Are we drafting to win now?

[SuperBowlBound!]

As we all know the Bengals have never won a Super Bowl. It seems like some of our draft picks are designed to replace expensive to resign players.
Yes, that will help keep us competitive and under the cap if we don''t have to sign Hendrickson, Hubbard, Awuzie and Hilton type players.

I am sure Miles Murphy can be a great player but I would think the win now mode approach would be surrounding Burrow with as much talent as possible. Maybe trade up for an exciting running back or drafting Michael Mayer in the 1st round pick.

I do trust the coaching staff to keep our team competitive. If we already have won a Super Bowl I would be fine with this approach but that first Super Bowl trophy is so close.

Thoughts?

[Stewy]

(04-29-2023, 11:36 AM)SuperBowlBound! Wrote: As we all know the Bengals have never won a Super Bowl. It seems like some of our draft picks are designed to replace expensive to resign players.
Yes, that will help keep us competitive and under the cap if we don''t have to sign Hendrickson, Hubbard, Awuzie and Hilton type players.

I am sure Miles Murphy can be a great player but I would think the win now mode approach would be surrounding Burrow with as much talent as possible. Maybe trade up for an exciting running back or drafting Michael Mayer in the 1st round pick.

I do trust the coaching staff to keep our team competitive. If we already have won a Super Bowl I would be fine with this approach but that first Super Bowl trophy is so close.

Thoughts?

Nope.  They're drafting for sustained excellence.

[masonbengals fan]

(04-29-2023, 12:24 PM)Stewy Wrote: Nope.  They're drafting for sustained excellence.

It's the ideal situation... As a long time Bengals fan I still have to pinch myself every now & then to even believe it. 

[Cosmokramer]

(04-29-2023, 11:36 AM)SuperBowlBound! Wrote: As we all know the Bengals have never won a Super Bowl. It seems like some of our draft picks are designed to replace expensive to resign players.
Yes, that will help keep us competitive and under the cap if we don''t have to sign Hendrickson, Hubbard, Awuzie and Hilton type players.

I am sure Miles Murphy can be a great player but I would think the win now mode approach would be surrounding Burrow with as much talent as possible. Maybe trade up for an exciting running back or drafting Michael Mayer in the 1st round pick.

I do trust the coaching staff to keep our team competitive. If we already have won a Super Bowl I would be fine with this approach but that first Super Bowl trophy is so close.

Thoughts?

Not every player can be a pro bowl type player. Burrow is surrounded by talent. We have the best receiving corp in the NFL. We upgraded the line both the last two off seasons. We need defense. We need to create turnovers. To keep the ball in our QBs hands. We have a very hard time getting to the QB. I’m all for an elite defense.

[NATI BENGALS]

I’d say so.

It’s a passing league right? We are going to have to beat a big time QB to make it to and/or win the Super Bowl.

Your not beating Mahomes or Hurts with a shitty D

[SunsetBengal]

I had a conversation with a lifelong friend, who just happens to be a Steelers fan. He grew up in Eastern PA, and we met as teammates on a Semi-Pro football team. Smart guy (mechanical engineer), played college football and would likely be one heck of a coach. Anyway, we were talking about the draft, and he said that the Bengals are killing it, and stocking themselves to be good for a long time.

I agreed, and mentioned to him that not all Bengal fans are expressing joy with the draft product so far. He chuckled and said "You've got a good team now, when you've already got a good roster that can contend for the title, you draft to maintain that level.". And it would appear that the Bengals are doing just that, drafting to promote from within, rather than paying expensive second and third contracts to excellent and expensive players. If you want to retain your franchise QB, along with his two preferred weapons, you've got to get cheaper in other position groups on the team.

Not every fan would agree with that school of thought, in fact, even I was a bit questioning when free agency started. I went to bed kicking and screaming over the loss of Bates and Bell at the beginning of free agency. Now, after watching them draft Hill and Anderson last year and sign Scott in this free agency, then go onto continue to bolster the DB room with the addition of DJ Turner and Jordan Battle, I'm seeing the bigger picture. Our coaches and management definitely have a plan, a plan that I'm definitely buying into and becoming a fan of.

So, with all of that said, Yes the Bengals are not only drafting to win now, but win for a sustained length of time. In Duke and Zac, I trust!

[SuperBowlBound!]

(04-29-2023, 02:00 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I had a conversation with a lifelong friend, who just happens to be a Steelers fan.  He grew up in Eastern PA, and we met as teammates on a Semi-Pro football team.  Smart guy (mechanical engineer), played college football and would likely be one heck of a coach.  Anyway, we were talking about the draft, and he said that the Bengals are killing it, and stocking themselves to be good for a long time.

I agreed, and mentioned to him that not all Bengal fans are expressing joy with the draft product so far.  He chuckled and said "You've got a good team now, when you've already got a good roster that can contend for the title, you draft to maintain that level.". And it would appear that the Bengals are doing just that, drafting to promote from within, rather than paying expensive second and third contracts to excellent and expensive players.  If you want to retain your franchise QB, along with his two preferred weapons, you've got to get cheaper in other position groups on the team.  

