Zac Taylor expects multiple players with "first-round grades" to be available at No. 33
The NFL Draft is just two days away and the Bengals are putting the finishing touches on their board.
They’re going to select Joe Burrow with the No. 1 pick, but there is uncertainty surrounding their second-round selection.
Some believe they could benefit from trading down from No. 33 to get another pick later in the draft.
“It's always fun to guess at what we would do and what scenarios pop up, but until they do, we just make sure we proceed with our plans of making the picks we're planning on making,” head coach Zac Taylor said on Tuesday. "I think anything you've heard is pure speculation and rumor. It certainly hasn't come from us. We prefer to keep that all in-house and we'll react as it goes. You certainly have to be flexible whatever pick it is — 33 or the first pick in the seventh round. We've done a good job breaking the players down and we'll react accordingly. We're in a great position.”
The Bengals will have plenty of time between picks after they make the top selection. The draft will be different this year with NFL front offices and coaches at home and not at the facility due to COVID-19. It’s a good time to have the first pick of the day in rounds one, two and four.
“The first day ends and you have 18 hours to sort it out how you want to approach the next day and the third round ends and you have another 12 hours to get ready for rounds 4-7,” Taylor said. “We're in a good position this year, more so than ever due to the virtual draft that our communication we think is going to be really sharp and we'll have a chance to have plenty of time to talk through a lot of different scenarios."
The discussion about trading down in the second round is an interesting one. Moving up from the 33rd pick is something that hasn't been mentioned, but it could be a possibility. If the Bengals have a top-10 grade on Houston tackle Josh Jones and he's available in the late 20s, they may consider calling Seattle or Green Bay to potentially move up and get their guy.
The Bengals have their eyes on multiple prospects in the second round. If multiple players with first round grades are still available, then they'll stay where they are and entertain offers for the No. 33 pick on Friday.
"The first pick of the second day. You get a lot of time to think about it," Taylor said. "There's going to be some really good players there that we probably have first-round grades on. It'll just be exciting to see how it all shakes out."
