Bengals Bytes (4/21): Repeating history

Bengals struck 10th-round gold with prolific tackler Tim Krumrie
A 6-foot-2, 270-pound nose tackle would have an extremely hard time getting noticed by NFL scouts today. Even in 1983, in the previous generation's iteration of pro football, a player that size had to fight, claw, scratch and do whatever he could to pop up on game tape and get a team to give him a tryout, let alone a spot in its significantly deeper draft class (drafts went 12 rounds back then, as opposed to the current seven).

Can Darqueze Dennard's luck improve? Corner targets training camp
Darqueze Dennard has had bad injury luck starting the year he became the Cincinnati Bengals' latest first-round draft pick at cornerback. First a hip injury held him out the second half of the 2014 preseason, and limited his availability the first couple weeks of his rookie year. Hamstring and shin injuries followed later in the season. Another preseason injury last year, this time to his groin, slowed him briefly. Not long after, he finally started earning consistent playing time in the Bengals' cornerback rotation. Active for 10 games, he was beginning to have an impact in the Bengals' secondary when Week 11 arrived.

Bengals' Draft Strategy: Tight ends
The Enquirer takes a look at strategy for the Bengals' 2016 draft by counting down the team's positional needs from least pressing to most immediate. The nine-part series looks at top players, sleepers, Bengals history, strategy and what the experts say. The draft takes place April 28-30 in Chicago. Today: tight ends

2016 Top Draft Prospects: CB
This gallery features some of the top Cornerbacks in this year's draft class.

Random Bytes

Please, Leave The Uniform Alone.
I'm a sports uniform geek, admittedly and unabashedly. I care almost as much about how a team looks as I do about how well it plays, which is why I celebrated in 2007 when the Reds switched from these to these, and wish they'd regularly work in these. It's why I deeply lament how awful the Bengals have looked since 2004 when they switched to these, and why I wanted to gouge out my eyeballs when the UC basketball team played their 2012 postseason games in these.

2016 NFL Mock Draft: Selecting the first three rounds
The 2016 NFL draft is just about a week, so it's time for Chris Burke to take a stab at predicting the first three—yes, three!—rounds. How far does Laremy Tunsil fall? Who comes away with some Round 2 steals?

ESPN’s Curt Schilling Criticized Again After Post About Transgender People
Schilling posted an apparent response to backlash over a recent North Carolina law on transgender people’s use of bathrooms.

Chris Culliver Says Odell Beckham Jr. Is NFL's Biggest Complainer
The Carolina Panthers announced Wednesday they rescinded cornerback Josh Norman's franchise tender, making him an unrestricted free agent. Perhaps the best course of action would be for him to sign with the Washington Redskins. Then he and Washington cornerback Chris Culliver could bond over their opinions on New York Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr.

Cleveland Browns trade No. 2 pick in draft to Philadelphia Eagles for five picks
The Philadelphia Eagles have completed their journey to the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NFL draft. The Eagles acquired the Cleveland Browns' pick Thursday with a blockbuster trade. To make this deal, the Eagles used draft picks acquired in two previous trades. Executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman said the team had been trying to move up ever since January.

Titans-Rams draft trade for No. 1 from inside each NFL franchise | The MMQB with Peter King
The Titans and Rams pulled off one of the biggest trades in NFL draft history. Here’s how it went down, from a serendipitous situation at the combine to the transaction’s consummation in the cab of a pickup truck

Possible landing spots for former Carolina Panthers CB Josh Norman
In a surprise move, the Carolina Panthers rescinded their franchise tag offer to Josh Norman on Wednesday. Our NFL Nation reporters run through the teams that could have interest now that the shutdown CB is on the open market.

Free agent quarterback Brian Hoyer to visit with Broncos
After a two-day visit with the New York Jets, free-agent quarterback Brian Hoyer left their facility Wednesday without a contract and is heading west to meet with the Denver Broncos, according to a league source. The Jets were aware of Hoyer's plans to visit the Broncos, the source said. The Jets, locked in a contract impasse with the unsigned Ryan Fitzpatrick, remain interested in Hoyer and will continue to monitor his situation.

Winners, losers from blockbuster Eagles-Browns trade
Wednesday's Eagles-Browns trade announcement meant a lot of things to a lot of people, but from the perspective of a Cleveland fan one thing is absolutely clear: Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is completely invested in a rebuild. He is allowing the lieutenants he has put in charge to do whatever it takes to transform the franchise into a winner. That includes eschewing the popular Browns move of pacifying an unhappy fanbase by selecting a first-round quarterback.

Did Cleveland Browns just pass on Big Ben again?
The Browns have sold the No. 2 pick for a bounty of future selections. Forgoing the chance to grab one of the top two quarterbacks in the draft -- Jared Goff or Carson Wentz -- Cleveland is married to another path. The Browns need a franchise quarterback like the Earth needs our sun, but Cleveland's intriguing front office is choosing to build out the roster before adding their signal-caller of tomorrow. Stockpiling picks to develop both sides of the ball, the Browns are trying to construct a team that will compete for years to come.