The Cincinnati Bengals’ cornerback room is growing, but there is always room for more top-end talent at the position in today’s NFL.

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals appeared to be set with their starting cornerbacks before the Combine and free agency. Cam Taylor-Britt would play opposite DJ Turner II on the outside, with veteran Mike Hilton in the slot.

The picture became less clear in free agency, however, with the team signing safeties Geno Stone and Vonn Bell. Those moves seemingly will squeeze Dax Hill out of Jordan Kovacs’ safety room and move him across the hall to Charles Burks’ cornerback room.

There’s a theory in the NFL that you can never have enough cornerbacks, and the Bengals have subscribed to it since before any of their current corners were in diapers. And if you’re going to build depth with the idea you’re eventually going to use it, you might as well invest in it.

Early-Round Cornerback Targets for the Bengals
There were 58 cornerbacks who started at least 10 games in 2023, and 33 of them were drafted in the first round (16) or second (17), with Cincinnati’s Chidobe Awuzie, Taylor-Britt, and Hill accounting for three of the 17 second-rounders.

In the last five seasons, there have been 42 cornerbacks who made the Pro Bowl, and 38 of them were drafted in the first or second round.

Compare that to the positional counterpart, wide receiver, and the difference is stark. Of the 66 receivers to make the Pro Bowl since 2019, nearly half (31) were taken after Round 2, including five of the 12 in 2023 (Keenan Allen, 3; Stefon Diggs, 5; Tyreek Hill, 5; Puka Nacua, 5; Amon-Ra St. Brown, 4).

Proof that the Bengals are looking to add quality depth to the position comes from a report from ESPN’s Turron Davenport, saying that Cincinnati was one of four teams that offered a contract to 2020 second-round pick — and good friend and former teammate of Ja’Marr Chase — Kristian Fulton.

Yet, Fulton ended up signing with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Even with the signing of Sheldon Rankins and Trent Brown in free agency, it still feels likely the Bengals target defensive or offensive tackle when they pick 18th. But in no way can cornerback be completely ruled out.

Considering all of that, let’s examine a few potential first- or second-round cornerback candidates for the Bengals.
Two corners were selected before Cincinnati at number eighteen in Pro Football Network analyst Ian Cummings’ most recent mock draft: Terrion Arnold of Alabama was selected 17th to the Jaguars, while Quinyon Mitchell of Toledo was selected 13th by the Raiders.

The cornerbacks that the Bengals are targeting in the first two rounds are listed below (Cummings sees Iowa’s Cooper DeJean as a safety).

Terrion Arnold, the state of Alabama
Although Cummings has Mitchell going first, Arnold is his top cornerback, and at eighteen, it’s not impossible that he may still be scoring for the Bengals.

Cummings Arnold possesses the physical attributes to be a top-tier NFL cornerback, with his 6-foot, 196-pound frame and exceptional length. He has outstanding discipline and response to stimuli in man coverage, as well as the timing and vertical agility to shut the lid. He is also an effortless accelerator and incredibly fluid mover.