This is not necessarily a set of selections I personally would make, but I could see the Bengals going this route.
The primary reason is the potential most of these guys offers.

1) Amarius Mims, OT Georgia - Dude has an incredibly high ceiling and great highlights. With Bengals adding Brown, they have the "luxury" to groom Mims for a year. I could see Pollack slamming the table for Mims.

2) Xavier Legette, WR South Carolina - Dude is 220+ lbs and runs a sub-4.4. I can see Taylor salivating over the potential Legette could do for the offense, especially as a future Higgins replacement in 2025. Legette can find a way to make an impact as a rookie too.

3) McKinnley Jackson, DT Texas A&M - Jackson gives me DJ Reader vibes. Nearly identical size to Reader. Nearly identical athletic measurables. But on the field, he is role-diverse, can eat up double teams, and he finds ways to help pressure. Jackson can find a way to get on the field as a rookie as either a rotation player or in 3-DT sets with Hill and Rankins.

3comp) Ben Sinnott, TE Kansas St - High athletic profile? Check. Played a multitude of roles in college? Check. Willing to block and good receiver? Check. Sinnott has about all the things the Bengals say they want in a TE, and Gesicki is on just a 1-year deal. Theo Johnson also has a lot of potential of being a Bengals pick around this spot for similar reasons.

4) Dwight McGlothern, CB Arkansas - A CB the Bengals have met with and has great measurables and feel in a zone defense. I'm not convinced the Bengals are ready to give up on Turner and Hill yet, so instead they are just looking for mid-round depth.

5) Khristian Boyd, DT UNI - This is where team captain and potential meet. Boyd comes from FCS. In the BJ Hill or Jay Tufele in that he can play multiple DT spots. Reports also that he's a good worker with a good motor. Boyd could end up being a good rotational piece who could maybe push into a good amount of playing time one day.

6) Tip Reiman, TE Illinois - Man if this dude don't scream Drew Sample. VERY similar college production. Both good blockers with better-than-expected athleticism. But Reiman is even bigger, faster, and more agile than Sample. I know some will say two TEs doesn't make sense, but Bengals have carried 4 TEs many times and they aren't married to Hudson being on the team. Reiman could give them that same diamond-in-the-rough TE they've wanted since drafting Sample, and Chase Brown also has experience playing with him so they have that inside knowledge.

6comp) Frank Gore Jr, RB Southern Miss - I mean come on. If you've seen the guy play, you know he's a beast. And his dad is a legend. FGJ can run and catch. He's on the smaller side, but so was his dad. Take the gamble.

7-HOU) Austin McNamara, P Texas Tech - I've touted him enough this offseason that I'm gonna continue to do so over Tory Taylor. But I could see the team wanting Taylor too. I just think McNamara is gonna be better with ball placement and hangtime while still having that booming leg.

7) Dallas Gant, LB Toledo - Another diamond from the MAC who could be a perfect depth piece. Gant is a well-rounded LB who broke out when he transferred from Ohio St to Toledo. At the end of the day, it's a 7th rounder so doesn't really matter who they take though.

Nice mock, I can't disagree with any of the players that you picked. I am unfamiliar with you DT in the 5th, but that's on me not researching lower divisions.

What I liked- A+ on Mims and Ben Sinnot- Both Guys could be the best players at their respective positions from this draft.

What I didn't like- Leggett is an older prospect who is still raw at Wr and McKinnley Jackson is overdrafted. Would love him in the 5th Rd but the third is a bit rich.

Grade A -Mims is a franchise Tackle and Sinnot is a Kittle clone!

(04-19-2024, 08:48 PM)J24 Wrote: What I liked- A+ on Mims and Ben Sinnot- Both Guys could be the best players at their respective positions from this draft.

What I didn't like- Leggett is an older prospect who is still raw at Wr and McKinnley Jackson is overdrafted. Would love him in the 5th Rd but the third is a bit rich.

Grade A -Mims is a franchise Tackle and Sinnot is a Kittle clone!

