The early returns on the 2020 NFL mock drafts have been quick to dish Andy Dalton replacements to the Cincinanti Bengals.
And that trend isn’t going to stop.
The Bengals have a new head coach, and the team’s owner has confirmed 2019 is something of a prove-it year for Dalton. If things go awry and with no guaranteed money owed to Dalton, the connect-the-dots game isn’t hard to figure out.
Thor Nystrom of Rotoworld is the latest to link the Bengals to a top passer, having them pick seventh overall and landing Oregon’s Justin Herbert:
Herbert’s size and athleticism are ideal, and when he’s on, he fires made-to-order bullets all over the field — no matter who he’s playing (the reason this isn’t a Drew Lock situation). But when he’s off, he’s downright bad. We need Good Justin to show up 11-12 times in 2019.
Consistency has been one of the criticisms chasing the 6-foot-6 passer around, which might in part explain why he decided to return to school. But he’s deadly when in a rhythm and has all the traits teams seek in a first-round quarterback, so he wouldn’t have had a problem coming off the board in the first 32 picks.
Provided Herbert doesn’t implode next year, the Bengals might be considering him when the time comes. They passed on signal-callers this year but might not have the luxury of doing so again next offseason.
