(03-31-2023, 09:56 AM)OSUfan Wrote: So you are implying that the snaps in the Michigan game were not real downs? Or is it that you just know more than those who get paid to evaluate NFL talent for a living, because they seem to disagree with you as well?

I'm saying that based on what i've seen, my opinion is that he's not going to be good in the NFL. 

He basically got the same deal Hurst had last year it looks like (1 year $2 million), so I think we know what our budget is for TE in this offense haha. We will simply remain TE market makers each year.

(03-30-2023, 08:10 PM)OSUfan Wrote: You are correct about Bijan I was thinking about Gibbs.

Thought so, yeah, Gibbs leaves a lot to be desired in pass protection. Bijan is solid there and is good at everything.

Spears is still the RB I want the most out of this draft if Bijan isn't there at 28 which I am assuming he won't be. 

I also like Charbonnet, Chase Brown, Roschon Johnson, Travis Dye etc.

(03-31-2023, 09:39 AM)sandwedge Wrote: I would be more excited about this pick up if he was taller.

That and the injuries are the down side of Irv. Dude is tough as heck though and hard to tackle with speed and he is really young 
being only 24 years old, he is pretty much a 2nd round pick right now. Think of him as a speedy FB at 6'2" 240 pounds. Should be a
much better dump off option than Hurst. The middle TE screen with Irv Smith could be deadly honestly.

(03-31-2023, 10:16 AM)rfaulk34 Wrote: I'm saying that based on what i've seen, my opinion is that he's not going to be good in the NFL. 

Ok so I gave you a link to some excellent tape on this player why not break it down for me what in this film would support your analysis.

(03-31-2023, 01:05 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Thought so, yeah, Gibbs leaves a lot to be desired in pass protection. Bijan is solid there and is good at everything.

Spears is still the RB I want the most out of this draft if Bijan isn't there at 28 which I am assuming he won't be. 

I also like Charbonnet, Chase Brown, Roschon Johnson, Travis Dye etc.


That and the injuries are the down side of Irv. Dude is tough as heck though and hard to tackle with speed and he is really young 
being only 24 years old, he is pretty much a 2nd round pick right now. Think of him as a speedy FB at 6'2" 240 pounds. Should be a
much better dump off option than Hurst. The middle TE screen with Irv Smith could be deadly honestly.

I like Bijan but I do not see the position valued enough in this offense to warrant a first round selection on a RB. It seems this offense will thrive with a back that compliments this scheme but is not meant to be the focal point of the scheme. Many feature type backs are build up backs who get going at a higher level the more touches they have in a game. I feel like Mixon is a bit that way and I am not saying that Bijan is just that I do not see real value in a first round selection of that position in this scheme.

The backs I really like for this scheme that can be had later are Spears, Eric Grey, and Abanikanda.

(03-31-2023, 01:43 PM)OSUfan Wrote: I like Bijan but I do not see the position valued enough in this offense to warrant a first round selection on a RB. It seems this offense will thrive with a back that compliments this scheme but is not meant to be the focal point of the scheme. Many feature type backs are build up backs who get going at a higher level the more touches they have in a game. I feel like Mixon is a bit that way and I am not saying that Bijan is just that I do not see real value in a first round selection of that position in this scheme.

The backs I really like for this scheme that can be had later are Spears, Eric Grey, and Abanikanda.

Nice call with Grey and Abanikanda, also like those RB's. Probably correct with Bijan, doubt he falls to us anyways.

The one thing about drafting a talented RB in the draft is they are cheap instead of this paying the RB big money direction we went with Mixon.

Same with Cornerback, good investment to draft them early.

(03-28-2023, 10:55 PM)Bengalbug Wrote: Hindsight is 20/20, but I bet we passed up on some great talent to pull the trigger on a tight end.  

Unless you have a freak, like kelce (who was passed over by every team in the nfl draft twice) they really are all a dime a dozen.

All you have to do is look at the franchise tag values and realize RB, S and TE are the most undervalued positions in the NFL.

Tackles don't seem too high on franchise either, and guess we could say the same we passed on some great talent by picking oline a bit early too. Also part of reason less TEs go high is there are less of them since it is a singular position and as a whole u only need one top end TE. Right now we probably have one of the worst project starters and backups at TE, this is a major issue  for the team .

Irv Smith. Sr advised his son to become a Bengal.

"The fathers played next to each other and the sons are going to be playing next to each other. Isn't that amazing?" Smith asks. "Zeus was a great guy. Humble. He was my boy. It hurt my heart when he passed. I wish he could be enjoying his son playing like I am my son. But it is so nice to see him honor his dad with his career. That's going to be great for Irv to play with a dude like that."

"You need to sign with Cincy. That's where you need to be. I feel it in my bones," is how Senior recounts his pitch. "I didn't even look at the roster. I just said that team fits you perfectly. Two amazing receivers, that (running) back they've got … that quarterback … the tight end they had is gone. You're the guy they need for that situation."

https://www.bengals.com/news/irv-smith-jr-takes-advice-from-irv-smith-sr?src=rss

I’ve got a good feeling about Irv Smith Jr. Unfortunately I had good feelings about Kijana Carter and Akili Smith.

(03-31-2023, 10:57 AM)Au165 Wrote: He basically got the same deal Hurst had last year it looks like (1 year $2 million), so I think we know what our budget is for TE in this offense haha. We will simply remain TE market makers each year.

We are gonna draft one to control the costs & stop the revolving door. 

TE1/2: Day 1-2 pick + Smith 
TE 3/4 (if we carry 4): Competition: Day 3 pick, Asiasi, Wilcox, Sample, Carter. 

