Bobby Hart and C.J. Uzomah will be back in the fold for the Cincinnati Bengals next season and beyond after word about their respective extensions broke Monday.
And it means rethinking how the Bengals might act in the 2019 NFL draft.
Love or hate the move, Hart’s $21 million extension suggests he’s the starter at right tackle moving forward, unless the Bengals really, really value the swing-tackle backup more than anyone could have guessed.
Meaning, the Bengals aren’t likely to be taking a first-round tackle.
Take tight end off the board too, as Uzomah’s $18 million over three years points to his ascending to top tight end on the depth chart, barring another prove-it deal for Tyler Eifert.
Clutching the 11th pick, the Bengals knocked out two needs and figure to have linebacker, cornerback (pending Darqueze Dennard’s future) and maybe quarterback or pass rusher as the prominent needs.
Of course, the Bengals should take best-player-available instead of need so early. A need-based approach has seemed to crush the Bengals lately on guys like Cedric Ogbuehi and John Ross, at least for now with the latter.
But this is a general outlook and it’s clear the Bengals like Hart and Uzomah enough to dish out big contracts and ride them for now. If the goal was shoring up needs to keep the drafting process opened ended early on, consider it mission accomplished, no matter how controversial the price.
