Pick No. 21: Cincinnati Bengals

By The Stripe
BengalStripes.com

The moment is here. It is time to select the Bengals first-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft.

As the Bengals’ representative in the 2010 NFL Bloggers Mock Draft it my duty to select my player of choice on the Bengals behalf.

There are plenty of big names still out there including everyone’s mock draft favorite Oklahoma tight end Jermaine Gresham.

The average Bengals fan wouldn’t think twice and scoop up Gresham. He is the best tight end on the board and the Bengals certainly need help at that position. However, in my mind, there are many more-impressive athletes still on the board.

For example, a player that could slip on draft day and did in this mock draft is Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant. Can the Bengals afford to pass on a player with as much upside as Bryant in favor of Gresham?

There are others to also consider, such as Florida offensive lineman Maurkice Pouncy, UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price, Penn State DT Jared Odrick, Boise State CB Kyle Wilson, and Notre Dame WR Golden Tate.

In the real draft, the Bengals could be hoping for either Tennessee DT Dan Williams, Texas S Earl Thomas or USC S Taylor Mays to fall into their laps. In this mock draft, each of above prospects are already off the board.

With all the talent in this year’s draft, no matter who is left at No. 21 it is going to be a tough selection.

Fans may want Gresham here, but he should fall into the early-to-mid part of the second round. Sure, the Bengals will probably miss the opportunity to draft him, but they could still possibly land Arizona’s Rob Gronkowski or USC’s Anthony McCoy in round two or even BYU’s Dennis Pitta, Oregon’s Ed Dickson, Florida’s Aaron Hernandez, Miami’s Jimmy Graham, Pittsburgh’s Dorin Dickerson or Wisconsin’s Garrett Graham in rounds three or four.

That all being said, I believe the Bengals and the rest of the NFL teams will realize that there are plenty of potential starting tight ends in this draft and will hold off drafting one in the first round.

I also have a strange feeling that, if dealt this hand, the Bengals would select Odrick. Who honestly knows what will happen here. It mainly will depend on Bryant’s personal workout, which has been pushed back to March 30. A poor performance in the workout could allow Bryant to fall to Cincinnati in round one or possibly fall out of the first round altogether. An impressive workout, well, he wouldn’t get past Denver at No. 11.

The New England Patriots, and its representative Blauhg: A New England Patriots Blog, are on the clock.

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  March 18, 2010 at 3:42 PM