NFL.com - Bengals biggest offseason needs

[CJD]

(01-12-2022, 10:28 AM)TecmoBengals Wrote: I don't want to pretend I know anything about building an NFL team, so I'm prefacing my remarks are based on watching the team and reading about the draft through posts here and random internet articles.

S- I was surprised to see this ranked first, but I suppose after Bell/Bates there aren't any players on the roster to get excited about? I wonder what the FA market looks like for the Safety position other than Bates?

OL - This feels obvious from a fan's lens, but I speculate the Bengals might think, "We already drafted Carman and have other guys on the roster we like." Maybe the Bengals don't see the position group as a draft priority? If they resign Span & recognize Jonah, Carman, Adeniji have another year of experience, Duke and Zac might be content? I hope not.

LB - I think the Bengals need a big play type of guy to take the defense to an elite level. A Von Miller in his prime would make this defense scary good. I don't think they need to draft LB'ers that have talent similar to what is already on the roster. Maybe that is where the LB need view came from, get a big time player?

Since we'll be drafting in the 20+ range, I think Duke and Zac have to identify positions they want to upgrade but then adapt to the flow of the draft and take the best player available. They shouldn't narrow in on a position and pass on a better talent.

There have been a fair number of major misses among Linebackers taken in the first round over the last few years. It's making me wonder if it's one of those situations where college linebackers and NFL linebackers have fundamentally different roles in defenses and it makes them really hard to predict success in the NFL. Maybe a "spread QB" type situation where being productive in college doesn't indicate success in the NFL?

Look at the last few drafts:
2021:
Zaven Collins - Obviously, it's very early and he may end up developing, but Collins has been a back up role player so far for Arizona, playing only 20.22% of defensive snaps, and has basically only played special teams since week 9, per this report.
Jamin Davis - Davis was thought to add strength to an already elite defense but, somehow, the WFT defense got worse despite adding a first round LB. His PFF grade of 43.3 is not great, nor is the fact that he was not played late into the season, even in run/TE heavy offenses like the Eagles, per this report.

2020:
Isaiah Simmons - poor PFF grade and not nearly the impact you'd expect from a top 10 pick. I haven't found similar reports of struggles like I did with Collins and Davis, but I did find a fan discussion about him in December 2021, where they seem pretty disappointed with his output.
Kenneth Murray - Another poor PFF grade and an article from a Chargers News website that says the following: "The most inexcusable thing Staley did in this game was play Kenneth Murray as much as he did. Murray was used as the team's dime linebacker and he was exposed time and time again... as he has been all season. Who knows what the logic behind that is."
Patrick Queen - Named the most disappointing player halfway through the 2021 season, per this article. Maybe he recovered and had a better second half of the season, but his PFF grade has been poor as well.


2019: 
Devin Bush - All you have to do is mention the name to a Steelers fan and they go full Yinzer-cursing mode. He has not had a good career thus far.


It may also just be a case where LBers need a few years to adapt to the NFL. In either case, I think we should avoid LB in the draft. If we want to pursue a guy like Miller in FA, I'd be open to it but even he seems more like a 3-4 LB than a 4-3 LB. I wonder if we'd be able to use him properly.