Elite playmaker named 'perfect prospect' for Bengals

With the 2023 regular season coming to a close in less than a week, Pro Football Focus revealed who it believes is the "perfect prospect" for the Bengals (8-8), who would surely make QB Joe Burrow happy if they're able to draft him.

PFF's Trevor Sikkema named Georgia TE Brock Bowers the perfect prospect for Cincinnati.

"The Bengals lack tight end production — 28th in team tight end receiving grade and 23rd in team tight end receiving yards," Sikkema writes. "Getting their hands on a player of Bowers' caliber ... would be perfect."

Bowers has played at an elite level for the past three years, posting 175 catches for 2,538 yards and 26 touchdowns. He would certainly make the Bengals offense even more dangerous, but there is a problem.

Cincinnati would have picked No. 16 in the 2024 NFL Draft if the season were to end today and Bowers is projected to go much higher than that.

The Georgia product currently ranks as PFF's best tight end and the No. 6 overall prospect on its big board. That means if the Bengals are seriously interested in adding the 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end, it would likely take a trade-up in the first round to acquire him.

The team does have a clear need at tight end after the addition of veteran TE Irv Smith Jr. hasn't worked out, to say the least. Smith Jr. has just 18 catches for 115 yards and one touchdown on the year.

Tanner Hudson has been Cincinnati's most reliable tight end as of late as he leads the group in receptions (37) and yards (341), but he isn't the long-term answer at the position either. Bowers, on the other hand, would be.

The Bengals already have a difficult decision to make this offseason regarding WR Tee Higgins' future with the team. If they are unable to agree on a contract extension, a trade-up for another elite playmaker such as Bowers could become more likely.