WhoDeyK April Mock

[WhoDeyK]

I try to refrain from doing trades as I often think it looks too unrealistic. This draft is assuming the Bengals cannot trade Jonah Williams and they plan to have a combination of Williams, Carman and Collins man the RT spot this year. 

Round 1 Darnell Washington TE Georgia

This guy is a monster with potential through the roof. Washington is like a 2 for 1. He has the receiving ability of a TE but the blocking ability of a tackle. As I said in another thread, Washington is a bull in a china shop with surprising athleticism. If he's available I would run to the podium.

Round 2 Clark Phillips CB Utah

This is a loaded CB class and it wouldn't surprise me to see the Bengals go shopping for Chido insurance. Clark Phillips is a personal favorite of mine and someone who I feel has a legitimate chance to fall to our Round 2 pick due to his size. While 2 inches shorter than preferred, the guy is a gamer and leader. He hits hard and has a knack for forcing turnovers.  You can never have enough playmakers in the secondary and Taylor loves team captains. 


Round 3 Isreal Abanikanda RB Pitt
This would be a draft day steal. Abanakanda is a complete back. He has good size and creates yards after contact while still having home run ability. Abanakanda is my 3rd ranked RB just slightly edging out Charbonnet. While I know boards will vary, I would happily select our new starting running back at the end of the 3rd round. 

Round 4 KJ Henry DE Clemson

Rotational Defensive end who can spell Hendrickson and Hubbard and generate some pass rush. Nothing helps ease in our new Safety tandem more than getting after the QB. 

Round 5 Josh Whyle TE Cincinnati 

The double dip! In my opinion, Whyle is a candidate for most underrated player in the draft. Great size, good blocking skills and great jump ball ability. With Washington in 1 and Whyle in 5 the TE position would be set for years to come even if Irv Smith ends up being a one year rental. Good luck stopping us in the Redzone. 

Round 6 Dante Stills DT West Virginia 

Under the radar interior pass rusher who can compete with Zach Carter in our quest to find a Larry O replacement. 

Round 7 Keaton Mitchell RB East Carolina

The Double Double dip! I call this guy late round Gibbs. Speed for days and could pair well with Abanakanda to form a dangerous duo in the back field. 

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

Killed it. Might be my favorite Mock with us keeping Jonah, good job and grabbing a couple RB's that aren't mentioned often in
Adanikanda and Mitchell. We would be stacked at TE with DW and Whyle, who might be the two TE's with the highest upside in
this Draft. One could be our Kelce, you never know. Sure would be awesome to be paying a TE star not near as much as a WR.

Watched Clark Phillips a lot as I get a lot of Utah games and he can be lockdown even if he is small and he is a good tackler and
plays with fire similar to CTB. Love this pick.

Also like the Stills grab that late, he could push Carter. Never watched Henry play but coming from Clemson he would have to be
pretty decent as a pass rusher.

Great job WhoDeyK

[*Synric*]

I love the Double Double Dip Lol I've been promoting it all off-season. Im not overly fond of the RB chocies but Isreal Abanikanda reminds me of Joe Mixon so you know the Bengals love his running style. Clark Phillips is an absolute steal at 60 and one you can see every draft definitely my favorite pick of the mock.

I'm with Nate voting this my favorite mock of the off-season.

[SunsetBengal]

(04-08-2023, 07:16 PM)Synric Wrote: I love the Double Double Dip Lol I've been promoting it all off-season. Im not overly fond of the RB chocies but Isreal Abanikanda reminds me of Joe Mixon so you know the Bengals love his running style. Clark Phillips is an absolute steal at 60 and one you can see every draft definitely my favorite pick of the mock.

I'm with Nate voting this my favorite mock of the off-season.

His draft profile pretty much states that his pass pro is similar to Mixon, as well.  So, there is that.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(04-08-2023, 08:13 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: His draft profile pretty much states that his pass pro is similar to Mixon, as well.  So, there is that.

Made me take a pause, give me Spears or Bigsby at that spot.

Also, Synric, I said it might be my favorite mock with us keeping Jonah. I would prefer we traded him and added a mid round pick.

[SunsetBengal]

(04-08-2023, 08:19 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote:

Made me take a pause, give me Spears or Bigsby at that spot.

Also, Synric, I said it might be my favorite mock with us keeping Jonah. I would prefer we traded him and added a mid round pick.

Given my druthers of the two, I'd take Spears as the first year starter over Bigsby.  Not that Bigsby won't develop into a reliable starter, I just think that day one is asking much of him.

[sandwedge]

Damn good draft!

[WhoDeyK]

(04-08-2023, 07:09 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Killed it. Might be my favorite Mock with us keeping Jonah, good job and grabbing a couple RB's that aren't mentioned often in
Adanikanda and Mitchell. We would be stacked at TE with DW and Whyle, who might be the two TE's with the highest upside in
this Draft. One could be our Kelce, you never know. Sure would be awesome to be paying a TE star not near as much as a WR.

Watched Clark Phillips a lot as I get a lot of Utah games and he can be lockdown even if he is small and he is a good tackler and
plays with fire similar to CTB. Love this pick.

Also like the Stills grab that late, he could push Carter. Never watched Henry play but coming from Clemson he would have to be
pretty decent as a pass rusher.

