The Cincinnati Bengals badly need to address the tight end position. Cincinnati lost tight end Hayden Hurst to the Carolina Panthers earlier this offseason. And they’ve yet to replace him in free agency.
With the first and second waves of free agency behind us, there aren’t many options left for Cincinnati. That means the 2023 NFL Draft might be the Bengals’ best chance to significantly upgrade at tight end.
Here is the complete first run of 2023 NFL Unit Grades!
Each of the 10 units are ranked 1-32 based on current rosters (assuming Rodgers on NYJ for now) and weighted based on positional importance pic.twitter.com/tphWfvU1x7
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) March 24, 2023
According to ESPN’s Mike Clay, Cincinnati has the worst tight end situation in the league right now. A tight end isn’t going to make or break the Bengals’ offense — not when Joe Burrow has wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd at his disposal.
But Cincy still needs some depth at the position — especially someone who can block. Someone like Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer would make a lot of sense for the Bengals in the first round of the draft.
Fortunately for the Bengals, there are other options that could be there for them in the draft. The latest mock draft from NFL.com’s Chad Reuter has the Bengals making a deal for the No. 92 overall selection.
And with that pick, Reuter has Cincinnati selecting Old Dominion tight end Zack Kuntz, a player that’s been described as a “sleeper”. Kuntz is an extremely athletic player who tested well at the combine. In fact, Pro Football Network named Kuntz as one of the biggest “risers” at the combine.
The one concern with Kuntz is his run blocking — that’s an area where he’ll need to improve to become a starter in the NFL.
But that’s something that Kuntz can work on with tight ends coach James Casey if the Bengals draft the former Old Dominion star.
Casey did a great job with Hurst last season and he should do the same with any young player that Cincinnati drafts. The Bengals will almost certainly select a tight end in the 2023 NFL Draft. The only question is “who?” and “when?”.
