Rate Bengals Draft

[Nicomo Cosca]

(04-26-2020, 10:39 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Letter grades before anyone plays a down are a little silly, but based on the perceived value of each pick, and where they were drafted, I will give it an B+. Only one pick raised my eyebrows and it was only after some information came out. At the very least, I see three first-year starters that will be impact players with a lot of quality depth.

Burrow- A+

Higgins- A: I wanted the more explosive guy in Mims or Claypool, but I love that Higgins grew up a Bengal Fan and AJ Green is his favorite player. Plus, he's only 21.

Wilson- A+: Excellent value, a true 3 down LB. Instinctive, film and gym rat, and leader. I loved where it said how he was all business at the Senior Bowl and he would get on teammates that weren't taking things serious at Wyoming.

ADG: D-: I loved what I saw on film and his play at the Senior Bowl week, but could a lack of vetting on his medicals cost them a valuable selection? I understand the fracture in his foot can be repaired, but the "bone on bone" comment about his knee has me scared to death. If his medicals check out, he would be a steal with the first pick in Rd 4. Some places had him ranked above Wilson. But those medicals are a huge risk.

Khalid Kareem: B-; I like the captain/high character traits, but it seemed to me that you go for athletic freaks later that can be coached up. I wonder with a father as a coach and being at an institution like ND with their coaching staff, strength training, diet, etc. if he is a maxed out talent. I understand that he fell because of injury his senior season, and based on his junior year he could have been a Rd 3-4 selection. I get the buy-low mentality here, but at the very top of Rd 5, there were still a lot of crazy athletes on the board. I am assuming his high football IQ and ability to shed is what the Bengals see as a DE and NASCAR package guy where they line up all DEs and just try to shoot gaps to get the QB.

Hakeem Adeniji: A-; Big, strong man with position versatility. A little raw in his game. I wonder if they will train him almost exclusively as a RG, or will they use his versatility to back up both RG and RT, possibly allowing them to release Hart and start Johnson at RT.

Markus Bailey: A+; I know...you are probably saying: You killed ADG for his medicals and here you love a guy with two knee injuries in college. Understood, but this is where you take those risks. This guy was CRAZY productive at Purdue outside of injuries. Even after his first ACL injury, he came back and was productive after his first one in 2015. How productive? Coming off ACL surgery, the next season (his redshirt freshman year), the guy had 97 tackles and 4 INTs. Wow. I know the Patriots were snooping around this guy a lot leading up to the draft and they seem to know a thing or two about LBs. Could be the so-called "steal of the draft".

When asked about any medical concerns with ADG:

“We trust our doctors. We did our due diligence on that. If we felt there was an issue, we wouldn’t have taken him. We feel good about it.”~ Lou Anarumo