CJD Mock Off Season 1.0

[CJD]

For the last 3 years, Paul Dehner Jr of the Athletic has done this really cool thing where he creates a spreadsheet with a bunch of drop down menus for all the positions the Bengals may need to address in the NFL draft and off season.

For each position, the drop down contains zero cost options, like using a player already on the roster or already accounted for in the draft money pool, or options that cost money such as free agents or extensions of players. The price tag of each free agent is just his best guess, but I think his numbers are usually pretty fair.

https://theathletic.com/5219251/2024/01/24/bengals-2024-mock-offseason-roster/?source=user-shared-article

With that in mind, this is what I came up with:

This worked out pretty well for me. pic.twitter.com/dK4SZVdfTg

— Joe from Cincinnati (@JoeFromCinci) January 24, 2024

I have us cutting Joe Mixon and Nick Scott, for a savings of 8.1 million.

I have us re-signing Reader (7M), ADG (1.5M) and tagging Tee Higgins (21M).

I have us extending Ja'Marr Chase (+5M), and McPherson (+1M).

And I have us signing free agents Noah Fant (6M), Jermaine Eluemunor (5M), and Sean Murphy-Bunting (3M).

That left me with $600,000 in cap space.

My draft:

Round 1, Pick 18: Taliese Fuaga, RT, Oregon State
Round 2, Pick 49: Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas
Round 3, Pick 80: Devontez Walker, WR, North Carolina
Round 4, Pick 111: Blake Corum, RB, Michigan
Round 5, Pick 142: Jordan Jefferson, NT, LSU
Round 6, Pick 178: Tanor Bortolini, OC, Wisconsin
Round 7, Pick 209: Josh Proctor, S, Ohio State

This draft provides good depth on the Dline, with Murphy serving as a pass rushing specialist to start and Jordan Jefferson serving as our backup NT to DJ Reader, who is coming off of an injury.

Taliese Fuaga can ease into the RT role with Jermaine Eluemunor taking the early season starts. Or, if Fuaga is just that dominant, he can start from day 1. He is a RT by trade, so we don't have to worry about the transition that people fear because of Jackson Carman (I think Carman just sucks, but maybe there is some perceived issues with transitioning from college LT to NFL RT).

Devontez Walker is a speedy, tall WR who could either red shirt behind Higgins or play mostly in the slot (think Chris Henry style slot) before taking over for Higgins next off season.

Blake Corum is a compact power runner who should complement Brown's speed nicely.

Rounds 6 and 7 were just BPA selections, but we could use some depth on the interior of the Oline and at safety, so I thought these two couldn't hurt either. I considered drafting a punter but, honestly, we can get one as a UDFA. There's no reason to spend any more draft capital there.