What is telling you that Leggett is going to not be good as an NFL WR?

(04-19-2024, 08:52 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: What is telling you that Leggett is going to not be good as an NFL WR?

He is an older prospect with only one season of high production at a college level.

(04-19-2024, 09:49 PM)J24 Wrote: He is an older prospect with only one season of high production at a college level.

So What? Most prospects only play 5-8 years, anyway..  What does his age have to do with it?

(04-19-2024, 09:52 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: So What? Most prospects only play 5-8 years, anyway..  What does his age have to do with it?

It's not only age; it's the fact that he didn't produce jack crap for the first 4 seasons of his career. I'm not drafting  a one it wonder with a top 100 pick. 4th or 5th rd maybe but not the 2nd!

I gotta admit I am not as keen on Jackson as I once was. I have seen him usually 4th or 5th rated NT by a lot of draft pubs.

Might give up a TE for an additional Oline player (even if they are just a depth piece). Still, I like this. I am on board with Mims in the first and I like the idea of us taking a chance on Frank Gore Jr. though I guess the one knock on him is he isn't great in pass protection.

(04-19-2024, 09:49 PM)J24 Wrote: He is an older prospect with only one season of high production at a college level.

COVID caused a lot of people to go an extra year. A lot of guys are coming in older.

(04-19-2024, 08:48 PM)J24 Wrote: What I liked- A+ on Mims and Ben Sinnot- Both Guys could be the best players at their respective positions from this draft.

What I didn't like- Leggett is an older prospect who is still raw at Wr and McKinnley Jackson is overdrafted. Would love him in the 5th Rd but the third is a bit rich.

Grade A -Mims is a franchise Tackle and Sinnot is a Kittle clone!

NFL Draft Buzz, the site I use to scout a wide range of prospects ever since TDN only posts Top 100 now, has Jackson as the 115th prospect in their rankings.
That's right about where Bengals pick in 4th round.
I drafted him about a round early because Bengals need a NT and I don't like really any of the other NTs.
I did like Sweat, but I've lessened my interest since his DWI.

I did think about taking Sinnott at normal 3rd and Jackson with the 3rd comp, but I tried to think like Bengals and reach for need like they did with Drew Sample.
At the end of the day, if Sinnott and Jackson both pan out, it doesn't matter if one was taken where in the 3rd round.

(04-19-2024, 09:52 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: So What? Most prospects only play 5-8 years, anyway..  What does his age have to do with it?

Because you want players you draft to have an upwards arc of productivity. If you draft an older player you might, key word might, be drafting a player at the top of his arc (ceiling). Locked on Bengals talk about it all the time. Bengals front office likes WR “break out season” to be when they’re young, so when they come in to the nfl after 1-2 years they still get better. As opposed to a 22-23-24 year old who may get a little better but the reason he looked better in college than that 20 year old is because he’s quite literally more of a man amongst boys, and he has that competitive advantage. Get a young player who still dominates, he might continue to dominate against 26 year old CB’s vs the 19 year old in college.

(04-20-2024, 10:57 AM)ochocincos Wrote: COVID caused a lot of people to go an extra year. A lot of guys are coming in older.

He didn't have a productive season until his 5th year in college. It's more about his breakout age than him being an older prospect per say.

(04-20-2024, 11:02 AM)ochocincos Wrote: NFL Draft Buzz, the site I use to scout a wide range of prospects ever since TDN only posts Top 100 now, has Jackson as the 115th prospect in their rankings.
That's right about where Bengals pick in 4th round.
I drafted him about a round early because Bengals need a NT and I don't like really any of the other NTs.
I did like Sweat, but I've lessened my interest since his DWI.

I did think about taking Sinnott at normal 3rd and Jackson with the 3rd comp, but I tried to think like Bengals and reach for need like they did with Drew Sample.
At the end of the day, if Sinnott and Jackson both pan out, it doesn't matter if one was taken where in the 3rd round.

Fair enough; PFF has him ranked at 205th. I like him as a prospect but I could see a number of teams not liking him for his poor RAS score.