Six of nine. The priority primarily arrives next season as Giovani Bernard and Rex Burkhead enter the final year of their contracts. Plus, Jeremy Hill's contract will be up in two seasons. Interesting note when ranking out the draft needs that our four least pressing needs for the Bengals all come on offense.
After Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott, the top of the class doesn’t overwhelm. Value can be found in the later rounds with a number of backs with specific skill sets.
The Bengals traditionally go all out for running back or find a sleeper. Under Marvin Lewis, they have selected four halfbacks in the first or second round. They also selected four in the final two rounds. They didn’t select a back between Rounds 3-5. The team drafts either all-in or low-risk. This year falls into the low-risk category.
Bengals view on Bernard. If the front office believes in bringing him back, then there's no need to add another running back. Taking a swing at another back late in the draft or a premium undrafted free agent would be a more predictable move. Remember, practice squad backs James Wilder (Buffalo) and Terrell Watson (Cleveland) were plucked by other teams this offseason.
Daniel Lasco, Cal. Injured last season, but projected as a late-round pick. The versatile back gained 1,115 yards on the ground and another 356 through the air as a junior – his last full season. Showed well at the combine, setting a running back record for the long jump and finishing in the top five in both the 20- and 60-yard shuttle. Looking back at Bernard and Burkhead at the NFL Combine, both ranked in the top five in both the 20-yard shuttle and 60-yard shuttle. Fits into the third-down back mold.
The PFF elusive rating judges amount of missed tackles created by a running back against opportunities. When looking at last year in college football UCLA’s Paul Perkins (projected Day 2 pick) led the pack by a wide margin. Also, Alabama backup Kenyan Drake ranked third. Notable, considering he slots to be around in the late rounds.
Keith Marshall, Georgia. Want speed? You got it with his 4.31 40-yard dash. Plus, the Bengals always have the inside information on late-round UGA players. Marshall got buried on the depth chart during his career thanks to Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb, but he can play, too. Worth a shot in the late rounds.
Tre Madden, USC. Madden was dogged by injury throughout his career but when healthy showed he could be a dominant, bruising back. Plus, he comes with NFL bloodlines. His uncle, father and grandfather all played in the league.
Adding a couple undrafted free agents or maybe a sixth or seventh rounder on a running back will be in the cards this year for depth. More than likely, they wait until next year to make any decisions to use valuable picks on the position, pending how Bernard winds up in free agency. When filling the position three years ago, the strategy was to put a rookie into a rotation behind the incumbent. Bernard played behind BenJarvus Green-Ellis as a rookie, then took over. The next season, Jeremy Hill opened the year spelling Bernard as part of the rotation then took over the starting role last year. If Bernard got away in free agency next offseason, it would be a hole easily plugged with a back from next year's draft. On that note, the 2017 draft should be loaded at running back with LSU's Leonard Fournette, Florida State's Dalvin Cook, Stanford's Christian McCaffrey and Georgia's Nick Chubb all potentially in the mix as first-round backs.