For Team Sewell

[CJD]

(05-02-2021, 12:49 PM)Beaker Wrote: This is not an I told you so thread. But this is to address whether or not Team Sewell people can now relax a bit after the draft is complete.

The biggest argument I heard coming out of those on team Sewell was that "winning teams build from the trenches". And if the Bengals took Chase, they were neglecting the trenches and Burrow was going to die. After taking the best WR in the draft, I would say the Bengals did a really nice job building from the trenches. In fact, of their 110 draft picks, they took 7 players on the Offensive and defensive lines. They got:

A starter a G in Carman. Some thought he was a reach based on his expected draft position. But those grades were based on him being evaluated as an OT prospect, not a G. The Bengals drafted him as a G who could also move out to play RT in case of injuries. Arguably G was our biggest  line need, not T. And with Rieff on a 1 yr deal, Carman is a stellar fit.

A run stuffing, immovable DT from a power SEC school. Shelvin will fit perfectly into our D line rotation and hopefully bring it back to like it was under Zimmer when he was always rotating in fresh players and getting pressure on opposing QBs.

An OT who is a bit light and needs some coaching, but has a great upside.

3 DEs, one of which was a consensus great pick in Ossai. DE was arguably our second biggest position of need. Lack of pressure on QBs was a huge problem last year.

A good C, who if he hadnt gotten injured was projected maybe 2 rounds earlier. We now have a backup/heir to our C who is coming off an ACL injury.

I would say that is a pretty strong job of addressing the trenches.

I also saw a poster who pointed out after the Carman pick that he would have rather had Sewell and a WR like Moore, than Chase and Carman. What he failed to recognize with that post was that it wasn't Chase/Carman. Because of the trade, we also got Tyler Shelvin and D'Ante Smith. Call me stupid, but with the number of holes we had on both lines, I think the Bengals did a fantastic job getting Chase/Carman/Shelvin/Smith which is a huge advantage over Sewell/Moore with those picks.

In conclusion, those who  were upset after round one and were positive the Bengals had screwed up and that our FO was only interested in flashy toys as weapons for Burrow while neglecting the glaring needs....do you still feel the same way now?

The correct comparison isn't Chase/Carman vs Sewell/Moore for the reasons you mentioned.

The correct comparison is Chase/Carman/Shelvin/Smith vs Sewell/Marshall Jr/Shelvin/Smith

Or you can change the 2 4th round picks in the theoretical case if you'd like to replace Smith with a guard prospect.

Now, I was very much a team Sewell player. And if you gave me the option right now, I would trade Chase and Carman for Sewell and Marshall, assuming Marshall didn't fall for serious medical reasons.

But I also am not at the same alarm level as I was pre-draft about the Oline because the first round fell really well for us. I was concerned that guys like Eichenberg would be pushed into the first round because a bunch of teams needed OL really badly. This didn't occur and we still chose Carman, which tells me the coaches just have that high of a grade on him, so I'm at peace with Chase/Carman.

To me, this entire draft hinges on Carman.

If he is what the coaches think he is (a day 1, quality starter at Guard who completely solves and solidifies a huge weakness on the oline), this draft is an A+.


If he struggles in his rookie year and doesn't win the starting job, is benched or, worse, struggles immensely but is kept in despite this, this draft will feel a lot more like a C or D. And God help the Bengals if they passed on Teven Jenkins because of injury concerns and then Carman has recurring injury issues from his back surgery in his rookie year.


Chase will almost certainly be an instant star and compete for rookie of the year.


Ossai, Sample and Shelvin were great value along the Dline that desperately needs a talent infusion but I really wish we had taken another O lineman in that 3rd to early 4th round range.


Smith seems like a really good prospect but is probably too light to do much in his rookie year but I have hopes for him seeing some time in 2022 if we don't re-sign Reiff.


And then the 5th round we got a good kicker who will become a day 1 starter ( just don't cut him because Seifert has a hot steak in the pre-season, you idiots) and some decent depth pieces in the 6th and 7th rounds.