Lackluster Free Agency Mock

[SunsetBengal]

Title says it all.  Found myself unsatisfied with the Bengals moves in free agency, and decided to take charge at the draft.

[Isaac Curtis: The Real #85]

I am with you. I'd take that top 4/5 all day.

Need a P.

[3wt]

Could not see it.

[SunsetBengal]

(03-14-2024, 04:41 PM)3wt Wrote: Could not see it.

Are you on a phone or a computer? I have a .jpeg shot of the screen attached.

[Jpoore]

It’s a hard no for fuaga. He’s a malgheta client, at this point we gotta steer away. Also how do you not like their free agency? Thought they did a good job

[SunsetBengal]

(03-14-2024, 07:13 PM)Jpoore Wrote: It’s a hard no for fuaga. He’s a malgheta client, at this point we gotta steer away. Also how do you not like their free agency? Thought they did a good job

Big deal, at worst they ride Fuaga for 5 years and then draft a new guy.

[SunsetBengal]

It has come to my attention that some of your devices aren't able to see the attachment of the screenshot from my PFN mock draft.

18 Taliese Fuaga T Ore St.
49 T'Vondre Sweat DT Tex
82 Ricky Pearsall WR Fla (accepted trade to move back 2 spots and pick up #151)
97 Cade Stover TE OSU
115 Jaylon Wright RB Tenn
149 Isaiah Adams G Ill
151 Jaheim Bell TE Fla St.
194 Logan Lee DT Iowa
214 Ainias Smith WR Tex A&M
237 Ja'quan Sheppard CB Maryland

[Jpoore]

(03-14-2024, 07:18 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Big deal, at worst they ride Fuaga for 5 years and then draft a new guy.

If you have players similarly graded that’s gotta come into play. Don’t wanna have to keep rotating guys in

[SunsetBengal]

(03-14-2024, 08:55 PM)Jpoore Wrote: If you have players similarly graded that’s gotta come into play. Don’t wanna have to keep rotating guys in

I'm not following you completely, what does Fuaga having Mulugheta as his agent have to do with "rotating guys in"?  At #18, Fuaga was far and away the best, most obvious choice on the board.  I'm not going to pass on a superb player simply due to who his agent is. And if the Bengals think this way, they're sunk, because they're going to encounter many players represented by Athletes First over the years.

[Jpoore]

(03-14-2024, 09:44 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I'm not following you completely, what does Fuaga having Mulugheta as his agent have to do with "rotating guys in"?  At #18, Fuaga was far and away the best, most obvious choice on the board.  I'm not going to pass on a superb player simply due to who his agent is. And if the Bengals think this way, they're sunk, because they're going to encounter many players represented by Athletes First over the years.

Say it’s fuaga or Latham, or fuaga and fuatanu? If you have them graded similarly(like I do) then you put that into account. Do you want to have to draft a rt every 4 years? I don’t. I’m sick of having to go through this every time with mulgheta. It’s clear we will never work a deal out with him.

[SunsetBengal]

(03-14-2024, 11:53 PM)Jpoore Wrote: Say it’s fuaga or Latham, or fuaga and fuatanu? If you have them graded similarly(like I do) then you put that into account. Do you want to have to draft a rt every 4 years? I don’t. I’m sick of having to go through this every time with mulgheta. It’s clear we will never work a deal out with him.

I took the Tackle that I was surprised to find available, the next Tackle on the board was Guyton, who they had slotted at 29.  I don't care who a players agent is, the team is going to have to learn to work with whomever the agent is as these agents represent multiple players.

[*Synric*]

I know T'Vondre Sweat is a future nose tackle. I just want to point out that Byron Murphy II was Texas's starting nose tackle in 2023 which is kinda crazy.

[OSUfan]

(03-14-2024, 08:33 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Title says it all.  Found myself unsatisfied with the Bengals moves in free agency, and decided to take charge at the draft.

