The Cincinnati Bengals have been one of the most conservative NFL teams regarding draft capital for most of their existence. They have built through the NFL Draft, and since 2000, you would need to search pretty hard for the rare occasions that they would even move up in the draft.
That is why fans were already shocked when the Bengals opted to trade the No. 10 overall for New York Giant defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. It was a welcome surprise to many, considering the caliber of players that looked like they would be available at the 10th pick. I think many fans were content with just that. Expecting more would almost seem greedy and unattainable. Might as well expect pigs to fly.
However, one insider thinks this is just the beginning:
Albert Breer dropped an interesting rumor about the Bengals potentially being aggressive and making more trades in this week’s draft.
“I’d also tell you not to be surprised if the Dexter Lawrence II trade winds up being a precursor to the Bengals being more aggressive moving around the board this weekend,” wrote Breer. “Cincinnati’s generally been one of the most conservative teams in football with draft trades—and it’s actually now been three years since they last did a deal to move up or down at any point in the draft (they made just two trades involving picks over that period, and both were for veteran players, shipping off Joe Mixon and bringing in Khalil Herbert in 2024). The Bengals have seven picks heading in. We’ll see what happens.”
It still is a very much “I will believe it when I see it” kind of rumor. We are coming off them making this move, so it does seem like anything is possible.
It would be interesting to see them prioritize moving up in the draft to select some potential difference-makers rather than stay put or trade back to recoup picks they have traded away. This is, after all, the same team that seemingly stopped making moves in free agency to preserve a compensatory pick for Trey Hedrickson signing with the Baltimore Ravens.
None of that is to say that any of the moves they made are bad. It is more than they seem to have fallen short so far. We would all probably feel better if they had landed a veteran linebacker in free agency to help the last season’s rookie duo take a step forward.
It would be a breath of fresh air to see this team actually go all in, as the rest of the AFC is in such a weird place. The Bengals could easily make a leap.