Bengals Rumors

Latest On Bengals, Jonah Williams

The Bengals did not draft an offensive lineman, but the two-time reigning AFC North champions still have a potential three-man race for their right tackle position brewing.

Jonah Williams remains part of that equation, albeit reluctantly. The three-year Cincinnati left tackle starter — forced into a position change after the team’s Orlando Brown Jr. signing — remains with the team, and ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes no substantive trade talks around the fifth-year blocker transpired during the draft. As a result, Williams is expected to remain with the Bengals in his contract year.

Williams’ trade request surfaced shortly after the Brown signing, and the former first-round pick is believed to have been blindsided (no pun intended) by the Brown addition. The former Alabama blocker did not show for the start of Bengals voluntary workouts and cannot be fined for his absence until the team’s minicamp. With the 2020 CBA making training camp fines steep enough it has largely curtailed holdouts, Williams — assuming he is still on the Bengals’ roster by that point — should be expected to rejoin his teammates.

La’el Collins remains rostered as well, but the longtime Cowboys starter-turned-Bengals signing is coming off December ACL and MCL tears. No firm return timetable is known. Zac Taylor also said (via The Athletic’s Jay Morrison) former second-round pick Jackson Carman, who replaced Williams at left tackle when the latter suffered a dislocated kneecap during the playoffs, will be part of the right tackle competition. Carman struggled at guard, seeing Cordell Volson usurp him quickly, but Taylor including him in the tackle competition points to either Collins or Williams not being in the picture.

Collins’ three-year, $21MM contract runs through 2024, though his injury trouble and issues in pass protection last season led to the Bengals pursuing tackles in free agency. They had not expected to land Brown, but after the two-year Chiefs blindsider’s reps contacted the Bengals, talks progressed quickly. Williams, who has not played right tackle since his freshman year at Alabama, has one season — a fifth-year option, at $12.6MM — remaining on his deal. The Bengals viewed a post-Round 1 tackle addition as one that would only further cloud their already-complicated right tackle mix, Morrison adds (subscription required).

Five teams took first-round tackles, further limiting Williams’ market. The Jets still come to mind as a possible suitor, seeing as they were widely rumored to be eyeing Broderick Jones — before the Steelers moved ahead of them for the Georgia tackle — and have an unsteady setup at left tackle. New York rosters the league’s oldest tackle — in Duane Brown, who is coming off surgery — and has seen knee injuries sideline Mekhi Becton for all but one game since his rookie year. The Buccaneers, who cut Donovan Smith in March, could also be interested. They are not yet certain to move All-Pro right tackle Tristan Wirfs to the left side.

Right tackle-needy teams will likely be monitoring Collins as well. For now, however, Williams and Collins remain on Cincy’s roster ahead of what would be one of this year’s most interesting position battles.

Bengals To Sign QB Trevor Siemian

A few hours after Brandon Allen agreed to terms with the 49ers, the Bengals revealed their new QB2 plan. A month after visiting, Trevor Siemian will become Joe Burrow‘s new backup.

The well-traveled quarterback committed to a one-year Bengals agreement on Wednesday, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets. This will mark a change for the Burrow-era Bengals, who had rostered Allen throughout the former No. 1 overall pick’s career.

For Siemian, the Bengals will be team No. 7. The 31-year-old passer spent last season with the Bears, having signed a two-year contract. Chicago cut Siemian earlier this offseason. The former Broncos starter brings a clear connection to the Bengals, with OC Brian Callahan being on Denver’s staff as an offensive assistant when the team drafted Siemian out of Northwestern in 2015.

Callahan left the Broncos after Siemian’s rookie year, missing his run of starts as Peyton Manning‘s initial successor, but connections often lead to agreements — at just about every level — in the NFL. The Bengals will now have a backup with eight years’ worth of experience. Siemian has made 30 career starts. For his career, Siemian holds a 58.9% completion rate, a 42-28 TD-INT ratio and has averaged 6.7 yards per attempt.

Between the Broncos and Bears, Siemian played for the Vikings, Jets, Titans and Saints. Denver still represents his most notable NFL stop. After the Broncos signed Mark Sanchez and drafted Paxton Lynch in the 2016 first round, they still turned to the 2015 seventh-round pick to succeed Manning. Siemian directed the Broncos to a 9-7 season in 2016 — by far the team’s best post-Manning record — and held off Lynch for the job in 2017. After signing Case Keenum in 2018, the Broncos traded Siemian to the Vikings.

