The Cincinnati Bengals may have an outside shot at a dominant college player who could immediately help their rebuilding defense."The Cincinnati Bengals’ defensive unit was a mess last year. Injuries Drew Sample Jersey 2019 , a lack of depth and poor coaching led to a No. 29 ranking against the run and a dead-last ranking against the pass and in overall defense. Yikes. As cures for what ails them, most folks are looking at the mid-level of the defense as the best early-round positional options for the unit. But, as the old adage goes, football is often won in the trenches, so having talent on the front line of a defense is crucial to a team’s potential success. If Zac Taylor and Co. are eyeing defensive linemen with early picks, this draft is absolutely loaded with talent. One of the more enigmatic players in this year’s draft is Houston’s Ed Oliver. The former Cougar could be gone by the time the Bengals are on the clock, but with such a deep class, he could slip through the cracks to No. 11. Do the Bengals run to the podium if Oliver is there, or do they grab a guy at a position in more need of assistance?Why the pick makes sense:Would be great value at No. 11, as many draft media platforms have him ranked within the top-10 (often top-five) of overall players in the class. Unlike the four Clemson linemen in this class, Oliver showed greatness at the college level Color Rush Drew Sample Jersey , even though there wasn’t much surrounding help. Oliver did a little bit of everything from the interior of the Cougars’ defense. He racked up 13 sacks, five passes defended and an incredible 53 tackles for loss in three collegiate seasons.Between what the Bengals employ at the interior of the defense from a size perspective, Oliver is a completely different physical profile.Oliver put up some great workout numbers, including 32 repetitions on bench press, 36 inches on the vertical jump and 120 inches on the broad jump. The athleticism largely matches the dominant tape. Grabbing Oliver would create an instantly-upgraded rotation up front for the Bengals. Packages where both he and Geno Atkins are used should present nightmares for opposing AFC North quarterbacks.The Bengals are looking to be a bit more scheme-diverse on defense this year under Lou Anarumo and a guy with Oliver’s skill set should be very useful. Similar questions existed about Aaron Donald and Geno Atkins coming out of college. I think we know how they turned out as pros. Effort and range of play are almost never questions from this kid.Could be a quality heir apparent to Atkins, who is entering his 10th season. Why the pick doesn’t make sense:One of the more prominent boom-or-bust players in this class. Oliver might be relegated to role player duties at first, given the statuses of Atkins and Andrew Billings. While this isn’t a bad thing long-term, per se, this team and its defense need immediate impact, three-down contributors from the early rounds of this class.There are questions about Oliver’s production coming against lesser talent. Personally speaking, I’d say you want the kind of domination from a “big fish in a small pond” that Oliver displayed Cheap Drew Sample Jersey , but it’s still something to consider at the NFL level. What is his playing weight? Some believe he was near a 4-3 defensive end’s size in college, though he weighed in at 287 pounds at the NFL Combine. Linebacker, offensive line, quarterback and wide receiver could be argued as bigger positional needs than a defensive lineman. Ideally, there would be a little more consistency in the pass-rush game from Oliver. All in all, the positives seem to greatly outweigh the negatives if Oliver is there for the Bengals at No. 11. If we’re talking big picture, it’s really about if he’s available and how Cincinnati prioritizes their positional needs in the draft. How would you feel about Ed Oliver joining the Bengals via No. 11 overall in the NFL Draft? CINCINNATI (AP) — Marvin Lewis went to sit in his chair and realized someone had lowered it. The chair didn’t cooperate as he struggled to get it to a comfortable level.“I guess that’s what happens when you get beat up,” the Bengals coach joked.Beat up, and then some.The Bengals unraveled in prime time yet again, playing their worst game on the Sunday night stage. A 45-10 loss at Kansas City was the second-most-lopsided during Lewis’ 16 seasons in Cincinnati, surpassed only by a game in which they rested starters to get ready for the playoffs.There was a lot at stake in this one: national recognition and first place in the AFC North. The game was flexed from an afternoon slot to Sunday night so fans nationwide could see a pair of up-and-coming teams in an offensive showdown.Instead Drew Sample Jersey Womens , the Bengals (4-3) were dominated in every respect as millions watched.“That’s when your pride gets affected,” receiver Tyler Boyd said Monday. “That hurts more than anything.”For the first time this season, the Bengals are looking up in the standings. Pittsburgh (3-2-1) leads the division by percentage points. Much of the Bengals’ momentum from a 4-1 start has been wasted by another last-second home loss to the Steelers and a blowout at Kansas City in consecutive weeks.Cincinnati has lost nine straight on Sunday night, when it’s 3-16 overall. The Bengals’ last such win was over the Dolphins in 2004. They’re 6-15 in prime-time games since 2011, when Andy Dalton and A.J. Green arrived — 0-6 on Sunday night, 2-5 on Monday night, 4-3 on Thursday night and 0-1 on Saturday night.Back on the big stage, they missed tackles , botched coverages, missed blocks, messed up a fake punt and had an interception returned for a touchdown . They struggled to get even the simple things done right.“This one’s going to be hard to swallow just because it was in front of everyone Andy Dalton Jersey ,” safety Jessie Bates said. “Everyone was watching.”The Bengals are trying to escape their history of meltdowns in big games. They haven’t won a playoff game since the 1990 season, the sixth-longest streak of futility in NFL history. Lewis is 0-7 in the playoffs, the worst mark for a head coach.They had a chance to end that Sunday night streak. Instead, they gave viewers reason to tune out early in the third quarter.For one night, it was a Bengals rerun.“It’s a bad look for the whole team to see this happen,” linebacker Preston Brown said. “It’s such a big score difference. You never want to go out there and get blown out on a Sunday night, (especially) when it’s been something we’ve been waiting to show the whole league what we can do.”It was their sixth loss of at least 30 points during Lewis’ 16-year tenure. Their worst loss over that time was a 37-0 defeat against the Jets in 2009, when they rested regulars for the final regular-season game knowing they’d play the Jets again in the playoffs the following week. They lost that one, too.They lost 37-3 at Kansas City in the final game of the 2005 season, when they had wrapped up the division title and were getting ready to play the Steelers in the first round.The Bengals lost 35-3 at Indianapolis in 2008. They’ve had a pair of 31-point losses: 44-13 at Baltimore in the 2012 season opener and 34-3 against Baltimore in 2008.They host Tampa Bay (3-3) on Sunday before heading into their bye week. Four of their next five games are at home.