Cincinnati Bengals find UDFA gem in CB Corey Tindal

The Cincinnati Bengals may have found one of the top undrafted gems in the NFL when they signed Marshall CB Corey Tindal…

The Cincinnati Bengals have a very highly touted group of cornerbacks that includes four former first round picks, and Marshall CB Corey Tindal is trying to make a name for himself this offseason and become the next great undrafted player.

With Adam Jones, Leon Hall, Darqueze Dennard, and this year’s first rounder William Jackson III, there is plenty of intrigue and depth at the CB position for the Bengals already, but Tindal — an underclassman out of Marshall — is an intriguing name to keep an eye on, to say the least.

Tindal was the CUSA Freshman of the Year three seasons ago, and has continued to improve in every facet of his game since that time. He graded out positively by Pro Football Focus Analytics in every major defensive category (coverage, run support, and even pass rush) and looks to be a steal among this year’s crop of undrafted players.

The NFL has to be constantly keeping its eyes peeled for the next Chris Harris Jr., a player who wasn’t even considered by NFL Draft pundits prior to being a low-key undrafted pickup for the Denver Broncos. Once Harris got a chance to play a little special teams and some nickel cornerback, it was evident that the Broncos had a diamond in the rough.

Now, Harris is one of the best all-around cornerbacks in the NFL, able to play up at the line, man to man coverage, zone coverage, and get his hands on the football every which way.

The reason I say all that is because you just never know when the next one of those guys is going to come along, and Tindal possesses some of those qualities. He is able to be physical around the line of scrimmage despite being a smaller corner. He is profiled as a tweener nickel/outside corner, and while he didn’t pick off a ton of passes at Marshall, he got his hands on the ball 31 times for a pass breakup.

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That includes a team-high 13 times this past season, along with a pair of interceptions and a forced fumble. He also finished the year with 64 tackles, four tackles for loss, and three sacks, making plays all over the field.

Tindal has a long way to go toward making the roster in Cincinnati, but the qualities he has in the slot as well as on the outside make me think he could be a big time find in this year’s UDFA crop. He tested well athletically, running a sub-4.5 second 40-yard dash and posting a 6.76 three-cone time, which is also very good.

He has the quickness, speed, and physicality to play the nickel role in the NFL, and I think while the Bengals have a ton of highly touted players at the position already, Tindal could stand out and overachieve his way onto the roster.

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