AFC Notes: Bengals, Colts, Jaguars

Bengals

• Paul Dehner Jr of the Enquirer considers interior offensive line to be the Bengals’ No. 1 position need heading into this week’s NFL draft.
• The good news for the Bengals is that there are a number quality prospects in this year’s class including Billy Price (Ohio State), James Daniels (Iowa) and Frank Ragnow (Arkansas).
• Some sleeper options worth watching for Cincinnati, according to Dehner Jr, include Nevada’s Austin Corbett, Georgia’s Isaiah Wynn and TCU’s Patrick Morris.
• Dehner Jr says that all signs point to either the first or second round for the center, but he expects guard to be in play as well. Dehner Jr predicts that the Bengals will take OSU’s Billy Price in round one.

Colts

Following GM Chris Ballard’s recent comments that they have now identified eight non-QB targets, a trade down from No. 6 overall remains a possibility.

“If we get the opportunity to move back, it’s gotta make sense,” Ballard said, “and we still gotta get one of those premier players. Are we open to (a trade)? Yes. We’re open to it. Will we do it? I think it just depends on how far back we’d be willing to move.”

Based on Ballard’s comments, Zak Keefer of the Indy Star believes Saquon Barkley, Bradley Chubb, Quenton Nelson, Derwin James, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Tremaine Edmunds and Roquan Smith could be potential targets for the Colts if they’re to trade down. The eighth player could very well be OSU CB Denzel Ward.

Jaguars

On Friday, Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell was asked if they had decided whether to pick up DE Dante Fowler’s fifth-year option to which he replied: “No. May 2, right?”

The option would cost the Jaguars $14.2 million for the 2019 season, but is guaranteed for injury only.

Phillip Heilman of the Florida Times-Union writes that if the Jaguars draft an edge rusher in the early part of this week’s draft, they are less likely to pick up Fowler’s option.

• Regarding the team’s decision to change their uniforms, Jaguars owner Shad Khan mentioned that their two-tone helmets may actually have been a disadvantage for them: “We were looking for something that was timeless. Even [a] competitive advantage. I know the two-toned helmets, they were not popular and maybe they even had a competitive disadvantage — you could see the player turning their head. We wanted to look at it as something that gives us a competitive advantage with the uniform redesign.” (Florida Times-Union)