Bengals double-up on important unit in fresh 2024 NFL mock draft

NFL draft season never sleeps, so it’s always a good idea to briefly check in and see how analysts project things to go for the Cincinnati Bengals next offseason.

One of those projections comes from Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy, who has the Bengals taking Washington Huskies edge defender Bralen Trice at No. 28 overall in a two-round mock draft.

“Trice is a powerful defensive lineman who can set the edge and chase down quarterbacks,” Popejoy wrote.

Interesting here is that the Bengals also go with an edge defender at No. 60 with Brandon Dorlus out of Oregon.

And yet, it’s not totally unreasonable to suggest the Bengals invest heavily in the defensive line next offseason despite taking Myles Murphy in the first round this year.

Trey Hendrickson just got a mini-extension but will eventually need to be replaced and DJ Reader in the middle of the line is set to be a free agent. Stuffing the trenches with as much pass-rushing talent as possible is a nice insurance policy if big early-round investments like Cam Taylor-Britt, DJ Turner and Dax Hill don’t pay off in the secondary.