Bengals land guard, Ohio State defender in mock draft

In Matt Miller’s latest mock draft for Bleacher Report, the Bengals get stronger up front.

Cincinnati lands Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson at No. 12, a coup given that he’s a top five player in the class, according to Miller.

"The Bengals offensive line was (and I'm being nice) trash this year," Miller said. "Both young tackles (Cedric Ogbuehi, Jake Fisher) struggled, and the team sorely missed Kevin Zeitler who left for Cleveland in free agency. Quenton Nelson can't fix the problems at tackle, but he can step right in and be a dominant left guard."

Miller is right: The offensive line was among the team’s biggest weaknesses, and snagging Nelson would be a huge addition.

In the second round, Cincinnati stays local and takes linebacker Jerome Baker from Ohio State.

Linebacker has long been a need. Putting Baker next to Vontaze Burfict has the makings of turning what’s routinely been one of the Bengals’ lesser units into a strength.

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