Grade The Draft (PURELY ON TALENT/NEED)

[PDub80]

What grade would you give the Bengals draft so far, based purely on talent and/or need/impact? And, feel free to elaborate as to why.

If you can, please leave the Mixon character concerns out of it. For the purpose of this, we'll let 3 years ago be 3 years ago and assume that Joe Mixon will go the path of Carlos Dunlap and not Adam Jones.

I would have to grade it out as an A+

Why?

JOHN ROSS

While I wasn't wanting Ross (he wasn't my 1st choice at WR, frankly) I 100% get the reasoning behind it. He brings special traits that nobody else in this draft has and things that nobody else on the Bengals has. Not only that, but the other two top receivers in this draft were gone by the time the Bengals selected at #9.

In the worst of ways, the Bengals needed what Ross does best. And they got it without maneuvering. Dave Lapham loved the pick - which always brings me on board. It wasn't a reach. Ross is a highly graded player, more unique than anyone in this entire draft, and at a position of need.

While people bring up his injury concerns, I have to go ahead and parrot what has been pointed out in a lot of articles... He ran that fast AFTER his knee injuries. AFTER. The shoulder injury occurred in game 5 of 2016. He didn't miss any significant time and played the rest of the 2016 season WITH the shoulder injury. WITH it?! Tough kid. Makes plays. And is more than just fast. Perfect pick. A+

JOE MIXON

Based purely on talent I think Joe Mixon is the best RB in the entire draft. Especially for the Bengals. Period.

In fact, I think he's arguably the best all around talent in the draft. Every box is emphatically checked.

3 Down bell-cow? YES
Versatile? YES
Home run threat from anywhere on the field? YES
Make you miss? YES
Power to break tackles and run people over? YES
Short yardage? YES
Blocking? YES
Receiving out of the backfield or split out wide? YES
Size? YES
Speed? YES

^ The Above YES'S are not just ho-hum, but he does these things outstandingly well and against big time competition. He killed Ohio State every time he touched the ball, for example.

The kid even returns kicks.... REALLY WELL.

With the exception of RT, RB was the weakest link in the offense last season. This fills a big time need and with big time talent. Based purely on talent, if the Bengals would have taken him at #9 I would have been thrilled. I think he's better than Fournette.

Oh, and for the cherry on top, the Bengals grabbed another 4th rounder - pick #128 - AND Mixon. A+

JORDAN WILLIS

LOVE this pick! Not the typical Bengals DE in terms of height, but fits in a lot of ways. Similar body type to Carlos Dunlap, but about 2" shorter. Fast, quick, athletic, explosive, high motor, and consistent. No question he's 1st round talent. A lot of mock drafts had this kid going in the back half of the first round (an NFL.com mock had the Steelers taking him) and I don't think I saw a single one where Willis was falling out of the 2nd.

- Produced and got better each season he was at KSU. Versatile player and was one of my wishes for an after round 1 DE. If they took Willis in the 2nd I think that would have been good value. In the 3rd? Awesome value.

People not knowing who this guy is will love what they find when researching. The Bengals have said they view him strictly as a DE in their scheme, but NFL.com's Draft Tracker has him with the LBs. He has the exact same grade, but with better measurables, than the Steelers 1st rounder, TJ Watt.

Among DEs, he would have be the 7th highest rated DE, but misses being the #4 prospect at that spot by about .5 points. IMO, if they can get about 20-30 more lbs on this kid he will start tearing it up at the NFL level. Willis is about 2" shorter and 20lbs lighter than Dunlap coming out of college.

With his size and speed, I can see Willis covering TE's off the line similar to what Adalius Thomas did for the Ravens. Willis is THAT athletic and fast. Relentless pursuer.

Another A+ pick.

At this point, I don't know how else to grade the Bengals draft from an impact or talent standpoint than an A+. The way the draft fell, there's not one player they could have taken in their spot that would have been better for them in terms of talent or need. Not 1. Add in grabbing an extra 4th rounder and wow... what a draft so far! Based just on talent, this already DESTROYS what happened in the 2016, 2015, and 2014 drafts.

[jeremydc]

B+ .

[BengalFanInNJ]

I give it an A. Very pleased so far and love the fact that even though I wanted Cook, they grabbed Mixon and got an extra pick for it. I would have said A+ but I deducted a point for bias.

