2016 BRB Mock Draft: With The 31st Pick, The Cincinnati Bengals Select...

We finally made it, BRB – we have reached the last pick of the 2016 BRB Mock Draft. The Bengals, led by Summer of Watt, traded down, wisely bided their time, and managed to have one of my favorite receiving prospects in this draft fall right into their lap at No. 31. This right here is what I like to call a steal, folks.

In recent years, de-facto GM/Owner Mike Brown has ceded his GM duties to a committee comprised of Executive VP Katie Blackburn, Head Coach Marvin Lewis, and several members of the historically famous Brown family. While they have continued to make allowances for off field conduct tolerance--why should that change?--the overall performance of the Bengals' football team has improved. Yes, arrests, domestic abuse, and the "bad boy attitude" do serve the Bengals well, but, to their credit, they have been able to develop a few winning seasons and divisional championships. Yet no wins in the playoffs. Getting over that hump has to be the goal of the current front office.

The Bengals were hit hard in certain areas in free agency this offseason. WRs Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu both departed, and the knee-jerk reaction would be to try to replace those two with a first round pick. You are right. However, there is value in this year’s WR class. The Bengals made overtures to several teams ahead of the Texans in an attempt to snag Corey Coleman. Alas, it was not to be. Not that Corey Coleman would be the Bengals' target, but just to irk the BRB world, it would have been fun. Anyway, I think the Bengals can do some valuable WR shopping. The Bengals also picked up free agent WR Brandon LaFell, who while falling off his normal expected production last season in New England, promises to fill the No. 2 or No. 3 WR spot. The Bengals still have All-Pro WR1 A.J. Green and soon to be Top-Five TE Tyler Eifert. So, here we go.

The added value of the 2016 WR class has allowed the Bengals to sit tight and even move back while picking up more picks later in the draft. We swapped first rounders with the Broncos and also picked up their 3rd and 4th rounders to boot. This will allow us to make a WR pick here in the 1st and wait for a value pick later in the draft. I suppose this is a good time to mention that we are also filing an official protest against Elway and the Broncos because they traded us a 4th round pick that they do not have. I expect that the Commissioner of the league will come down hard on crazy Elway and award us additional Broncos’ picks in the 2017 NFL Draft, perhaps. Now back to business.

With the 31st pick in the 2016 BRB Mock Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Michael Thomas (WR--Ohio State). We knew going into the draft that Michael Thomas would be a target at the bottom of the 1st or top of the 2nd round. With the added attention the other WRs were getting on the BRB, we thought he would fall right into our lap even with a trade down. We consider this a huge payoff.

A little bit about Michael Thomas. He fits the triangle numbers of height/weight/speed of a WR1. His measurables are 6’3", 212 lbs., 10 1/2" hands, 4.57 40-yard dash, 4.13 shuttle, 6.8 cone, 35" vertical jump, and 18 reps on the bench press.

He will require some developing, but he has a very high ceiling. With A.J. Green providing tutoring, we look for a long future of terrorizing defenses with that tandem. The sky’s the limit! He fills a need and he might not be available at No. 55. With Michael Thomas and our additional picks, I think the Bengals are off to their first playoff win in some time and possibly the Super Bowl!

Incidentally, I noticed that Nashmeister repeatedly was saying "What about Michael Thomas?" every time WRs were discussed on BRB and I kept thinking to myself, "Be quiet, Nashy!!!" Luckily, I was probably the only one hearing him…

So there you have it, folks. We are at long last through the first round of the 2016 BRB NFL Mock Draft. We laughed, we cried…well, mostly we cried…but we here on the masthead sincerely hope you enjoyed yourselves. If you would like to continue this mock into the second round on your own, I encourage you all to take it to a FanPost and finish this puppy off. Hell, if you make it through the entire second round before draft day, I might be so inclined as to turn it into an entire post on this here front page (wink, wink).

Good luck to all of you, and again thank you for your participation yet again. Y’all are what makes this place great.

1. Tennessee Titans--Laremy Tunsil (OT--Ole Miss)

2. Cleveland Browns--Joey Bosa (DE--Ohio State)

3. San Diego Chargers--Jalen Ramsey (CB/S--FSU)

4. Los Angeles Rams (via trade with the Dallas Cowboys)--Carson Wentz (QB--NDSU)

5. Jacksonville Jaguars--Myles Jack (LB--UCLA)

6. Baltimore Ravens--DeForest Buckner (DL--Oregon)

7. San Francisco 49ers--Jared Goff (QB--California)

8. Philadelphia Eagles--Vernon Hargreaves III (CB--Florida)

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers--Ronnie Stanley (OT--Notre Dame)

10. New York Giants--Ezekiel Elliott (RB--Ohio State)

11. Chicago Bears--A'Shawn Robinson (DE/DT--Alabama)

12. New Orleans Saints--Sheldon Rankins (DT--Louisville)

13. Miami Dolphins--Eli Apple (CB--Ohio State)

14. Oakland Raiders--Jack Conlin (OT--Michigan State)

15. Dallas Cowboys (via trade with the Los Angeles Rams)--Noah Spence (DE/OLB--Eastern Kentucky)

16. Detroit Lions--Laquon Treadwell (WR--Ole Miss)

17. Atlanta Falcons--Darron Lee (LB--Ohio State)

18. Indianapolis Colts--Cody Whitehair (OG--Kansas State)

19. Buffalo Bills--Emmanuel Ogbah (DE--Oklahoma State)

20. New York Jets--Leonard Floyd (OLB--Georgia)

21. Washington Redskins--Corey Coleman (WR--Baylor)

22. Houston Texans--Vernon Butler (DT/DE--Louisiana Tech)

23. Minnesota Vikings--Josh Doctson (WR--TCU)

24. Denver Broncos (via trade with the Cincinnati Bengals)--Paxton Lynch (QB--Memphis)

25. Pittsburgh Steelers--Andrew Billings (DT--Baylor)

26. Seattle Seahawks--Taylor Decker (OT--Ohio State)

27. Green Bay Packers--Reggie Ragland (ILB--Alabama)

28. Kansas City Chiefs--William Jackson III (CB--University of Houston)

29. Arizona Cardinals--Jaylon Smith (LB--Notre Dame)

30. Carolina Panthers--Shaq Lawson (DE--Clemson)

31. Cincinnati Bengals (via trade with the Denver Broncos)—Michael Thomas (WR—Ohio State)