The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference North Division. [2] Founded as an expansion team of the American Football League (AFL) in 1968, they joined the NFL as a result of the 1970 AFL–NFL merger. [3] [4] [2] The team's home games have been held in downtown Cincinnati at Paycor Stadium since 2000. [5]
The NFL draft, officially known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", [6] [7] [8] is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. [9] The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings; the teams with the worst win–loss records receive the earliest picks. Teams that qualified for the NFL playoffs select after non-qualifiers, and their order depends on how far they advanced, using their regular season record as a tie-breaker. The final two selections in the first round are reserved for the Super Bowl runner-up and champion. Draft picks are tradable and players or other picks can be acquired with them. [10]
Since the team's first draft in 1968, the Bengals have selected 67 players in the first round. The team's first-round pick in their inaugural draft was Bob Johnson, a center from the University of Tennessee; he was the second overall selection. [2] [11] In the most recent draft, held in 2023, the Bengals chose Clemson defensive end Myles Murphy. [12] The Bengals have drafted number one overall four times and selected Dan Wilkinson in 1994, Ki-Jana Carter in 1995, Carson Palmer in 2003, and Joe Burrow in 2020. [12]
The Bengals have drafted at least one player in the first round every year except for 1989. [12] Only one of the team's first-round picks—Anthony Muñoz—have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. [13]
† | Indicates the player was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
---|---|
* | Selected number one overall |
Position abbreviations | |
---|---|
C | Center |
DB | Defensive back |
DE | Defensive end |
DL | Defensive line |
DT | Defensive tackle |
G | Guard |
LB | Linebacker |
NT | Nose tackle |
QB | Quarterback |
RB | Running back |
T | Tackle |
TE | Tight end |
WR | Wide receiver |
The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by NFL Network. Having signed a contract with the Houston Texans on the evening before the draft, Mario Williams, a defensive end from North Carolina State, became the draft's first pick. The selection surprised many commentators, who predicted that the Texans would draft Southern California running back Reggie Bush or Texas quarterback Vince Young. Ohio State produced the most first round selections (five), while Southern California produced the most overall selections (eleven). Twenty-seven compensatory and supplemental compensatory selections were distributed amongst seventeen teams; Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and Tennessee each held three compensatory picks. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.
The 1968 NFL/AFL draft was part of the common draft, in the second year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City on January 30–31, 1968.
The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 25, followed by the second and third rounds on April 26, and concluded with rounds 4–7 on April 27. The draft featured a record-high 40 trades, surpassing the 37 that were made in 2017.
The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021.