Since the days of Marvin Lewis, the Cincinnati Bengals have arguably put more weight on the cornerback position than any team in football. Since 2006, the team has selected a defensive back in the first round six times at an astounding rate of 35%. On top of that, in the past two years, Cincinnati has selected cornerbacks in the second round and a safety in the third round this past season. Clearly, Duke Tobin and the team’s personnel department put heavy emphasis on passing defense in the modern game. Will the team follow trend a select another defensive back this year?
Bengals Anticipated to Draft a Cornerback in the Third Round of the 2024 NFL Draft
In a recent commentary, I anticipated that Cincinnati would address arguably the weakest position on their team and select a tight end in the third round of the draft this offseason. While I still believe that is possible, after analyzing how strong the trend is in Cincinnati to draft defensive backs, I have reconsidered and taken a deeper look at who the team will draft in the third round.
After an in depth analysis of the teams basic needs as well as the salary cap situation, I anticipate Cincinnati to select cornerback Mike Sainristil out of the University of Michigan in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Sainristil is a ball hawking corner who forced 8 turnovers during his Senior season with the Wolverines. While he doesn’t show elite speed or press cover skills, he shows excellent quickness and ability to mirror receivers at the line of scrimmage. After my analysis, Sainristil likely projects as a slot corner in the NFL where he can excel at covering the quick routes but avoiding some of the deeper shots down the field.
Unfortunately for Cincinnati, Sainristil will likely be the long-term replacement for star slot corner Mike Hilton. While Hilton put in another solid season last year as the nickel corner, his team friendly $6 million per year contract is up after this season and it will be difficult for the team to rationalize signing a 30-year old corner to a high profile extension. The team will already be letting former starting outside cornerback Chidobe Awuzie leave this offseason and Hilton will likely be another cap casualty.
While it would be difficult to let Hilton walk, the team is better off drafting a player to take his spot now rather than waiting for him to leave and being forced to panic for an overpriced free agent or start a rookie. Sainristil’s interception total also fits in perfectly with the defensive strategy that defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo wants to focus on.
Unfortunately for Hilton, there is actually an idea growing that the team could cut him this offseason due to his small dead cap hit and save $5 million against the cap. However, given the fact that Hilton has been one of the better slot corners in the NFL over the past several seasons, the $6 million per year contract that they currently have him on is an incredible bargain for Cincinnati. For the team to release him would be releasing one of their best assets for next season.
Although I think Hilton is a huge asset on the team, I believe that the team should constantly be looking for ways to save money against the cap. When you have a team with as much star power as Cincinnati, the strategy to extend the Super Bowl window with an elite quarterback should focus on two words in free agency: Younger and Cheaper. The team will still need to maintain their core group of superstars but veteran role players like Hilton will unfortunate be tossed aside to save for big name talent.
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