Since the duo of Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph broke up after the 2010 season, the Bengals have been scrambling to put the pieces back together--mostly with battle-tested veterans. Adam Jones, Nate Clements and Terence Newman all filled in admirably as band-aids over the past four seasons, especially since they were tossed on the scrap heap by other teams, but Cincinnati has invested a couple of recent first round picks to emulate the success of the Hall/Joseph duo of the mid and late-2000s.
Dre Kirkpatrick was the first of two first round picks in 2012 by the Bengals after the Carson Palmer trade, but has battled injuries and being passed over by veterans for playing time.