Cincinnati Bengals: Drafting first round running back not 'out of the question'

Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The Cincinnati Bengals' rushing attack needed some help in 2016.

It's stable of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard barely cracked 1,000 rushing yards combined. Hill's touchdown total slipped for the first time in his career, while some questioned if Bernard was the better back. The Cincinnati Enquirer's Paul Dehner Jr. said that he expects Hill in a backup or goal line role in 2017.

Rex Burkhead provided a needed surge in the Bengals' rushing attack, despite a limited workload in comparison to Hill and Bernard. But Burkhead is a free agent and could sign elsewhere for more money.

On Thursday, ESPN's Katherine Terrell speculated that the Bengals could select a running back early in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Florida State's Dalvin Cook and LSU's Leonard Fournette are expected to be the top running backs selected in the draft. Oklahoma's Joe Mixon also has obvious talent, but will likely slip due to character issues. Mixon was suspended from the Sooners' 2014 season for punching a female student in the face.

"It wouldn't be out of the question for the Bengals to take a running back in this draft, even as high as one in the first round if he's the best player left on the board," Terrell wrote.

A recent NFL.com mock draft has the New York Jets selecting Fournette with the No. 6 pick and the Bengals taking Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster with the No. 9 pick. That draft has Cook falling to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 14.

CBS Sports has the Carolina Panthers snagging Fournette at No. 8 and the Indianapolis Colts taking Cook at No. 14 in its mock draft.

Hill, 24, is a free agent in 2018. He is due $881,855 with a $50,000 workout bonus this season. Bernard, 25, signed a four-year, $16.6 million pact in June. The multipurpose threat tore his ACL in November.