NFL Draft 2017: Best players available for Round 2

After a crazy first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, there are plenty of great prospects left on the board for Round 2. For various reasons, every NFL team passed over these players for other prospects they felt had more potential and/or less question marks. In the end, the way the first round shook out left a lot of great players available for some very lucky teams, like the Bengals, in the early stages of the second round.

Left in the green room and present at the NFL Draft were cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, cornerback Kevin King, quarterback DeShone Kizer, defensive tackle Malik McDowell and offensive tackle Cam Robinson. The five of them were expected first round picks and now remain available for Day 2.

The full list of remaining players among SB Nation’s top 100 includes:

7. Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State

21. Forrest Lamp, OT/OG, Western Kentucky

23. Malik McDowell, DL, Michigan State

26. Tim Williams, OLB, Alabama

27. Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt

33. DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame

34. Sidney Jones, CB, Washington

35. Obi Melifonwu, S, Connecticut

37. Carl Lawson, DE, Auburn

38. Budda Baker, S, Washington

39. Teez Tabor, CB, Florida

40. Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama

41. Alvin Kamara, RB, Tennessee

43. Dan Feeney, G, Indiana

46. Chris Wormley, DT, Michigan

47. Derek Rivers, DE/OLB, Youngstown State

48. Quincy Wilson, CB, Florida

49. Josh Jones, S, North Carolina State

50. Curtis Samuel, RB/WR, Ohio State

52. Chidobe Awuzie, CB, Colorado

53. Ryan Anderson, LB, Alabama

54. Fabian Moreau, CB, UCLA

55. Raekwon McMillan, MLB, Ohio State

56. Caleb Brantley, DL, Florida

57. Kevin King, CB, Washington

58. Jordan Willis, DE, Kansas State

59. Marcus Williams, S, Utah

60. Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina

61. Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma

62. Desmond King, CB, Iowa

63. Pat Elflein, G/C, Ohio State

64. Kareem Hunt, RB, Toledo

65. Dion Dawkins, OT/G, Temple

66. Tarell Basham, DE, Ohio

67. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Southern California

68. Antonio Garcia, OT, Troy

69. Cooper Kupp, WR, Eastern Washington

70. Montravius Adams, DT, Auburn

71. Adam Shaheen, TE, Ashland

72. Tyus Bowser, LB, Houston

73. Taylor Moton, OT, Western Michigan

74. Chad Hansen, WR, California

75. Carlos Watkins, DT, Clemson

76. Cordrea Tankersley, CB, Clemson

77. Dalvin Tomlinson, DT, Alabama

78. ArDarius Stewart, WR, Alabama

79. Jourdan Lewis, CB, Michigan

80. Dorian Johnson, G, Pittsburgh

81. Dawuane Smoot, DE, Illinois

82. Bucky Hodges, TE, Virginia Tech

83. Larry Ogunjobi, DT, Charlotte

84. Davis Webb, QB, California

85. Samaje Perine, RB, Oklahoma

86. DeMarcus Walker, DE, Florida State

87. Roderick Johnson, OT, Florida State

88. Eddie Vanderdoes, DT, UCLA

89. Adam Bisnowaty, OT, Pittsburgh

90. Tanoh Kpassagnon, DE, Villanova

91. Rasul Douglas, CB, West Virginia

92. Ejuan Price, DE, Pittsburgh

93. Jordan Leggett, TE, Clemson

94. Corn Elder, CB, Miami

95. Gerald Everett, TE, South Alabama

96. Ethan Pocic, C, LSU

97. Cameron Sutton, CB, Tennessee

98. D’Onta Foreman, RB, Texas

99. Jaleel Johnson, DT, Iowa

100. Dede Westbrook, WR, Oklahoma

While some players remaining like Florida State’s Dalvin Cook and Alabama’s Robinson likely fell due to character concerns fogging up their otherwise promising resumes, players like Vanderbilt’s Zach Cunningham and Western Kentucky’s Forrest Lamp are still on the board primarily due to on-field questions. In Cunningham’s case, those questions revolve around his play strength, while Lamp’s primarily deal with his size. However, each are among the most talented players available, players any team would be ecstatic to have in the second round.

The Bengals have to love the potential to pick up any of these top players, particularly at running back, a position where there has been a lot of talk about the Bengals having a need. Cook is joined by South Florida’s Marlon Mack and Texas’ D’Onta Foreman on Galko’s list of the best remaining players. The Bengals have scouted Foreman and met with Cook, although most projections of late have the team looking at Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon and Tennessee’s Alvin Kamara more seriously.

However, outside of running back, there is plenty of talent available. It would be surprising to see Lamp last another nine picks for the Bengals, although it is worth noting he worked out with the them at Western Kentucky’s pro day. If he is available at 41, there is a good chance the Bengals would pounce to fill the hole at right guard left by Kevin Zeitler’s departure. The only other three players on this list the Bengals have met with have been offensive tackle Robinson, Ohio State linebacker Raekwon McMillan, and Western Michigan offensive guard Taylor Moton.

You would expect the Bengals to prefer picking a player with whom they’ve met, so there is a good chance the pick will be Mixon, Foreman, Cook, Lamp, Robinson, McMillan, or Moton.

Linebacker is seen as a fairly substantial need for the Bengals in this year’s draft, so it wouldn’t be surprising, at all, if they were to select McMillan, providing he is still available at that point. In theory, if the Bengals like him enough to consider picking him up, another team could like him equally as much, if not more. Linebacker needy teams ahead of the Bengals like the Packers, Seahawks, and Rams will need to pass on him for the Bengals to pick him up. It’s also likely the Packers scoop up a running back with the No. 33 pick after trading with the Browns to forgo a Round 1 pick.

Based on various projections, meetings with the team, and general scheme, the best remaining prospects the Bengals would be interested in are as follows:

1. Dalvin Cook, RB, Florida State

2. Forrest Lamp, OT/OG, Western Kentucky

3. Cam Robinson, OT, Alabama

4. Alvin Kamara, RB, Tennessee

5. Raekwon McMillan, OLB, Ohio State

6. Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma

7. Tarrell Basham, DE, Ohio

8. Taylor Moton, OG, Western Michigan

9. Larry Ogunjobi, DT, Charlotte

10. D’Onta Foreman, RB, Texas

There is a good chance many of those players will still be available when the Bengals are on the clock for pick No. 41. If only because of sheer math, at least one of those players is guaranteed to be around when the Bengals are on the clock. Therefore, it would stand to reason that one of those players will hear their name called when Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz steps up to the podium to announce the Bengals’ second pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. Any of those players would bring an immense amount of talent to the Bengals and could be a key contributor for many years to come.