Cincinnati Bengals select Matt Lee in seventh round of 2024 NFL Draft

The Cincinnati Bengals have selected Miami Hurricanes center Matt Lee in the seventh round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Lee spent the first four seasons of his college career with the UCF Knights before he transferred to Miami for his final season.

Lee was a star center for the UCF offensive line during his time there, accumulating several different honors. That included being named to the All-AAC team twice in three seasons as the team’s starter. He also redshirted for the 2019 season.

When he came to Miami, Matt Lee quickly became the team’s starting center and was named to the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy. By the end of the season, Lee had earned All-ACC second-team honors.

Matt Lee played high school football at Hagerty (Florida), where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 1,809 overall recruit in the 2019 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

In 2023, Lee helped the Miami Hurricanes go 7-6 and make the Pinstripe Bowl. Amid that season, he led a much improved offensive line that was tied for 17th in the country in sacks allowed, giving up just 1.23 sacks per game. The Hurricanes also had a strong running game that the offensive line helped to power, which finished the season 45th in rushing offense with 173.15 yards per game.

Matt Lee was measured at six-foot-four and 301lbs. He ran a 5.03 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine but he did not do the bench press there.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Matt Lee

Ahead of the NFL Draft, analyst Lance Zierlein for NFL.com broke down what he saw from Matt Lee.

Among the things that Zierlein highlights about Lee were his technique and the way he uses his hands, especially in pass protection. However, his size and strength were concerns going into the draft process.

“Lee’s lack of mass and NFL size will be a stumbling block from a perception standpoint, but the tape doesn’t lie when it comes to his talent in pass protection. Lee is a technician with good play strength whose anchor supersedes the number on the scale. He keeps his head on a swivel and was rarely beaten in 2023,” Zierlein wrote.

“He’s not much of a knee-bender, so drive blocking attempts will stall out, creating lane closures inside. Lee is an average athlete with above-average core strength and protection technique, and he might be able to overcome concerns about his size once he makes it into a camp.”