Report: Burrow pushing for Bengals to draft Chase

[Shake n Blake]

(04-09-2021, 05:52 PM)PDub80 Wrote: You are 100% correct to bring up time to throw. 100%.

The line is a critical component to all of this. No question. The debate is over the right way to solve a 3 part equation, right?

- I think the QB is set. I have no issues there personnel wise.
- The O line needs 2 new starting caliber players to have me not keeping an eye on it. 1 guy and I would think they could be good... but not great. Long term solutions need found.
- WR, IMO, is the worst off of the bunch for THIS season.

It just depends on how the Bengals attack THIS draft. That's the debate. i just see this O line class as 3 rounds deep EASILY.

I think this whole debate boils down to perception. Some people see the line as a huge issue. Both with lack of interior talent, questions around Jonah, and Reiff being on a 1 year deal. Most of these people also see the big rookie season from Higgins, Boyd being productive, and don't see a huge issue there besides needing depth and speed. Both Higgins and Boyd are locked up for awhile, as well.

Others just aren't sold on Higgins, I guess. He didn't have sexy combine numbers. Our deep ball numbers weren't good (although I attribute that more to Burrow being "off" and lack of protection than anything else). And I can't help the feeling that some are probably being swayed by (A) the thought of teaming Burrow up with his LSU teammate and (B) the season Jefferson just had.

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When I analyze ALL the factors, I think Sewell is the better option:

1) The lack of talent on the line.
2) Health questions with Jonah.
3) Reiff being on a 1 year deal.
4) If we only have 3 WRs with anywhere near 100 targets, then we have 2 plus players out of 3 spots (we're probably at 2 good players on the line, out of 5)

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Assuming the draft is anywhere near equal, then lineman is the slam dunk choice. People keep saying it's a thin WR draft, but I see plenty of reports that say the opposite:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/2021-nfl-draft-its-another-deep-wr-class-will-the-eagles-take-one-and-when/ar-BB1ftQCN

Quote:One year later, the 2021 wide receiver class appears to be at least as good and at least as deep as last year.

“I think it’s better,” NFL Network draft analyst Ben Fennell said. “I think there’s better talent at the top. I think there’s more Day 2 starters. And I think there’s more immediate Day 3 contributors and role players.”

https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2021/4/9/22375647/nfl-draft-2021-wide-receivers-top-20-jamarr-chase-devonta-smith-jaylen-waddle-rashod-bateman-wr-bgn

Quote:This wide receiver class follows the trend of deep, talented groups of pass catchers to come out in the last year.

https://ramblinfan.com/2021/02/20/what-are-the-deepest-positions-in-the-2021-nfl-draft/

Quote:2021 Draft depth

We tackled the topic before, using both our own draft expert John Vogel’s Big Board as well as The Draft Network’s own big board.  You can find those results in this article. But time passes, scouting reports are updated, so what changes have occurred? Well, revisiting The Draft Network’s prospect ranking shows a shift of sorts:

1. Position                                                 # in top 200 (Feb 2021)             (Jan 2021)
   Offense –                                                   100                                                         103
   Wide receiver –                                           35                                                            32
   Offensive tackle –                                      19                                                            18
   Interior Offensive linemen –                  16                                                            20
   Quarterback –                                                9                                                               6
   Running back –                                           14                                                            15
   Tight End –                                                     7                                                             12
   

1. Defense                                                       100                                                             97
   Cornerback                                                    27                                                            20
   Interior Defensive linemen                      14                                                            18
   Edge rushers                                                 27                                                            24
   Linebacker                                                     15                                                             15
   Safety                                                              17                                                             20
   

Using this information, we can see that the two areas that the LA Rams chose to address in the 2020 NFL Draft that generated mild confusion – tight end and safety – are two positions that are very light indeed in the 2021 NFL Draft. Meanwhile, some areas of need such as linebacker, cornerback, Edge rushers, and offensive tackles seem to be in ample supply.  Of course, each NFL team has scouted prospects and has their own ‘Big Board’ of players who they feel are valued for their perceived fit.

But wouldn’t it be nice to get a second opinion? Thanks to Yahoo Sports Eric Edholm, we have a sense of the deep positions and the shallow ones. Let’s see how we line up.  According to Yahoo Sports, the 2021 NFL Draft’s strongest to weakest positions are as follows:
1 –  WR
2 –  Edge rusher
3 –  OT
4 –  CB
5 –  QB
6 –  LB
7 –  IOL
8 –  S
9 –  RB
10- TE
11 – IDL