(02-21-2018, 01:46 PM)depthchart Wrote: No position is a "slam dunk".  (See our last two early wide receiver picks Ross (1st round) & Boyd (2nd round) & Yes, they could still pan out.)

Last Draft and off the top of my head, we saw 1st rounder Ryan Ramczyk starting at right tackle for the Saints in the playoffs, 2nd rounder Cam Robinson starting at Left tackle for the Jags in the playoffs and 3rd round Center Pat Eiflen starting for the Vikings in the playoffs.

The point isn't whether we Draft first team All pros but rather that we view our weakest areas on the team with an eye on bringing in potential starter Upgrades as the opportunity to do so presents itself in drafts. (Would be nice if we did so in Free Agency also but not likely)

We need to be able to recognize the potential UPGRADE DIFFERENTIAL between what we have starting for us now and an available player in a Draft, (as Tom Coughlin did with Cam Robinson in Jacksonville) and then INVEST our pick in an attempt at an upgrade of that starting weak link.

Be aggressive in taking swings at weak link starter upgrades and make the starting team on the field better. Then go back to drafting a starter replacement two years ahead of time or getting a 5th corner in place or drafting a Toy fastest combine speed ever guy etc.

The Bengals are good at keeping a starting running back IN PLACE while turning over the last one by making sure they get a THOROUGHBRED to replace him but do not do the same with many other positions.

They would never FLOUNDER around with a serviceable or worse running back for very long but are willing to FLOUNDER around with other starters from season to season at times.

In short, INVEST in upgrading the 4 or 5 weak link starters with early round stabs at worthy candidates that can likely UPGRADE and we will begin to run out of weak links.

Then they can go back to whatever it is they have been doing all of these years until more starting weak links present themselves.

(02-21-2018, 01:21 PM)ochocincos Wrote: I didn't think non-first rounders had option years on their contracts?

(02-21-2018, 02:01 PM)ochocincos Wrote: IMO the only "good" OT classes since 2014 look to be 2014 and 2016. Specifically, Jake Matthews, Taylor Lewan, Ronnie Stanley, and Jack Conklin. Ramczyk was good at RT from the 2017 draft but the rest of the OTs were not good. 2015 was a very bad year for OTs.

And while I agree with you that the Bengals might not find a good starter at OT in this draft, the only other options are rolling out with abysmal Cedric Ogbuehi or forcing Boling outside which he wasn't that great at either. Boling is a fill-in for LT, not the answer. So if the Bengals don't try to upgrade OT this offseason with either an early draft pick or somehow landing Solder in FA, I don't see much reason to hope for good play at LT in 2018. But that could also be my pessimism that Ogbuehi will magically become a good player after one offseason with Pollack.

Maybe the Bengals go bargain-bin shopping with Greg Robinson, former #2 overall pick in 2014 that was bad up to this point, moved from the Rams to Detroit, and is now a FA.
I have more faith in Pollack coaching up Robinson into something compared Ogbuehi based on their strengths and weaknesses and the scheme Pollack is looking to run.
But it would still be hard to have true faith in the OT position if the only player the Bengals brought in to compete with Ogbuehi was Robinson.

(02-21-2018, 03:01 PM)sandwedge Wrote: IMO I think we can find an upgrade in RD2 at OT. I have a player in mind, but I don't want to turn this into a draft forum. My belief is, if you're drafting in the top half of RD1, you had better get somebody that is going to elevate a certain position of weakness, tremendously! I also believe in the BPA philosophy, just this year we need a lot at certain positions. 
We need to be big players in FA this year. That would help.

(02-21-2018, 02:29 PM)Hoofhearted Wrote: They clearly know "what" needs to upgrade. But the plan then becomes "who" and "where" to do that at. And again, take into consideration the value perspective of each position. They need to upgrade both tackle spots, LB, and safety first. Guards are a dime a dozen. 

(02-21-2018, 03:23 PM)ochocincos Wrote: C needs upgraded before Safety.

(02-21-2018, 03:23 PM)ochocincos Wrote: C needs upgraded before Safety.

(02-21-2018, 04:16 PM)jj22 Wrote: I'd go as far to say DT as well. Unless we going to start Simms another year.

(02-21-2018, 01:16 PM)ochocincos Wrote: I get that fewer and fewer OTs in the draft are panning out, but the likelihood of finding an actual good one gets lower and lower as each round goes by based on probability of remaining OTs to select from.

(02-21-2018, 04:06 PM)Hoofhearted Wrote: Meh, I am tired of getting beat by tight-ends and lack of turnovers on D. Give me a ball-hawking safety over a center any day of the week. 

(02-21-2018, 06:14 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: This is where actually scouting players well, comes into play.  With so many OL coming from colleges that run option offenses, it's hard to know if those players are going to translate well.  It would seem to me that paying particular attention to players from "traditional" or Pro-style offenses is where the smart money should get put down.  You want guys that are very physical, experienced run blockers, guys that have demonstrated the ability to hold a block for 3-4 seconds in passing plays.

(02-21-2018, 05:03 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Sims is a FA now and was worse than Billings/Glasgow IIRC.

(02-21-2018, 06:19 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: I'm gonna say the new coach will be a better scout than Alexander.... 

(02-21-2018, 06:14 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote:
This is where actually scouting players well, comes into play.  With so many OL coming from colleges that run option offenses, it's hard to know if those players are going to translate well.  It would seem to me that paying particular attention to players from "traditional" or Pro-style offenses is where the smart money should get put down.  You want guys that are very physical, experienced run blockers, guys that have demonstrated the ability to hold a block for 3-4 seconds in passing plays.

(02-21-2018, 06:21 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: Thought Billings and Glasgow were starting to look good towards the seasons end.  Sure they have some work to do but the experience helps and another offseason in the weight room helps.  we still got a spot and room to improve.  If there is someone they have rated higher than the pick at hand I'm sure they pull the trigger.

(02-21-2018, 04:06 PM)Hoofhearted Wrote: Meh, I am tired of getting beat by tight-ends and lack of turnovers on D. Give me a ball-hawking safety over a center any day of the week. 

(02-21-2018, 06:26 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: This is also the first time Coach Pollack will be building his own line, from scratch.  In Dallas, he had the benefit of taking over a spectacularly stocked group, assembled by Bill Callahan.  

With that in mind, I'm not expecting any "instant miracles" from the OL, but I am looking forward to watching a more hard-nosed, aggressive unit out there.

(02-21-2018, 06:40 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Bengals were top half of the league in defense and worst in the league in offense.

How can you possibly be more concerned about the defense than the offense?

(02-21-2018, 12:32 PM)jj22 Wrote: A little something called free agency helped.....