***2023 NFL Draft Thread***

[*ochocincos*]

I liked the draft overall except for ignoring the TE position.
In a draft class that was pretty damn good, the Bengals just looked the other way.
I think Battle is a good safety, but I really didn't think it made sense to get a safety over a TE, especially with Washington sitting there at 92 ripe for the picking.

I heard the Bengals did not have interest on Darnell Washington, which honestly baffles me.
I believe it was Rapien who said that the Bengals really weren't interested even before the reported injury news, which is even more surprising.
They've shown during the Taylor regime they want someone who can block. Washington does that in spades.
They like size. Check.
Athletic upside to be a good receiver too. Check.

Maybe the Bengals can get Ben Sims as UDFA.
He's a good blocker, and someone I think has potential to be in the 350-450 receiving yards range as a short yardage and red zone guy.
Perfect size at nearly 6'5", 250 lbs.

As it stands now, the Bengals are just an injury away from seeing Drew Sample and his 7.9 YPR as the starting TE again.
No one wants that.
And we can't trust Irv Smith to stay healthy either. Dude's played just 8 games the past two seasons, with just 1 start.

Ending on a positive note though, I loved the DJ Turner and Chase Brown selections.
I liked the Charlie Jones selection as someone to knock off Taylor, and I like Iosivas as a developmental WR. I had mocked him as a late round pick in a mock back in Jan or Feb (can't remember).

I wasn't surprised to see no OL taken with the additions of Brown and Ford along with re-signing of Scharping.
It's extremely likely Jonah Williams is the starting RT this season.