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Bengals 2024
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Oz DRAFTING FOR THEBengals
Draft Selections
Draft Picks Received
Draft Picks Traded
Players Gained
Draft Grade — Bengals
Overall
B
ValueB-
NeedB
TradesA
FutureB-
The Bengals won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B. There is reaching, and then there is Hayden Hatten at Round 7, Pick 34. The Bengals jumped the board by 89 and dared it to prove them wrong. Good, not great, and the B says as much.
They robbed the room blind at the table, and it lifts the grade on its own. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped linebacker, which is a strange place to end up.
It is not that Smith is a bad player; it is that the Bengals had louder needs to answer first.
Good work on the whole, with linebacker the one box left unchecked.
Pick Analysis
Pick24
Rnd1
JC Latham
In the 24th overall pick they get a cornerstone up front. A real need, handled.
Pick49
Rnd2
Byron Murphy II
Good price on Byron Murphy II in No. 49, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Pick56
Rnd2
Jonathon Brooks
They paid up for Jonathon Brooks at the Round 2 slot when waiting would have done the job. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Pick90
Rnd3
Maason Smith
A want over a need in Round 3, Pick 27: Maason Smith adds a DT-EDGE while linebacker and quarterback keeps waiting.
Pick115
Rnd4
Khyree Jackson
Khyree Jackson in the 115th pick is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Pick123
Rnd4
Donovan Jackson
They paid sticker price for Donovan Jackson in pick 123, and that is fine. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Pick151
Rnd5
Ben Sinnott
They did well to land Ben Sinnott in slot 151, just ahead of his grade. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Pick173
Rnd5
Kitan Oladapo
Fair-plus on Kitan Oladapo, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
Pick196
Rnd6
Christian Jones
Christian Jones in the 196th pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Pick238
Rnd7
Matthew Jones
They reached into another round for Matthew Jones, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. The roster fit checks out.
Pick254
Rnd7
Hayden Hatten
Hayden Hatten in the Round 7 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.














