Bengals land Peter Skoronski in final Bengals.com Media Mock Draft

The Cincinnati Bengals added Orlando Brown Jr. to their offensive line from Kansas City in the 2023 offseason, so why would they continue to add talent to the group even though they have yet to trade Jonah Williams and inked several starters last offseason?

Well, the reasoning is simple — depth is the name of the game. While high-end talent is ideal, as we saw last season, having quality depth on the line is paramount for a deep postseason run, and the Bengals didn’t have it.

That’s why Geoff Hobson, in the final 2023 Media Mock Draft, took Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski. Three tackles go off the board ahead of him, but those are the only offensive lineman taken ahead of the Wildcats’ standout.

Here’s a snippet of what Hobson said about the star lineman in terms of not necessarily needing more help on the line but going for the best value available. Let’s just say Hobson is pretty confident Skoronski won’t be there at No. 28 on Thursday.

“He’s not going to be there. No way. He has a better shot at being mayor of Chicago than coming here. Remember, even the name of this thing (Mock Draft) says it’s a flawed endeavor. But it does allow us to do the exercise. If a player is clearly the best player on the board with no debate, you can never go wrong picking him and worrying about position later,” Hobson wrote.

Hobson makes a strong point.

Skoronski could arguably be the best tackle in the draft, and finishing last season with a 79.1 Pro Football Focus run-blocking grade, which sat 5th among qualified Power 5 tackles, the talent is there. Joe Burrow would have ample protection with Skoronski in the Queen City.

Many think Skoronski is bound to be a stud at the highest level in football, and at 6-foot-4 and 315 pounds, the frame is there for him to thrive. In Cincinnati, he would help take the unit to a whole new level.

If he’s there, expect him to be coming to Cincinnati in the near future.