2020 NFL Draft: Cincinnati Bengals trade-up targets

The Cincinnati Bengals could target another first-round player in a trade-up scenario for the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Cincinnati Bengals have a pick in each of the seven rounds of the 2020 NFL draft. They have many holes to fill and could look to trade down and stockpile more draft picks, but what if they were to move up instead?

The Bengals can look to add a couple of day one starters if they decide to trade up into the back half of the first-round or even move their third-round pick back into the latter half of the second-round. The Bengals will most likely select a franchise quarterback with their first pick but moving back into the first round allows the Bengals to have multiple day one starters.

Key positions the Bengals may look to when trading up are linebacker, defensive end, interior offensive/defensive linemen, or wide receiver.  One player I expect the Bengals to pursue is linebacker Kenneth Murray from Oklahoma. Two other first-round players they may move up for are defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos from Penn State or defensive lineman Neville Gallimore, Murray’s teammate from Oklahoma.

If the Bengals want to grab an interior offensive lineman they may need to get creative and move two or three middle-round picks into the middle of round two to nab Lloyd Cushenberry III from LSU. Based on their free agency strategy so far, I think the Bengals will go all-in on trading up to land the playmakers that can make them successful during the 2020 season.

We will take a look at three likely scenarios that I believe are likely to change the 2020 NFL Draft for the Bengals.