2016 NFL Mock Draft: Week 3 edition

The Bengals offense highly effective. In fact, they rank No. 2 in total offensive yards, sixth in passing yards, and ninth in rush yards. Their corps of wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends do very well under the leadership of Andy Dalton– unless, of course, it is the post season.

While the Bengals can’t draft a change-of-luck for post-season play, they can beef up their defense. Oregon Ducks defensive end DeForest Buckner could enhance the Bengals pass rush and provide some security in that position if former Buccaneer Michael Johnson does not pan out. Given his track record in Tampa Bay, that is a distinct possibility.

The Oregon defense was bewildered and almost completely ineffective during its last game against Utah. They also allowed an embarrassing number of points in their season opener against EWU.

The poor defensive performance is not entirely Buckner’s fault, but it is worth keeping an eye on his 2015 productivity. He could end up falling out of the first-round if he doesn’t improve or at least put up a more valiant effort to reverse the trends of the last few games. Coming out of 2014 analysts were already grumbling that he needed to improve his technique. He has a chance to show he is worth a first round pick. For now, the jury is out.

Buckner has a lot of characteristics that could make him a productive defensive end in the NFL. First, he is a player of imposing size at 6’7″ and 290 pounds. Though he is hulking, he is not slow. In fact, he is very quick out of his stance, leveraging his explosiveness to send opposing players into the backfield.

Next: No. 28 Denver Broncos