Siemian has started six games since departing Denver. Four of those came with the Saints in 2021. Equipped with a bottom-tier receiver situation, Siemian lost all four starts during a stretch that also included an Alvin Kamara absence. The journeyman did, however, help the Saints defeat the Buccaneers after replacing an injured Jameis Winston. Siemian made a Week 18 start for the Bears last season.

Allen and Siemian agreeing to deals on the same day is probably not coincidental. But the Bengals showed interest in making a change last month. Allen, 30, made six Bengals starts during his three-year Cincinnati run. One of those included a 371-yard, two-touchdown performance in a 2020 win over the Texans. It would seem the Bengals prioritized Siemian, seeing as Allen is now on a 49ers roster housing Brock Purdy, Trey Lance and Sam Darnold.

2024 NFL Fifth-Year Option Tracker

NFL teams have until May 2 to officially pick up fifth-year options on 2020 first-rounders who are entering the final year of their rookie deals. The 2020 CBA revamped the option structure and made them fully guaranteed, rather than guaranteed for injury only. Meanwhile, fifth-year option salaries are now determined by a blend of the player’s position, initial draft placement and performance- and usage-based benchmarks:

  • Two-time Pro Bowlers (excluding alternate Pro Bowlers) will earn the same as their position’s franchise tag.
  • One-time Pro Bowlers will earn the equivalent of the transition tag.
  • Players who achieve any of the following will get the average of the third-20th highest salaries at their position:
    • At least a 75% snap rate in two of their first three seasons
    • A 75% snap average across all three seasons
    • At least 50% in each of first three seasons
  • Players who do not hit any of those benchmarks will receive the average of the third-25th top salaries at their position.

With the deadline looming, we’ll use the space below to track all the option decisions from around the league:

  1. QB Joe Burrow, Bengals ($29.5MM): Exercised
  2. DE Chase Young, Commanders ($17.45MM): Declined
  3. CB Jeff Okudah, Falcons* ($11.51MM): N/A
  4. T Andrew Thomas, Giants ($14.18MM): Exercised
  5. QB Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins ($23.2MM): Exercised
  6. QB Justin Herbert, Chargers ($29.5MM): Exercised
  7. DT Derrick Brown, Panthers ($11.67MM): Exercised 
  8. LB Isaiah Simmons, Cardinals ($12.72MM): Declined
  9. CB C.J. Henderson, Jaguars** ($11.51MM): Declined
  10. T Jedrick Wills, Browns ($14.18MM): Exercised
  11. T Mekhi Becton, Jets ($12.57MM): Declined
  12. WR Henry Ruggs, Raiders: N/A
  13. T Tristan Wirfs, Buccaneers ($18.24MM): Exercised
  14. DT Javon Kinlaw, 49ers ($10.46MM): Declined
  15. WR Jerry Jeudy, Broncos ($14.12MM): Exercised
  16. CB AJ Terrell, Falcons ($12.34MM): Exercised
  17. WR CeeDee Lamb, Cowboys ($17.99MM): Exercised
  18. OL Austin Jackson, Dolphins ($14.18MM): Declined
  19. CB Damon Arnette, Raiders: N/A
  20. DE K’Lavon Chaisson, Jaguars ($12.14MM): Declined
  21. WR Jalen Reagor, Vikings*** ($12.99MM): To decline
  22. WR Justin Jefferson, Vikings ($19.74MM): Exercised
  23. LB Kenneth Murray, Chargers ($11.73MM): Declined
  24. G Cesar Ruiz, Saints ($14.18MM): Declined
  25. WR Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers ($14.12MM): Exercised
  26. QB Jordan Love, Packers ($20.27MM): Extended through 2024
  27. LB Jordyn Brooks, Seahawks ($12.72MM): Declined
  28. LB Patrick Queen, Ravens ($12.72MM): Declined
  29. T Isaiah Wilson, Titans: N/A
  30. CB Noah Igbinoghene, Dolphins ($11.51MM): Declined
  31. CB Jeff Gladney, Vikings: N/A
  32. RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Chiefs ($5.46MM): To decline

* = Lions traded Okudah on April 11, 2023
** = Jaguars traded Henderson on Sept. 27, 2021
*** = Eagles traded Reagor on August 31, 2022

Bengals HC Zac Taylor On RB Joe Mixon: “His Future Is Here With The Team”

For the past several months, there have been rumblings that Joe Mixon‘s time with the Bengals could soon be up. However, in his post-draft presser yesterday, head coach Zac Taylor indicated that the seventh-year running back would remain in Cincinnati in 2023.

