In the blink of an eye, the 2020 NFL Draft has officially closed and the Cincinnati Bengals have their quarterback of the future in Joe Burrow. So what better way to end the 2020 draft cycle than by jumping right into the 2021 cycle?
Pro Football Network has already unleashed their Mock Draft Simulator for next year’s draft in Cleveland. Now don’t freak out, but the simulator currently has the Bengals selecting at No. 2 overall. That’s because the draft order is based on the latest Super Bowl odds from Las Vegas. The Bengals are mixed in with the Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 1) and the Washington Redskins (No. 3).
The good news about this is we can have our pick of the litter from a bevy of excellent prospects since the Bengals only have one team picking in front of them and we can already pencil in Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence as the selection, in this case to the Jaguars. Also keep in the mind the draft order here will change as the odds change. The Bengals may have a lower pick by next week. So let’s just have fun with this, shall we?
So what could an extremely early 2021 draft look like for the Bengals? Let’s jump in.
No. 2 – Gregory Rousseau, Edge, Miami (FL)
Chase Young was the prized edge defender in the 2020 class. The early thoughts for 2021 is that honor currently resides at The U. Rousseau is a converted wide receiver/safety. He was rated the 15th-best athlete by Rivals coming out of high school. Since then, he’s bulked up and produced an absolutely phenomenal season in 2019 for the Hurricanes with an incredible 19.5 tackles for a loss and 15.5 sacks in 13 games, his first full season with Miami after redshirting in 2018 after an ankle injury ended his season after just two games.
The Bengals added some edge help in the 2020 draft with Khalid Kareem. But the thought of Rousseau with Carlos Dunlap and Sam Hubbard is downright scary. Which of course means it probably won’t happen, partly because the Bengals may not be picking this high come next April. But that’s the beauty of a mock draft literally almost 365 days before it happens.
Other names to watch this high would be LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase, Oregon OT Penei Sewell, Alabama CB Patrick Surtain, Ohio State CB Shaun Wade and Penn State LB Micah Parsons, just to name a few.
No. 34 – Tamorrion Terry, WR, Florida State
Terry overcame pretty poor quarterback play in 2019 from James Blackman and still posted almost 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns. A.J. Green may not be in Cincinnati in 2021 and the Bengals showed they’re going to find weapons for Joe Burrow. A passing combination of Burrow, Terry and Tee Higgins could be quite a fascinating one for many years. Another possible wide receiver could be Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman.
No. 66 – Mustafa Johnson, DT, Colorado
Johnson was an All-Pac-12 First Team selection in 2018. He recorded 16.5 tackles for a loss and 8.5 sacks that year. Injuries limited him to eight games in 2019 but he still had four sacks. He would work in behind Geno Atkins (who is starting to get up in age) among the defensive tackle rotation. Oh, and the guy he is trying to model his game after? None other than Aaron Donald.
No. 98 – Caleb Farley, CB, Virginia Tech
First-Team All-ACC selection in 2019 who led the league in passes defended with 16. William Jackson is set to become a free agent after 2020 and Mackensie Alexander only signed for one year so the team may be in the market again for a cornerback and Farley is starting to grow into a very reliable one, as he also recorded four interceptions and 12 pass breakups in 2019.
No. 130 – Journey Brown, RB, Penn State
Brown is certainly no Saquon Barkley, but this kid can scoot. We watched Brown help carry the Penn State offense, especially in the shootout against Memphis in the Cotton Bowl to the tune of 202 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. He won’t be the feature back, as Noah Cain will also earn plenty of carries, but that just means there won’t be as much wear and tear when Brown comes into the NFL.
While Joe Mixon is in a contract year, it’s certainly likely he re-signs. However, we can’t rule out this year being the last for Gio Bernard. The team can save over $4 million in cap space by releasing him next offseason.
No. 162 – Marquis Hayes, OG, Oklahoma
Hayes is part of what will be a really good-looking Oklahoma offensive line returning in 2020 and Hayes was a solid force at left guard in 2019. He was a four-star recruit by Rivals and ESPN and a top-four offensive guard recruit in high school. ESPN ranked him among the top 40 offensive tackles in the country out of high school. The size here gives you some upside at 6’5″ and over 310 pounds. He’ll be an interesting name to watch during the 2020 season.
No. 194 – Paddy Fisher, LB, Northwestern
This feels like a steal, even with the disappointing season Fisher had in 2019. Once upon a time, Fisher had first-round buzz. Unfortunately, he’s yet to take that big leap forward. In fact, he arguably took a step backwards in 2019. 2020 is his year to show he can climb back into top-tier linebacker. I fully expect him to go higher than this spot when we actually get to the 2021 draft.
