The Cincinnati Bengals could always get trade happy during the 2020 NFL draft.
Call it a luxury of having the first pick in every round. Doing so would also align well with the sudden aggressiveness the team displayed in free agency.
If not draft picks on the move, perhaps players. The following players are trade candidates at a position of excess that might generate interest with other teams.
Alex Erickson
Erickson is the sort of player another team would pay up nicely for during the chaos of the draft.
A reliable presence whenever he’s on the field and solid on special teams, the Bengals hit Erickson with a two-year extension for a reason. But the Bengals have added Mike Thomas to an already-deep wideout roster and could end up taking one pretty high in the draft if the value is right as a way to secure the long-term depth chart.
Giovani Bernard
The Bengals love Bernard. Really, everyone loves Bernard.
But one could argue the front office paid up too much when giving him a two-year extension worth $9.7 million. The market for backs keeps shifting and it’s looking like a bad deal for a guy who doesn’t see a ton of usage.
Consider this — the Bengals need to pay up dearly to prevent a Joe Mixon holdout. They also just added Jacques Patrick on a three-year pact.
Another team wouldn’t mind paying Bernard this cash while using him more.
Mason Schreck
Schreck is a guy the Bengals have had trade calls on in the past. He’s a solid special-teams presence and there is always some untapped potential there in base looks.
With Cethan Carter back on a restricted deal, C.J. Uzomah a staple of the room and a second-round price tag invested in Drew Sample, there might not be much room for Schreck to contribute. Also keep in mind the team could always draft another at the position.
While Schreck might not generate the biggest return, he’s someone to keep in mind.
Shawn Williams
Will the remake of the secondary continue?
The Bengals added Mackensie Alexander, Trae Waynes and Vonn Bell, which isn’t meant to undersell the arrival of Tony Brown, Leshaun Sims or Winston Rose either. Dre Kirkpatrick is gone too.
Where that leaves Williams is hard to say. He’s a warrior the team loves for culture purposes, but he also isn’t cheap and might not have the biggest role. Some team out there would like him for a schematic fit.
Andy Dalton
If Dalton isn’t willing to come down on that $17 million pricetag to serve as a mentor to Joe Burrow the Bengals probably can’t afford to keep him.
Which is just fine — some team is bound to panic during the draft and go on the hunt for a quality veteran presence. Granted, the Bengals are still technically competing for attention with free agents Cam Newton and Jameis Winston too, but Dalton has been steadier and more readily available than both. He’s also merely a one-year rental and perhaps the Bengals could agree to eat some of his 2020 salary.
No matter what happens, Dalton is one of the league’s most outright obvious trade candidates during the draft. As nice as it would be to have him guiding along Burrow, it might be nicer in the long run to get a noteworthy asset and put it to use helping the roster elsewhere.
“Do you hate this? Love it? Want to share your thoughts on this article? Sound off in the Bengals Wire forum!”
.png?w=600)
