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NFL Mock Draft 2016: Will A Wide Receiver Be First Pick For Cincinnati Bengals?

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 12:13 PST, Apr 25, 2016

As the Cincinnati Bengals look to break their NFL Playoff curse, longtime members of the WhoDey Nation hope that coach Marvin Lewis, owner Mike Brown, and the rest of the Bengals executive team can make some moves in the 2016 off-season to finally give them a win this postseason. With quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver AJ Green looking to light up the defenses of the AFC North and beyond, who will the Bengals pick up during the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft? Mock drafts abound, and many of them point to Cincinnati drafting a wide receiver in Round 1 in 2016.

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Cincinnati Bengals — 2016 Offseason

The Bengals finished the 2015 regular season as the AFC North Champions. For the fifth year in a row, however, Cincinnati lost their first game in the NFL Playoffs. Up against their longtime rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2015 NFL Playoffs, the division champs dropped the game to their Wild Card opponents.

While both Andy Dalton and AJ Green will be back in 2016, the Bengals have lost two solid pieces of their passing game. During the off-season, both Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones found new NFL homes thanks to free agency. Sanu signed with the Atlanta Falcons, while Jones is now a member of the Detroit Lions.

With a 2015 regular season record of 12-4, the Cincinnati Bengals ended up with the No. 24 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. While the fun of the draft is that no one really knows where anyone will end up, a lot of mock drafts assume that the Bengals will be trying to fill their new-found wide receiver void.

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2016 NFL Draft — Top Wide Receivers

Of course, the transition from the NCAA to the NFL can be a difficult one for anyone at any position. Currently making headlines, Ohio-rivals Cleveland Browns drafted Johnny Manziel two years ago — and he didn’t make a very good transition. On the contrary, when the Bengals drafted receiver AJ Green in the first round in 2011, the selection paid off.

With a handful of viable options at the wide receiver position — and the Bengals unable to select until 24th overall — experts point to seven different receivers that the Bengals could be looking to draft in the first round on April 28. Comparing notes on mock drafts from such sites as SB Nation, NFL.com and ESPN, the Top 7 choices for the Cincinnati Bengals at wide receiver in Round 1 of the 2016 NFL Draft appear to be the following.

  • Corey Coleman (Baylor University)
  • Will Fuller (Notre Dame)

  • Laquon Treadwell (Ole Miss)
  • Michael Thomas (Ohio State)

  • Braxton Miller (Ohio State)
  • Josh Doctson (Texas Christian University)
  • Sterling Shepard (University of Oklahoma)

When Is The 2016 NFL Draft?

The 2016 NFL Draft begins this week on April 28. The draft lasts three days, ending on April 30. Just as it was in 2015, the 2016 NFL Draft will be held at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago.

Coverage of the First Round of the NFL Draft begins at 8 p.m. EDT on ESPN and the NFL Network on Thursday, April 28. Coverage of Rounds 2 and 3 airs on the same networks beginning at 7 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 29.

Coverage of the final day of the 2016 NFL Draft — Rounds 4-7 — begins at Noon EDT on Saturday, April 30.

[Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images]

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