04-28-2020, 06:00 PM
My thoughts on the draft.
Thoughts on Pick 1: Joe Burrow has already had a huge impact on this franchise. When else has the Bengals spent so much money in free agency turning over a roster? Furthermore, they were reasonable additions. From the ownership down, there seems to be a belief that this guy can do special things in Cincinnati. One could argue that getting Burrow also netted Reader, Waynes, Alexander, and Bell. I don't believe they make all these moves if they are picking 8th this draft. If he turns out to be a top 10 QB in this league for years to come this draft is a winner regardless of the rest of the picks.
For those that say well, the Bengals had a no brainer pick here. The Bengals walked away with Burrow in this draft. If he turns out to be an upper tier franchise quarterback then it does not matter that he was 1:1. It does not matter that “the Bengals didn't screw it up”. He is a member of the Bengals through this draft process and that is what matters.
The Bengals had a clear plan in this draft. They chose intelligent, talented, hard working, leaders of their football teams. Given the results of the draft, I am pretty certain their draft board may have been less populated by prospects than in the past. Clearly, they had a measured approach to this draft. I suspect players like Willie Gay, JR., Alton Robinson, among others weren't even on their boards.
As far as the total draft itself, I don't see a bad pick in the bunch. Will they all work out? Likely not but I feel like each player for the round they were chosen in has a better than average chance to contribute in a meaningful way than the normal player taken in that particular round. That is the definition of value in the draft.
With that said, I don't think there is a pick I would change. Aside from pick 33, I did like Michael Pittman, Jr a little bit more than Higgins but it's clear to me that the Bengals felt like Higgins fit better and so I am comfortable with that.
The biggest issue with this draft is not the way the Bengals used their seven picks in my opinion. The problem is for me is that they only came away with 7 picks. I honestly think because the Bengals had targeted a specific type of player that trading down probably didn't make a lot of sense given the way the draft went which is not really the Bengals fault. Likewise as unfortunate, the Bengals couldn't or didn't move Dalton. Had the Bengals secured the 140th pick of the draft for Dalton, instead of Foles, this draft would feel a bit different in my opinion. They would have been in position to add one of Biadasz, Bredesen, or Driscoll. I feel like Bredesen would have been the likely pick giving them a 7th team captain and he participated at the Senior Bowl.
Thoughts on Pick 1: Joe Burrow has already had a huge impact on this franchise. When else has the Bengals spent so much money in free agency turning over a roster? Furthermore, they were reasonable additions. From the ownership down, there seems to be a belief that this guy can do special things in Cincinnati. One could argue that getting Burrow also netted Reader, Waynes, Alexander, and Bell. I don't believe they make all these moves if they are picking 8th this draft. If he turns out to be a top 10 QB in this league for years to come this draft is a winner regardless of the rest of the picks.
For those that say well, the Bengals had a no brainer pick here. The Bengals walked away with Burrow in this draft. If he turns out to be an upper tier franchise quarterback then it does not matter that he was 1:1. It does not matter that “the Bengals didn't screw it up”. He is a member of the Bengals through this draft process and that is what matters.
The Bengals had a clear plan in this draft. They chose intelligent, talented, hard working, leaders of their football teams. Given the results of the draft, I am pretty certain their draft board may have been less populated by prospects than in the past. Clearly, they had a measured approach to this draft. I suspect players like Willie Gay, JR., Alton Robinson, among others weren't even on their boards.
As far as the total draft itself, I don't see a bad pick in the bunch. Will they all work out? Likely not but I feel like each player for the round they were chosen in has a better than average chance to contribute in a meaningful way than the normal player taken in that particular round. That is the definition of value in the draft.
With that said, I don't think there is a pick I would change. Aside from pick 33, I did like Michael Pittman, Jr a little bit more than Higgins but it's clear to me that the Bengals felt like Higgins fit better and so I am comfortable with that.
The biggest issue with this draft is not the way the Bengals used their seven picks in my opinion. The problem is for me is that they only came away with 7 picks. I honestly think because the Bengals had targeted a specific type of player that trading down probably didn't make a lot of sense given the way the draft went which is not really the Bengals fault. Likewise as unfortunate, the Bengals couldn't or didn't move Dalton. Had the Bengals secured the 140th pick of the draft for Dalton, instead of Foles, this draft would feel a bit different in my opinion. They would have been in position to add one of Biadasz, Bredesen, or Driscoll. I feel like Bredesen would have been the likely pick giving them a 7th team captain and he participated at the Senior Bowl.
![[Image: 4CV0TeR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4CV0TeR.png)
