Paul Dehner Jr.

pdehnerjr@enquirer.com

Leading up to April 28 and the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft in Chicago, this is the third of four mock drafts projecting the Bengals' selections. This version includes trades for the first time and changes to both selections predicted from the last run. The final mock draft will come just before draft day with ideal selections from all seven Cincinnati picks.

Mock Draft 1.0

Mock Draft 2.0

1. Tennessee — OL Laremy Tunsil (Ole Miss): The Titans listen to offers and would prefer to trade back, but the cost of moving up for other teams proves too high, so they take Tunsil and solidify the line.

2. Cleveland — QB Carson Wentz (North Dakota St.): So many smokescreens surfacing as the draft draws closer. Hue Jackson just doesn’t want a team to hop him and take his quarterback. Wentz is the guy.

3. San Diego — DT DeForest Buckner (Oregon): The best defensive lineman in this draft meets a need for Chargers. Tough to pass on Ramsey, but trenches win games.

4. Dallas — DB Jalen Ramsey (Florida State): Cowboys snag the top player on their draft board and maybe the best player in this draft.

5. Jacksonville — LB Myles Jack (UCLA): Jack has future star written all over him. He can do everything on the football field to the point one GM reportedly called him a faster version of Ray Lewis.

6. Philadelphia (Mock trade from Baltimore 8 to 6) — QB Jared Goff (Cal): The Eagles need to solve the quarterback position long term and the Ravens happily drop a couple picks knowing they will still get one of their guys and add a pick.

7. New Orleans (Mock trade from San Francisco 12 to 7) — DE Joey Bosa (Ohio State): The Saints seize an opportunity to grab one of the best players in the draft without giving up near as much as anticipated.

8. Baltimore (Mock trade from Philadelphia from 6 to 8) — OL Ronnie Stanley (Notre Dame): One of the cleanest tackles in this draft lands to the Ravens, who need to solidify their line. .

9. Tampa Bay — DE Shaq Lawson (Clemson): Depth doesn’t exist as much with edge rushers in this draft, so the Bucs make a jump at Lawson in the top 10.

10. New York Giants — CB Vernon Hargreaves III (Florida): Giants spent free agency piling money into fixing the defense, they don’t stop here.

11. Chicago — RB Ezekiel Elliott (Ohio State): Matt Forte may be gone, but the Bears running game will be strong as ever with Elliott in the backfield. Most believe he’ll be gone, but even a talent like Elliott slips because of the devaluing of the position.

12. San Francisco (Mock trade from Chicago 7 to 12) — DT Sheldon Rankins (Louisville): Not a bad consolation prize to getting bamboozled on the quarterback to move back and land a top defensive tackle.

13. Miami — LB Darron Lee (Ohio State): Lee makes it three Buckeyes in seven picks, bringing speed to the Dolphins' linebacking group.

14. New York Jets (Mock trade from Oakland 20 to 14) — QB Paxton Lynch (Memphis): The Jets need a quarterback and come to the reality that letting the Rams pick at 15 could jeopardize grabbing Lynch - so they pull a deal with Oakland.

15. LA Rams — WR LaQuon Treadwell (Ole Miss): Think the Rams snag Lynch if he’s here, but if not adding Treadwell makes the most sense.

16. Detroit — DL Jarran Reed (Alabama): One of the top run stoppers in the draft and the latest attempt to replace Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley.

17. Atlanta — LB Leonard Floyd (Georgia): Floyd takes a quick trip from Athens to Atlanta to help out the Falcons' defense looking for playmakers.

18. Indianapolis — OT Jack Conklin (Michigan State): The Colts will take all of your offensive linemen. Anybody who can block a soul report to Lucas Oil Stadium.

19. Buffalo — DL A’Shawn Robinson (Alabama): Rex Ryan almost never passes on quality defensive linemen.

20. Oakland (Mock trade from Jets 14 to 20)— CB William Jackson III (Houston): With Hargreaves off the board, they move back, knowing they want a corner and Jackson fits nicely here. Would probably attempt another trade back.

21. Washington — LB Reggie Ragland (Alabama): The Redskins feel lucky with Ragland falling to them here. Give Andrew Billings a thought, but instead opt for the top value.

