Bengals 2021 NFL Draft primer as protecting Joe Burrow the priority

Team needs entering 2021 NFL Draft

It’s been long rumored that the Bengals will target left tackle Penei Sewell at pick five if available because of Burrow’s injury and the Bengals offensive line being rather porous but I can see a world in which they go another route entirely. The Bengals reportedly spoke with the San Francisco 49ers about trading down with them in round one before the 49ers ultimately decided to move up for the third overall pick. This tells me that the Bengals aren’t necessarily wowed enough at this stage of the process with any one prospect to the point where they wouldn’t even field calls for a possible trade down.

While I want the Bengals to potentially trade down for a haul, I am operating under the assumption that they stay put at pick five. Even with Jonah Williams going into year three in the NFL, year two of playing and signing Riley Reiff, they still very easily could go tackle at five and move one of Williams or Reiff to play guard.

If tackle isn’t the route the Cincinnati Bengals decided to go they very easily could pivot to wide receiver in round one or two. The Bengals have two solid wideouts on the roster in Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd but will look to replace AJ Green on the outside opposite of Higgins. The Bengals’ last two first round wide receivers they drafted were AJ Green and John Ross which had drastically different outcomes. Don’t be surprised if the Bengals draft two wide receivers in this 2021 NFL Draft.

Another major need for the Bengals to address this 2021 NFL Draft is interior offensive line. If tackle is an option in round one then that means there are three starting tackles on the roster, one of whom will have to move inside leaving one guard spot open. This draft has a decent amount of day two interior offensive lineman prospects that could come in and make a day one impact for the Bengals.