http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000498528/article/teams-that-got-most-value-out-of-draft-classes-in-last-decade?Campaign=facebook_cfb_reineking

I read that article and it made me think of some of the heartbreaking drafts we've seen here over the past 10 years. Now, the last 4 or 5 have been decent, but before that, there were some very upsetting and crazy events.

2005 Bengals

David Pollack
Odell Thurman
Chris Henry
Eric Ghiaciuc
Adam Kieft
Tab Perry
Jonathan Fanene

I was on the Tab Perry hype-train in a big way, Fanene was solid, and we all know the tragic ending to our first 3 picks that year.

I honestly believe this group could have been on NFL.com's list had they all played out normal careers. Seeing a list like this always makes me reflect back on our draft classes, and boy were there some stinkers over the last 10 years. Don't look at 2007 and 2008 if you've already forgotten about them, dang those were bad.

I will never forget the '08 draft. Never. That's the first time I yelled at the TV because of a draft pick (I was DeSean jackson over Jerome Simpson).

'06 wasn't too bad; Joseph, Whit, and Peko. '12 draft class has a chance to give some longevity and Pro Bowlers.

The 2005 draft was the draft that in all honesty should have propelled this team over the top. It had 3 potential all-pro players who for non-football reasons all had careers cut short.
It had 1 very solid player and the rest would have been gravy if anything came of it.

(06-25-2015, 11:09 AM)djs7685 Wrote: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000498528/article/teams-that-got-most-value-out-of-draft-classes-in-last-decade?Campaign=facebook_cfb_reineking

I read that article and it made me think of some of the heartbreaking drafts we've seen here over the past 10 years. Now, the last 4 or 5 have been decent, but before that, there were some very upsetting and crazy events.

2005 Bengals

David Pollack
Odell Thurman
Chris Henry
Eric Ghiaciuc
Adam Kieft
Tab Perry
Jonathan Fanene

I was on the Tab Perry hype-train in a big way, Fanene was solid, and we all know the tragic ending to our first 3 picks that year.

I honestly believe this group could have been on NFL.com's list had they all played out normal careers. Seeing a list like this always makes me reflect back on our draft classes, and boy were there some stinkers over the last 10 years. Don't look at 2007 and 2008 if you've already forgotten about them, dang those were bad.

I know, I feel like that year has been the most special year by far for the Bengals in the Lewis era. There was something great about that year that unfortunately ended the worst way possible. That year was by far the most enjoyable Ive seen since Marvin has been coach. 

Pollack and Thurman may well have been better than Simmons/Spikes.........if only

And yes the 05 season gave us back the hope we hadn't had in a long time. Of course it hasn't panned out, yet.

(06-25-2015, 01:57 PM)wolfkaosaun Wrote: I will never forget the '08 draft. Never. That's the first time I yelled at the TV because of a draft pick (I was DeSean jackson over Jerome Simpson).

'06 wasn't too bad; Joseph, Whit, and Peko. '12 draft class has a chance to give some longevity and Pro Bowlers.

The 08 draft pretty much summed up the 08 season for us fans. Almost everyone was on board with us trying get a DT. Marvin wanted to land Dorsey/Ellis/Harvey. We all knew Dorsey was a long shot, but we thought Ellis was realistic. Then we heard about New Orleans trying to trade up. Sure enough, it happened and the fan base was deflated. It also turned out that Marvin wanted Derrick Harvey, which I'm glad we missed on him, but the Jags got him. Our pick was completely spoiled when they cut to Keith Rivers and he was already wearing the hat. Some people tried to get up with the pick, but you could tell the staff wasn't happy. Marvin looked pissed in his presser announcing the pick.

Then the 2nd round comes and people were all over DeSean. Then we took Simpson. I was probably one of the few who loved the pick, because I had mocked Simpson to us in the 3rd round (a lot). I believe Sims was the favorite pick of everyone because we wanted a DT, and he was a well known one. People didn't mind Caldwell. No one really complained about Collins. The Shirley pick ticked some off since people we thought we could get him after the draft. Matt Sherry generated absolute zero buzz. Corey Lynch had a warm welcome just because App State beat Michigan before the season. Angelo Craig played at UC, so some people liked him. Urrutia was liked because he had a funny last name.

Then we sucked that year.

