The Cincinnati Bengals need a cornerback, and by the time the first of their two first-round picks in our 2012 NFL Mock Draft come around—this one is from the Oakland Raiders, for Carson Palmer—they'll have their pick of any one of them not named Morris Claiborne. That leaves Dre Kirkpatrick and Stephon Gilmore as their most likely picks, and although Gilmore's draft momentum has sent him flying up mock draft boards on the last days of draft season we predict the Bengals will go ahead and take the guy they're more comfortable with: Dre Kirkpatrick, who already has possible off-the-field problems.
Kirkpatrick's combine wasn't perfect, but he's an enormous cornerback with a wide base of physical talents who's shown a lot of potential in his time in Alabama. Taking him over Gilmore could be a huge mistake, but in situations like this I usually imagine there's a reason one player was ranked ahead of the other for 11 of the last 12 months...
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