Great job WhoDeyK  

Thanks Nate! I really appreciate all the support. I do agree with you that I would prefer to trade Jonah but this would be my approach if that doesn't end up happening. I absolutely love the thought of having Washington and Whyle as a combo at Tight End. I think it gives us tons of possibilities. Love the CTB comp for Phillips. I can definitely see the similarities, both are all heart and never take a play off. 

Stills that late might be a pipe dream but Im hoping he stays under the radar. I know some would like an interior pass rusher sooner than Round 6 but I think the Bengals still have a lot of faith in Carter to develop. 
Henry and Harrison from Ohio State are two guys I'll be keeping an eye on during the draft. I think both fit our system very well and could be available in the mid rounds. 

There are a ton of Rb's I like in this draft. I think the 3rd round might end up being the best spot to take one (or the first one) as I think the Bengals will have a choice of several potential future starters there. I personally think Izzy is a great fit in our offense. 

[WhoDeyK]

(04-08-2023, 07:16 PM)Synric Wrote: I love the Double Double Dip Lol I've been promoting it all off-season. Im not overly fond of the RB chocies but Isreal Abanikanda reminds me of Joe Mixon so you know the Bengals love his running style. Clark Phillips is an absolute steal at 60 and one you can see every draft definitely my favorite pick of the mock.

I'm with Nate voting this my favorite mock of the off-season.

Thanks for the high praise Synric! 

I'm definitely on board with the double dip! Lol I love how our needs align with the deepest positions in this draft. 

I struggle with an Abanikanda comp. I think his vision and burst are much better than Mixon personally but I can see some similarities. I've seen some say Pachecco and Aaron Jones. 

[WhoDeyK]

(04-08-2023, 08:13 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: His draft profile pretty much states that his pass pro is similar to Mixon, as well.  So, there is that.

Most reports I have read say he is a willing pass protector. That in itself seems to be an upgrade over Mixon. Lol He's one of the youngest backs in this class so I'm hopeful he can grow in that area.

[*Synric*]

(04-08-2023, 08:13 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: His draft profile pretty much states that his pass pro is similar to Mixon, as well.  So, there is that.

I'm lower on Isreal Abanikanda because I think he is a Joe Mixon clone but he has the same high upside that Mixon had coming out of Oklahoma. As a prospect like Mixon I'm more worried about his contact balance and vision as a runner and how he develops as a receiver. I think Abanikanda can give you the same player year one as Joe Mixon.



....how bad Joe Mixon is in pass protection as a starting running back has made it a bigger deal in Cincinnati than it is on a league scale with the percentages of the snaps in pass protection for a running back. 

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(04-08-2023, 08:26 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Given my druthers of the two, I'd take Spears as the first year starter over Bigsby.  Not that Bigsby won't develop into a reliable starter, I just think that day one is asking much of him.

Yes, I think I would take Spears over Bigsby myself. 

(04-08-2023, 08:52 PM)WhoDeyK Wrote: Thanks Nate! I really appreciate all the support. I do agree with you that I would prefer to trade Jonah but this would be my approach if that doesn't end up happening. I absolutely love the thought of having Washington and Whyle as a combo at Tight End. I think it gives us tons of possibilities. Love the CTB comp for Phillips. I can definitely see the similarities, both are all heart and never take a play off. 

Stills that late might be a pipe dream but Im hoping he stays under the radar. I know some would like an interior pass rusher sooner than Round 6 but I think the Bengals still have a lot of faith in Carter to develop. 
Henry and Harrison from Ohio State are two guys I'll be keeping an eye on during the draft. I think both fit our system very well and could be available in the mid rounds. 

There are a ton of Rb's I like in this draft. I think the 3rd round might end up being the best spot to take one (or the first one) as I think the Bengals will have a choice of several potential future starters there. I personally think Izzy is a great fit in our offense. 

You are very welcome WhoDeyK.

Would be nice to trade Jonah and get rid of the money he is owed and a player who doesn't want to be here. But if it doesn't 
happen this draft would be pretty ideal. I don't like what Sunset and Synric said about Izzy's pass pro, but he is young and can
learn. Also believe the coaches have faith in the development of Carter and even Cam Sample as 3-techs. Stills would be a good
one to push them or even beat them out, who knows?

Also love a ton of RB's in this draft, would like for us to double dip there as well as TE like you do here. Another double dip I am
warming up to is Tyjae Spears and Laborn out of Marshall. I cannot think of a double tip at TE I like more than DW and Whyle tho.

(04-08-2023, 09:10 PM)WhoDeyK Wrote: Most reports I have read say he is a willing pass protector. That in itself seems to be an upgrade over Mixon. Lol He's one of the youngest backs in this class so I'm hopeful he can grow in that area.

Willing is better than Mixon no doubt, ha ha, saw him a few times where he didn't even want to be out there blocking. Not cool.

[SunsetBengal]

(04-08-2023, 09:10 PM)WhoDeyK Wrote: Most reports I have read say he is a willing pass protector. That in itself seems to be an upgrade over Mixon. Lol He's one of the youngest backs in this class so I'm hopeful he can grow in that area.

This is from his NFL draft profile.

Quote:Weaknesses

• Change of direction is more segmented than fluid.
• Runs with hurried tempo, bypassing timing of block development.
• Fails to press the line of scrimmage deeply to manipulate linebacker flow.
• Urgent but not overly creative early in the run.
• Can be a little inconsistent as run finisher despite his size.
• Has trouble keeping rusher in front of him in pass protection.
  

I don't hate him as a prospect, I just think that he's going to take a little developmental time before he's ready to be relied upon to be a complete back.