Three Takeaways From Duke Tobin's Pre-Draft News Conference

The Bengals are eyeing cornerbacks in the 2022 NFL Draft

CINCINNATI — Duke Tobin addressed the media on Friday ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft. 

The Bengals Director of Player Personnel isn't going to share much, but he did give us morsels of information that he'll give us. 

Here are three takeaways from Tobin's news conference. 

Corner on the Mind

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The Bengals haven't taken a cornerback in the first round since 2016. They've only drafted on cornerback (Jordan Brown, 2019 7th round) in the Zac Taylor era. That's going to change next week. 

"I think anybody can look at our roster and see that we need some more guys there," Tobin said. "The DB area is an area that we're gonna look at. It's gonna have to be the right guy at the right time, but that's a position where we could use some reinforcements for sure."

In a perfect world the Bengals would land one of the top cornerbacks in this year's class in round one. Will Kaiir Elam, Kyler Gordon, Andrew Booth Jr. and Roger McCreary be available? 

That's impossible to predict. If the majority of that group is available, then the Bengals are probably taking one of them at pick 31.

Complete Tight Ends

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Tobin acknowledged that it's important to have tight ends that can contribute as a pass catcher in today's game. The days of a blocking-only tight end are gone. 

With C.J. Uzomah no longer in town and Hayden Hurst on a one-year deal, the Bengals have met with a plethora of tight ends ahead of the draft. 

"If you can't block it's very difficult to use you. I think you have to have some degree of blocking ability, otherwise they'll just consider you a wide-out and play you accordingly," Tobin said. "Obviously you would say that the game has gone to a passing game and you would say that the receiver-type tight ends are maybe ahead of just the blocking types, but you need those blocking types, they can make your offense work."

Wait on Offensive Line?

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Tobin voiced confidence in Jackson Carman, D'Ante Smith and Trey Hill—the three offensive linemen the Bengals took in the 2021 NFL Draft. 

Considering they also added three starters in free agency, it doesn't seem like offensive line is a top priority for the Bengals early in this years' draft. 

That doesn't mean they'll pass on one that they like, but don't expect them to pass on a top cornerback for an offensive lineman. 

"I really like the way the offensive line is coming together," Tobin said. "Like I answered with the wideouts, with the O-line if there’s a guy that improves us that we think will have a good career in this league, we’re not going to pass him, particularly if he’s the best guy on the board." 

It would be surprising if the Bengals didn't address offensive line at some point in the draft, but don't expect it to happen in round one. 

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