Corey Davis

[*ochocincos*]

(04-12-2017, 01:39 PM)Whatever Wrote: Depends on what your definition of impact is.  Here's the top rookies in receiving yards from last year.

Receiving Yards

1. Michael Thomas WR, New Orleans Saints – 981
2. Sterling Shepard WR, New York Giants – 653
3. Will Fuller WR, Houston Texans – 611
4. Tyler Boyd WR, Cincinnati Bengals – 554
5. Tajae Sharpe WR, Tennessee Titans – 549
6. Tyreek Hill WR, Kansas City Chiefs – 526
7. Robby Anderson WR, New York Jets – 471
8. Hunter Henry TE, San Diego Chargers – 424
9. Malcolm Mitchell WR, New England Patriots – 401
10. Corey Coleman WR, Cleveland Browns – 373


On top of that, small school WR's typically do not put up great numbers as rookies.

Given the Bengals already had their WR2 picked up via FA in Brandon LaFell, I considered Tyler Boyd to have a good impact as a rookie. I consider all of those players above to have a solid impact simply because none of them were brought in to be WR1 right off the bat. Coleman maybe was brought in for that reason, but Pryor went off and took away some of his targets anyway, plus Coleman had the injury that took him out for 6 games.

What is your expectation? Any offensive player is going to be third option at best as long as AJ and Eifert stay healthy. Given the Bengals also re-signed LaFell two more years and Boyd is entering his second year after producing well as a rookie (at least to me), a WR is likely entering as WR4 that will spot start due to injuries and plan to replace LaFell after 1-2 years.

And if you don't go WR, what position do you go with that will make more of an immediate impact?
A DE is only going to be rotated in occasionally, they will not supplant Michael Johnson altogether as the starter opposite Dunlap...at least not for the first 1-2 years.
A DT is also only going to be rotated in occasionally.
A DB is pretty much going to ride the pine most of the year given the starters that are there as long as they stay healthy. The only exception would be if the Bengals essentially demoted Shawn Williams to being a nickel LB.
A LB is going to be buried on the depth chart behind Burfict, Minter, Rey, and Vigil, at least as a rookie.
A RB even likely wouldn't see the field as much as some would like as long as Bernard comes back healthy. We know Hill is still going to get a decent amount of touches. The team hasn't given up on him yet. So that's likely going to be a 3-headed monster as long as all are healthy.
A TE would be behind Eifert in 1-TE sets, but could see the field if/when the Bengals use 2-TE sets. But given Eifert is made of glass and the rest of the depth, there is a decent chance a TE could see the field earlier than most other positions.
Anyone on the OL would be riding the bench initially. This area would be the most opportunity for a rookie to contribute, but only if one of Ogbuehi, Bodine, Smith, or Fisher is really doing poorly. Plus, many would agree the Bengals shouldn't choose OL because there isn't a good enough option at 9.

So essentially what I'm getting at is there really won't be a true "immediate impact" player selected, as the Bengals will use any player as they always have...good depth initially with the intent on starting said player within a few years (based on the aging depth/injuries in front of them).