Bengals News (4/26): Schedule release announced

Bengals Will Announce 2022 Schedule on May 12th
With all of the excitement of the draft, the league decided to add some more pre-season anticipation. Last week, the NFL announced that 2022 schedules will be released on Thursday, May 12 at 8 PM ET. Single game tickets will go on sale when the schedule is released.

Bengals Have A Road Map In Murky Draft After Back-to-Back Gold Rushes
"Brooks has a lot of questions and a lot of opinions. I'm not going there. He's a locked vault. He's into mock drafts. I don't hear the end of it," said head coach Zac Taylor Monday in his last press briefing before Thursday night's first round.

Film Breakdown: Analyzing Cincinnati Bengals' First Round Options in 2022 NFL Draft
Last year, the first round pick came down to two players, but this year there is a large range of possible players that they may have to choose from. They could target a plethora of positions, including an offensive lineman, defensive lineman, safety or cornerback. Even though this decision may come down to whoever falls to them at 31, I have watched just about every possible selection they could make.

Cincinnati Bengals LB depth chart ahead of 2022 NFL Draft
Logan Wilson looks like a bonafide star and Germaine Pratt had a nice bounceback season. The backups and third-stringers even stepped up and made their presence felt when the starters had to miss time for whatever reason.

Cincinnati Bengals 7-round 2022 NFL mock draft: Final edition
We’ve made it to draft week after what feels like forever since this whole process started. Let’s run through one more seven-round mock Cincinnati Bengals before we finally get to the actual draft, using The Draft Network’s simulator.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor looks ahead to NFL Draft
They knew ahead of the draft there was a good chance wide receiver Ja'marr Chase would be available, and that is who they were targeting. They are glad they did. He was a big reason the Bengals made their run to the Super Bowl.

Bengals spend top two picks on defense in 7-round mock draft
There are so many different ways the Bengals could go with this pick whether it’s cornerback, edge rusher, offensive line, or best player available. Their most glaring position of need is defensive tackle, where they need someone to step in on day one and start at the 3-tech spot.

Bengals don't expect Tee Higgins to do any offseason work after shoulder surgery
Higgins had a torn labrum that caused him to miss a pair of games early in the regular, but was able to play through the injury through the Super Bowl. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said he expects the wideout to spend the next couple of months recovering before rejoining the team for on-field work at training camp.

Around the league

2022 NFL Draft: Lewis Cine, Logan Hall among seven potential surprise first-rounders
Many teams have fewer than 20 players on their boards with first-round grades, which is in line with other recent draft classes; some have fewer than 15. General managers and other high-ranking executives foresee an unpredictable Round 1 -- and that's especially true in the back half, once the most celebrated prospects are gone.

Derek Carr on report that Raiders, Packers are discussing Darren Waller trade: 'Lol no chance'
As an offseason of fireworks continues, logic suggests another big trade could go down in the days before the 2022 NFL Draft. Last offseason, it was the first day of the draft when reports of Aaron Rodgers' discontent began to swirl and didn't dissipate for months.

2022 NFL Draft: Four win-win trade scenarios in Round 1
The work below blends my draft prospect rankings, team needs and projected player selection range models to provide competitive analysis for each pick. This piece builds off how I approached my mock drafts, in that its goal is to optimize for wins in the 2022 NFL season; but, I've added in a three-season factor for the top five positions according to positional value (quarterback, pass rusher, left tackle, corner and wide receiver) to make it reflect a closer-to-reality result.

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst: 2022 NFL Draft is deep at receiver
"The last few have been pretty deep, and I think this one is another one," Gutekunst said Monday of the receiver class, via the team's official website. "But history still kind of shows that for all rookies, not just wide receivers, but for all rookies, it takes time. This is a hard league. There's a learning curve before these guys really start to produce at a high level."

Rhett Lewis 2022 NFL mock draft 1.0: Pass rushers fly off the board; Jets grab a wide receiver at No. 4
However, the caveat here is: All of the picks you love are mine -- and mine alone -- while the picks you vehemently disagree with can be attributed solely to my Path to the Draft compadre, Daniel Jeremiah. DJ would appreciate it if you alerted him of your dissatisfaction on social media @movethesticks.