LAS VEGAS — Wrapping up the team's selects, the Cincinnati Bengals picked Jeffrey Gunter in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
During Gunter's 2021 season at Coastal Carolina University, the edge rusher had 12 starts. During the overall season, Gunter had 41 tackles — 10 for loss — 6.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
His pick in the seventh round marked the overall 252nd select in the draft, and the Bengals final choice.
During the fifth round, the Bengals selected Toledo's Tycen Anderson in the fifth round of the NFL Draft.
Anderson was the 166 overall pick in the draft.
The Toledo, Ohio, native was received first-team all-conference honors in 2021, despite a knee injury during fall camp. With eight starts, Anderson had 44 tackles — two for loss — with two pass deflections and one sack in the past season.
Anderson played five full seasons with Toledo and overall he ended his career with 233 tackles — nine for loss — two interceptions, 16 pass deflections and two forced fumbles.
The former Toledo player marks the second safety and third defensive back the Bengals have drafted — with Daxton Hill selected Thursday night in the first round.
In the fourth round, the Bengals also selected North Dakota State offensive tackle Cordell Volson.
A Balfour, North Dakota, native, Volson played tackle majority of his career at North Dakota State, but has experience all over the offensive line.
In the third round, the Bengals selected Florida defensive tackle Zachary Carter.
A Tampa native, Carter had 32 tackles — 11 for loss — with eight sacks and two pass breakups in his final season with the Gators. NFL
analyst Lance Zierlein said Carter has the ability to play defensive end in an odd or even front, or he could move inside as a rusher in nickel packages.
Nebraska cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt was selected in the second round. Cincinnati traded its 63rd and 209th picks to the Buffalo Bills for the 60th pick.
Taylor recorded 11 pass breakups, 51 tackles — three for loss, one interception and a blocked kick in his senior year. The 5-foot-11 Montgomery, Alabama native was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2020 and 2021 and tied for fourth in the FBS with four forced fumbles.
Nebraska is, of course, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor's alma mater. Taylor broke the school record for passing yards in a season in 2005 and was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year his senior season.
Ahead of draft day, most analysts believed the Bengals had defense on their mind after picking up some veteran offensive linemen in free agency. Cincinnati followed through on expectations, picking Michigan safety Daxton Hill with the 31st overall pick Thursday night.
Taylor said he was surprised to see Hill on the board so late in the first round, noting his athleticism and versatility.
"Felt like Dax was a premier player sitting right there that we took," Taylor said.
While many expected the team to pick up a cornerback in the first round, Taylor hinted during a press conference the team would fill that need later in the draft. Now, they have one. Taylor-Britt has played some safety as well.
All seven rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft will air on WCPO.
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