The Bengals stayed in the trenches during the second round to draft Michigan defensive tackle Kris Jenkins with the 49th pick in the NFL Draft a night after they took Georgia right tackle Amarius Mims in the first round.
The 6-3, 300-pound Jenkins, the son of four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, started for two seasons, played in 44 games, and was a captain for the defending national champions. The Bengals continue to respond to the departure of nose tackle DJ Reader after signing vet three technique Sheldon Rankins. Jenkins was the first Michigan player taken in this year's draft, the third straight the Bengals took a Michigan defensive player with a pick between Nos. 31 and 60. Defensive back Dax Hill went at the bottom of the first round two years ago and last year cornerback DJ Turner went late in the second round at No. 60.
"They won the national championship for a reason. They're surrounded by a bunch of good guys," said defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. "It's a bit of a coincidence there. But Kris will fit right in with our guys."
Jenkins is described as a relentless run-stopper with an endless motor. When it comes to impeccable intangibles, Jenkins, 22, a junior, comes right out of the draft guide being used in the 2020s by Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin and head coach Zac Taylor. A locker-room leader on a winning team with 40 games or so of experience
"He checks all the boxes on that," Anarumo said. "He's done a bunch of different jobs on the field. Been a captain. Brings leadership. Like everything about him. From that standpoint, I think we're real happy."
But it was a grind with the wait for Jenkins similar to the agonizing monitoring of Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson at the top of the 2020 third round.
Taylor said the Bengals prioritized the defensive tackle spot. But if they were going to get the day's top DT target at the top of the second round in Illinois' Johhny Newton, it would have been a costly trade.
But then they found themselves in the middle of a ferocious defensive tackle run early in the round. Newton, going 36 to the Commanders, ignited three DTs to go in four picks and that made it a long climb to No. 49 since Taylor said Jenkins was a target.
"Especially when you're staring at the kid's name for a really long time," Taylor said. "They're what, seven-minute rounds? It felt like they were 27."
Then, at 48, the Jaguars took LSU defensive tackle Maason Smith. But the Bengals had their guy.
"I was squinting for an hour," said Anarumo of the board.