[leonardfan40]

Purely on talent it's an A, BPA or close to it at each pick. Still wouldn't have taken Mixon but no denying the talent

[CageTheBengal]

John Ross - When he's healthy you can't say a bad thing about him on the field.

Joe Mixon - When he stays out of trouble he's fine and you can't say a bad thing about him on the field.

Jordan Willis - I really like this pick enough said.

I give it an A.

[Luvnit2]

(04-29-2017, 10:11 AM)PDub80 Wrote: What grade would you give the Bengals draft so far, based purely on talent and/or need/impact? And, feel free to elaborate as to why.

If you can, please leave the Mixon character concerns out of it. For the purpose of this, we'll let 3 years ago be 3 years ago and assume that Joe Mixon will go the path of Carlos Dunlap and not Adam Jones.

I would have to grade it out as an A+  

Why?

JOHN ROSS

While I wasn't wanting Ross (he wasn't my 1st choice at WR, frankly) I 100% get the reasoning behind it. He brings special traits that nobody else in this draft has and things that nobody else on the Bengals has. Not only that, but the other two top receivers in this draft were gone by the time the Bengals selected at #9.

In the worst of ways, the Bengals needed what Ross does best. And they got it without maneuvering. Dave Lapham loved the pick - which always brings me on board. It wasn't a reach. Ross is a highly graded player, more unique than anyone in this entire draft, and at a position of need.

While people bring up his injury concerns, I have to go ahead and parrot what has been pointed out in a lot of articles... He ran that fast AFTER his knee injuries. AFTER. The shoulder injury occurred in game 5 of 2016. He didn't miss any significant time and played the rest of the 2016 season WITH the shoulder injury. WITH it?! Tough kid. Makes plays. And is more than just fast. Perfect pick. A+

JOE MIXON

Based purely on talent I think Joe Mixon is the best RB in the entire draft. Especially for the Bengals. Period.

In fact, I think he's arguably the best all around talent in the draft. Every box is emphatically checked.

3 Down bell-cow? YES
Versatile? YES
Home run threat from anywhere on the field? YES
Make you miss? YES
Power to break tackles and run people over? YES
Short yardage? YES
Blocking? YES
Receiving out of the backfield or split out wide? YES
Size? YES
Speed? YES

^ The Above YES'S are not just ho-hum, but he does these things outstandingly well and against big time competition. He killed Ohio State every time he touched the ball, for example.

The kid even returns kicks.... REALLY WELL.

With the exception of RT, RB was the weakest link in the offense last season. This fills a big time need and with big time talent. Based purely on talent, if the Bengals would have taken him at #9 I would have been thrilled. I think he's better than Fournette.

Oh, and for the cherry on top, the Bengals grabbed another 4th rounder - pick #128 - AND Mixon. A+

JORDAN WILLIS

LOVE this pick! Not the typical Bengals DE in terms of height, but fits in a lot of ways. Similar body type to Carlos Dunlap, but about 2" shorter. Fast, quick, athletic, explosive, high motor, and consistent. No question he's 1st round talent. A lot of mock drafts had this kid going in the back half of the first round (an NFL.com mock had the Steelers taking him) and I don't think I saw a single one where Willis was falling out of the 2nd.

- Produced and got better each season he was at KSU. Versatile player and was one of my wishes for an after round 1 DE. If they took Willis in the 2nd I think that would have been good value. In the 3rd? Awesome value.

People not knowing who this guy is will love what they find when researching. The Bengals have said they view him strictly as a DE in their scheme, but NFL.com's Draft Tracker has him with the LBs. He has the exact same grade, but with better measurables, than the Steelers 1st rounder, TJ Watt.

Among DEs, he would have be the 7th highest rated DE, but misses being the #4 prospect at that spot by about .5 points. IMO, if they can get about 20-30 more lbs on this kid he will start tearing it up at the NFL level. Willis is about 2" shorter and 20lbs lighter than Dunlap coming out of college.

With his size and speed, I can see Willis covering TE's off the line similar to what Adalius Thomas did for the Ravens. Willis is THAT athletic and fast. Relentless pursuer.

Another A+ pick.

At this point, I don't know how else to grade the Bengals draft from an impact or talent standpoint than an A+. The way the draft fell, there's not one player they could have taken in their spot that would have been better for them in terms of talent or need. Not 1. Add in grabbing an extra 4th rounder and wow... what a draft so far! Based just on talent, this already DESTROYS what happened in the 2016, 2015, and 2014 drafts.

