Michael Mayer Falls To 26 In Latest PFF Mock!

[*SHRacerX*]

(02-13-2023, 11:00 AM)ochocincos Wrote: Hurst was a 1st rounder, had solid production in college, and ran just above average on the 40 and shuttle. His 3-cone was just slightly below average.
Mayer is about the same size but has had better production in college.
We'll see how he does in the Combine drills to better determine his athleticism in comparison to Hurst.

When it comes to cost, I would 100% jump for Hurst if he signed for $5 mill or less. I think $6-7 mill APY is fair for him. We did see Uzomah get $8 mill APY last year, after all.
When looking at the 28th pick from last year (Devonte Wyatt), his contract was 4 years, $12.86 mill.
So the 28th pick will still likely end up cheaper than re-signing Hurst.

With that said, I'm completely fine re-signing Hurst and drafting a TE later to be a backup.

I am just completely opposed to the idea of drafting a TE (or RB, or G, or LB) in the first round unless there is a consensus belief that they will be the next Kelce, Henry, Thuney, or Micah Parsons.  None of the TEs in this class will ever be compared to Kelce. 

The second contracts for WRs, DEs, CBs, and OTs are so high now that it is critical that you get a few of them on rookie deals to keep the talent and the books aligned.  I know the Bengals drafted a S in the end of the first round last year, and I understand they really liked Hill as the heir apparent to Bates.

I am not saying there are no exceptions to that rule, but overall the Bengals currently have 1 OT on a rookie deal for one more year and will get around $12 million this next year.  They have one first round WR and one first pick in the second round WRs, both on rookie deals.  They have one CB on a rookie deal.  Second rounder.  I see almost no scenario where the Bengals aren't drafting an OT in the first round.

I would have TE behind OT, WR, CB, DE, and even DT, in terms of the Bengals draft priorities.  I know it is BPA, but you get what I am saying.   If there are four players that are equally rated as prospects that play TE, OT, CB, and DE....the TE would be at the end of the list each time.