NFL Draft: 5 Reasons the Cincinnati Bengals Won't Trade Up for Trent Richardson

It is no secret that the Cincinnati Bengals are in need of a starting running back heading into the 2012 season. The 2012 NFL Draft is widely thought to be the avenue the Bengals will use to address the need, and rightfully so.

The 2012 draft features a deep running back class headlined by Alabama running back Trent Richardson — one of the best prospects to enter the draft at the position since Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson.

So Richardson and the Bengals are a match made in heaven, right? Cincinnati has two first-round picks thanks to shipping off the disgruntled Carson Palmer to Oakland. Many fans and experts alike think it would be a smart move to package both first-round picks to move up in the first and grab Richardson.

Grabbing Richardson would give the Bengals a great running back to compliment an offensive unit already ripe with young talent.

Despite how much sense it would make for the Bengals to move up to take Richardson, here are five reasons the team shouldn’t, and won’t trade up for him in this year’s draft:

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Deep Free-Agent Running Back Market

Free agency open on March 13^th and the Bengals have a ludicrous amount of free cap room at the moment. Why not address the position in free agency and use the draft picks to improve other areas of the team, especially considering this is one of the deeper running back markets in recent history?

Guys like Ray Rice and Matt Forte likely won’t hit the open market, and that’s fine. Players like Marshawn Lynch, Peyton Hillis and Michael Bush could all be hitting the market and would be attractive options for the Bengals.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Bengals make a move at the position in free agency, and who can blame them for going with proven players over rookies that have no experience at the professional level?

Picks Better Used on Other Positions

The Bengals would have to trade both first-round picks, and possibly more to move up and select Trent Richardson. That doesn’t make sense for the Bengals at this point in time.

The team has a plethora of needs on the defensive side of the ball and there is no better way to address those needs than with the two first-round picks. It’s hard to justify trading two first rounders for one running back when the team could select two very good defensive players instead.

Hypothetically, the team would be trading away guys like Alfonzo Dennard and Mark Barron in exchange for Richardson. Filling multiple holes in the first round of the draft with quality picks instead of trading up for one player, no matter how good he is, seems to be the better strategy for a team so close to contention.

Deep Running Back Draft Class

The Bengals do need a running back, and fortunately for them this is one of the deepest classes in recent memory. Instead of breaking the bank to trade up for one big-name talent the team can afford to sit back and take a guy outside of the first round and still find a potential starter.

Players like Lamar Miller, David Wilson, Doug Martin and Chris Polk are all guys that will be available when the Bengals pick in the late first and middle second round. Each one of these players will fit well in the Bengals' West Coast offense, and they all have the ability to carry the load.

While going for a big name like Richardson seems great, any one of these guys could end up a better player than Richardson at the next level. The Bengals will surely take a running back in one of the first three rounds of the draft, and have plenty of quality options to choose from.

Bengals History

Let’s be realistic for a minute here. No matter how much “control” Marvin Lewis has gained in the past year over personnel decisions, Mike Brown still has some say in what goes on. That means no trades in the draft, no matter what.

In the 1999 draft, Mike Ditka, head coach of the New Orleans Saints,offered the Bengals nine draft picks (yes, he offered an entire draft) for the Bengals' No. 1 overall pick so that the Saints could select running back Ricky Williams. The Bengals declined the trade and instead selected quarterback Akili Smith – one of the biggest busts in NFL history.

With that in mind, it’s safe to say the Bengals aren’t going to be trading anything come draft day. It must be something in the water in Cincinnati.

Trent Richardson Could Fall to No. 17

Here’s the wild card in all of this. Richardson could very well fall to the Bengals at No. 17. It seems out of the question, but it’s really not. The running back position has been so devalued in recent years as the league transitions to a passing-oriented league that running backs falling in the draft is becoming a common occurrence.

Last year the only running back taken in the first round, Mark Ingram, fell all the way to 28^th overall. Granted Richardson is a better prospect than Ingram, but Ingram was in no way supposed to take that large of a nose dive.

Next one has to examine the teams picking in front of the Bengals. If Richardson slips past the Cleveland Browns at fourth overall, he could easily fall all the way to No. 17. No team between No. 4 and No. 17 has a need for Richardson. That’s not to say a team won’t gamble on him anyway, but to say the possibility of him falling to 17th in the draft is completely out of the question would be ridiculous.