Here’s a common theme for 2020 NFL mock drafts — the Cincinnati Bengals pick early and go after an Andy Dalton replacement.
Most mocks, even dating back to before the season kicked off, tabbed the Bengals as targeting Justin Herbert of the Oregon Ducks or Tua Tagovailoa of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
That continues three games in with the Bengals sitting at 0-3.
Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling has the Bengals getting Herbert at No. 5. He’s enjoying another strong season for the 3-1 Ducks, completing 74.4 percent of his passes with 14 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Josh Edwards of CBS Sports leans Tagovailoa for the Bengals at No. 3:
In all likelihood, the No. 1 overall selection will be a quarterback. If the Dolphins elect to bypass the position, they are going to charge a king’s ransom for another team’s right to move up. Tagovailoa has great accuracy, poise and leadership. Andy Dalton’s replacement could be the Hawaii native rather than Ryan Finley.
As the leader of the 5-0 Crimson Tide, Tagovailoa looks improved this season and has completed 76.4 percent of his passes with 23 touchdowns against no interceptions.
Coming out of a rough loss to Buffalo where Dalton looked erratic and made a few key errors, it isn’t hard to see why the mocks narrative continues to be quarterback for the Bengals. Dalton is only under contract through 2020, playing with a new head coach and had the front office confirm they wouldn’t extend him this past offseason.
If Dalton doesn’t find a strong rapport with the new coaching staff as the season continues, he might not get an extension next offseason either, which would only fuel the Herbert or Tagovailoa hype.
