CINCINNATI – One week ahead of the arrival of the 10 draft picks and more than a dozen undrafted college free agents, the Cincinnati Bengals announced the jersey numbers for the players they selected last weekend in the NFL Draft.
Only two of the 10 draft picks will be wearing the same number they had in college.
Cincinnati Bengals Assign Jersey Numbers to Draft Picks
Third-round wide receiver Jermaine Burton surprisingly is not one of them, ruining a golden marketing opportunity to have what is expected to be the team’s top three wide receivers wearing Nos. 5 (Tee Higgins), 1 (Ja’Marr Chase) and 3 (Burton) in a nod to the city’s area code.
Here is a look at what number each draft pick will wear:
Amarius Mims, 71
No surprise here as the first-round pick held up No. 71 in his introductory press conference on Friday, the day after the Bengals selected him with the No. 18 pick.
Introducing #71 @amarius_mims
How does he look in it @BigWillie7179? pic.twitter.com/9tp88hJeql
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) April 26, 2024
Mims wore 65 at Georgia.
Slotted as the right tackle of the future, Mims wearing 71 seems fitting as that is the number that Willie Anderson, the best right tackle in franchise history, wore for 12 seasons.
Bengals who also wore 71: Rufus Mayes (1970-78), Rod Horn (1980-81), Pete Koch (1984), Mike Hammerstein (1986-87), John Fletcher (1987, Games 3-5), Ralph Tamm (1991), Garry Howe (1993), Andre Smith (2009-15, 2017-19), Isaiah Prince (2019, Games 13-16, 2020), Riley Reiff (2021), La’el Collins (2022).
Kris Jenkins, 90
He wore 94 at Michigan, but that number belongs to Sam Hubbard.
No. 90 also was taken, but Travis Bell was a player the Bengals claimed off waivers from the Falcons in December. It’s unclear whether Jenkins had to pay Bell to get No. 90 rather than a number in the 50s, 60s, or 70s.
Bengals who also wore 90: Emanuel King (1985-88), Eric Shaw (1992-94), Gerald Collins (1995), Tim Johnson (1996), Michael Bankston (1998-2000), Justin Smith (2001-07), Pat Sims (2008-12), Kheeston Randall (2013), Christo Bilukidi (2013), Michael Johnson (2015-18), Anthony Zettel (2019), Khalid Kareem (2020-22).
If new #Bengals WR Jermaine Burton wears his college number, he'll join Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase in forming Cincinnati's area code. 🔥#RuleTheJungle pic.twitter.com/jMQBsXjgfh
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) May 1, 2024
Jermaine Burton, 81
Whether Burton didn’t want No. 3 or the team didn’t make it available is unclear.
Also surprising is that he didn’t pick 84, which was worn by the former Bengals star who trained him and announced him in Detroit as the team’s third-round pick — T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
He’ll wear No. 81, which has belonged to some of the better receivers in franchise history.
Bengals who also wore 81: Dennis Randall (1968), Nick Roman (1970-71), Al Chandler (1973-74), Jim Corbett (1977-80), David Verser (1981-84), Eddie Brown (1985-87), Marquis Pleasant (1987), Patrick Robinson (1993), Carl Pickens (1995-99), Ron Dugans (2000-02), Ben Utecht (2008-09), Terrell Owens (2010), Colin Cochart (2011), Alex Smith (2013-14), Tyler Kroft (2015-18), Thaddeus Moss (2021), Irv Smith Jr. (2023).
McKinnley Jackson, 68
As if the drafting of Jackson wasn’t proof enough that the Bengals won’t be bringing back Josh Tupou as a depth piece, giving the rookie Tupou’s number cements it.
Jackson, like Burton, wore No. 3 in college. Unlike Burton, No. 3 was not an option for Jackson, who as a defensive tackle had to pick between 50-79 and 90-99 and find one not already taken.
Bengals who also wore 68: Dave Middendorf (1968-69), Steve Lawson (1971-72), Bill Kollar (1974-76), Dave Pureifory (1978), Mike Obrovac (1981-83), Tom Richey (1987), Paul Jetton (1989-91), Donnell Johnson (1993), David Cadigan (1994), Scott Shaw (1998), Ron Smith (2002), Jonathan Fanene (2005-11), Kevin Zeitler (2012-16), Bobby Hart (2018-20).