“[Mixon’s] future is here with the team,” Taylor told reporters, including Ben Baby of ESPN.com. “I like Joe Mixon.”

Those comments are certainly more definitive than those made by VP of player personnel Duke Tobin and executive VP Katie Blackburn earlier this offseason. When asked whether the club would retain Mixon, Tobin said, “I don’t know,” and Blackburn was similarly noncommittal. Several weeks ago, a report from Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic suggested that Mixon will ultimately be asked to take a pay cut.

A pay cut may be the best outcome for both sides, as the Bengals would retain a 2021 Pro Bowler while reducing his $12.8MM cap number, and Mixon would avoid becoming a late addition to a free agent market that has proven quite unfriendly to running backs. Plus, it’s not as though he would be hitting the market with a great deal of momentum; he posted a subpar 3.9 YPC average in 2022 and is presently facing a misdemeanor charge of aggravated menacing.

If player and team do not discuss or come to terms on a salary reduction, the Bengals could release Mixon with a post-June 1 designation and shave over $10MM off their 2023 ledger. However, that would put a great deal of pressure on Trayveon Williams (47 career carries), Chris Evans (17 career carries), and fifth-round rookie Chase Brown.

If Cincy had been able to re-sign Samaje Perine, perhaps the club would have been more inclined to move on from Mixon and deploy a Perine/Brown tandem at the top of the RB depth chart. Or, if a blue-chip prospect like Bijan Robinson had fallen to them in this year’s draft, the Bengals might have been comfortable with such a player taking over RB1 duties right away. As it stands, however, it would seem that a team with Super Bowl aspirations would not immediately hand the running back reins to Brown, no matter how high his upside might be. So Taylor’s comments with respect to Mixon, who has joined the team for voluntary workouts, make sense.

For his part, Brown — a Doak Walker Award finalist who rushed for 1,643 yards and posted 13 total TDs in his final season with Illinois — is excited to work with Mixon.

“They have a great running back there right now, Joe Mixon, who I grew up watching and watched a lot through college,” Brown said. “So I’m excited to come in, learn from him, learn from the coaching staff and produce on Sundays.”

2023 NFL Draft Results: Team By Team

As the 2023 NFL Draft gets underway, we will keep track of each team’s haul here:

Arizona Cardinals

Round 1, No. 6 (from Rams through Lions): Paris Johnson, OT (Ohio State) (signed)
Round 2, No. 41 (from Titans): BJ Ojulari, DE (LSU) (signed)
Round 3, No. 72 (from Titans): Garrett Williams, CB (Syracuse) (signed)
Round 3, No. 94 (from Eagles): Michael Wilson, WR (Stanford) (signed)
Round 4, No. 122 (from Dolphins through Chiefs and Lions): Jon Gaines II, G (UCLA) (signed)
Round 5, No. 139 (from Broncos through Lions): Clayton Tune, QB (Houston) (signed)
Round 5, No. 168 (from Cardinals through Lions): Owen Pappoe, LB (Auburn) (signed)
Round 5, No. 180: Kei’Trel Clark, CB (Louisville) (signed)
Round 6, No. 213: Dante Stills, DT (West Virginia) (signed)

Atlanta Falcons

Round 1, No. 8: Bijan Robinson, RB (Texas) (signed)
Round 2, No. 38 (from Colts): Matthew Bergeron, T (Syracuse) (signed)
Round 3, No. 75: Zach Harrison, DE (Ohio State) (signed)
Round 4, No. 113: Clark Phillips III, CB (Utah) (signed)
Round 7, No. 224 (from Raiders): DeMarcco Hellams, S (Alabama) (signed)
Round 7, No. 225: Jovaughn Gwyn, G (South Carolina) (signed)