Sunset, much respect. I do not come around much during the year but I am a draft junkie so I always pop in this time of the year. I first have to say I am surprised you have not liked their free agency moves. I really like the moves they have made up to this point, other than letting Reader get away but at the end of the day there is only so much money to go around and I trust them to have a plan while many of us may not like it or disagree with it.


I really think Sweat needs to be a priority in this draft and I just did a simulation with that focus. I am really uncertain that the Bengals will find him on the board at 49 and I would have no issue with them moving into the upper 40s to secure his selection. In my simulation I was able to make a trade to do just that with what I believe was a great value, our selection at 49 and a 5th round selection in '25. That allowed the Bengals to keep their draft capital this season while getting the player they targeted.


I was a fan of Fuaga until I continued to watch film on him. I really think his lack of length is going to be difficult for him to manage in the NFL and I think players like TJ Watt are going to eat him up from a movement perspective. I absolutely would pass on him and target Fisher, Suamataia, or Amegadjie later in the draft.


I am a big fan of the selections of Pearsall, Adams, and Smith. People need to watch the '22 tape of Adams to understand what you are getting from him as an inside player. I honestly believe he could walk in day 1 and be an upgrade over Volson, whom I think played much better down the stretch.

[SunsetBengal]

(03-15-2024, 11:16 AM)OSUfan Wrote: Sunset, much respect. I do not come around much during the year but I am a draft junkie so I always pop in this time of the year. I first have to say I am surprised you have not liked their free agency moves. I really like the moves they have made up to this point, other than letting Reader get away but at the end of the day there is only so much money to go around and I trust them to have a plan while many of us may not like it or disagree with it.

I don't hate what they've done, I just feel like they sat on their hands that first day of early negotiating and then were forced into what I would call "panic shopping" as all the DL and Ts were flying off the board.  Sheldon Rankins is alright, but his numbers from last year were the anomaly.  If they were going to pay a back end of his career guy like Rankins $26M, they might as well had went full out after one of the young up and comers.  They talked about ending the revolving door at TE, now we have essentially the same TE room along with Gesicki on a cheap rental.  Really felt like they were going to grab a vet and sign him for 3-5 years..  Our own re-signs were all worthy, just not needle moving in terms of excitement.  At RB, I agree that it was time for Mixon to move on and certainly hope that they are planning on drafting another playmaker for the backfield.


I really think Sweat needs to be a priority in this draft and I just did a simulation with that focus. I am really uncertain that the Bengals will find him on the board at 49 and I would have no issue with them moving into the upper 40s to secure his selection. In my simulation I was able to make a trade to do just that with what I believe was a great value, our selection at 49 and a 5th round selection in '25. That allowed the Bengals to keep their draft capital this season while getting the player they targeted.

Honestly, either of the Texas DTs would be fine with me, they both are capable of playing NT, but Sweat seems more realistic as it would appear that we're likely aiming at RT in the 1st round. Though things could change if some team comes calling for Tee Higgins and they pick up additional draft capital.


I was a fan of Fuaga until I continued to watch film on him. I really think his lack of length is going to be difficult for him to manage in the NFL and I think players like TJ Watt are going to eat him up from a movement perspective. I absolutely would pass on him and target Fisher, Suamataia, or Amegadjie later in the draft.

At #18, Fuaga appeared to be a tremendous value pick.  Many boards have him gone by 12-15, and with the Bengals roster situation being what it is, there's no way that my first two picks aren't going to be RT and NT.  Guys like Mekhi Becton and Teair Tart are alright last resorts, but I hope they don't offer either of them longer than a  1 year deal, because both of those spots need to be occupied by lower costing players on their rookie deals to keep money free for extending/re-signing our own deserving players.


I am a big fan of the selections of Pearsall, Adams, and Smith. People need to watch the '22 tape of Adams to understand what you are getting from him as an inside player. I honestly believe he could walk in day 1 and be an upgrade over Volson, whom I think played much better down the stretch.

