Bengals rank second in drafting prospects from the same school since 2000

Will that trend continue this weekend?

Jay Morrison of Pro Football Network has brought to light a trend to watch when making your final Cincinnati Bengals mock draft.

Since 2000, the Bengals have drafted players from the same college, which is the second-most of any team doing so 15 times. Only the New England Patriots, who have done it seven times, have done it more frequently.

The Bengals have taken players from the same school in five of the last seven drafts, including last year when it took both DJ Turner II and Brad Robbins out of Michigan.

“It’s probably a little bit of both,” Bengals director of college scouting Mike Potts told Morrison of the team’s history of selecting players from the same school. “I don’t think we’d ever say, ‘Hey, let’s pair these guys up because it’ll make the transition easier’ if there’s potentially a better player there that we could take. But at the end of the day, there are always guys that are closely graded at a number of positions and you’re always looking for ways to break the ties. And that obviously couldn’t hurt.”

Here’s a look at each same-school selection the Bengals have made since 2000:

• 2023: DJ Turner II and Brad Robbins Michigan
• 2021: Ja’Marr Chase and Tyler Shelvin, LSU
• 2019: Germaine Pratt and Ryan Finley, NC State
• 2018: Billy Price and Sam Hubbard, Ohio State
• 2017: Joe Mixon and Jordan Evans, Oklahoma
• 2014: Jeremy Hill and James Wright, LSU
• 2011: A.J. Green and Clint Boling, Georgia
• 2010: Jordan Shipley and Roddrick Muckelroy, Texas
• 2007: Dan Santucci and Chinedum Ndukwe, Notre Dame
• 2006: Andrew Whitworth and Bennie Brazell, LSU
• 2005: Eric Ghiaciuc and Adam Kieft, Central Michigan
• 2005: David Pollack and Odell Thurman, Georgia
• 2001: Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Oregon State
• 2000: Peter Warrick and Ron Dugans, Florida State

For more from Morrison, click here.