CINCINNATI -- Given the high-profile free-agent departures of Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu, the Cincinnati Bengals are expected to address their receiver depth in this month's draft.
But do they have to address it in the first round?
Many mock drafts say yes. But last year's unexpected selections of back-to-back offensive tackles (one of whom was rehabbing from an ACL injury) were a good reminder that the Bengals don't make their Round 1 and Round 2 picks based on what outsiders think.
So perhaps our suggestion that the Bengals should make safety Karl Joseph (West Virginia) a first-round pick would get laughed at by team decision-makers.
Then again, maybe not. He's reportedly making a pre-draft visit to Cincinnati. But that isn't the only reason that drafting him early might not be such a farfetched idea.
First, let's meet Joseph.
The All-Big 12 safety starred for four years at West Virginia. He's currently rehabbing from an ACL tear, an injury he suffered in a noncontact practice drill last October. In his last game before the injury, a 20-point rout of the Mountaineers by Oklahoma, Joseph had five tackles, a sack and an interception. He only appeared in four games as a senior, recording 20 tackles and picking off five passes, including three in the opener against Georgia Southern. It was the start of what appeared to be a promising season.
Joseph is considered a high-energy player with a passion for football. He seems to be a real student of the game, too. Just check out this interview from the combine -- where he didn't compete in any drills because of his injury -- with former NFL defensive back and current NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders.
While some draft analysts may have a second-round grade on Joseph, others think he could sneak into the first round, depending upon how teams feel about his knee. ESPN's Louis Riddick is in the latter camp, anticipating that Joseph will go somewhere between picks 21 and 31.
Riddick included Joseph in a column Tuesday that highlighted his favorite prospects from this draft class. Headlining the list was UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, who Riddick calls a top-five pick. Joseph, once said to be a Day 3 selection, was right there in the mix.
So why might the Bengals go against the receiver grain and pick Joseph with the 24th overall pick?
Well, because they need safeties. The team still hasn't announced a free-agency signing for Taylor Mays, meaning their official safety depth chart only shows three players: George Iloka, Shawn Williams and Derron Smith. Iloka and Williams will be the primary safeties in base and nickel packages, but they need more than just Smith behind them. It's also worth pointing out that Williams is entering the final year of his contract.
Riddick and others have raved about Joseph's hard-hitting ability and ball-hawking athleticism. They're very much the same traits that veteran Reggie Nelson exhibited before moving on and signing with the Oakland Raiders in free agency.
Maybe the first round is too high to draft a safety, particularly one with injury concerns. But as the Bengals have recently proven, they are anything but conventional when it comes to the first day of the draft.
