Anderson and Munoz say draft Sewell if there

[SunsetBengal]

(04-18-2021, 02:38 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: I know that we could get a solid lineman later. Maybe. Thing about that is we've had a much better track record of taking WR's in round 2 than linemen. I also factor in a myriad of other factors.

1. QB/WR tandems like Stafford/Megatron and Ryan/Julio rarely work. It's a ton of money invested in one facet of the offense.

2. If you have an elite QB (which I think Burrow will be), I'd say it's better to spread that money around to blocking/defense. He'll make our WR's look good.

3. If you draft Chase, say goodbye to Higgins in 3 years. We can't pay big bucks to everyone in the pass offense.

4. Yes, we could get a lineman later...but whatever need we address at #5, we're taking a risk with the need we don't address there. There's no guarantee that the linemen we want will be sitting there in the 2nd round. We could also have a gem fall in our laps that isn't a lineman. Would we then pass to stick with the need?

That's why I think you address what is clearly your biggest need first. If we miss on a lineman in this draft, I'd say our 2021 line will be pretty ugly, right? If we miss on a speed WR, it'll suck but won't be the end of the world. I think we can get by on what we have.

For me it's been clear that the best OL at the top of the draft is the way to go.  It makes the statement of, "We have our franchise QB, now it's time to build around him.".  Protecting Joe means more than just holding off edge rushers 50-60 times per game, it's also building a rushing attack so that Joe has confidence that he can also hand the ball off 45-50% of the time, and get positive production as well.

Wouldn't it be nice if 3rd and 2 wasn't automatically a passing situation?  Sure, adding one extremely talented OT isn't going to fix all of what's been wrong with the OL, but a physical, aggressive player like Sewell is a great place to start.  I also see the need to strengthen the interior of the OL, which is why I've been fully on board with the Bengals using their 3rd or even 2nd pick on the best Guard available that fits the outside zone run blocking scheme.  I say 2nd or 3rd pick, because I also feel like the Bengals have a strong need for adding another pass rusher to the DL.

While I do see the point of surrounding your franchise QB with weapons, I also feel like Joe is good enough to elevate the weapons provided to him.  I mean, you don't draft a man who's eventually going to cost you over 20% of your yearly salary cap without having the confidence in him to elevate the players around him.  That is why it is painfully obvious to me that if you want to see this team start winning, you must build through the trenches, and give your franchise QB a fighting chance.