Fat Guy

[*ochocincos*]

I'm not going to say I don't like it because I think there's good potential with a lot of these picks.
But what I will say is that this is a risky draft.

I love the Linderbaum pick if the Bengals run their scheme from last year, but I like it less if the Bengals move away from the wide zone scheme.

Jackson will have to be just a rotational pass rush specialist early on, and he likely isn't going to be able to swing inside. If the Bengals swing Hubbard inside on passing downs next to Hill, then they can have Jackson rotate with Ossai outside.

I think Marcus Jones would be a fantastic slot CB and return specialist, but the Bengals already have their slot guy in Hilton. I wouldn't trust Hilton outside, and I'd be very worried about Jones getting beat by bigger receivers if they play him outside. He is electric, twitchy, and scrappy though.

I would never trust Cross to play FS. Dude is too stiff. He's much more of a downhill SS. I could see him being a potential Bell replacement, but not a Bates replacement.

I think Smith is a decent addition for IOL depth, but I'd personally prefer an OT and/or experienced OC instead of an OG. I don't know if Smith would actually bump any of Hill, Adeniji, or Smith off the roster for a backup spot. They all will provide more versatility than Smith will. With that said, we've seen Adeniji at RG, and he was bad. Maybe he'd be better at LG though. Hill is probably more of a Center than OG. Smith is more of an OT than OG. So Smith might have the best chance to compete for starting LG with Carman.

Calcaterra is probably the biggest risk of all. He retired from football back in 2019 due to concerns over concussions. If he did that back then, you'd have to worry about him potentially retiring again within a few years in the NFL. A 6th rounder though is not a big deal when it comes to investment.

I'm good with drafting Araiza as long as it's 5th round or later. I'm not taking a punter or kicker earlier than that.

No knowledge of that 7th round WR, so no comment there.