There are some people on here who like to hype every draft pick, even the late round ones, as a future starter.

There are some other people on here who claim that if a draft pick does not contribute immediately as a rookie then he is a bust.

I fall somewhere in the middle. I think it is important to wait until the second season to start judging draft picks. It is not unusual for a player to make significant improvement from his rookie season to his second year. But generally if the player has not done anything after two seasons he is not going to get a lot better.

Last year was a bit unusual because he did not have a rookie that was an immediate starter like we usually do, but I still think a few of our picks will develop into solid NFL players.

So which player (or players) do you think will contribute a lot in 2016? I think it is a given that Ogbuehi will be starting at RT. After that I am not sure.

With the loss of Reggie (for the sake of this poll we have to assume he will not be signed) I see Smith getting a shot at more playing time, but since he did not even play on defense last year I have no idea how good he might be.

With Hall leaving I also see Shaw getting a shot at more playing time. He did play some on defense last year. I doubt he will unseat Kirkpatrick, Dennard, or Jones but the #4 CB still plays on a regular basis in the dime package.

Dawson seemed to be the most over-hyped of our draft picks last year. For some reason a ot of people were in love with him. Since he seems to be slotted to play WOLB the 4 game suspension of Burfict may be a big break for him, but since he did not play last year I have no idea how good he might be. And even with Burfict out I don't see him passing Maualuga, Rey, or Dansby.

Because of our recent failings at drafting D-linemen Hardison is the guy I am watching the closest. Without Gilberry we have a huge hole in our rotation. Although I wanted Hardison to get bigger and concentrate on being a full-time DT the Bengals seem to see him as a DT/DE hybrid. I am pretty sure we will take a D-lineman high in this years draft, but we still need Hardison to step up in a big way.

Every interview I listen to they always mention Alford. Obviously this question will be easier to answer after the draft, but I think Super Mario will make the biggest jump.

I went with Shaw, but wouldn't be surprised to see Alford step up for us. I remember reading something how the coaches wanted to get him more reps last season but just couldnt with all of our WR's.

I went with Hardison. As fred suggested, he may be used in the versatile DT/DE role that Gilberry filled.

Lots of potential on that list, but I'm gonna go with Shaw. He played well late in the season, and definitely has the talent. Plus with Leon gone he should be in a position to get a fair amount of playing time as our 4th CB.

(04-03-2016, 11:02 AM)bfine32 Wrote: Every interview I listen to they always mention Alford. Obviously this question will be easier to answer after the draft, but I think Super Mario will make the biggest jump.

Since this poll is pre-draft I agree Alford should get a lot of support.

Injuries can and often do dictate who does and doesn't get their shot at making the big leap. If all the starters and their backups stay injury free a lot of potential sits on the bench so it can literally be a question of who gets injured or not..

(04-03-2016, 12:16 PM)grampahol Wrote: Injuries can and often do dictate who does and doesn't get their shot at making the big leap.  If all the starters and their backups stay injury free a lot of potential sits on the bench so it can literally be a question of who gets injured or not..

Then I'd say Tyler Kroft is a safe bet.

I voted Josh Shaw because I don't buy that both Kirkpatrick and Dennard will both stay healthy the whole year, so I think he'll have to step up.

Tempted to vote for Jake Fisher, but not as a OL, but as a FB/HB. I believe they put him there a couple times last year and I think it worked. Throw him in there, and let Gio/Hill run behind him as their lead blocker. I'm pretty over Hewitt after last season.

Jake Fisher had some playing time last year and I think that will continue to grow with jumbo sets and even as FB. I felt he lead block pretty well with power runs and in goal line will take Pekos place.
I would say Kraft will be the one that is going to be a bigger part of our team. I liked the little I saw of him. We will see more of our "Tyler" package. We didn't spend two picks on TE's to have them sit the whole time. I'm excited to see what more the "other" Tyler can do for us. This is also a reason why I don't think they go receiver in round 1 or even 2 unless a true stud is sitting there.

