Bengals Have and Still Need A Top Linebacker Pick

[Essex Johnson]

(01-18-2016, 10:45 AM)kevin Wrote: I have been saying linebacker for years and it never happens.  We take CBs, TE's, O linemen....anything but a linebacker.....I just don't think the Bengals can go on not addressing this area. If we could get a top LB in round 1, it would make our defense so much better.  We have a good defense, but not a Super Bowl defense. Our weak area is our linebackers. With of Front Four as good as it is, our linebackers should be swooping in and stopping everything.  We should be impossible to run against. .....Add in that Harrison was a fill in, not really a 4-3 LB, and Hawk is a fill in, his best days behind him also. Plus Burfict has 3 game suspension and has had concusion and injury problems.

Bengals have avoided drafting linebacker far to long....If there is still a top linebacker on the boards in round 1, it's time to make up for all the drafts lately we needed linebacker and drafted other positions.

I will add that Marvin Lewis won in Baltimore because he had the great linebackers. All 3 were great.  Yes he had the D Line, but he also had the great linebackers....Coach Lewis has the great D Line, but he has nothing close to the linebackers he had at Baltimore and he will not win in the play-offs until he has that type of Front Seven again.....Bengals year after year continue to but a short term band aid on the LB problem, and they continue to go one and done.  This band aid could fall off and Bengals have a 4 win season if they don't address the needs at linebacker. It has been years since linebacker was drafted top. You would think Pollack, Thurman, Rivers not having long careers would have created a need. Harrison and Hawk were and are band aids.  We need a top draft LB and hopefully one that is a Bengal many years to come.

Well we have been blessed by great picks up like Burfict and Rey... we did pick Ray M. pretty high.. so we filled what I would say were more pressing needs the last couple years.  On the flip side the Steelers picked some high LB's but did not address their secondary very well and look what happened.

I do think we are in line to look at LB in first couple rounds but it will more depend on our FA's.. if we lose both Sanu and Jones.. we will be drafting WR 1 or 2 round for sure.. or if we lose Jones and one of our safeties, we will be looking at DB's 1/2 round

I totally disagree with your opinion that we won;t win a playoff game without top LB... if you look at most of the top teams going in the playoffs.. except for Carolina , I would say their secondary or deline  is what is most important for those teams over their linebackers.