more player drama

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(10-17-2020, 09:32 AM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: If you want to point out SOMEONE we wasted, you have to go back to the 2007 draft, in Matt Teoania; that's the only guy who actually did something after moving on from us, who didn't show what he was capable of in a full season with us.

Don't take this as me agreeing with the guy you quoted, but there admittedly is more than just Toeaina (interesting dug up name, though). I'm sure there's a list like this for all teams. From just players added to the Bengals in '10-'15...

Evan Mathis was wasted for 3 years here before going on to be a 2x Pro Bowl, 1x All-Pro, and a SB Winner.
Clinton McDonald did nothing in a year (2 solo tackles) with the Bengals and went on to have 3 different 5.0+ sack seasons at DT and won a SB.
Dan Skuta left and got a 5 sack season with the 49ers.
Margus Hunt was terrible here but had a 5 sack season with the Colts.
Cobi Hamilton couldn't record a catch here over a couple years but put up 1 thoroughly mediocre year for the Steelers.
Cedric Ogbuehi went from pure dumpster fire with the Bengals to mediocre last year. Enough that the Seahawks offered him 1yr/$2.3m.

No statistical backing for this what-so-ever, but I still think if they had made Taylor Mays a LB from the get-go, he would have been something.

(Really only Mathis was the big miss from that list. McDonald would have been a nice player to have around, too.)
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Earlier back a big one is, you can't help but look at 2004 30-year-old Corey Dillon and wonder what his career could have been like on a better team.

I do wonder if we'll look back and think of AJ Green in the same way 10-15 years from now.