Teams do it every day during the season.
A walkthrough.
Like everything else in the NFL since Paul Brown glued together the first playbook, the walkthrough has evolved through the years. But the concept is the same. Emphasizing install and techniques in a prep for the next full-out practice.
So welcome to the first-ever Bengals.com Media Mock Walkthrough in preparation for next month's first Media Mock that comes after the Jan. 31 Senior Bowl and before the Feb. 23 start of the NFL scouting combine.
Just as ridiculous as any other way-too-early meandering Mock.
Three of the teams picking ahead of the Bengals at No. 10 (the Cardinals, Titans, and Browns) don't have a coach. Another one, the Giants, just got one. More than 60 underclassmen declared for the draft on Thursday to jostle the big boards with more to come after the national title game. It's two months before free agency, three months before OTAs, four months before the schedule, six months before training camp, and eight months before Dan Hoard utters, "The pigskin is about to fly."
So, let's make it a walkthrough.
The Bengals.com Media Mock Draft is giving our beat people a break and just letting them talk about needs more than anything. For one of the picks, we just went to the Mocks. (Hey, it's a walkthrough.)
We won't even make a pick at No. 10. That's for next month. But let's just see who could be there so we can run into the combine:
1.RAIDERS _ QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana; Vincent Bonsignore, Las Vegas Review-Journal
No coach yet, but his first pick seems clear.
2.JETS _ LB Arvell Reese, Ohio State; Rich Cimini, ESPN.com
What don't they need? At this point, Cimini, a Jets' chronicler in the last four decades, goes with the best player on the board not named Mendoza.
3.CARDINALS _ DT Peter Woods, Clemson; Darren Urban, azcardinals.com
No coach yet. And it looks like no quarterback worthy of the pick. Last month here at Paycor Stadium in the Arizona regime's next-to-last game, the Bengals eased to 429 yards in basically three quarters with quarterback Joe Burrow throwing for 305 against the 29th-ranked defense. If a worthy offensive tackle emerges, that's a possibility, too.
4.TITANS _ DE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami; Paul Kuharsky, paulkuharsky.com
No coach yet, but any rookie head man would love to start with the best edger on the board.
5.GIANTS _ WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State; Tom Rock, Newsday
New Giants head coach John Harbaugh (now that's weird to write) doesn't have to do what he had to do in his first draft with the 2008 Ravens and take Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco. It's also his first draft out of the Ozzie Newsome-Eric DeCosta cocoon that stresses best player and not position. But then, he never had a top-five pick in Baltimore, and with Wan'Dale Robinson a free agent and Malik Nabers coming back from a late October ACL surgery, wide receiver seems to be an early need.
6.BROWNS _T Francis Mauigoa, Miami; Tony Grossi, ESPN Cleveland
Don't short-change Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate at this spot.
7.COMMANDERS _DE David Bailey, Texas Tech; John Keim, ESPN.com
Looks like a defensive pick here. Bailey or Ohio State safety Caleb Downs. Bailey comes into the draft as the FBS sack-leader in 2025 and is a fit here because Washington's two edgers are coming off injuries.
8.SAINTS _ RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame; Jeff Duncan, New Orleans Times-Picayune.
A versatile piece for Saints head coach Kellen Moore's offense.
9.CHIEFS _ S Caleb Downs, Ohio State; Dane Brugler, The Athletic
At this point, we left the phones and scoured the net for some Mocks just to see if there's any way we could get Downs to the Bengals. Early on, the estimable Brugler seems to be in the majority that Downs won't get past the Chiefs. He says there's an argument that he's the best safety prospect since these Chiefs took Eric Berry with the fifth pick in 2010.
10.BENGALS ?????????
Probably just as well. Start getting your arms around the fact that the gifted Downs just may not be here. But that doesn't mean the cupboard is bare as everyone assumes the Bengals hunt their highest defensive draft pick since they took USC linebacker Keith Rivers No. 9 in 2008.
We're just walking through, remember? Who knows where the big boards are going to be in a month?
In this walkthrough, though, there's still an Ohio State playmaker available here in linebacker Sonny Styles, a 6-4, 237-pound sure-tackling former safety who gives the draft gurus the All-Pro Fred Warner chills. Heck, he's even got a top ten name.
The Bengals haven't drafted a defensive tackle in the first round in 32 years. Does Florida's Caleb Banks stop the streak? At a versatile 6-5, 330 pounds, PFF says he can play nose tackle, 3-technique, or a 3-4 defensive end in odd and even fronts.
The edges available could be Clemson's T.J. Parker with a big win percentage, and Auburn's Keldric Faulk, a 6-6, 270-pounder with a wingspan PFF says is above NFL average.
And, as the Bengals of the early 2010s who made it to six playoffs in seven years showed, there's nothing wrong with first-round cornerbacks. Even if you didn't draft them. Tennessee's Jermod McCoy is coming off an ACL tear and still looks to be the top cornerback prospect via many of the big boards. LSU's Mansoor Delane is smallish but is viewed as a top-flight man-to-man cover player.
Is there an offensive player there that eclipses it all? BPA? Best player available? Is Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq just too good to pass? Or Utah tackle Spencer Fano? Or USC wide receiver Makai Lemon, speaking of top ten names?
Just a walkthrough.
One thing we know. In this decade, more often than not, there's been a heck of a player available at No. 10. Bengals' fans know all too well about last year's No. 10, Bears tight end Colston Loveland, and one of his 58 catches.
His teammate, right tackle Darnell Wright, a second-team All-Pro, went No. 10 in 2023, and they're in the NFC Divisional. Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson was Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2022. Eagles wide receiver Devonta Smith is forever one of the second-best receivers in the Ja'Marr Chase 2021 Draft, which includes Nico Collins and Amon-Ra St. Brown. But 31 career touchdowns are nice. Injuries and inconsistency derailed Browns left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr., after a promising rookie year in 2020.
The big miss of the decade at No. 10 may end up being quarterback J.J. McCarthy, No. 10 in 2024, but a quarterback jury can be out a long time.
The last defensive player at No. 10? Irony squared. Michigan linebacker Devin Bush Jr., in 2019 when the Steelers traded up ahead of the Bengals because they thought Cincy would grab him. The Bengals still got the man they wanted at No. 11, Alabama tackle Jonah Williams. When Bush pulled off a 97-yard pick-six in the regular-season finale at Paycor Stadium for the Browns, he was working for his third team.
Just a walkthrough.
