For Team Sewell

[Murdock2420]

(05-03-2021, 12:45 AM)Whatever Wrote: The issue is X WR was a more glaring issue than any of the individual OL positions.

T was not a position where they needed an immediate starter.  They needed another guy to groom/depth, and they got that with Smith.  

C was not a position where they needed an immediate starter.  They needed a developmental player/depth and they got that with Hill.  There was not a C worth the pick at 5, anyways.

G was a position where they needed an immediate starter and they got that with Carman.  There wasn't a G worth the #5 pick, either.  The argument has been made that you kick Reiff to G if you take Sewell.  Problem is, very few T's come in and play at Reiff's level as rookies.  There is a very good chance that you just wind up robbing Peter to pay Paul and downgrading the T position for an upgrade at G.

X WR was the position where they needed an immediate starter and there was one available that was worth the #5 pick.  

Marshall likely was not seen as a great option for them as he had medical flags turn up late that couldn't be properly vetted and they were seemingly planning on only taking 1 WR.  It was very clear that they planned on trying to fill all their immediate needs and were not just willing to punt on them until next year.

Still feels like they did punt on several till next year though.

We have a sort of LT... and a one year rental RT. 

I get that Jonah might still develop but at this point we have to really be considering the possibility that he is made of glass and will be broken every year like Eifert.

At RT, Reiff is here this year and if he plays at a high level, the bidding war begins. Maybe we re-sign him but that's at best a 50/50 chance. 

The only guy we got for tackle is a project that had much lower competition level then Sewell, comes with his own medical red flags (missed two seasons) and is far from a sure thing.

We have a very real possibility that the 2022 OL has zero tackles. I'd be okay with a step down from Chase at X for a season, knowing that we had a tackle on the team that was going to hold down one of the two spots long term. 

That is and will always be my issue with this draft. Now, maybe Jonah proves me wrong and magically gets off the IR and plays at a high level, and Reiff at age 32 coming off a foot injury locks down RT and re-signs and bam... problem is solved. If those two things happen then the Chase pick is fine but that is huge gamble to take when you literally had the guaranteed solution available.

And the biggest thing is this, the Bengals shouldn't be drafting like 2021 is a playoff year. Taylor is still here, Lou is still here, this team is probably a 7 win team. Which is half a game enough to ruin my bet. If you know you are going to rebuild and be down, get the tackle, groom him and get him ready, then hit the 2022 draft with the need of a X and not the need on the line still.