Baltimore Ravens

Round 1, No. 22: Zay Flowers, WR (Boston College) (signed)
Round 3, No. 86: Trenton Simpson, LB (Clemson) (signed)
Round 4, No. 124: Tavius Robinson, LB (Ole Miss) (signed)
Round 5, No. 157: Kyu Blu Kelly, CB (Stanford) (signed)
Round 6, No. 199: Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu, OT (Oregon) (signed)
Round 7, No. 229 (from Browns): Andrew Vorhees, G (USC) (signed)

Buffalo Bills

Round 1, No. 25 (from Giants through Jaguars): Dalton Kincaid, TE (Utah) (signed)
Round 2, No. 59: O’Cyrus Torrence, G (Florida) (signed)
Round 3, No, 91: Dorian Williams, LB (Tulane) (signed)
Round 5, No. 150 (from Commanders): Justin Shorter, WR (Florida) (signed)
Round 7, No. 230 (from Buccaneers through Jets, Texans, Eagles and Bills): Nick Broeker, G (Ole Miss) (signed)
Round 7, No. 252 (from Buccaneers through Rams): Alex Austin, CB (Oregon State) (signed)

Carolina Panthers

Round 1, No. 1 (from Bears): Bryce Young, QB (Alabama) (signed)
Round 2, No. 39: Jonathan Mingo, WR (Ole Miss) (signed)
Round 3, No. 80 (from Steelers): D.J. Johnson, DE (Oregon) (signed)
Round 4, No. 114: Chandler Zavala, G (North Carolina State) (signed)
Round 5, No. 145: Jammie Robinson, S (Florida State) (signed)

Chicago Bears

Round 1, No. 10 (from Saints through Eagles): Darnell Wright, OT (Tennessee) (signed)
Round 2, No. 53 (from Ravens): Gervon Dexter, DT (Florida) (signed)
Round 2, No. 56 (from Jaguars): Tyrique Stevenson, CB (Miami) (signed)
Round 3, No. 64: Zacch Pickens, DT (South Carolina) (signed)
Round 4, No. 115 (from Saints): Roschon Johnson, RB (Texas) (signed)
Round 4, No. 133 (from Eagles): Tyler Scott, WR (Cincinnati) (signed)
Round 5, No. 148 (from Patriots through Ravens): Noah Sewell, LB (Oregon) (signed)
Round 5, No. 165 (from Saints through Eagles): Terell Smith, CB (Minnesota) (signed)
Round 7, No. 218: Travis Bell, DT (Kennesaw State) (signed)
Round 7, No. 258: Kendall Williamson, S (Stanford) (signed)

Cincinnati Bengals

Round 1, No. 28: Myles Murphy, DE (Clemson) (signed)
Round 2, No. 60: DJ Turner, CB (Michigan) (signed)
Round 3, No. 95 (from Chiefs): Jordan Battle, S (Alabama) (signed)
Round 4, No. 131: Charlie Jones, WR (Purdue) (signed)
Round 5, No. 163: Chase Brown, RB (Illinois) (signed)
Round 6, No. 206: Andrei Iosivas, WR (Princeton) (signed)
Round 6, No. 217 (from Chiefs): Brad Robbins, P (Michigan) (signed)
Round 7, No. 246: DJ Ivey, CB (Miami) (signed)

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Chiefs Acquire No. 92 From Bengals

The past two AFC championship foes are making a third-round trade. The Bengals are sending No. 92 overall to the Chiefs in exchange for Nos. 95 and 217.

This year’s draft hosts selected Oklahoma tackle Wanya Morris. While Morris was not teammates with Sooner-turned-Chief Creed Humphrey, having transferred from Tennessee in 2021, he will join a Chiefs team that features some tackle uncertainty opposite Jawaan Taylor.

Kansas City is planning to move Taylor from his right tackle position, where he started four seasons with the Jaguars and played primarily in college, to left tackle. Taylor’s $20MM-per-year contract reflects that. Morris’ 2022 role would support Kansas City completing its Taylor transition plan. Morris started eight games at right tackle for the Sooners last season.

