{"id":853320,"date":"2026-04-04T14:24:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T14:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/853320\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T14:24:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T14:24:30","slug":"mel-kiper-saves-day-for-bengals-in-new-3-round-nfl-mock-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/853320\/","title":{"rendered":"Mel Kiper saves day for Bengals in new 3-round NFL mock draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> should consult with Mel Kiper before the draft each year.<\/p>\n

Duke Tobin\u2019s scouting department could use the help, given the hole they\u2019ve dug for themselves with draft picks that haven\u2019t panned out in recent years.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Kiper\u2019s latest NFL mock draft<\/a>, which he did alongside other ESPN experts, is a three-round effort that has the Bengals<\/a> making some interesting decisions across the board.<\/p>\n

It breaks down like so:<\/p>\n

No. 10: Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU<\/p>\n

No. 41: Zachariah Branch, WR, Georgia<\/p>\n

No. 72: Domonique Orange, DT, Iowa State<\/p>\n

Mel Kiper mock draft breakdown<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a nice haul that hits needs for the Bengals. They only have two starting corners, so getting the draft’s best and letting them figure out exact roles on the field at a later date makes a bunch of sense.<\/p>\n

Some might bemoan the wideout pick, but here\u2019s the writeup on Branch:<\/p>\n

\u201cBranch is 5-foot-9 and 177 pounds, but he’s lightning quick (4.35-second 40-yard dash) and does damage after the catch. He’d be yet another playmaker for Joe Burrow alongside Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The Bengals very quietly have a serious need at third wideout after Andrei Iosivas hasn\u2019t stepped up. Charlie Jones is for special teams. Jermaine Burton didn\u2019t work out. Branch\u2019s skillset sure fits.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Orange, the guy nicknamed \u201cBig Citrus,\u201d who can come in and help a needy interior defensive line and push not-performing guys like Kris Jenkins Jr. and others.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a haul that might draw rave reviews right away, but it works nicely in tandem with the younger parts the Bengals already have after free agency that could produce right away, while growing in the future, too.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Mel Kiper saves day for Bengals in new 3-round NFL mock draft<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maybe the Cincinnati Bengals should consult with Mel Kiper before the draft each year. Duke Tobin\u2019s scouting department…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":853321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2053],"tags":[14707,228,12164,227,256,2296,49569,7,14705,14346,14,4002,6,33452],"class_list":{"0":"post-853320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cincinnati-bengals","8":"tag-andrei-iosivas","9":"tag-bengals","10":"tag-charlie-jones","11":"tag-cincinnati","12":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","13":"tag-cincinnatibengals","14":"tag-domonique-orange","15":"tag-football","16":"tag-jermaine-burton","17":"tag-mansoor-delane","18":"tag-mel-kiper","19":"tag-mock-draft","20":"tag-nfl","21":"tag-zachariah-branch"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116346897306106938","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=853320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/853320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/853321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=853320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=853320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=853320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}