need.
Well, #Bengals wanted to take him right there RT @GeoffMosherCSN: Just reached out to an NFL scout about Hicks. Response: "Stupid pick."
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 2, 2015
My understanding: #Bengals were very interested in LB Jordan Hicks. Once he went off the board, they moved to Paul Dawson at bottom of 3rd.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) May 2, 2015
Hicks is a local guy, attending high school at Lakota West before leaving for Texas. He attended the Bengals local pro day in April and was said to be the standout player at the event.