• Round 1, Pick 18: OT Amarius Mims, Georgia: He has a very alluring build at 6-foot-7, 340 pounds with great length and movement skills to improve the Bengals upfront.
• Round 2 Pick 49: TE Ja'Tavion Sanfers, Texas: Just because they will likely miss out on Brock Bowers doesn’t mean the tight end draft dream is dead. Sanders recorded 76.1 and 78.9 PFF receiving grades in each of the last two years, with 38 explosive plays of 15 yards or more.
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After Joe Burrow went down, it was tough to see the Bengals reaching the postseason again in 2023. Though Jake Browning did give it a good run, the Bengals will now look to get healthier and reload for a postseason run in 2024.
Here are a few potential draft upgrades for them at the position of need in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Round 1, Pick 18: OT AMARIUS MIMS, GEORGIA
The Bengals should look at a variety of potential offseason upgrades over the next few months, specifically at offensive tackle. Jonah Williams is a pending free agent. Over the last two seasons, he has earned 61.2 and 58.5 overall offensive PFF grades, which signals they could do better on that position, especially when compared to signing him to a bigger contract than his current rookie deal.
One option to make a change is by selecting Georgia's Amarius Mims in the first round. He has a very alluring build at 6-foot-7 and 340 pounds to go with great length and movement skills. However, due to him playing at the talent factory of Georgia, he hasn’t played much, waiting his turn before starting late in 2022 then missing much of this past season dued to an ankle injury. He’ll take some time, but he has much potential to develop.
Round 2, Pick 49: TE JA’TAVION SANDERS, TEXAS
Brock Bowers gets all the hype at the top of this tight end class – and I’m sure Cincinnati would love to draft him – but it’s hard to see him lasting to No. 18. With that in mind, they could have a good chance at getting TE2 in this class. Sanders, a former five-star recruit, is an explosive athlete at 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds. He’s recorded 76.1 and 78.9 PFF receiving grades in each of the last two years with 38 explosive plays of 15 yards or more. His blocking needs more consistency, but there are some plays where he is able to hold his own on the line of scrimmage. Those flashes give you hope he can be that full-time tight end at the next level. At worst, he's a good big slot receiver.
Round 3, Pick 80: DT BRADEN FISKE, FLORIDA STATE
Fiske was a late bloomer this college football season, but since Week 7, he recorded a 77.3 PFF pass-rush grade with a 14.4% pass-rush win percentage. If you watch his final game of the season against Louisville in the ACC Championship Game, where he recorded five pressures, you’ll see a 6-foot-5, 298-pound interior defensive lineman who has a nice first step and can turn speed-to-power quickly. His ability to corner around blockers is also impressive.
Round 4, Pick 115: DT TYLER DAVIS, CLEMSON
Davis feels like the consensus “good football player” who everyone likes to grab in the middle of their mock drafts. Normally, that means the player is going to go higher due to demand. Davis is an experienced college football player who has logged over 2,000 snaps in his five-year career. He doesn’t bring a ton as a pass-rusher, but he has been a stout run defender his entire career, including 2023 where he earned an elite 90.8 PFF run-defense grade. The Bengals absolutely could double dip at interior defensive line – one pass rush specialist and one run defense specialist.
Round 5, Pick 151: CB KAMAL HADDEN, TENNESSEE
Hadden has been on a long college football journey. He was a zero-star cornerback recruit from River Rouge, Michigan and was initially set to attend Central Michigan out of high school, but his grades did not allow him to qualify. He landed at Independence CC (JUCO from Last Chance U), playing one season there before transferring to Auburn as a three-star JUCO recruit. He only spent the spring with Auburn before transferring to Tennessee during the summer of 2021.
He struggled his first two years at Tennessee, recording just 64.1 and 62.2 PFF coverage grades in 2021 and 2022. Yet, in 2023, the 6-foot-1, 197-pound corner recorded an elite 90.4 PFF coverage grade with three interceptions and nine forced incompletions in just seven games.
Round 5, Pick 173: OT ETHAN DRISKELL, MARSHALL
Despite hitting on offensive tackle in the first round of this mock, I could see the Bengals taking more than one swing at offensive line in their upcoming grade. Driskell, like Mims, comes with a massive frame. He’s listed at 6-foot-9 and 330 pounds. He played center on his high school basketball teams, and you see some of that basketball athleticism when he plays tackle. The pad level is naturally high and the feet are naturally heavy, but you can’t deny the frame. With some good movement roots, he’s a good player to draft and develop.
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