Cincinnati Bengals Select Alfonzo Dennard in Rant Sports 2012 NFL Mock Draft

Published: 9^th Apr 12 8:23 am

by Dan Parzych
Director of Content

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(Bruce Thorson/US PRESSWIRE)

The Cincinnati Bengals ended up being one of the biggest surprises in 2011 after finishing 10-6 during the regular season–which was good enough to earn the No. 6 seed in the AFC and a first-round matchup against the Houston Texans. With April’s draft right around the corner, the folks at Rant Sports decided to host their own 2012 NFL Mock Draft and with the 17th pick, the Bengals selected Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard.

Losing Johnathan Joseph to the Houston Texans through free agency prior to the 2011 season was a huge blow for Cincinnati’s defense considering there were times when Joseph and Leon Hall gave the team one of the best cornerback duos in the NFL. Re-signing Adam Jones and bringing Jason Allen on board were both great moves by the Bengals, but there’s always room for improvement–which is why using a first-round pick on a cornerback like Dennard would be wise.

The argument can be made that Dennard could end up being one of the top players at his position from this year’s class and would make a great addition to Mike Zimmer’s defense. Here’s a guy that is great when it comes to man coverage and is phenomenal when it comes to breaking up passes–so why wouldn’t the Bengals go for a player like Dennard?

This year’s draft contains plenty of talented cornerbacks that will most likely be selected in the first round and with two first-round picks–there’s no reason why Cincinnati shouldn’t be able to land at least one of them. Expectations will be high for the Bengals in 2012 with the way things went last season and one of the main reasons why they were so successful was because of their defense.

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