With the twenty-fourth pick in the NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals selected cornerback Jonathan Joseph of the University of South Carolina. The Bengals were considering a tight end in Leonard Pope or a center in Nick Mangold, but chose otherwise. The Bengals were thinking of switching to the 3-4 defense, which drew some interest from Gabe Watson. However, by taking a cornerback, they hope to find a future starter for when their secondary gets older.