Not every fan would agree with that school of thought, in fact, even I was a bit questioning when free agency started.  I went to bed kicking and screaming over the loss of Bates and Bell at the beginning of free agency.  Now, after watching them draft Hill and Anderson last year and sign Scott in this free agency, then go onto continue to bolster the DB room with the addition of DJ Turner and Jordan Battle, I'm seeing the bigger picture.  Our coaches and management definitely have a plan, a plan that I'm definitely buying into and becoming a fan of.  

So, with all of that said, Yes the Bengals are not only drafting to win now, but win for a sustained length of time.  In Duke and Zac, I trust!



I am happy to hear that. I do trust this staff to field a highly competitive team. It is much different than previous regimes.
Looks like the bengals just drafted Tyler Boyd's replacement.

That 1st Super Bowl trophy can't get here soon enough.

Who Dey!

[casear2727]

(04-29-2023, 11:36 AM)SuperBowlBound! Wrote: As we all know the Bengals have never won a Super Bowl. It seems like some of our draft picks are designed to replace expensive to resign players.
Yes, that will help keep us competitive and under the cap if we don''t have to sign Hendrickson, Hubbard, Awuzie and Hilton type players.

I am sure Miles Murphy can be a great player but I would think the win now mode approach would be surrounding Burrow with as much talent as possible. Maybe trade up for an exciting running back or drafting Michael Mayer in the 1st round pick.

I do trust the coaching staff to keep our team competitive. If we already have won a Super Bowl I would be fine with this approach but that first Super Bowl trophy is so close.

Thoughts?

So you would prefer that we draft a player in the 1st round that EVERY team passed on and you wanted to give up picks to move up in the deepest RB class (and lowest value position)?

[NUGDUKWE]

I would say I'm happy with the draft. But I really can't understand not getting OL depth at least in the mid rounds. I like taking Battle with the state of our safety room. But when both safeties leave it might give more urgency to resign Apple so your not forced to fill so many holes.

[SuperBowlBound!]

(04-29-2023, 08:14 PM)casear2727 Wrote: So you would prefer that we draft a player in the 1st round that EVERY team passed on and you wanted to give up picks to move up in the deepest RB class (and lowest value position)?

Remember at that point EVERY team had also passed on Myles Murphy. 
Michael Mayer was picked 7 picks later so it is not an outrageous of a pick.
I think Murphy may end up being better long term but his value to us in 2024 will not be as significant as Mayer or a top RB.
I don't know what the cost would have been to land a RB since the 2 were picked so early.

So yes, I would have picked Mayer and possibly moved up to land Robinson or Gibbs if we did not have to give up too much.
I was kind of hoping going into the draft that RB's would fall and we could have traded Jonah Willliams to move up.
Since you and I are not privvy to this information we can only rely on what other teams valued. 
The Lions and the Falcons really valued those 2 Running Backs enough to pick them in the top 12.

All we can do is look back at this draft in 3-4 years and see how these players careers progressed and were the better value.

It was just a suggestion.

[SuperBowlBound!]

(04-29-2023, 10:16 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: I would say I'm happy with the draft. But I really can't understand not getting OL depth at least in the mid rounds. I like taking Battle with the state of our safety room. But when both safeties leave it might give more urgency to resign Apple so your not forced to fill so many holes.

The good news is this shows the confidence the Bengals have in what they have returning with Orlando Brown.
I assume La'el Collins injury must be progressing in the right direction and Jonah is not going to sit out.
We also have Jackson Carmen who looked good late in the season.

I was holding out hope to draft Dawand Jones. He looked good on tape to me when I watched his snaps against Georgia.
He has like a 7' wingspan which should be an advantage to him. We will see how he does with the Browns.

I think the Bengals said all the right things about losing their safeties but they really wanted to improve their team speed on defense and they did just that.

[NUGDUKWE]

(04-30-2023, 12:56 PM)SuperBowlBound! Wrote: The good news is this shows the confidence the Bengals have in what they have returning with Orlando Brown.
I assume La'el Collins injury must be progressing in the right direction and Jonah is not going to sit out.
We also have Jackson Carmen who looked good late in the season.

I was holding out hope to draft Dawand Jones. He looked good on tape to me when I watched his snaps against Georgia.
He has like a 7' wingspan which should be an advantage to him. We will see how he does with the Browns.

I think the Bengals said all the right things about losing their safeties but they really wanted to improve their team speed on defense and they did just that.

The problem I have is they are always confident in the OL group no matter how bad they are. So it's just a little hard to have a lot of confidence in that. I don't think anyone should have confidence Collins comes back and plays for the Bengals. If it happens okay but at this point I just wouldn't count on it ( he could barely stay on his feet before the injury). 

But saying that if Jonah has settled down than I'm actually okay with our tackle depth but we do have uncertainty of how Jonah or Carman can handle the right side. What I am a little worried about is our interior depth. Not even sure what our plan would be if Volson Karras or Kappa went down. We've been getting Burrow beat up since he's been here and I would just like OL to be a little higher on the priority list.

