(05-04-2020, 09:19 AM)bengalfan74 Wrote: I really like the retooling of the LBer corps. We've suffered thru several years of that being the achilles heel of our D. Whether or not it's totally fixed remains to be seen ? But I feel they've taken some giant strides in the right direction.

Quote:“You have to find ways to beat Baltimore and K.C.,” Radicevic said. “You’ve got to have guys that can run and tackle on the outside and that was, obviously, a big weakness for us last year.”

One of the first conclusions was the free-agent group and draft classes at linebacker didn’t line up. Free agency looked scarce but Potts and the college side saw something completely different.

“We really, really liked the depth of the linebacker position this draft,” Potts said. “I know a lot was made about how deep the receiver position was in this draft but I can argue there may have been close to if not more linebackers that we felt could come in and help us and play significant snaps for us at the linebacker position as compared to some other spots. I thought it was one of the deeper spots in the draft. You set price tags on everyone throughout free agency and have guys that you target and you let things play out. You aren’t going to overpay for a certain guy that you can address that same position in the draft.”

(05-04-2020, 11:39 AM)BURROWorBUST Wrote: From this article in The Athletic.

‘This is crazy’: Inside how Bengals plotted, executed a massive roster overhaul
Paul Dehner Jr.

Quote:The Bengals liked all three linebackers that went off the board in the first round (Texas Tech’s Jordyn Brooks, LSU’s Patrick Queen and Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray) and could have selected Georgia tackle Isaiah Wilson, but with their obvious need at linebacker unfulfilled, they had an eye on the top of the third.

It ended up being Wyoming’s Logan Wilson thanks to one of the tensest rounds in recent memory.
“You’ve got your 10 guys mapped out as you come through the second round,” Taylor said. “But you aren’t even counting Logan at that point. We shouldn’t even be discussing him. He’s going to be gone.”
Yet, as their No. 65 pick got closer and he was there, discussions kicked up about how to secure a target they had graded so much higher at a position of need.
“We thought Logan had a really, really strong chance of going somewhere in the second round,” Potts said. “Maybe even early to mid-second round. So we were, just being honest, I can’t speak for everyone else — I was nervous the whole second round as picks started to go off the board and he was still there.”
They knew a grouping of teams were in the linebacker market, most notably Kansas City. When the Chiefs selected Mississippi State’s Willie Gay, the staff thought it might make it with only Seattle left to pick. The Seahawks already snagged Brooks in the first, so it seemed the Bengals might be in the clear.
Then, a trade was announced. Carolina came up. The Panthers had just lost Luke Kuechly to retirement.
“Everybody was pretty bummed out,” Potts said.
The Panthers ended up taking Southern Illinois safety Jeremy Chinn.
“There was a loud combination of exhale and cheers on the Zoom conference call,” Potts said.
When Akeem Davis-Gaither of Appalachian State and seventh-rounder Markus Bailey of Purdue ended up falling below the Bengals’ grades, it seemed the strategy of favoring free agency versus the draft in overhauling the defense played out to perfection.
“With (the) free agency thing, we were talking about Schobert, we were talking about Martinez — not to put Wilson in that category — but in my opinion, he’s faster than those guys, a better athlete, cover player than those guys and those guys all got 10-plus (million),” Radicevic said of their lucrative deals with the Jaguars and Giants. “So, everybody is all pissed off because we didn’t sign a linebacker in free agency but, in my opinion, we ended up drafting one that’s going to be better.”
As opposed to spending that much money on a linebacker, they drafted Wilson using the money on Alexander and Bell in the secondary.

(05-04-2020, 11:58 AM)BURROWorBUST Wrote: More:

(05-04-2020, 01:10 PM)CarolinaBengalFanGuy Wrote: I think it will still be the weak link of the defense, but hopefully much improved from last years 2-14 team. So many young players. People are really banking on 3 rookies and a second year player.

(05-04-2020, 01:10 PM)CarolinaBengalFanGuy Wrote: I think it will still be the weak link of the defense, but hopefully much improved from last years 2-14 team. So many young players. People are really banking on 3 rookies and a second year player.

(05-04-2020, 01:10 PM)CarolinaBengalFanGuy Wrote: I think it will still be the weak link of the defense, but hopefully much improved from last years 2-14 team. So many young players. People are really banking on 3 rookies and a second year player.

(05-04-2020, 04:26 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Who the hell is Brady Sheldon?

(05-04-2020, 03:22 AM)BURROWorBUST Wrote: Everybody seemed to rate the DLine as one of the better groups on our defense, and our team as a whole.

I just wanted to say that I agree, but I also want to tip my hat to the Bengals' coaching staff. I think they did a great job in 2019 of doing a studied evaluation of this team's personnel. Obviously, they saw that we couldn't stop the run. So, props to them for going out in free agency and signing DJ Reader to help stop that bleeding.

But the DLine was by far not the biggest reason we couldn't stop the run. When they went to evaluate to talent we had at LB, these are the players they had to look at:  

Nick Vigil
Germaine Pratt
Preston Brown
Brady Sheldon
Jordan Evans
LaRoy Reynolds
Hardy Nickerson

After the evaluation, only 3 of those names remain on our roster:

Germaine Pratt
Brady Sheldon
Jordan Evans

Obviously, they judged this group to be a weak link, not only in stopping the run, but also in terms of covering receivers.

Signing Josh Bynes will help with the former, but they had to do something to address the latter. So they went to the draft and came back with not 1, not 2, but 3 LBs who can cover.

So, we're heading into the 2020 season with

Josh Bynes
Germaine Pratt
Logan Wilson
Akeem Davis-Gaither
Markus Bailey
Marcel Spears (UDFA)
Brady Sheldon
Jordan Evans

I struck through Spears, Evans and Sheldon, because I don't think they make the final 53 unless one of the other 5 goes down.

What's your evaluation of this group? I don't remember ever being this fired up about our LBs. I don't know if we'll ever see all 3 rookies on the field at the same time, but we could.

I guess my biggest question concerns Von Bell. But I'll save that for next week.

(05-04-2020, 08:15 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: I think they improved the LB room big time Shady. Well done.

Out of those five you have at the top of the list I love 4 of their upsides. Pratt was my second favorite LB in last years Draft.

I had Wilson and ADG rated about the 3rd and 4th round just cause of the small school status and the fact ADG is a really light
Outside Linebacker. Wilson is a do it all 3 down backer and Bailey just pops off the screen in his highlights. Reminds me a lot of 
the guy you put highlights of in the Draft forum, Justin Strnad who was drafted earlier than Bailey.

I do believe Evans makes it as the last guy.

I just don't think Marvin was very good with evaluating Linebackers, like much at all.

The undrafted guys were his best grabs, besides Odell who didn't last long.