16th pick currently

[Whatever]

(01-03-2024, 05:10 PM)ochocincos Wrote: I know some people hate the "need" strategy, but this is the Super Bowl window.
Bengals should be looking for someone who can be impactful ASAP as a rookie, so the easiest is to bring in someone who can take a starter spot.
What happens in FA with Higgins, Boyd, Reader, and Williams will (or should) have a heavy impact on who should be drafted in Rd 1.

If Reader is retained, I don't want a 1st rounder spent on NT, even if considered BPA by some.
If Williams is retained, I don't want a 1st rounder spent on OT, even if considered BPA by some.
Same with Higgins.

If by some shock all of Reader, Williams, and Higgins are retained on multi-year deals such that they are penciled in as the starters at their positions for 2+ years more, I'd love to try to get an elite interior pass rusher or Bowers.
I don't see a RB worth taking in this range in Rd 1.

Whether Reader is retained or not, he won't be ready to take the field until later in the season, anyways.  Quad tears are nasty and take a long time to recover from.  However, there's no NT currently rated in the 1st, so it's kind of a moot point.  

Higgins is trickier.  If he's retained, it's likely on a one year FT.  Factor in durability concerns and reduced productivity this year, drafting a replacement makes a lot of sense.  If Higgins is retained, Boyd likely won't be, so we need a starting WR at that point, anyways.

Retaining Jonah would be a big mistake, imo.  As has been discussed elsewhere, he simply doesn't have the tools to compete with elite pass rushers and gets destroyed every time we play the Steelers and Browns.  If he is resigned, it probably takes plus out of a 1st round T, but I really think it's time to move on.

Ironically, TE's and DT's have long learning curves and don't usually give you anywhere near what you would think they would as rookie 1st rounders.  Bowers is likely an exception if he makes it to us(unlikely).  Newton hasn't exactly had elite pass rush production in the Big-10 and I find it unlikely that he steps in with that steep learning curve and is an immediate 7+ sack pass rusher.