Don’t be shocked if the Bengals select a corner with their first pick

The Cincinnati Bengals have a propensity for drafting cornerbacks early. Unfortunately, their recent first round picks at the position haven’t panned out.

Dre Kirkpatrick, Darqueze Dennard, and William Jackson III never really found great success in the NFL for a variety of reasons.

But that doesn’t mean the front office will be deterred from taking that approach once more, especially when the team is in need of a long-term answer at corner.

So it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Bengals met with Emmanuel Forbes, an absolute coverage machine from Mississippi State, last month.

According to A to Z Sports’ John Sheeran, Forbes would be a top-15 pick if not for just one thing: he played at just 166 pounds (though he’s up to 173 now).

Still, he would likely break the trend of subpar first round corners for the Bengals.

Why? “He checks all the boxes from a data perspective, from a film perspective, and from a character perspective,” Sheeran said. For instance, he points out, unlike Kirkpatrick, Forbes is an excellent tackler who had a “ninety-five percentile solo tackle market share in an SEC defense.”

For more analysis on Forbes and other players the Bengals are (or should be) targeting, watch below:

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