2017 NFL Mock Draft: Cincinnati Bengals Select DE Derek Barnett at No. 9

With the 9th pick in the 2017 DBN Community NFL Mock Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select...

Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee

The selection and write-up were made by Mudville:

Statistically the Bengals’ offensive and defense were in the middle of the NFL last year in yards per game, and each side could benefit with some upgrades via the draft. The greater deviation between the offensive and defense comes with respect to points per game, where the defense ranked 8^th, but the offense 24^th.

Offensively, key departures include OL Zeitler (yay!) and Whitworth, with one notable free agent addition, LaFell. The Bengals have two young tackles in Fisher and Ogbuehi, although the latter has struggled to live up to his first round hype; and so they do need to upgrade/add depth along the OL. However, I think the Bengals will look to the later rounds where there is better value to address this.

On the defensive side, the Bengals resigned 2012 first-round pick, Kirkpatrick CB, and have drafted CBs in the first round in 2014 and 2016. They signed FA Kevin Mintner LB to replace Dansby and the recently cut Maualuga, but could use some extra support in the LB corps. The Bengals have enough PR problems with Jones and Burfict to stay clear of drafting Foster; and even though Mintner is on a one-year deal, I think the red flags (behavior/injuries) are too much to pull the trigger on Foster.

With the Bengals letting 2013 3rd round pick Margus Hunt go, and Michael Johnson’s declining performance, Barnett makes the most sense. He can bend well off the edge and plays persistently at a high level, breaking Reggie White’s school record for career sacks. He has good situational awareness and alertness to use his body and low pad level to hold blockers in the run game. He will be a solid, productive 3-down player for the Bengals for the next several years.

Pokorny: The Bengals appear on the verge of becoming the bottom dwellers of the AFC North if Cleveland can find a quarterback somewhere. Cincinnati has seen a once-promising defense become filled with troublesome, old, or disappointing players. Rebuilding there with Barnett is a good start, but there are a lot of holes forming on this team.

The Buffalo Bills are up next, led by TheBottom!