2018 NFL Draft order: Bengals picking 12th

The 2017 NFL season is now completely over and we now know the order of the entire first-round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

The Cincinnati Bengals will be picking 12th overall in the 2018 draft, three spots behind where they picked in the 2017 draft.

Last year, the Houston Texans traded up to select Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson with the No. 12 pick. Had Watson not tore his ACL, he was a lock to win NFL Rookie of the Year.

In 2016, the New Orleans Saints selected Louisville defensive tackle Sheldon Rankings in that spot. While he missed most of the 2016 season due to injury, he emerged to become a major impact player in New Orleans’ defense during the 2017 season.

In the 2012 draft, the Philadelphia Eagles took Fletcher Cox out of Mississippi State. He has since become one of the best 4-3 defensive tackles in the game. The Eagles quite amazingly went from having the No. 12 pick in 2017 to the No. 32 pick as Super Bowl champions in 2018. Hopefully the Bengals can do the same.

Perhaps the best player to be drafted in the No. 12 spot in recent memory was Odell Beckham Jr. to the New York Giants in 2014. He’s easily one of the game’s five best receivers and a perennial All-Pro player when healthy. Just one pick after Beckham, the Los Angeles Rams took Aaron Donald, who is now one of the best defensive lineman in football.

Let’s hope that’s the kind of impact player the Bengals land this year. It’s clear that, while it’s not a top-10 pick, there’s still a big expectation that this pick should be very productive in the NFL.