Yes, Fuaga isn't my first choice either, Latham is.  However, I'm really pleased with how the rest of the mock played out.  I sincerely hope that Ainias Smith's foot heals flawlessly, as that man could add some major excitement to the Bengals offense.

..

[OSUfan]

(03-15-2024, 01:06 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: ..

I hear you! I think the bonus with a Latham or a Fautanu is that you have a guy that could step in year one as an outstanding guard as well if they were needed to or to compete for a guard position to get the best five on the field if the Bengals address RT in free agency.

[OSUfan]

(03-14-2024, 08:33 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Title says it all.  Found myself unsatisfied with the Bengals moves in free agency, and decided to take charge at the draft.

Sunset, I have to say that I have been dedicating a good bit of time over the last couple of days watching full tape of the Texas defense against opposing offenses and in doing so I continue to come way from the tape being way more impressed with Murphy than Sweat. On a consistent basis Sweat makes plays only within the tackle box and rather than defeat double teams he just keeps them busy.


Murphy fights double teams while continually keeping his head up and watching the play and in doing so keeps himself in position to make a play in the run or pass game against double teams when he is able to disengage. He is able to disengage from the double team on a rather consistent basis thru hand fighting and change of direction when he identifies where the play is going. I have also seen a good bit of holding against Murphy when the play is going away from a double team and he attempts to disengage and chase the play.


I honestly am starting to believe that Murphy could add 8 - 10 more pounds to his frame and be an extremely effective NT at the NFL level. He often lined up at the true NT position for Texas when they would go with an odd rather than even front. He is really becoming a favorite of mine in this draft. Watching him makes you a fan pretty quickly.

[SunsetBengal]

(03-16-2024, 11:19 AM)OSUfan Wrote: Sunset, I have to say that I have been dedicating a good bit of time over the last couple of days watching full tape of the Texas defense against opposing offenses and in doing so I continue to come way from the tape being way more impressed with Murphy than Sweat. On a consistent basis Sweat makes plays only within the tackle box and rather than defeat double teams he just keeps them busy.


Murphy fights double teams while continually keeping his head up and watching the play and in doing so keeps himself in position to make a play in the run or pass game against double teams when he is able to disengage. He is able to disengage from the double team on a rather consistent basis thru hand fighting and change of direction when he identifies where the play is going. I have also seen a good bit of holding against Murphy when the play is going away from a double team and he attempts to disengage and chase the play.


I honestly am starting to believe that Murphy could add 8 - 10 more pounds to his frame and be an extremely effective NT at the NFL level. He often lined up at the true NT position for Texas when they would go with an odd rather than even front. He is really becoming a favorite of mine in this draft. Watching him makes you a fan pretty quickly.

Had Murphy been on the board at #18, I would have taken him and pushed RT to the 2nd round pick.

[pulses]

(03-16-2024, 11:06 AM)OSUfan Wrote: I hear you! I think the bonus with a Latham or a Fautanu is that you have a guy that could step in year one as an outstanding guard as well if they were needed to or to compete for a guard position to get the best five on the field if the Bengals address RT in free agency.

I'm not sure it matters......this coaching staff is bound and determined that Volson is some great OG and he can't be replaced

[OSUfan]

(03-16-2024, 04:17 PM)pulses Wrote: I'm not sure it matters......this coaching staff is bound and determined that Volson is some great OG and he can't be replaced

Well I do believe, obviously, that Volson can be replaced and I do not believe any job on the offensive line should be just promised, outside of the investment they have in Brown Jr., but I will say that Volson did play much better down the stretch but I certainly think there should be competition for the position.

[pulses]

(03-16-2024, 05:30 PM)OSUfan Wrote: Well I do believe, obviously, that Volson can be replaced and I do not believe any job on the offensive line should be just promised, outside of the investment they have in Brown Jr., but I will say that Volson did play much better down the stretch but I certainly think there should be competition for the position.

I definitely agree and with Karras being a FA after this season it would be wise for them to draft IOL at some point in this draft.....