Bengals Bytes (3/27): How trading back opened up the draft

Marvin Lewis hoping for more turnarounds with Chris Baker and Bobby Hart
Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis knows all about reclamation projects and he has hopes of two more with Chris Baker and Bobby Hart. Two of the Bengals’ first moves this offseason were adding Baker to the defensive trenches and Hart to the opposite, meaning depth at key areas well before the draft.

5 positions the Cincinnati Bengals could target in first round
The Cincinnati Bengals have always gone after the best player available rather than addressing specific needs, so there is no reason to expect them to stray from that course in 2018, especially after addressing one of their biggest needs by trading for tackle Cordy Glenn earlier this month.

Bengals have to be better between the twenties
The Cincinnati Bengals offense was easily the weaker side of the ball in 2017 as it ranked toward the bottom in multiple categories. There is plenty of blame to go around the offense for why it failed in almost every area last season. Between the poor offensive line play, lack of creativity and consistency in the playcalling, or injuries it was an ugly season to put it nicely.

Bengals' Duke Tobin: Trade opened draft, cuts could come
The biggest move of the offseason for the Bengals is still being felt in Cincinnati. As player personnel director Duke Tobin and his team evaluate where to go after moving back from No. 12 to No. 21 in acquiring left tackle Cordy Glenn, he’s enjoying the new outlook on the way this draft stacks up a supplemented roster.

Tobin opens up on No. 21
After their whirlwind six days in free agency earlier this month, the upbeat Bengals believe they have not only improved their team but also their draft position. During a break Monday at the NFL league meeting, director of player personnel Duke Tobin, mastermind of the Cordy Glenn trade that is the centerpiece of the their offseason, says the deal opened up the draft for the Bengals when they swapped picks with Buffalo for Glenn and gave up No. 12 in exchange for No. 21 in the first round.

TDBH: Bengals Centrally located
Paul and Mike Brown thought it would happen and hoped it would happen from nearly the time the Bengals are founded 35 years and six NFL franchises ago. Yet today, here at its annual meeting, the NFL finally creeps ever closer to its realignment of eight divisions with four teams each in an effort to balance the schedule and the country. With Bengals president Mike Brown breathing a sigh of relief with the first concrete evidence his club will stay with Cleveland and Pittsburgh, he remembers those early days as he ducks back into today’s afternoon session. "The schedule is great. It's what we thought about way back because the idea was getting to 32 teams with the four-team divisions," Brown says. "We've come so far, there was a time you thought we'd never get to 32 teams. But here we are." There are still plenty of problems to solve before the June 1 drop dead date to pass the format for the 2002 season that accommodates the expansion Houston Texans.

AFC North Bytes

John Dorsey acknowledged the Jets called about No. 1 and that he's not joking about trading it
Browns general manager John Dorsey confirmed a report that the Jets called about moving all the way up to No. 1 when they were on their way up from No. 6 to No. 3 with the Colts. "They called but part of the exercise of talking, it takes two parties, but it wasn't what we were looking for,'' Dorsey told cleveland.com and a small group of Browns beat writers covering the NFL Annual Meeting here. The Jets' call to Cleveland for No. 1 was reported by Manish Mehta of The Daily News.

Don’t expect Ravens to make any more free agent signings until after the 2018 NFL Draft
The Baltimore Ravens have made significant strides to improve their wide receiving corps. They’ve added John Brown and Michael Crabtree and been in the running for a number of other players. But with the big names off the market and the draft quickly approaching, you shouldn’t expect many more moves from Baltimore. The current free agents available aren’t exactly the cream of the crop. Barring a really late and uncommon cut before the draft, what’s on the open market are the players with a bunch of question marks on them — the third-tier players that are primarily depth. While the Ravens could still use more bodies at tight end, offensive line, wide receiver and even on defense, they can afford to be a little pickier.

Random Bytes

Odell Beckham Jr. Trade Rumors: Giants Asking for 1st-Round Pick and More
The New York Giants are "officially open to fielding offers" for superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., according to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News, and are seeking at least a first-round pick in any deal. According to Leonard, "The price in a prospective Beckham trade is starting at a first-round pick plus. The 'plus' is the negotiable part, but the meaning is that it likely won't require two first-round picks to get it done."

2018 NFL Draft: Biggest Winners and Losers of Pro Days so Far
Pro days are supposed to serve as confirmation of months of evaluations. They shouldn't sway NFL teams into picking a prospect based on one workout. If a player is being considered for the No. 1 overall pick, like USC's Sam Darnold is, his performance should reflect those expectations. It's when an individual doesn't perform well that concerns arise.

Ndamukong Suh Signing May Be the Final Piece to Rams' Superteam Puzzle
The last time we saw a team in the NFL attempt what the Los Angeles Rams are trying this offseason—to build a superteam through free agency, the latest addition being star defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh—it was the year 2000. That's when the owner of the Washington football team, Dan Snyder, seemingly took leave of his football senses.