(04-03-2016, 01:33 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Tempted to vote for Jake Fisher, but not as a OL, but as a FB/HB. I believe they put him there a couple times last year and I think it worked. Throw him in there, and let Gio/Hill run behind him as their lead blocker. I'm pretty over Hewitt after last season.

Said it while I was typing.

(04-03-2016, 01:33 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: I voted Josh Shaw because I don't buy that both Kirkpatrick and Dennard will both stay healthy the whole year, so I think he'll have to step up.

Tempted to vote for Jake Fisher, but not as a OL, but as a FB/HB. I believe they put him there a couple times last year and I think it worked. Throw him in there, and let Gio/Hill run behind him as their lead blocker. I'm pretty over Hewitt after last season.

Gotta hear the reasoning on this one.

Dude has played balls out since day one in every role he has been asked to play.

I thought Josh Shaw played really well last year and actually started one game. I think he will do really well as the 3rd/4th corner and potentially be the 2nd corner to Pacman/Darqueze.

I think PJD also has potential to become great next year and has a chance to start if he can make the leap and show up in practices. His college film was amazing and I think given time, could show to be amazing. I see him replacing Emmanuel Lamur and taking reps from Vincent Rey/Maualuga.

Last on my list, Deshawn Williams, I thought he played amazing in preseason and has potential to be really good. He just needs to do what he showed last year and beat out Hardison, Peko, etc.

(04-03-2016, 02:00 PM)jfkbengals Wrote: Gotta hear the reasoning on this one.

Dude has played balls out since day one in every role he has been asked to play.

Except he simply wasn't good last year. The team even realized that, that's why he both played less last year and was taken out a couple of times for Peko or Fisher later in the year.

2014: 43.9% of the offensive snaps
2015: 35.5% of the offensive snaps

If a guy is actually playing "balls out", you don't play him less. You do that with guys who aren't doing well.

Might be a great guy, hard worker, and good teammate, but he wasn't a good lead blocker last year. In 2014 Hill ranked 8th in the NFL with 2.3 yards per carry BEFORE contact, I don't know the exact number in 2015, but I am fairly certain it wasn't nearly as good, with the same OL.

If you can't have a proper FB (the Bengals seem to hate the idea now ever since they started the Dan Coats/Orson Charles experiments) I at least want the HB to be a big bruiser. The 306 lb Fisher could do that. Hewitt is too much finesse in his blocking at 6'4, 254, so if he can't get in perfect position, he can get outmuscled... Vonta Leach was 6'0, 260. Lorenzo Neal was 5'11, 255. That's a lead blocker.

I am going to have to also disagree with LLeap regarding Hewitt. Last year he did have less playing time, but that was because of a knee injury. Seemed like he always did something positive when he got a chance to play.

I wanted to go with Dawson, I really did. But I don't think he starts much of the season. Gets playing time with Burfict out, but after that I imagine we see little of him.

Went with Fisher because I could see them doing numerous 3 OT sets like they did in 09.

My top three are Josh Shaw, Tyer Kroft and Marcus Hardison.

I have a feeling Josh Shaw is going to be really good. Big fan of the kid.

(04-03-2016, 05:12 PM)MentalRage Wrote: My top three are Josh Shaw, Tyer Kroft and Marcus Hardison.

I have a feeling Josh Shaw is going to be really good. Big fan of the kid.

Ditto this.

I was really surprised at how polished Shaw looked. Kroft stepped up big in his 3 starts (9-108-1) and I just have a good feeling about Hardison.

I voted Shaw and Hardison.

Shaw looked like he could step in either to replace Leon or fill in for Dre/Jones.

He's bound to see more PT this season.

Hardison as well. He will be included more in rotation throughout the line IMO.

Kroft should produce as well but may not see as much PT as Shaw and Hardison.

Went with Hardison, Kroft, and Dawson. We pretty much know all 3 will see the field in a rotational capacity (barring injury). I know Dawson looked weak last year and the addition of Dansby and T Mays (who can play Nickel LB essentially) may hurt his playtime, but I think he'll take a big step this year and make some impact plays when he gets a chance.