Chase Young or Joe Burrow ?

[Fan_in_Kettering]

(11-27-2019, 10:49 AM)bengalfan74 Wrote: But will MB really build a top shelf defense in any kind of reasonable time frame ? Is he gonna pay an upper end FS ? Is he gonna pay for a couple really good LBers ? to go along with high dollar CB's and DE's.

You gotta have a good middle to go along with that powerful edge.

Exactly, '74. 

When was the last time the Bengals drafted a dominant defensive player?  Vontaze Burfict was undrafted, remember?  Rey Maualuga was drafted in 2009 and while he wasn't the second coming of Ray Lewis, he was solid especially against the run.  When was Leon Hall drafted? What about Johnathan Joseph?  Maybe the last good defensive draftee was George Iloka in 2012.  I certainly liked the selections of Darqueze Dennard and William Jackson III but they turned out to be, well, let's be charitable, less than advertised.

I hope Lou Anarumo has the cojones to get to Zac Taylor and the Front Office and advocates for building a great defense.  Mike Zimmer demanded it!  It's not a coincidence that the Bengals went to the playoffs six times between 2009 and 2015 when the defense was given its just due in the draft and, yes, by signing free agents like Roy Williams, Terence Newman, Reggie Nelson, and Thomas Howard.

Iloka and Nelson are free agents and probably better than what we have now.