I'd love to believe this dude signed here for less because he just loves him some Joe Burrow, but the pessimistic side of me thinks it's far more likely that he saw Uzomah and Hurst get paid back to back, and his agent wants him to become the 3rd in a row.

Sure, Joe has a LOT to do with that, but the "I love this team" talk rings more empty these days than ever. Hardly anyone signs with a team because they want to win. It's always been about money, but I'd say that balance was like 80/20 in the past, and is closer to 99/1 now.

Either way, as long as we keep getting solid vets, cool.

(03-31-2023, 07:31 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: I'd love to believe this dude signed here for less because he just loves him some Joe Burrow, but the pessimistic side of me thinks it's far more likely that he saw Uzomah and Hurst get paid back to back, and his agent wants him to become the 3rd in a row.

Sure, Joe has a LOT to do with that, but the "I love this team" talk rings more empty these days than ever. Hardly anyone signs with a team because they want to win. It's always been about money, but I'd say that balance was like 80/20 in the past, and is closer to 99/1 now.

Either way, as long as we keep getting solid vets, cool.

Evidently, Irv Sr convinced him to sign here. His quotes are in post 208.

(03-31-2023, 01:37 PM)OSUfan Wrote: Ok so I gave you a link to some excellent tape on this player why not break it down for me what in this film would support your analysis.

There are several youtube videos out there that break down his play and you can find any weaknesses on pretty much any draft profile. 

(03-31-2023, 08:14 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: There are several youtube videos out there that break down his play and you can find any weaknesses on pretty much any draft profile. 

I guess the best thing that you can do is compare him to recent picks that resemble him, like that giant Tackle from Minnesota that came out last year.  I forget his name, but a few were clamoring for him around here.  Not sure how he did this season, as I even forgot his name, but if you check his stats, his size and movement were similar to Dawand Jones.

(03-31-2023, 08:21 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I guess the best thing that you can do is compare him to recent picks that resemble him, like that giant Tackle from Minnesota that came out last year.  I forget his name, but a few were clamoring for him around here.  Not sure how he did this season, as I even forgot his name, but if you check his stats, his size and movement were similar to Dawand Jones.

Daniel Faalele is his name and not sure other than size that they are comparable. I am rather certain that Faalele was never projected to go as high as Jones is and he ended up being drafted in the 4th by Baltimore. The comparison for Jones has been Trent Brown while the comparison for Faalele was Banner.

(03-31-2023, 08:21 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I guess the best thing that you can do is compare him to recent picks that resemble him, like that giant Tackle from Minnesota that came out last year.  I forget his name, but a few were clamoring for him around here.  Not sure how he did this season, as I even forgot his name, but if you check his stats, his size and movement were similar to Dawand Jones.

Having watched a lot of Dawand, the better comp is Orlando. Hell, he's got most of the same strengths and concerns the Orlando had coming out. I think Dawand is more athletic and moves a little better than Orlando though.

The only issue for me is do you want 2 Orlando's playing tackle, especially in our division? IDK...I wouldn't be upset at all if they took Dawand at 28, but would also understand if they passed on him.

(03-31-2023, 09:21 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: Having watched a lot of Dawand, the better comp is Orlando. Hell, he's got most of the same strengths and concerns the Orlando had coming out. I think Dawand is more athletic and moves a little better than Orlando though.

The only issue for me is do you want 2 Orlando's playing tackle, especially in our division? IDK...I wouldn't be upset at all if they took Dawand at 28, but would also understand if they passed on him.

See, I'm so old that when you say that his comp is Orlando, my mind still instantly jumps to Orlando Pace.

Not sure if this was posted anywhere but it looks like the 1.75M (worth up to 2M) looks to be just at the limit to not factor into offsetting a comp pick:

"Also starting with the 2020 CBA, under App. V, §11, teams may exclude UFAs from the compensatory formula if the player signs a 1 year contract for less than approximately $1.75 million."

https://overthecap.com/the-basics-and-methodology-of-projecting-the-nfls-compensatory-draft-picks

Makes you wonder if they are leaning on a hard stance to that number since it took like 2 weeks for him to sign after the fit seemed ideal. I wonder if it's the same reason they don't have a RB, besides just how deep the draft is. So if a player like McKinnon or even Zeke were to settle for 1.75M (with incentives) maybe we have a match.

(03-31-2023, 09:53 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: See, I'm so old that when you say that his comp is Orlando, my mind still instantly jumps to Orlando Pace.

Geezer! I turn 53 in May, but at least I'm not 54. I can't even imagine that...

(03-31-2023, 09:21 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: Having watched a lot of Dawand, the better comp is Orlando. Hell, he's got most of the same strengths and concerns the Orlando had coming out. I think Dawand is more athletic and moves a little better than Orlando though.

The only issue for me is do you want 2 Orlando's playing tackle, especially in our division? IDK...I wouldn't be upset at all if they took Dawand at 28, but would also understand if they passed on him.

I would go with Trent Brown since Dawand is a little lighter on his feet. Right now he is alot better jump setting than vert. He still needs to work on his landmarks and hand timing when he isn't jump setting which was 95% of the time at The Ohio State.

DaWand Jones will never be a great mirror tackle like Orlando Brown. They will win initially with their size and length but won't be able to continuously shift their weight fast enough to hold up a long time.


Daniel Faalele's reactive athleticism was bad like Brown and Jones but it was expected. What sunk him from that 1st to high second round grades he had early in the process to later was his contact balance. At the Senior Bowl he not only struggled to move his weight but when he was moving and a guy engaged he lost balance very easily.



Darnell Wright is another shallow pocket guy. He has solid athleticism and modest length but no trait that stands out to make up for the lack of others. Wright has to continue to have nearly perfect technique and just instinctively understand angles good body control.