Three Thoughts on Zac Taylor's Pre-Draft News Conference

Cincinnati has the 31st overall pick in Thursday's draft.

CINCINNATI — Zac Taylor addressed the media on Monday ahead of the 2022 NFL Draft.

The fourth-year head coach shared plenty of interesting thoughts with the draft just three days away.

Here are our takeaways from Taylor's news conference. 

Arm Length Matters for Cornerbacks and Offensive Linemen

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There's been plenty of talk about arm length over the past few weeks. Especially after Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum's arms measured in at 31 1/8-inches long. 

It also matters at cornerback, where guys like Roger McCreary, Andrew Booth Jr., and Kaiir Elam are all candidates to be the 31st overall pick. 

"It’s always part of the discussion," Taylor said when asked about arm length. "It’s one of the variables at your disposal and then you marry that with other qualities they have. Those are just discussions you always have about prospects whether it is speed or height or weight or size or what the arm length is. That can come up a lot of different ways. That’s part of the draft process is figuring out what you are willing to take at that spot on that day and who fits your team. Weaknesses, how you can minimize that as best you can. Or if it is a fatal flaw."

Will Linderbaum's short arms cause him to drop out of round one? Do the Bengals have a first round grade on him? 

Those are questions we may get the answer to on Thursday night if he's still available when the Bengals are on the clock. 

Wait on Wide Receiver?

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The wide receiver market might be booming, but that doesn't mean the Bengals are in a rush to find Tyler Boyd's replacement or the heir to Tee Higgins' throne. 

Both players are under contract for two more years and despite being peppered with questions about the position, Taylor appeared to give an honest answer about the position the Bengals are in.

“If you need a D-Lineman, but you’re thinking about the future of the receiver market and you’re gonna leave a huge hole there at 3-technique then it’s hard to win games," Taylor said. "It’s hard to manage it all, that’s Duke’s (Tobin's) job to manage all that. I just enjoy being a part of it.”

Is Taylor being honest or is it a smoke screen? One thing is certain: the Bengals do have a need at 3-tech with Larry Ogunjobi no longer in town. Will they address that spot early in the draft? It seems like a pretty likely scenario for a defensive line that's already invested big money in multiple veteran defensive linemen. 

Big Range of Outcomes With 31st Pick

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The Bengals are conducting a series of in-house mock drafts this week as they prepare for every different scenario that could take place on draft night. 

They have a bucket players that could be available when they're on the clock at 31. 

"I’d say it’s probably a bigger range than five (players)," Taylor said. "It’s probably a bigger pool than five, I would say. But we were in this situation a few years ago with Tee Higgins at 33. It was just two picks off. We had the first pick with Joe Burrow. That one was an easy one to talk about. There was no indecision there. And then 33, you’re playing the same game we’re playing now at 31, of trying to predict and do our own exercises to see who could be there at 33. It’s going to be a decent range of players, I would imagine." 

That means guys like Kyler Gordon, Kaiir Elam, Linderbaum, Andrew Booth Jr., Daxton Hill, Logan Hall and George Karlaftis could all be in their own tier on the Bengals' board. If they can still get a guy in that mid-first round tier at 31, much like they did with Higgins, then they'll do it. 

If not, then trading down becomes an option, but ultimately they have to be ready to make a pick on Thursday night. 

"We’ve gotta expect to pick whatever number we’re picking at," Taylor said. "You just never know how it’s going to happen, but I think you always gotta expect to pick when your name is going to be called at 31 and then react from there."

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