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Bengals 21st Century Draft Class Tournament

The Bengals' past 16 draft classes have been seeded and set up in a tournament format. Vote for each matchup as we determine the best Cincinnati Bengals draft class of the millennium.

Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to the first Bengals Draft Class Tournament.

We have taken the past 16 Bengals’ draft classes and seeded them one through sixteen. The readers of Cincy Jungle will vote for the winner of each matchup, with one draft class advancing and one being eliminated. The tournament will continue until the good readers of Cincy Jungle have crowned a winner of the best Bengals draft class of the 21st century.

Just remember, if you decide to print this out, fill it out, and gamble with your friends and co-workers guessing who will win (like people do with another tournament coming up in March), just remember that this action would be completely your prerogative.

Top 4 Seeds

  • Due to multiple players earning All-Pro selections, and a pair of players becoming fringy Hall of Fame candidates, the 2001 class earned the top seed.
  • Five playoff runs in five seasons merited the A.J. Green and Andy Dalton draft class the second seed.
  • Due to the productive longevity of Andrew Whitworth and Johnathan Joseph, the 2006 class was awarded the third seed.
  • The 2010 draft class brings a loaded trio of Geno AtkinsCarlos Dunlap, and Jermaine Gresham to the tournament.

Bottom 4 Seeds

  • Chris PerryDavid PollackKeith Rivers, and Peter Warrick were the first round picks in the four draft classes seeded 13 thru 16. Need we say more? It almost seems inappropriate that there was only a single 16 seed to hand out to another class.

Tournament

Future posts will present each matchup where you get to vote for the better of the two draft classes, and share your thoughts for your votes.

Call it a buildup to the NFL Draft, a Bengals' version of the NCAA tournament, or maybe just an excuse for people to talk about voting for something other than presidential hopefuls with bad hair. Either way, the Bengals Draft Class Tournament is here.