Bengals Great A.J. Green Visits Paycor on Draft Night, Weighs In on Who He Wants the Team To Take In First Round

CINCINNATI – Former Cincinnati Bengals Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Green was back at Paycor Stadium on Thursday for the start of the NFL Draft.

Green was a guest of honor at the team’s draft party for fans, not a voice of influence in the war room.

But that didn’t stop him from weighing in on what he thought the Bengals should do with the No. 17 pick.

"I'm always locked in on the Bengals these last couple years," Green said. "With my GM skills, I think I'm gonna go edge rusher. Please let a player from Georgia be there so we can get one of those guys. That's my hope."

The No. 4 pick in the 2011 draft out of Georgia, Green played 10 seasons with the Bengals, with his final year coming in 2020 when Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins were rookies.

Green said he isn't the least bit surprised to see what those two have developed into.

"I just always wanted to lead by example for him," Green said of Higgins. "We both don't talk a lot, so he's not really going to ask me a lot of questions. But he watched everything I was doing. He's an unbelievable player and an unbelievable person."

Green's final catch as a Bengal was a 14-yarder from Brandon Allen in Week 16 of 2020. But Green caught 34 passes for 352 yards a touchdown from Burrow before the ACL injury. And Green said he nearly early on Burrow was special.

"I knew he was gonna be great," Green said. "His approach to the game, playing that position you have to be a level-headed guy, and from Day 1 he's been that guy. "

But Green said his inkling that Burrow was different wasn't something he did on the field.

"When I saw him step up in the team meeting room about social justice stuff, that's when I knew he was gonna be special," Green said. "You don't see young guys stepping up like that."

Green never played with Ja'Marr Chase, but he became aware of him on Chase's draft night when the receiver said he was coming to Cincinnati to break all the records, several of which belonged to Green.

"He was confident, and he did it. I can't be mad at him about that," Green said. "What they have here is something special. They all feed off each other. He's gonna break everybody's records. I'm not very mad at at that."

And that's why he's imploring the the Bengals to get some defensive help tonight and in the rest of the draft.

"We don't need no offensive help," Green said. "We're pretty solid on that side of the ball. We need to get a Georgia boy and we'll be fine."