If you’re waiting for the Cincinnati Bengals to trade up in the first round of the NFL Draft, don’t get your hopes up.
With the Bengals having the No. 18 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. noted that Cincinnati hasn’t traded up in the first round since they chose Penn State running back Ki-Jana Carter with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 NFL draft.
That year, the Bengals traded their No. 5 overall pick and the fourth pick in the second round to the Carolina Panthers to get Carter at the No. 1 spot.
Carter injured his ACL in his first preseason game and was sidelined for most of 1995, 1998, and 1999.
“Every year since, the Bengals have either stayed put, or three times moved back in the first round, calmly making their pick and moving forward,” Dehner Jr. wrote.
Bengals Have History of Missing No. 1 Overall Pick
The Bengals signed Carter to a seven-year, $19.2 million contract with a $7.125 million signing bonus, which at the time was the largest rookie contract in NFL history. In five seasons with Cincinnati, Carter had just 747 rushing yards. In 1995, four Pro Football Hall of Famers were taken in the first round —
Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Tony Boselli (No. 2), Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Warren Sapp (No. 12), New England Patriots cornerback Ty Law (No. 23), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks (No. 28). It was the second year in a row the Bengals missed on the No. 1 overall pick after taking Ohio State defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson in 1994. Wilkinson was traded to the
Washington Redskins four years later without making a Pro Bowl and having numerous off-field issues. Five Hall of Famers were taken in the first two rounds of the
1994 NFL draft , including running back Marshal Faulk at No. 2 overall to theIndianapolis Colts What Will Bengals Do With No. 18 Overall Pick in 2024?.
The Bengals are coming off a disastrous 2023 that saw 2020 No. 1 overall pick
miss the final seven games with season-ending wrist surgery and the Bengals Joe Burrow miss the playoffs after winning the AFC championship in 2021 and reaching the AFC Championship Game in 2022. The Bengals have a strong bargaining position if they want to move up in the draft with wide receiver
requesting a trade after being hit with the franchise tag for 2024. Tee Higgins “As the draft tradewinds start to swirl with Stefon Diggs traded to the Texans on Wednesday and Tee Higgins’ trade request still hanging in the air like an ominous rain cloud above Paycor Stadium, could this be the year the Bengals break their tradition?” Dehner Jr. wrote. “Probably not if looking at history, needs, draft depth, and current communication. But the Bengals have more attractive options than most to consider.”
The latest mock draft
from The Athletic has the Bengals selecting Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga in the first round. ESPN’s Matt Miller has the Bengals choosing Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold in his recent mock draft with seven rounds. Paul Dehner Jr. from The Athletic noted that the Cincinnati Bengals have not moved up in the first round since selecting Ki-Jana Carter as the No. 1 pick in 1995.
