The Bengals made the trip to their indoor practice bubble to watch some of the local talent entering the NFL Draft.
The Cincinnati Bengals love to spread their coaches out to cover multiple Pro Days around the country at this point in the offseason. However, they didn’t have to travel too far Thursday as the Cincinnati Bearcats had their Pro Day in the Bengals indoor practice bubble.
Because of that, we saw some of the biggest names among the Bengals coaching staff and even Elizabeth, Katie and Troy Blackburn watching the local draft prospects.
Katie Blackburn and Bengals ST coordinator Darrin Simmons chat before Bearcats Pro Day here Thursday. Bengals DL coach Marion Hobby here too. pic.twitter.com/0YYZIUPRXa
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) March 23, 2023
At UC Pro Day today, #Bengals HC Zac Taylor, Katie, Troy and Elizabeth Blackburn all present pic.twitter.com/dJy1cOh4zT
— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) March 23, 2023
The Bearcats don’t have as many noteworthy prospects as they had last season following one of their best seasons in program history. They still have a couple of intriguing players who are sure to at least be drafted.
Wide receiver Tyler Scott heads the class after reaching 900 yards receiving last season. He has the 4.40-second 40-yard dash speed teams covet, but his stature at 5-foot-10 (on a good day) and under 180 pounds limits his role at the next level a little.
Then there is linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. and tight end Josh Whyle. The latter will obviously catch the ears of Bengals fans as they know the team has a significant hole there since Hayden Hurst left via free agency. Whyle has the size and hands to be a true mismatch in one-on-one situations in the NFL, which could be exactly what the Bengals look for in the mid to late rounds at tight end.
Pace Jr. was a super-productive linebacker at Cincinnati. He had all the knowledge and athletic ability, but being only 6 feet tall really hinders his ceiling in the NFL. He is the kind of defensive playmaker you could really work a role around to hide him from having to take on guards, and maybe focus more on him being an outside defender or coverage linebacker, but even then, taller tight ends could eat him alive. At the very least he should be a great special team player for a long time.
We’ll have to see if any of these prospects get to stay in town come April.
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