The Cincinnati Bengals feel they got a good one with the addition of fifth-round draft choice Josh Newton out of TCU.
Newton, a 6-foot cornerback who started his college career at Louisiana-Monroe, helped TCU reach the National Championship Game in 2022. This past season, he had 33 total tackles and an interception.
The Bengals had Newton graded higher than a fifth-round selection where he fell last weekend to Cincinnati.
“While the Bengals had a higher grade than the fifth on TCU cornerback Josh Newton and have visions of him staking his claim as possibly the fourth cornerback,” Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson reported following the draft. “That gives Hill [Dax Hill] room to mix it up with Cam Taylor-Britt and DJ Turner II on the outside and Mike Hilton in the slot while Ravens free agent Geno Stone and his AFC-leading seven picks take over free safety.”
Newton, who told reporters after being drafted by the Bengals that he’d be willing to play anywhere in the secondary, admitted he prefers to play the outside, making the vision for him to be the team’s fourth corner make sense.
“Honestly, I like outside the outside money,” Newton said. “If I had to pick, outside. I’m trying to be a Swiss Army knife. I’m not trying to be in one spot. I want to be used in multiple ways.”