Hard to add to this great analysis, great draft so far for points you made.

I would add, we also added a mid 4th round pick as well because of a great move to move down in the 2nd so we get an extra pick to play with today. This is huge in a deep draft.

[Beaker]

A

Got WR who some considered the best in the draft.
Got a top 15 first rd talnt a RB in the 2nd.
Got a DE who was mocked by some in the 1st round, but who was more realistically a late 2nd rounder in the 3rd.

FO doing really well and hitting HRs on all picks so far.

[Okeana]

I watched the Voch Lombardi Podcast post show last night and he went team by team. Gave us the best grade in the draft thus far. These guys are what we need scheme wise, talent wise, and need wise. With WJ3 coming back this season and Billings we will see a huge infusion of talent. Our weakest position by far is our offensive line, but they gave these guys time to learn and now its time they prove themselves. We had to give them that opportunity sooner or later and we will address Oline next year if need be.

[PDub80]

PREDICTION:

Today, they trade AJ McCarron and a pick to the Jets for Sheldon Richardson, causing Bengals fans heads to explode from not being able to handle the awesome.

[Okeana]

(04-29-2017, 10:11 AM)PDub80 Wrote: What grade would you give the Bengals draft so far, based purely on talent and/or need/impact? And, feel free to elaborate as to why.

If you can, please leave the Mixon character concerns out of it. For the purpose of this, we'll let 3 years ago be 3 years ago and assume that Joe Mixon will go the path of Carlos Dunlap and not Adam Jones.

I would have to grade it out as an A+  

Why?

JOHN ROSS

While I wasn't wanting Ross (he wasn't my 1st choice at WR, frankly) I 100% get the reasoning behind it. He brings special traits that nobody else in this draft has and things that nobody else on the Bengals has. Not only that, but the other two top receivers in this draft were gone by the time the Bengals selected at #9.

In the worst of ways, the Bengals needed what Ross does best. And they got it without maneuvering. Dave Lapham loved the pick - which always brings me on board. It wasn't a reach. Ross is a highly graded player, more unique than anyone in this entire draft, and at a position of need.

While people bring up his injury concerns, I have to go ahead and parrot what has been pointed out in a lot of articles... He ran that fast AFTER his knee injuries. AFTER. The shoulder injury occurred in game 5 of 2016. He didn't miss any significant time and played the rest of the 2016 season WITH the shoulder injury. WITH it?! Tough kid. Makes plays. And is more than just fast. Perfect pick. A+

JOE MIXON

Based purely on talent I think Joe Mixon is the best RB in the entire draft. Especially for the Bengals. Period.

In fact, I think he's arguably the best all around talent in the draft. Every box is emphatically checked.

3 Down bell-cow? YES
Versatile? YES
Home run threat from anywhere on the field? YES
Make you miss? YES
Power to break tackles and run people over? YES
Short yardage? YES
Blocking? YES
Receiving out of the backfield or split out wide? YES
Size? YES
Speed? YES

^ The Above YES'S are not just ho-hum, but he does these things outstandingly well and against big time competition. He killed Ohio State every time he touched the ball, for example.

The kid even returns kicks.... REALLY WELL.

With the exception of RT, RB was the weakest link in the offense last season. This fills a big time need and with big time talent. Based purely on talent, if the Bengals would have taken him at #9 I would have been thrilled. I think he's better than Fournette.

Oh, and for the cherry on top, the Bengals grabbed another 4th rounder - pick #128 - AND Mixon. A+

JORDAN WILLIS

LOVE this pick! Not the typical Bengals DE in terms of height, but fits in a lot of ways. Similar body type to Carlos Dunlap, but about 2" shorter. Fast, quick, athletic, explosive, high motor, and consistent. No question he's 1st round talent. A lot of mock drafts had this kid going in the back half of the first round (an NFL.com mock had the Steelers taking him) and I don't think I saw a single one where Willis was falling out of the 2nd.

- Produced and got better each season he was at KSU. Versatile player and was one of my wishes for an after round 1 DE. If they took Willis in the 2nd I think that would have been good value. In the 3rd? Awesome value.

People not knowing who this guy is will love what they find when researching. The Bengals have said they view him strictly as a DE in their scheme, but NFL.com's Draft Tracker has him with the LBs. He has the exact same grade, but with better measurables, than the Steelers 1st rounder, TJ Watt.

