Cincinnati Bengals select Cedric Ogbuehi with the 21st overall pick

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Cedric Ogbuehi with the 21st overall pick. Here's the scouting report, courtesy of Gabriel Burns (@SoHotItGBURNS).

One of the more intriguing players in this class, evaluators are all over the place with their opinions of Texas A&M’s Cedric Ogbuehi. Once thought to be a top five selection, Ogbuehi saw his stock take a strong dip before tearing his ACL in the Aggies’ bowl game.

Ogbuehi is not on the same level as former A&M pass protectors Luke Joeckel, but he is still a decent prospect in his own right. Ogbuehi struggled at left tackle and was moved back to right tackle. So it is safe to say, at least at first, that he will play on the right side. Some scouts like him as a potential guard, but to me he belongs at right tackle.

He is similar to D’Brickashaw Ferguson athletically, but has nowhere near the upper body strength.

He is another good athlete in a class full of athletic tackles. He seems to have good     on-field awareness; understands his assignments. He has a good motor. His footwork is the best technical part of his game.

Ogbuehi provided scouts an extra year to dissect his film by staying in school, and that, coupled with his ACL tear, has not helped his case. He has a lot of holes in his technique that were frequently exposed, as he gave up seven sacks and played especially poorly on the left side. Ogbuehi is not a particularly strong tackle, so he has plenty of improvement needed in both his technique and power before reaching his peak ability.

The torn ACL has prevented Ogbuehi from workouts, but he says he will be ready for training camp. Obviously he will need to be medically checked out before a team invests in him, but that should not be a major hurdle.

Ogbuehi is one of the hardest prospects to place in this draft. He was overhyped in 2013, but now seems to be underrated following his 2014 performance. His injury will probably push him behind closely rated, healthier tackles on most teams’ boards. Ogbuehi is a potential second round selection that would provide outstanding value in the third.