Bengals’ late-round rookie hyped as great value again
The Cincinnati Bengals, based on consensus boards and even droves of PFF grades, made some really high-value selections throughout the course of the 2024 NFL draft.
But for one analyst, the best value came in the seventh and final round.
According to Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon, Matt Lee was the best value of the team’s 10 draft picks and used one ranking system to explain:
Despite the Bengals’ recent success—their injury-plagued 2023 campaign notwithstanding—they have routinely dealt with shaky offensive lines in front of franchise quarterback Joe Burrow.
Given that, it’s only sensible the Bengals used their final pick on Matt Lee, whom B/R had ranked 120th overall. He went 237th and will compete for a backup role.
Lee has pretty much been a consensus steal since the Bengals made the pick. That late in the draft outright, the team would get a big win if he turns into a long-term backup on the interior, a weak point over the last few years.
But based on what we’ve seen about Lee so far, there’s always an outside chance he can contend to be the guy at center once Ted Karras’ time in Cincinnati is up, too, which reinforces the idea of the pick’s value.
