Bengals 2022 NFL Combine – Thursday Notes

After a (typically) uneventful first couple days at the NFL Combine, we saw prospects take the field and run drills on Wednesday. More precisely, we saw quarterbacks, wide receivers, and tight ends run drills including the 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, and broad jump, among others. Unless they didn’t – several players opted out of drills, due to injury or whatever other reason. A record was broken, until it officially wasn’t hours later. Half the experience of following the day was watching 40-yard dash times move substantially long after the drills were run – which, sure, is the point of calling these times unofficial, but the margin of error was striking regardless.

Nevertheless, the numbers at this point are official (unless they’re not). How will they impact the Bengals’ offseason plans?

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Quarterbacks

On-field drills don’t move the needle for quarterbacks the way they do for most other positions, but eye-popping numbers from them are still eye-popping. Of the 15 quarterbacks invited to the Combine, only 8 ran the 40-yard dash. Desmond Ridder from Cincinnati ran an eye-popping 4.50, which was later adjusted to a 4.52 that still comfortably led the class. He also led the quarterback group in the vertical jump (36.00″) and the broad jump (10’7″) drills. Ridder didn’t post numbers for the bench press, but neither did any other quarterback.

What does this mean for the Bengals, who are more than set at quarterback with Joe Burrow in the house? Nothing directly, but the drills alongside a reportedly strong showing in interviews certainly bolstered Ridder’s draft stock. It feels increasingly likely that Ridder finds his way off the board by the Bengals’ second-round pick, at least.

Behind Ridder, coming in second and third place among quarterbacks in each of the three drills were EJ Perry from Brown and Kenny Pickett from Pittsburgh, respectively. Pickett entered the day with questions about his hand size that were answered early on – they measured 8.5 inches, which officially ranked them among the smallest hands of any quarterback to enter the draft in recent memory. It’s a mark that some find significant, but very few seemed to find surprising. Pickett hasn’t kept his tiny hands a secret – he wore gloves when throwing at the Combine as he did throughout his senior season. However many teams care, enough evidently don’t that he’ll be a high draft pick regardless.

Receivers

Even after accounting for the official times being far slower, the 40-yard dash numbers posted by this year’s group of receivers were blazing fast. Tyquan Thornton from Baylor led the group with an official 4.28 (after initially going viral for an unofficial 4.21 that would’ve broken the record set by John Ross III in 2017). Seven more receivers posted times in the 4.30’s, including Ohio State receivers Garrett Wilson (4.38) and Chris Olave (4.39), both of whom were already widely projected to be first-round picks. Christian Watson from North Dakota State ran an official 4.36 after measuring in at 6’4″ and 208 pounds. After a widely acclaimed performance at the Senior Bowl, Watson made a strong case for first-round consideration himself.

The Bengals, though unlikely to consider a receiver in the first round, still certainly benefit from this. Wilson, Olave, and Watson are part of a much larger group of receivers drawing first-round grades. If a few go off the board early, in rapid succession, it’s easy to envision a run at the position for those that remain. Should that happen, it’s much easier to see the Bengals getting the prospect of their choice at 31st overall.

Should that not happen, it simply means that better receivers will be available later in the draft. Beyond Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd, the Bengals have few financial commitments at the receiver position. Higgins and Boyd are both two years away from potentially hitting the market themselves. Spending a mid-round pick on a receiver that might normally merit an early-round grade would be a prudent thing for the Bengals to do.

Tight Ends

With the status of C.J. Uzomah still unknown, tight end is the position here that most concerns the Bengals. Of the 21 tight ends invited to the Combine, 18 worked out in some capacity. Twelve elected to run the 40-yard dash. None looked as impressive doing it as Jelani Woods from Virginia.

Measuring in at 6’7 1/8″ and 253 pounds, Woods was among the biggest tight ends on display. His 4.61-second time made him the second-fastest as well, behind only the (much smaller) Chigoziem Okonkwo from Maryland. His 24 reps on the bench press, which lead the group, made it clear that he was the best physical specimen that the tight end group had to offer.

If the Bengals retain Uzomah or find another tight end in free agency, Woods makes sense in the earlier rounds. He has the athleticism to be an elite receiving threat and the size/strength combination to play on the line. He’ll be off the board by the end of the third round, at the latest.

Should the Bengals desire another prospect, it’s possible their stock didn’t change. Cade Otton from Washington and Jeremy Ruckert from Ohio State were unable to attempt most of the drills due to preexisting injuries. Several other tight ends – such as Jalen Wydermyer from Texas A&M – completed on-field drills but declined all tests. Trey McBride from Colorado State declined to run a 40-yard dash, but he did nothing otherwise to hurt his stock.

– Andy Hammel is the Managing Editor for the Bengals at Full Press Coverage. Follow @Andy_Hammel