Mason Rudolph training with Andy Dalton prior to the NFL Draft

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton is helping mentor the next wave of NFL signal-callers.

This week, Dalton worked with Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph, who detailed that experience with NFL.com. Dalton worked with Rudolph in Dallas to help get the Cowboys passer prepared for life in the NFL.

“It was a cool opportunity to throw with a guy like that and see how you stack up and also grab a tidbit of information, mechanics advice here and there,” Rudolph said. “It was the first time I’ve met Andy. He was really down to earth, and he’s a really hard worker in the offseason. Some guys play a lot of golf in the offseason and he plays golf too, but he definitely has an offseason routine that works for him.”

Rudolph has also been working with former NFL quarterback Zac Robinson, who spent three years on the Bengals’ practice squad while Dalton was on the 53-man roster. They’ve continued to work together in the offseason to help prospective quarterbacks prepare for life in the NFL.

Rudolph was very appreciative of the advice and training he got from Dalton.

“We went through the route tree, and he was talking about his routine in-season and how he prepares for games. He mentioned some things to expect going forward into rookie minicamp, OTAs, a little glimpse of what to expect right after I am drafted,” Rudolph said.

The Bengals will likely draft another quarterback to compete for the backup spot behind Dalton this year. Could that be Rudolph?

The odds aren’t good, as Rudolph is projected to go sometime on Day 2 of this year’s draft. NFL.com projects him to go in the Round 2-3 range, which is probably too high for the Bengals to spend a draft pick on.

Then again, if Rudolph somehow slipped into the end of Round 3, the Bengals may be willing to spend that compensatory pick (No. 100) on him if they think he’s worth it.