Among DEs, he would have be the 7th highest rated DE, but misses being the #4 prospect at that spot by about .5 points. IMO, if they can get about 20-30 more lbs on this kid he will start tearing it up at the NFL level. Willis is about 2" shorter and 20lbs lighter than Dunlap coming out of college.

With his size and speed, I can see Willis covering TE's off the line similar to what Adalius Thomas did for the Ravens. Willis is THAT athletic and fast. Relentless pursuer.

Another A+ pick.

At this point, I don't know how else to grade the Bengals draft from an impact or talent standpoint than an A+. The way the draft fell, there's not one player they could have taken in their spot that would have been better for them in terms of talent or need. Not 1. Add in grabbing an extra 4th rounder and wow... what a draft so far! Based just on talent, this already DESTROYS what happened in the 2016, 2015, and 2014 drafts.

One thing you missed on Mixon.  His vision is the best ive ever seen coming out of college.  If this guy stays injury free which he doesn't have a history of and keeps up with living a positive lifestyle he could be wearing a gold jacket and be the best RB to lace them up for the Bengals ever.  

[Okeana]

(04-29-2017, 10:42 AM)PDub80 Wrote: PREDICTION:

Today, they trade AJ McCarron and a pick to the Jets for Sheldon Richardson, causing Bengals fans heads to explode from not being able to handle the awesome.

Agreed but some really good quarterbacks are still on the boards for the Jets it just depends on how they fall.  I can see a lot of teams moving up before the Jets and taking Peterman and Kaaya.  

[Okeana]

(04-29-2017, 10:35 AM)Beaker Wrote: A

Got WR who some considered the best in the draft.
Got a top 15 first rd talnt a RB in the 2nd.
Got a DE who was mocked by some in the 1st round, but who was more realistically a late 2nd rounder in the 3rd.

FO doing really well and hitting HRs on all picks so far.

If Mixon didn't split time and have the incident he could have been the 1st overall pick easily.  

[CJD]

On talent alone, the Bengals got a potential all pro receiver who changes how defenses approach our offense, a potential all pro running back who also changes how defenses approach our offense and a potential new starting LDE to cycle with Michael Johnson and improve our pass rush. All this was done in a draft where the offensive line depth, the position we needed most, was just not there at any of our picks.

Ignoring character concerns, this is an A+ draft.

[masonbengals fan]

B+ & hoping it turns out to be an A+

[PDub80]

Somebody salty gave them a D.

They got 3 first round talent guys! 3 for 3! A D? Salt city!

[BenZoo2]

I would probably give it an A so far. I thought perhaps there were better players at 1 but I see the reasoning behind the Ross pick. Wr was a need. We got 1 of the top 3. There was a definite drop after that. And we needed speed, someone who can separate. We got it.

Mixon, based on tape alone., was simply a steal. We know he was there.

Willis was deemed worthy of a pick in the 20-40 range. Another steal.

This team needed more speed and athleticism and it got it in spades so far. For the concern of defense, pass rush in particular, our offense was moribund last year. We were to predictable and easily defended.

Now we can address the lines in day 3. Gimme an interior o lineman that can compete and def tackle to play in our rotation and fill in other positions with quality depth. I think speed and athleticism will continue to be qualities we look for.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Luvnit2]

(04-29-2017, 10:42 AM)PDub80 Wrote: PREDICTION:

Today, they trade AJ McCarron and a pick to the Jets for Sheldon Richardson, causing Bengals fans heads to explode from not being able to handle the awesome.

I hope we don't trade for Richardson after learning he got a DUI while driving 100 MPH with a child in the car,

But, I would take the Jets 4th round in 2017 (today) and their 2nd round pick in 2018 for AJM

[masonbengals fan]

I wasn't all over the Ross pick at 1st but no way it grades out to a D

[PDub80]

(04-29-2017, 10:43 AM)Okeana Wrote: One thing you missed on Mixon.  His vision is the best ive ever seen coming out of college.  If this guy stays injury free which he doesn't have a history of and keeps up with living a positive lifestyle he could be wearing a gold jacket and be the best RB to lace them up for the Bengals ever.  

Vision, yes. Outstanding. I agree with everything you just said.

I mean, HOF talk, is maybe a teensy early  ,  but I see what you're saying. The traits are all there.

[PDub80]

(04-29-2017, 10:46 AM)Okeana Wrote: If Mixon didn't split time and have the incident he could have been the 1st overall pick easily.  

If the queen had balls, she'd be king.

But, yes, I completely agree.