Erick All, 83
The tight end gets to keep the number he wore up the road at Fairfield High School as well as in college at Michigan and Iowa.
Bengals who also wore 83: Bill Staley (1968-69), Ed Marshall (1971), Sherman White (1972-75) Steve Holden (1977), Dennis Law (1978), Rick Walker (1979) M.L. Harris (1980-85), Dave Romasko (1987) Kendal Smith (1989-90), Brian Brennan (1992), Reggie Thornton (1993), David Frisch (1994), Tydus Winans (1996), Kevin Jordan (1996), Gunnard Twyner (1997), Danny Farmer (2000-02), Kevin Walter (2003-05), Antonio Chatman (2006-09), Kevin Brock (2014), Tyler Boyd (2016-23).
Josh Newton, 28
The cornerback from TCU will be the first defensive player to wear No. 28 in 16 years and just the 11th player in team history to do it.
Newton wore No. 2 last year for the Horned Frogs, but that belongs to kicker Evan McPherson.
Other Bengals who also wore 28: John Guillory (1969-70), Scott Burk (1979), Cleotha Montgomery (1980), Larry Kinnebrew (1983-87), Harold Green (1990-95), Corey Dillon (1997-2003), Dexter Jackson (2006-08), Bernard Scott (2019-13), Troy Hill (2015), Joe Mixon (2017-23).
Tanner McLachlan, 84
He joins All as the other player who will wear the same number he had in college.
Some of the best pass-catchers in team history have worn 84.
Other Bengals who also wore 84: Bob Trumpy (1968-77), Don Bass (1978-81), Gary Williams (1984), Dan Ross (1985), Eric Kattus (1986-87, 1988-91), Reggie Sims (1987), Rodney Tweet (1987), Milt Stegall (1992-94), Jeff Hill (1995), Mike Jenkins (1997), Damon Gibson (1998), Craig Yeast (1999-2000), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (2001-08), Jermaine Gresham (2010-14), Mitch Wilcox (2021-23).
Cedric Johnson, 52
Johnson chose an odd number for a defensive end, but he had to find something new as he also wore No. 2 in college at Mississippi.
No. 52 is one of the most worn numbers in team history, with 25 previous players donning it.
Other Bengals who also wore 52: John Matlock (1968), Paul Elzey (1968), Tim Buchanan (1969), Doug Adams (1971-74), Brad Cousino (1975), Tom Dinkel (1978-83), Dave Rimington (1984-85), Tom Flaherty (1987), Craig Ogletree (1990), Gary Reasons (1992), James Logan (1995), Randy Neal (1995-96), Tim Terry (1997), Jimmy Sprotte (1998-99), Dwayne Levels (2003), Nate Webster (2004-05), A.J. Nicholson (2006), Lemar Marshall (2007), Abdul Hodge (2008-09), Dontay Moch (2011-12), Nico Johnson (2014), Trevor Roach (2015-16), Brandon Bell (2017), Preston Brown (2018-19), Noah Spence (2021).
Daijahn Anthony, 33
Third No. 3 in the draft class, Anthony doubled the digits.
He wore Nos. 22 and 8 at Liberty, and 8 was available, but he picked 33.
Other Bengals who also wore 33: Jim Williams (1969), Kenny Graham (1970), Fred Willis (1971-72), Stan Fritts (1975-76), John Farley (1984), David Fulcher (1986-92), Steve Broussard (1994), Ashley Ambrose (1996-98), JoJuan Armour (1999-2002), Kenny Watson (2003-08), Chris Crocker (2012), Rex Burkhead (2013-16), Tra Carson (2017-18), Sean Davis (2021), Tre Flowers (2021), Nick Scott (2023).
Matt Lee, 62
He wore 55 in college at Miami (Fla.), but that belongs to Logan Wilson.
Other Bengals who also wore 62: Dave Lapham (1974-83), Gary Smith (1984), Ken Smith (1987), Jon Melander (1992), Todd Kalis (1995), Brock Gutierrez (1996-2002), Alex Sulfsted (2004), Nate Livings (2008-11), Jeff Faine (2012), Alex Redmond (2017-20), Damion Square (2021).
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