3 Takeaways from the Cincinnati Bengals' 2012 NFL Draft

The Cincinnati Bengals were in excellent shape heading into the 2012 NFL draft, which made them well-poised to further improve what has become one of the more exciting young teams in the league.

And that they did, with Cincy coming away with a slew of talented players at seemingly every position they had a major need. Let's take a look at the three biggest takeaways of the Bengals' draft haul.

The Bengals Finally Found an Heir for CB Johnathan Joseph

It was a major blow to the Bengals secondary to lose star corner Johnathan Joseph, who left as a free agent to join the Houston Texans prior to the start of the 2011 season. Clearly, Adam Jones isn't much of an adequate replacement for a corner of Joseph's caliber.

So it seemed likely that Cincinnati would use one of their two first-round picks on a top corner, and that they did, landing Alabama's Dre Kirkpatrick 17th overall. Kirkpatrick should be able to pick up right where Joseph left off and will instantly improve a Bengals secondary that ranked 18th against the pass last year.

Kirkpatrick is literally a shutdown corner—opposing quarterbacks just don't want to throw in his direction. In the pass-happy NFL, he should be a star.

The Battle for No. 2 Receiver Will Wage Far into August

When the Bengals snagged Rutgers receiver Mohamed Sanu in the third round, it seemed like he'd be the likely candidate to line up alongside A.J. Green when the season began, but this may not be the case. He'll likely be battling to win that spot with Marvin Jones, a receiver the Bengals got at a steal in the fifth round.

Sanu seems to be the front runner in this competition, considering his strength lies in being a No. 2 receiver who can put up some serious yardage with the No. 1 is dealing with double coverage. But Sanu has issues in his release and sometimes catches the ball a bit sloppily.

Sanu has some speed, too, though only when he kicks into gear, but Jones is better at catching and securing the football and is all around faster. Both are good for yards after the catch, and both run routes well. It's going to be quite the interesting training camp, as both men try to prove they deserve the most time on the field this season.

Questions Remain About the Bengals Run Game

It was thought that the Bengals would make a move to add a speedy receiver to their ranks via the draft, ideally in the third round. But instead, they used what eventually became two third-rounders on the aforementioned Sanu and defensive tackle Brandon Thompson.

The only running back they picked up in the draft was Ohio State's Dan Herron, a middling prospect who may only remain on the roster if he has some special teams value, and they snagged a single undrafted running back as well, Rodney Stewart, whose chances are lower than Herron's to stay on.

I'm not entirely convinced that the Bengals want to have just BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Bernard Scott as their two most prominent backs—they'd still be well-served to bring on someone smaller and speedier to complement the two bruisers.

However, this may not be a priority for the Bengals right now. If it becomes one, it may not end up being until camp.

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