Bengals snag major steal in latest mock draft

It's officially mock draft season after the 2023 season came to an end on Sunday night. Between now and the 2024 NFL Draft on April 25, the "experts" will try to predict who will land where.

Pro Football Focus' Trevor Sikkema released his post-Super Bowl LVIII mock draft and has the Bengals landing one of the biggest steals of the draft.

With pick No. 18 in the first round, Sikkema has Cincinnati selecting Georgia tight end Brock Bowers.

"Bowers' stock is all over the place. Some have him going No. 5 to the Chargers, while others have him dropping to the end of the top 20," Sikkema writes. "Still, the Georgia product is one of the best receiving tight ends we've seen come through."

If the Bengals were able to land Bowers, it would be a classic case of the rich getting richer. He has posted 175 catches for 2,538 yards and 26 touchdowns from 2021-23.

Cincinnati will likely need to add another playmaker as wide receivers Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are both set to become free agents this offseason. Even if both returned in 2024, the team would still be smart to add Bowers if he were to fall.

The Bengals tight ends combined for just 686 yards and four touchdowns in 2023. Bowers, who ranks as PFF's best tight end and No. 6 overall prospect on its big board, would make QB Joe Burrow a very happy man.

There is an argument for Bowers to fall in the draft. Other positions may be valued more, and the league may be more cautious about first-round tight ends after seeing how Kyle Pitts' tenure with the Falcons has played out thus far.

Pitts, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, has just 81 catches for 1,023 yards and five touchdowns over that past two years.

Nonetheless, Cincinnati isn't picking that high in the draft. So, taking a player of Bowers' caliber at No. 18 is much more excusable if it doesn't work out. But that seems unlikely after a dominant collegiate career with Georgia.