05-15-2016, 03:34 PM
(05-15-2016, 03:22 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I'm going to have to disagree with you, on DE not being a draft priority heading into '17. While I fully expect another 4-6 years of good production from Carlos Dunlap, I'm not so sure the same holds true for Michael Johnson. While he has proven to be a steady starter, with at least average production, it's looking more and more like his 2013 season was an anomaly. After that we have Clarke and Hunt. Yes, read that again, Clarke and Hunt, who have done basically, nothing impressive.
Unless one of those placeholders does something amazing this year, I would fully expect the Bengals to be full-on looking at DE as their top pick in '17.
I think finding a suitable back up to warm up the pine is a good idea because you are right about there being absolutely no depth behind the starting pair, I don't think that it needs to be priority #1. There are a few variables that I think might warrant equal or greater consideration next year.
We don't know who we are replacing Reggie Nelson with, though it is likely to be Williams. There is definitely going to be a drop off in production between Nelson and Williams and that is to be expected, but Williams might not be our long term answer. Then we turn our attention to center. We are in desperate need of an elite center and I hope Westerman can come in and challenge Bodine for the starting roll.
In conclusion, I can live with a few more seasons of Michael Johnson playing at a middle of the pack production. What we need to worry about is the drop off at safety and the lackluster production at center. Then again, I don't want to over draft for a need regardless of how much of a need it is.
