Bengals could easily end up with a blue chip defender in the first round

The Bengals are searching for a head coach still, but mock draft season stops for no one! It isn’t a secret where Cincinnati’s biggest holes are in their roster.

There are also enough talented players who could come in and contribute at other areas on the defense falling close to the 11 spot for the Bengals to snatch up as well.

Here is SB Nation’s most recent selection for the Bengals:

11. Cincinnati Bengals: Devin White, LB, LSU

White can be the player to cure Cincinnati’s long-standing issues at linebacker. He goes into the draft as easily the best off-ball linebacker available. Here’s a fun stat about White: In 2018, he had 123 tackles and 133 in 2017. Here’s the fun part. In 2018 he had 62 solo tackles, and in 2017, he had 37.

White is the kind of linebacker that the Bengals need to add. Cincinnati’s linebacker troubles came to a head in 2018 when it just looked obvious to everyone watching and playing that the linebackers for the Bengals couldn’t keep up with any sort of athleticism. White could be a guy to bring that unit into the modern NFL with linebackers who can play sideline-to-sideline.

There will likely be plenty to criticize about White as the draft draws closer, and prospects are dissected as much as humanly possible. It is still easy to see that White’s athletic ability is unmatched, and he would be a clear upgrade over any linebacker the Bengals currently have.

One of the biggest issues people have found so far is he tends to bite on play fakes, but you can live with that if it means he can actually keep a running back from bouncing it outside for a big gain.

As far as other prospects that were available when the Bengals selected at 11, there are some pretty interesting names, although they aren’t exactly at positions of need.

Ed Oliver, defensive tackle, Houston

He is just a physical freak. He simply looks like a man among boys at times on the inside of the defensive line. He is a great run stopper, but what really makes him a great prospect is just how quickly he gets going after the ball is snapped. Oliver already has a pretty high floor, and he has room to become even better if he develops even a little more as a pass rusher, and Geno Atkins isn’t getting any younger.

Clelin Ferrell, defensive end, Clemson

Defensive end isn’t a huge need, but you can never have too many pass rushers. We saw how badly it derailed the Bengals pass rush when Carl Lawson went down with an injury. Ferrell is the prototype for defensive ends in today’s NFL, and this draft has a ton of pass rushers that one is bound to fall to the Bengals at 11 if they choose to draft what would likely be Michael Johnson’s replacement.

For the quarterback crowd

The dream of getting Dwayne Haskins should be dead for any Bengals fan. It is also unlikely Cincinnati will be looking to draft a quarterback with their 11th selection. It is still something worth following considering the team is changing directions at head coach.

SB Nation currently has Drew Lock out of Missouri going 13th to the Dolphins and Daniel Jones of Duke going 28th to the Patriots. Teams who need a quarterback will likely change drastically as there seem to be an abundance of available veterans who will be flooding the market soon, and the stock of these two quarterbacks will likely change as the draft draws closer.

It is hard to imagine the Bengals having their choice of the second quarterback off the board at 11, as most teams looking to get their guy trade up to draft them.