2013 NFL mock draft: Cincinnati Bengals select...

The Bengals are on the clock. The war room is in the midst of heated arguments because so many talented players are still within their reach. So many players that could possibly impact the team for years to come. Like always there are players I had hoped would fall just a little further to the Bengals. The Bengals are a good football team, in one of the toughest divisions in football right now (AFC North). The season comes to an end with a 10-6 record. The team has to sit back and watch the Ravens of Baltimore become the new Champions of the World. The Bengals have a lot of talent to compete with the Ravens, Steelers, and Browns, but I think they have even more holes to fill than our Chiefs with the No. 1 pick.

Needs

The Bengals have needs all over the field starting with linebacker. The team has spoken with guys like James Harrison and Karlos Dansby, but neither have signed yet.

The Bengals need a RB to complement Green-Ellis.

There's a need at cornerback. Pacman and Terence Newman have been re-signed to short term deals and have been reliable, but they have not played to the level they once had in there prime.

A dependable safety to play the middle of the field as Taylor Mays has been a very un reliable bust so far. The team played Nate Clements as the safety when they lost hope in Mays, and he played fairly well considering sliding over to safety. Clements will prolly stay in that position considering he turns 34 this season.

They need to re-sign Andre Smith at RT or find another RT to replace Smith.

The team needs to find someone who can play Center as Jeff Fain, and Kyle Cook struggled to put quality performances on the field.

Dalton could use a very good to elite WR to match up with A.J. Green. Mohamed Sanu could very well be that guy, but the team needs to look for another guy or add quality depth to the position at the very least.

Options

There are so many option still available that could fill any one of those needs. My original choice was going to be Alec Ogletree, but as you may have read, Everest selected him to the Bears one pick prior to mine.

Manti Te'o could solidify the ILB position next to Vontaze Burfict and the re-signed Rey Maualuga could slide to OLB after maybe the worst season of any MLB last season.

Eddie Lacy could split carries with Green-Ellis as the depth past him is very unreliable, and Green-Ellis just is not as explosive as he is reliable in short downs and ball possession.

Cordarrelle Patterson or Justin Hunter could help take the double teams away from A.J. Green, and make the passing game really open up for Andy Dalton. This would also stretch the field for Green-Ellis and another Back that should be selected at some point in the draft if they pass early.

Jonathan Cyprien could help solidify the middle of the field and slide Nate Clements into the slot and add depth at the CB/S positions.

D.J. Fluker or Menelik Watson could slide in and help at the LT or RT positions and build on protecting Dalton.

Xavier Rhodes or Desmond Trufant could step in day 1 and upgrade the CB positions on this team and make an impact.

Selection

After arguing for hours with all the personalities in my War Room (my head) we narrowed the pick down to a group of players.

• Justin Hunter

• Cordarrelle Patterson

• Jonathan Cyprien

• Manti Te'o

• Desmond Trufant

• Xavier Rhodes

With the 21st pick of the 2013 NFL Draft: The Cincinnati Bengals Select...

Desmond Trufant, CB, Washington

For me It really came down to improving the defense first to compete with the teams in their division. You have to compete in the division to compete in the playoffs. Some may disagree and say Rhodes should have been the pick but I really had to look at a number of things between the two. The production was very similar. The both have good height at the CB position. I like Rhodes extra inch and a half over Trufant, but Trufant posses better athletic skills along with good length to play the position.

Trufant never had any significant injuries in the 50 games he appeared in, while starting in 47 of those games.

Rhodes had a season ending thumb injury in 2007 that required surgery, hindered by a hip pointer in 2010, had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee after the Champs Sports Bowl, but did stay healthy for all of the 2012 season.

Trufant is the brother of Marcus Trufant of the Seattle Seahawks, and Isaiah Trufant who played with the Jets after being a part of teams in the AFL, & UFL. So he understands what it takes to make it in the NFL after watching his brothers work there way into the league. Has supposedly had some of the best interviews in the draft according to Kiper.

Rhodes has played better in run support and they both have struggled to display the ball skills it takes to consistently make the interception when hit in the hands.

Trufant has the quicker feet and smoother hip transitions and change of direction. Stays in balance all the time. Struggles in press coverage, but most young CB's normally do. Has that extra gear you look for when watching a player run guys down. Has the ability to learn and play both man and zone coverage. Is a good open field tackler but struggles to get off blocks at times. He understands offenses and is able to recognize and diagnose plays. Very Confident, likes to bait QB's. Shows good awareness to come off his assignment and make plays when he reads the QB's eyes.

I think Xavier Rhodes can be a very good player in the league, but I feel Trufant brings more to the table ability wise and has a much much higher ceiling.

Round 2

The Bengals of Cincinnati have two picks in the second round. The early second that got from the Raiders in the Palmer trade, and their late second. This puts them in great position to make their football team a lot better. Since I am currently the GM and we are not doing a second round mock this year. I would select Jonathan Cyprien if he's there still, Te'o, if he falls past the Ravens, Arthur Brown or Montee Ball to go with Green-Ellis. With the second selection in the second round, Justin Hunter or Shamarko Thomas.

No matter what the Bengals do, they are in a position with three picks in in the top 53 picks(21,37,53) to get a lot better in this draft. With the Ravens seeming to be going in reverse, the struggling Browns offense, and the ageing Steelers. The Bengals could very likely finally take over the AFC North for the next few years or so.

AP draft order:

1. Kansas City (R2J_24) - Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M, LT
2. Jacksonville - GenericBrand - Geno Smith, West Virginia, QB
3. Oakland - mushin - Sharrif Floyd, Florida, DT
4. Philadelphia - ex-qb13 - Dee Milliner, Alabama, CB
5. Detroit - Ben Martin - Eric Fisher, Central Michigan, OT
6. Cleveland - The Dank Dank - Dion Jordan, Oregon, DE/LB
7. Arizona - SillyHatDay - Matt Barkley, USC, QB
8. Buffalo - ArrowDread - Keenan Allen, Cal, WR
9. New York Jets - MtHammer - Chance Warmack, Alabama, G
10. Tennessee - ejr58 - Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina, G
11. San Diego - Chief TigerGator - Star Lotulelei, Utah, DT
12. Miami - cmac87 - Lane Johnson, Oklahoma, OT
13. Tampa Bay - NigerianNightmare - Sheldon Richardson, Missouri, DT
14. Carolina - citadelchief - Kenny Vaccaro, Texas, S
15. New Orleans - craig in calgary - Barkevious Mingo, LSU, DE
16. St. Louis - KVin2 - Tavon Austin, West Virginia, WR
17. Pittsburgh -ChiefMojo - Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah, BYU, DE/LB
18. Dallas - iamthegreatest - Bjoern Werner, Florida State, DE
19. New York Giants - Topchief1 - Jarvis Jones, Georgia, LB
20. Chicago - Everest - Alec Ogletree, Georgia, LB
21. Cincinnati - Akr_Baby - Desmond Trufant, Washington, CB
22. St. Louis from Washington - KVin2
23. Minnesota - YoungAnalyst
24. Indianapolis - saskwatch
25. Minnesota from Seattle - YoungAnalyst
26. Green Bay - nateforchiefs
27. Houston - RhodyChief
28. Denver - ravenhawk
29. New England - BeeRadd
30. Atlanta - bradelli58
31. San Francisco - How to: Sabotage
32. Baltimore - Ben S