The Chiefs lost right tackle starter Andrew Wylie in free agency in March; Wylie, who had only played for the Chiefs over the course of his five-year career, is now with the Commanders. The Chiefs did not allocate much funding toward their right tackle spot during Orlando Brown‘s Missouri tenure, and they may not be prepared to do so opposite Taylor. Morris and former third-round pick Lucas Niang, who has dealt with extensive injury trouble, represent the team’s top options here.

Morris, who started seven games at left tackle during his 2020 sophomore season at Tennessee, becomes the second Oklahoma tackle taken in this draft. The Jaguars chose Anton Harrison in Round 1.

RB Giovani Bernard Announces Retirement

After 10 seasons, Giovani Bernard will leave the game. The former Bengals and Buccaneers running back announced Friday he is retiring (Twitter link).

Bernard, 31, wraps his career with two Bucs seasons and eight Bengals campaigns. The North Carolina product, who arrived in Cincinnati as part of the 2011 Carson Palmer trade, signed with Tampa Bay during the 2021 offseason. While his Bucs stint did not produce too much playing time, Bernard was a Bengals staple for most of the past decade.

The Bengals used Bernard as a dual-threat option. He complemented the likes of Jeremy Hill and Joe Mixon for most of his Cincinnati career. Bernard ranks in the top 10 in both rushing yards (3,697) and yards from scrimmage (6,564) in franchise history. Only James Brooks totaled more receiving yards among backs in Bengals history. Bernard finished his career with 36 touchdowns. One of those scores — a 35-yard TD in Miami during his rookie season — doubled as one of the more impressive efforts in recent memory.

When the Bengals traded Palmer at the 2011 deadline, they obtained a 2012 first-rounder and a 2013 second. Dre Kirkpatrick became the first of those choices, Bernard the second. Cincinnati chose the ex-Tar Heel 37th overall in 2013, making him the first running back off the board in that draft. The shifty back soon helped the team to three more playoff appearances during the Marvin Lewis– and Andy Dalton-fronted stretch in the early 2010s.

The 5-foot-9 back ripped off three straight seasons of 1,000-plus scrimmage yards over his first three years. This production earned him a nice payday. The Bengals gave Bernard a three-year, $15.5MM deal before the 2016 season began. At the time, the deal placed Bernard in the top 10 among running backs for average annual value. Despite tearing an ACL during his first season on that contract, Bernard later signed a third Bengals deal — a two-year, $9.7MM pact — in September 2019.

Mixon became Cincinnati’s primary back in 2017, but Bernard still played a role for the next four seasons. As they rearmed their roster around Joe Burrow‘s rookie contract in 2021, the Bengals cut bait on the final year of Bernard’s deal. Bernard joined the Bucs, who were chasing another Super Bowl title. Tampa Bay allocated much of its 2021 resources to bringing back every key player from the 2020 championship team. Bernard became a mid-offseason outside addition for the eventual NFC South champs, but injuries limited him in Tampa.

Bernard, who also received interest from the 49ers and Seahawks in 2021, totaled just 41 touches as a Buccaneer. He suffered an MCL injury in 2021 and, after re-signing in 2022, battled ankle and calf trouble. Although the Bengals sought a Bernard pay cut before releasing him, the 10-year NFLer made more than $27MM over the course of his career.

Bengals Take DE Myles Murphy At No. 28

The Bengals have spent a high number of recent draft picks on the offensive side of the ball, but they invested their 2023 first-round pick on defense. Cincinnati has selected Clemson defensive end Myles Murphy with the No. 28 pick.

Murphy is the first Bengals first-round defensive lineman since Justin Smith back in 2001. While he is thus a rarity in that regard, he should be counted on as a productive contributor for the AFC North champions in both the short- and long-term future.

The Tigers experienced a general regression across their defensive front in 2022, and Murphy took a step back in terms of production. After an impressive 2021 campaign in which he posted eight sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss, the 6-4, 268-pounder saw those respective figures fall to 6.5 and 11 last year. He was still able to show flashes of his ability to effect both the run and pass game, though, keeping him in the first-round conversation leading up to the draft.

Murphy coupled his size and frame with a combination of speed and power to make him one of the more balanced edge players in this year’s impressive class, and give himself a wide range of potential NFL landing spots. In Cincinnati, he should be able to find a role for himself early on.