(06-25-2015, 04:58 PM)Bengal Dude Wrote: The 08 draft pretty much summed up the 08 season for us fans. Almost everyone was on board with us trying get a DT. Marvin wanted to land Dorsey/Ellis/Harvey. We all knew Dorsey was a long shot, but we thought Ellis was realistic. Then we heard about New Orleans trying to trade up. Sure enough, it happened and the fan base was deflated. It also turned out that Marvin wanted Derrick Harvey, which I'm glad we missed on him, but the Jags got him. Our pick was completely spoiled when they cut to Keith Rivers and he was already wearing the hat. Some people tried to get up with the pick, but you could tell the staff wasn't happy. Marvin looked pissed in his presser announcing the pick.

Then the 2nd round comes and people were all over DeSean. Then we took Simpson. I was probably one of the few who loved the pick, because I had mocked Simpson to us in the 3rd round (a lot). I believe Sims was the favorite pick of everyone because we wanted a DT, and he was a well known one. People didn't mind Caldwell. No one really complained about Collins. The Shirley pick ticked some off since people we thought we could get him after the draft. Matt Sherry generated absolute zero buzz. Corey Lynch had a warm welcome just because App State beat Michigan before the season. Angelo Craig played at UC, so some people liked him. Urrutia was liked because he had a funny last name.

Then we sucked that year.

Man that was a rough draft for me. 08 was probably the hardest draft to watch until this year because of the talent that was there, the needs that were there (both short and long term) and then the guys we took. Not that we took bad guys — I really thought Lynch and Collins were good picks that would turn into something. And I thought Rivers was a safe pick in that he was one of the more ready and stable LBs.

(06-25-2015, 05:46 PM)Benton Wrote: Man that was a rough draft for me. 08 was probably the hardest draft to watch until this year because of the talent that was there, the needs that were there (both short and long term) and then the guys we took. Not that we took bad guys — I really thought Lynch and Collins were good picks that would turn into something. And I thought Rivers was a safe pick in that he was one of the more ready and stable LBs.

I was disappointed with the Rivers pick, but that was because of our needs. I figured he wasn't going to do much for us since we didn't have the DTs to keep OL off of him. He was a solid player for us, but never lived up to the draft status. Luckily our drafting has improved since then.

(06-25-2015, 11:09 AM)djs7685 Wrote: I was on the Tab Perry hype-train in a big way...

Me too.  I remember the year Tab finally got his shot.  I think Chris Henry was out on suspension, Tab was running those routes, Carson kept throwing it to him, but either the throw was off-target or Tab couldn't hang on to it.  They were out of sync and stayed that way.  Certainly not what I was expecting.

Well, if anything, Perry had a huge kickoff return against the Steelers that resulted in the game winning TD.

Not gonna lie, I get a little geeked when I see Pollack on College Game Day. Hes a pretty solid contributor. I think he found his calling in life.

(06-26-2015, 01:11 PM)yellowxdiscipline Wrote: Not gonna lie, I get a little geeked when I see Pollack on College Game Day. Hes a pretty solid contributor. I think he found his calling in life.

He's great on air. 

(06-25-2015, 11:09 AM)djs7685 Wrote: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000498528/article/teams-that-got-most-value-out-of-draft-classes-in-last-decade?Campaign=facebook_cfb_reineking

I read that article and it made me think of some of the heartbreaking drafts we've seen here over the past 10 years. Now, the last 4 or 5 have been decent, but before that, there were some very upsetting and crazy events.

2005 Bengals

David Pollack
Odell Thurman
Chris Henry
Eric Ghiaciuc
Adam Kieft
Tab Perry
Jonathan Fanene

I was on the Tab Perry hype-train in a big way, Fanene was solid, and we all know the tragic ending to our first 3 picks that year.

I honestly believe this group could have been on NFL.com's list had they all played out normal careers. Seeing a list like this always makes me reflect back on our draft classes, and boy were there some stinkers over the last 10 years. Don't look at 2007 and 2008 if you've already forgotten about them, dang those were bad.

Good thread.

The interesting thing is I now see the greats in our division taking similar risks early in drafts. The Ravens drafted Perriman who is a huge boom or bust pick (not character, but skill do to drops). We still take a few minor risks, but for the most part ML (I believe he changed it) said no more and fixed that aspect of building our team.

(06-25-2015, 11:09 AM)djs7685 Wrote: Adam Kieft

Draft geek alert.

Kieft was one of my favorite picks from this draft.  He was gigantic (6'7", 338), explosive (his 33" vertical and 9'2" broad jump would have ranked in the top 5 among O-linemen at this years combine), and strong (28 bench reps would have been in the top 10), with decent agility (7.76 three cone drill would have been 12th).

His NFL career was cut short by injuries.