Bengals OC Bill Lazor attends Louisville Cardinals pro day

The Bengals continued their pro day circuit this week with a trip to Kentucky for the Louisville Cardinals pro day.

There, they got an up-close look at Heisman-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson by sending offensive coordinator Bill Lazor to the event. While the Cardinals have other offensive prospects, Jackson is the star of the show, so seeing Lazor there is interesting to say the least.

Jackson became a full-time starter as a true sophomore in 2016, where he threw for 3,543 yards and 30 touchdowns while adding 1,571 yards on the ground and 21 scores. He won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award and Associated Press Player of the Year during his record setting season.

As a junior in 2017, Jackson threw for 3,660 yards and 27 touchdowns with 1,601 yards rushing with 18 scores. He third in the Heisman voting and became the first player in college football history to throw for 3,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in two straight seasons,

That led to Jackson entering the 2018 NFL Draft, where he hopes to be a first-round selection, but it’s no guarantee. As great of a player as Jackson is, he’s a major work in progress as a pocket passer, so much that there’s some doubt he’ll make it as an NFL quarterback.

There’s some thought Jackson could actually slip into Round 2, so if he’s somehow still on the board when the Bengals are on the clock at pick No. 46, they should sprint to the podium.

While Jackson is the Cardinals’ top NFL prospect, not far behind him is Jaire Alexander, and it just so happens the Bengals also had secondary coach Roberting Livingston in attendance.

The 5’11”, 192-pound Alexander was one of the best cornerbacks in college football during the 2016 season, so much that he was projected to be a high first-round pick in 2018 if he declared early.

However, Alexander endured an injury-riddled 2017 season that limited his production, but he still ended up declaring for the draft. He’s probably going to go in the late Round 1/early Round 2 range, but if he can get back to being what he was as a sophomore, he’ll be a nice steal for whoever lands him.

As deep as the Bengals are at cornerback, Alexander would be a very nice pick early in Round 2, especially if the Bengals don’t plan to re-sign Darqueze Dennard next offseason.

Assuming the Bengals still plan to draft an offensive tackle this year, Geron Christian is one of the better ones in this draft. The 6’6”, 318-pound Christian was a full-time starter at left tackle for the past three years before declaring for the 2018 draft.

Christian also played sparingly at right tackle, and that could be where he’d play if a team like the Bengals took him. Cordy Glenn is locked into the left tackle spot for the foreseeable future, but the right side is still a major question mark.