The Bengals have Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard in place atop their edge rushing depth chart. They ranked 29th in the league with only 30 sacks last year, however, illustrating a lack of established backup options at the position. Cincinnati added Joseph Ossai in the third round of the 2021 draft, and Murphy will join him as a young, developmental option. If he can regain his form from 2021, the latter could prove to be a very worthwhile addition.

Bengals, Bills Eyeing RB Jahmyr Gibbs

Jahmyr Gibbs continues to generate first-round buzz, and it sounds like a pair of AFC contenders have their eye on the Alabama product. According to Albert Breer of SI.com, both the Bills and Bengals have been tied to the running back.

Gibbs has continued to climb up draft boards in recent weeks following a productive season at Alabama. After transferring from Georgia Tech, Gibbs put together a 1,370-yards, 10-touchdown season with the Crimson Tide. Almost a third of his total yards came in the receiving game, leading scouts to assume that he’ll serve in a Swiss Army Knife-type role in the NFL.

While there have been some concerns regarding his 5-11, 200-pound frame, Gibbs has emerged as the draft’s clear No. 2 RB behind Texas prospect Bijan Robinson. ESPN’s Todd McShay recently wrote that Gibbs has received continued attention around the NFL from evaluators, and it’s gotten to the point where he is expected to be drafted in the first round.

The valuation of running backs has made it difficult to project the range for high-end prospects at the position. However, McShay noted that some teams have little in the way of a gap in ranking between Gibbs and Robinson, and both players are expected to hear their names called later tonight.

Buffalo (No. 27) would be a natural landing spot for Gibbs considering their uncertain depth chart, while Cincinnati (No. 28) would have to get creative with his usage considering the presence of Joe Mixon. Of course, they’re not the only teams with their eye on the player. Breer reiterates previously reported interest from the Giants and Chiefs, and the Dolphins have also been mentioned as a suitor.

Draft Rumors: Commanders, Chargers, Giants, Bengals, Bears

It’s the eve of the 2023 NFL Draft, and connections are being made left and right. Every team has hosted several prospects and done their fair share of homework. Here’s a few things we’re hearing in the hours leading up to the draft:

  • The Commanders can go in a lot of directions at the exact midpoint of the first round. They’ve been connected to offensive tackle and cornerback prospects in most situations. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, though, Washington’s executive vice president of football/player personnel Marty Hurney is a big advocate for Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson. The team has committed to last year’s fifth-round pick Sam Howell as their starting quarterback for 2023, as well as bringing in Jacoby Brissett as an experienced backup. Drafting Richardson would likely be a sit-and-learn situation while either Howell or Brissett man the starting spot under center.
  • The Chargers have been rumored to be looking ahead in this year’s draft towards next year’s needs, according to Breer. Even though wide receiver is clearly not a need with Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Josh Palmer, Williams may end up as a cap casualty after this season with a pending $32.46MM cap hit in 2024. This could lead to Los Angeles getting ahead of that hole and drafting a wideout in the first round this year. Breer hears the team really likes Boston College receiver Zay Flowers.
  • Another team who could possibly be looking to cover a future contract situation, the Giants are reportedly fairly high on Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs, according to Breer. With contract negotiations with veteran Saquon Barkley being reported as tenuous, it’s hard to imagine general manager Joe Schoen further stirring the pot with another first-round running back. It would provide the team with a backup option if negotiations with Barkley turn sour, though.
  • The Bengals ranked 29th in 2022 for team sacks and are reportedly looking for more pass rushing help on the interior defensive line, according to Breer. At the end of the first round, there’s only so many options. Georgia’s Jalen Carter surely won’t still be around at No. 28 overall. Clemson’s Bryan Bresee has some strong tools but is expected to need to improve his pass rushing arsenal. Pittsburgh’s Calijah Kancey is the only real answer here. With 14.5 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss over the last two years, the diminutive tackle projects as a discount Aaron Donald. If Kancey isn’t available or not what the Bengals are looking for, they could trade back or just wait for someone like Auburn’s Colby Wooden in the third or fourth round.
  • Lastly, the Bears have been frequently tied to offensive line prospect Peter Skoronski out of Northwestern. It’s unclear whether they like Skoronski as an improvement at tackle or a new starter on the inside, but if he’s available by the time the tenth pick rolls around, it’s hard to imagine Chicago passing up the nearby offensive lineman.