The Cincinnati Bengals made the most of their 2024 NFL Draft windfall during the last few days.
It seems like Cincinnati is still taking their time with the NFL Draft.They did show up in the first two rounds of the draft when they selected offensive tackle Amarius Mims from the University of Georgia and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr. in the second round. Regretfully, opinions on how well they did in the following five rounds differ greatly.
While the organization performed fairly well in the first two rounds by knocking two positional needs off their board by players that were close to the best in this year’s class, there is some major skepticism about the rest of the draft. Specifically, ESPN draft specialist Mel Kiper Jr. certainly wasn’t particularly impressed with the way that the franchise was appraising talent. That was apparent when it came to his appraisals of defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson and wide receiver Jermaine Burton.While the organization performed fairly well in the first two rounds by knocking two positional needs off their board by players that were close to the best in this year’s class, there is some major skepticism about the rest of the draft. Specifically, ESPN draft specialist Mel Kiper Jr. certainly wasn’t particularly impressed with the way that the franchise was appraising talent. That was apparent when it came to his appraisals of defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson and wide receiver Jermaine Burton.
While both players appear capable of filling positional needs, there are major questions about whether or not they can make a smooth transition to the difficulty at the NFL level. Burton failed to post a 1,000-yard season over the course of his NFL career, and he was the number one receiver on one of the best teams in the country last season at the University of Alabama. While a third-round selection isn’t a guaranteed starter, you certainly want at least an immediate backup-level player out of that pick.
Given the organization’s obvious draft theme of filling holes that will be generated next season after the departure of their many free-agent signings to one-year contracts, Burton appears to fill that need. Since the organization provided insurance last season for the departure of Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd by drafting Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas, Burton likely fills that mold for superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
Burton was selected to cover for Chase because of his deep threat potential and sheer speed, which play a comparable function to Chase’s. Although Chase’s deal was recently extended through 2025, Cincinnati needs a backup plan in case Chase requests an unaffordable amount during his forthcoming contract negotiations, especially considering the current trend in wide receiver contract prices. Even though it’s unlikely that this team will let Chase go, they needed a player of his calibre to maintain continuity and give them leverage in talks.