22. Houston — WR Josh Doctson (TCU): Previously mocked to the Bengals, the closer it gets, the more him slipping to 24 feels like a reach. Doctson’s just too good with the ball in the air and ready to contribute immediately to keep sliding.

23. Minnesota — WR Corey Coleman (Baylor): Mike Zimmer seems to repeatedly find ways into the same cookie jars as the Bengals. Such will be the case as they also search for WR help.

24. Green Bay (Mock trade with Cincinnati 27 to 24) — DT Andrew Billings (Baylor): The Packers want their defensive tackle and move up to assure it happens with Billings among the last of the coveted first-round big boys. Packers cough up a fourth (125 overall) and a sixth (200) to move up. Green Bay already owns two compensatory picks at the end of the fourth so it’s not a costly price for them.

25. Pittsburgh — CB Eli Apple (Ohio State): Steelers need corner help in a big way and happily snag the Buckeyes’ corner.

26. Seattle — OL Taylor Decker (Ohio State): Seahawks can’t believe their eyes when an immediate upgrade to their offensive line somehow drops in their laps.

27. Cincinnati (Mock trade with Seattle 24 to 27): WR Michael Thomas (Ohio State): Many argue Thomas to be the most NFL ready of all of the receivers in this draft. Production suffered slightly due to quarterback dynamics last year with the Buckeyes, but few doubt his polished route-running, slick moves after the catch and sure hands. Thomas only dropped five passes the last two seasons for the Buckeyes, according to Pro Football Focus.

If Doctson were available at 24, I’d make him the pick, but increasingly it seems that won’t be the case. Certainly if Coleman and Treadwell are also gone, the desire to move back and select Thomas comes into play.

Sure, the Bengals could just take him at 24 but why not add a couple of picks later in the draft when a team comes calling for the first-round defensive tackles or maybe Paxton Lynch if he slides down the board. Mike Brown hasn’t traded up in the first round since Ki-Jana Carter in 1995, but has shown willingness to move back and collect picks if the opportunity presents. This would be the time. If somebody were to surprisingly snag Thomas in front of them, a beastly defensive tackle like Vernon Butler of Louisiana Tech would likely be available, a pass rusher such as defensive end Kevin Dodd of Clemson or even go hyper-local with Lakota West and Alabama center Ryan Kelly.

Will Fuller was available at 24 and in this scenario also would be later in the round. Despite his 4.32 speed, I can’t see the Bengals bringing in a player with as many drops as the Notre Dame wideout endured. They need reliability to move the chains more than anything opposite A.J. Green.

Thomas would enter immediately, slip into the rotation of top receivers alongside veteran Brandon LaFell and help the Bengals forget about the departure of Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu.

28. Kansas City — S Vonn Bell (Ohio State): And you get an Ohio State player! And you get an Ohio State player!

29. Arizona — C Ryan Kelly (Alabama): The product of Lakota West lands in front of Carson Palmer, who he watched play in Cincinnati while in high school.

30. Carolina — CB Mackensie Alexander (Clemson): The Dolphins need a corner for defensive coordinator Vance Joseph to mold opposite newly-acquired Byron Maxwell.

31. Denver — DT Robert Nkemdiche (Ole Miss): Broncos take a chance on the raw talent in refilling the defense torn up by free agency.

55. Cincinnati — DT Kenny Clark (UCLA): One of the top defensive tackles in this draft will tumble to the Bengals. At some point, the depth at this position of need going forward should play perfectly into the hands of Marvin Lewis and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther. Adding a player who can sneak into the rotation this year and take over for Domata Peko next year would be ideal. Peko is 32 and entering the final year of his contract.

Clark plays like a Peko clone minus the hair. He’s a thick run stopper, who could move up and down the line plugging gaps in the same mold. Plus, he played multiple positions on the line at UCLA, another trait popular with the Bengals’ staff.

Clark may not end up being the guy, but among a group of Vernon Butler (La. Tech), Adolphus Washington (Ohio State), Austin Johnson (Penn State), Chris Jones (Mississippi State) and others at the top of this defensive tackle class, somebody will bring depth and future run-stopping to the Cincinnati line in Round 2. You can throw edge rushers Emmanuel Ogbah (Oklahoma State), Kevin Dodd (Clemson) and Jonathan Bullard (Florida) into the mix of those the Bengals would love to see slide down the board.