Insider suggests Bengals are willing to overlook character concerns for a group of first-round talents

Could the Bengals take a shot on a player surrounded by charecter concerns?

For a long time, the Cincinnati Bengals had a reputation of having players who had frequent run-ins with the law. Honestly, that label stuck far too long for how often it actually came up.

It sort of got rejuvenated when the team took running back Joe Mixon in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft after being suspended for striking a woman.

Most of the Zac Taylor era has been spent purposefully filling the roster with “high character” players, but last year showed they aren’t afraid to still take a chance on a guy with character concerns when they took Jermaine Burton in the third round.

Despite the pick being a bust, director of player personnel — Duke Tobin — gave the impression that experience won’t scare them if they are confident in a draft prospect.

“It is completely an independent study for every player we talk about,” Tobin told reporters Monday. “And we try to put as much work into those guys as we humanly possibly can, and we talk to a lot of people, we do a lot of background research, and then ultimately, it’s “is this worth the risk?” And every player is a little different in that. And sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes the answer is no.”

That helps fuel a report from Todd McShay that Cincinnati is a part of a couple teams in the middle of Round 1 who could scoop up a player from a trio that most likely have removed from their boards.

“James Pierce [EDGE, Tennessee] and Walter Nolan [Defensive tackle, Ole Miss], two guys I keep hearing they’ve got some red flags, some football character red flags attached with them,” McShay said. “I’m hearing Atlanta is maybe perfectly fine to overlook those things. You know, another organization that does? The Cincinnati Bengals pick at 17.

Whichever guys aren’t there. Mike Green [EDGE, Marshall], James Pierce… I’m told those two organizations would be willing to overlook it, and Walter Nolan’s another guy to keep into consideration at 15.”

The Bengals have done their homework on these guys, visiting and talking to them throughout the draft process to get a feel for them.

All of these guys play on the defensive line, which is an area they really need to beef up and add long-term solutions to, especially with Trey Hendrickson’s status still up in the air. They have hardly any EDGE players under contract past next season.

Defensive tackle is better on that end, but they really need someone able to rush the passer after that group struggled to help in that department with quarterbacks constantly being able to step up in the pocket. Nolan would be able to help instantly in that respect.

Like with most things in the NFL. People will forget your problems or are more willing to forgive if you are actually able to produce on the field. No one will even remember how risky these guys were if they actually pan out.

So if Cincinnati takes any of these guys, hopefully, all their homework pays off.