Bengals meeting with Zyon Gilbert, Smoke Monday and Tony Adams

The Cincinnati Bengals have made it clear that they are using several of their Top 30 visits and time with prospects on some of the players expected to still be on the board on Day 3 of the NFL Draft. They continued that recently with various meetings with a trio of defensive backs.

The biggest of which comes with having a visit with Illinois cornerback Tony Adams, via Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. Wilson also describes Adams as a “draft riser” after also visiting with teams like the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts. The 6-foot corner caught the eye of NFL scouts when he ran a 4.34-second 40-yard dash. He looked explosive testing as well.

Cincinnati also had a Top 30 visit with cornerback Zyon Gilbert from FAU, according to Justin Melo from Draft Network. He is another intriguing height, weight and speed prospect on the outside. He is expected to go undrafted, but he would be a nice project player for the Bengals to add to the roster.

Finally, the Bengals also met virtually with the physically imposing safety Smoke Monday from Auburn, also from Melo. Monday is the only one of the trio that would be a surprise if he went undrafted. He is a very passionate prospect who is a throwback in the sense he loves delivering the big hit.

Unfortunately, Monday also has issues helping against passing attacks deep. He compares to a poor man’s Vonn Bell.

The Bengals know they need to add some young depth to their secondary after replacing most of their starters with players who are currently in their prime. You also have to wonder how many of these defenders they will be able to retain after Cincinnati has to give out monster deals to Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. The team will also most likely use an earlier pick to get a cornerback who could potentially start on the outside as well.