Bengals head coach Zac Taylor went out of his way not to mock the NFL's mock draft, but he also made it clear Tuesday his team had nothing to do with the opening glitch.
"I think it just started out with a little hiccup. It was nothing on our end. I can assure you of that," said Taylor in his pre-draft Zoom news conference. "From there it went smooth. Two full rounds. It looked like it was pretty clean."
_Monday's mock draft run by the league to iron out the kinks associated with its first virtual draft started out with the Bengals trading down with the Cowboys at No. 16 even though Dallas picks No. 17.
"They were trying to get all 32 teams involved in the first 16 picks," Taylor said.
_It would be a stunner if the Bengals really traded the first pick Thursday night, but Taylor was pretty mum even though the Bengals are about 50 hours from what everybody excepts to be a selection of LSU quarterback Joe Burrow.
"I wouldn't speculate on how it will take place until that day unfolds and we can really see what the action is," Taylor said of trading No. 33 at the top of the second round. "It's fun to guess at what we would do and what's next to pop up. Until they do, we just proceed with our plans. We'll have conversations over the course of the day who that player will be and if things pop up, we'll have that conversation and take the best route available."
_In the wake of several off-season conversations with quarterback Andy Dalton, Taylor didn't rule out Dalton returning despite what looks to be the imminent addition of Burrow.
"There's really good respect between the two of us," said Taylor, reiterating all options are on the table. "We're going to make sure we make the best decision for the organization. We've got time to make those decision. He's still on the roster. That goes to show you anything is possible."
