
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 league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division.[2] The team's home games have been held in downtown Cincinnati at Paycor Stadium since 2000.[3] Founded as an expansion team of the American Football League (AFL) in 1968, they joined they joined the NFL as a result of the 1970 AFL–NFL merger.[4][5][2]
The NFL Draft, officially known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting",[6] is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment.[7] 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.[8]
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 2nd overall selection.[2][9] In the most recent draft, held in 2023, the Bengals chose Clemson defensive end Myles Murphy.[10] 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.[10]
The Bengals have drafted at least one player in the first round every year except for 1989.[10] Only one of the team's first-round picks—Anthony Muñoz—have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[11]
Player selections

† | Indicates the player was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
---|---|
* | Selected number one overall |
Season | The corresponding NFL Draft for a pick |
Pick | Indicates the overall pick number in the draft |
Position | The player's position |
College | The player's college football team |
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 |
Notes
- ↑ Cincinnati received the second and last selections in the first-round due to their status as an incoming expansion team (Nos. 2 and 26 overall).[13]
- ↑ Cincinnati traded a 1968 first-round selection (No. 27 overall) to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for quarterback John Stofa.[13]
- ↑ Cincinnati traded quarterback Mike Boryla to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for their 1975 sixth-round selection (No. 143 overall), their 1976 first-round selection (No. 11 overall), and cash.[13]
- ↑ Cincinnati traded defensive end Sherman White to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for their 1977 first-round selection (No. 3 overall).[14]
- 1 2 Cincinnati traded linebacker Bill Bergey to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for their 1977 first-round selection (No. 8 oveall) and 1978 first- and second-round selections (Nos. 8 and 35 overall).[13]
- ↑ Cincinnati traded defensive back Lemar Parrish and defensive end Coy Bacon to the Washington Redskins in exchange for their 1979 first-round selection (No. 12 overall).[15]
- 1 2 3 Cincinnati traded quarterback Jack Thompson to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for their 1984 first-round selection (No. 1 overall).[16]
- 1 2 Cincinnati traded a 1984 first-round selection (No. 1 overall, received from Tampa Bay Buccaneers)[upper-alpha 7] to the New England Patriots in exchange for two 1984 first-round selections, a tenth-round selection (Nos. 16, 28, and 265 overall), and a 1985 fifth-round selection (No. 129 overall).[13]
- ↑ Cincinnati traded center Blair Bush to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for their 1985 first-round selection (No. 25 overall).[17]
- ↑ Cincinatti traded the rights to linebacker Ricky Hunley to the Denver Broncos in exchange for their 1986 first- and third-round selection (Nos. 21 and 78 overall) and 1987 fifth-round selection (No. 139 overall).[13]
- ↑ Cincinnati traded their 1989 second-, fourth-, and tenth-round selections (Nos. 35, 89, and 256) to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for their 1989 first-round selection (No. 27 overall).[13]
- 1 2 Cincinnati traded their 1992 first- and third-round selections (Nos. 4 and 58 overall) to the Washington Redskins in exchange for their 1992 third- and two first-round selections (Nos. 6, 28, and 84 overall).[13]
- ↑ Cincinnati traded their 1995 first- and second-round selections (Nos. 5 and 36 overall) to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for their 1995 first-round selection (No. 1 overall).[18]
- ↑ Cincinnati traded quarterback Dan Wilkinson to the Washington Redskins in exchange for their 1998 first- and third-round selections (Nos. 17 and 78 overall).[19]
- 1 2 Cincinnati traded their 2004 first-round selection (No. 17 overall) to the Denver Broncos in exchange for their 2004 first- and fourth-round selections (Nos. 24 and 117 overall).[20]
- ↑ Cincinnati traded a 2004 first-round selection (No. 24 overall, received from the Denver Broncos)[upper-alpha 15] to the St. Louis Rams in exchange for their 2004 first- and fourth-round selections (Nos. 26 and 123 overall).[20]
- ↑ Cincinnati traded quarterback Carson Palmer to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for their 2012 first-round selection (No. 17 overall) and 2013 second-round selection (No. 37 overall).[21]
- ↑ Cincinnati traded their 2012 first-round selection (No. 21 overall) to the New England Patriots in exchange for their 2011 first-round selection (No. 27 overall) and 2012 third-round selection (No. 93 overall).[21]
- ↑ Cincinnati traded their 2018 first- and sixth-round selections (No. 12 and 187 overall) to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for their 2018 first- and fifth-round selections (Nos. 21 and 158 overall).[22]
References
- ↑ "2020 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- 1 2 3 "Team Facts". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ↑ "Paycor Stadium History". Cincinnati Bengals. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ↑ Suess, Jeff (February 13, 2022). "Who are dey? A brief history of the Cincinnati Bengals". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ↑ "Team History". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ↑ "Index - NFL Draft - ESPNDB". ESPN. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ↑ "NFL 2021 Draft date: when and where is it taking place?". Diario AS. February 18, 2021. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ↑ "The rules of the NFL Draft". National Football League. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- ↑ "1968 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Cincinnati Bengals All-Time Draft History". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ↑ "Hall of Famers by Draft Round". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ↑ "2003 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Media Guide 2023 Cincinnati Bengals" (PDF). Cincinnati Bengals. pp. 226–232. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023 – via National Football League.
- ↑ Pierson, Don (May 1, 1977). "NFL draft Tuesday: Can poor strike gold?". Chicago Tribune. p. 84. Archived from the original on November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Asher, Mark (June 27, 1978). "Redskins Get Parrish, Bacon". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
- ↑ "The Cincinnati Bengals will have the first and seventh... - UPI Archives". United Press International. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ↑ "Seahawks All-Time Trade History". Seattle Seahawks. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ↑ "1995 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ↑ "1998 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- 1 2 "2004 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- 1 2 "2012 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ↑ "2018 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2023.