[spazz70]

(04-29-2023, 11:36 AM)SuperBowlBound! Wrote: As we all know the Bengals have never won a Super Bowl. It seems like some of our draft picks are designed to replace expensive to resign players.
Yes, that will help keep us competitive and under the cap if we don''t have to sign Hendrickson, Hubbard, Awuzie and Hilton type players.

I am sure Miles Murphy can be a great player but I would think the win now mode approach would be surrounding Burrow with as much talent as possible. Maybe trade up for an exciting running back or drafting Michael Mayer in the 1st round pick.

I do trust the coaching staff to keep our team competitive. If we already have won a Super Bowl I would be fine with this approach but that first Super Bowl trophy is so close.

Thoughts?

They were never taking a TE in the 1st.  Zac even said after the draft that the media made up all the TE talk.

[SuperBowlBound!]

(04-30-2023, 02:06 PM)spazz70 Wrote: They were never taking a TE in the 1st.  Zac even said after the draft that the media made up all the TE talk.

 Let's hope Irv Smith is as good as they think he is.

[Gdale_Bengal]

The only problem I had with this draft was the 3rd round selection. Honestly I feel like even with the injury, Washington should have been selected.

I’m really hoping Nattle comes in and competes well and eventually beats Scott and becomes a difference maker though. We do need players who can make plays on the ball. He isn’t the freak that we were drafting these past 2 years though.

[Hammerstripes]

What are the team's biggest needs this offseason? Not the fans', but the teams:

1. Pass rush. We have some guys, but we didn't do a great job last year.
2. Secondary. We have Awuzie coming off an ACL and we have CTB on the outside. After that, what do we have?
3. Offensive weapons. We saw the lack of guys after Boyd went down in the AFC title game. We need another couple guys that can make plays.

Murphy, Turner, Battle and Jones specifically address those current needs.

[BengalFanInCanada]

(04-30-2023, 12:50 PM)SuperBowlBound! Wrote: Remember at that point EVERY team had also passed on Myles Murphy. 
Michael Mayer was picked 7 picks later so it is not an outrageous of a pick.
I think Murphy may end up being better long term but his value to us in 2024 will not be as significant as Mayer or a top RB.
I don't know what the cost would have been to land a RB since the 2 were picked so early.

So yes, I would have picked Mayer and possibly moved up to land Robinson or Gibbs if we did not have to give up too much.
I was kind of hoping going into the draft that RB's would fall and we could have traded Jonah Willliams to move up.
Since you and I are not privvy to this information we can only rely on what other teams valued. 
The Lions and the Falcons really valued those 2 Running Backs enough to pick them in the top 12.

All we can do is look back at this draft in 3-4 years and see how these players careers progressed and were the better value.

It was just a suggestion.

What would the cost have been to move up to pick, say, Gibbs?

It would have cost us our first round pick to start with, so no Mayer.

It likely would’ve cost us at least our second round pick also. After all, you are talking about moving from 28 to at least 11.  Just to get a RB that isn’t all that much better than the one we got in the 5th round.

Just terrible, terrible value.

And we really needed an edge rusher right now.  Or did you miss the playoffs?

[SuperBowlBound!]

(05-01-2023, 12:22 PM)BengalFanInCanada Wrote: What would the cost have been to move up to pick, say, Gibbs?

It would have cost us our first round pick to start with, so no Mayer.

It likely would’ve cost us at least our second round pick also. After all, you are talking about moving from 28 to at least 11.  Just to get a RB that isn’t all that much better than the one we got in the 5th round.

Just terrible, terrible value.

And we really needed an edge rusher right now.  Or did you miss the playoffs?

I did not expect to get Gibbs and Mayer just one or the other.

They could have stayed where they were and selected Mayer.

We did sign FA DE Tarel Basham who along with Ossai, Hendrickson & Hubbard is a pretty good rotation.

I think most draft experts will agree that #1 BiJan Robinson or #2 Jahmyr Gibbs are considered a much better talent than our #9 Chase Brown.
That is why they are ranked that high and why they were chosen that high.

No, I did not miss the playoffs.  I actually traveled to KC for the second straight year to watch the AFC Championship. I have actually watched in 3-4 times by now. The defense did not let us down. The Offense and poor punting which lost field position especially at the end let us down. 
We did not have enough weapons once Tyler Boyd was injured and left the game. They ironically enough had a HOF Tight End that had a big game against us.

[Stewy]

(05-01-2023, 06:36 PM)SuperBowlBound! Wrote: We did not have enough weapons once Tyler Boyd was injured and left the game. They ironically enough had a HOF Tight End that had a big game against us.

Which is entirely irrelevant as any player can get hurt at any time.

[SuperBowlBound!]

(05-01-2023, 08:00 PM)Stewy Wrote: Which is entirely irrelevant as any player can get hurt at any time.

I agree. That is why I wanted to invest into our Offense with Mayer at Tight End.


I believe Mayer will be a Pro Bowl Caliber Tight End.

It really does not matter at this point the Draft is over.

We now have Miles Murphy who I believe will have a great career as well for the Bengals.

It will not take long to see if Mayer becomes a great Tight End.