AFC Notes: Bengals, Browns, Steelers

Bengals

The Bengals surprised a lot of fans by not taking a tight end at all in the draft. Cincinnati had a need long-term at the position and a lot of draft analysts called this the deepest class they’d seen at the tight end position in years. But the board never quite lined up for them. 

“We never go into it saying we have to take a position,” Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said via the Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. “We are going to evaluate the board how it looks to us. Sometimes you get opportunities, sometimes you don’t. There were a lot of those guys you liked a lot. It doesn’t mean that they were the best pick for us at the time. You never know how positions will go in the draft. The ones we thought really fit us weren’t available to us when it was time to go.”

Dehner mentions Utah TE Dalton Kincaid and Iowa TE Sam LaPorta, who went at picks No. 25 and No. 34, were seen as the top options for the Bengals. They elected to stand pat at No. 28 and take DE Myles Murphy rather than trade back, which both took them out of the running for LaPorta and meant they didn’t have another pick to potentially invest in a tight end. Bengals director of college scouting Mike Potts noted they might have not had as many tight ends on their board as other teams.

“Maybe if we would have moved back and traded again and added another pick we could have taken a tight end, but as you go through the process, character and medical can eliminate some players,” Potts said. “We want our coaches to have visions for these guys so that can eliminate some other guys on our board that were a little higher publicly … in some places, it was a more premium position in each round.”

Potts added the team still has time and options to reinforce the position before the season starts.

“There are some tight ends still out there we can continue to address the position,” Potts said. “The roster for the 2023 Cincinnati Bengals is by no means set right now.”

Browns

• The Athletic’s Zac Jackson notes the Browns are coming up on a situation with RB Nick Chubb after this season whether they’ll likely either need to sign him to an extension or move on. 
• Jackson also expects the Browns to make a few more additions to their defensive line between now and Week 1. 

Steelers

Steelers OLB coach Denzel Martin talked about fourth-round LB Nick Herbig and his role with the team, mentioning that he will start out as an outsider linebacker.

“Right now, he’s gonna start at outside linebacker, that’s what we have him at. 240 [pounds] is good, but we’ll get with G on that,” Martin said, via SteelersWire.com. “I like him right now at his 240 weight, to be honest with you. He’s definitely athletic enough to do that, but like I said, we’re gonna start him at that outside ‘backer and try to make a big-time player out of him there first.”