Bengals Team Needs 2016 Draft

[BengalChris]

(02-12-2016, 06:13 PM)ABQCOWBOY Wrote: Hello,

I am new to your board so hopefully, one or two of you posters may be willing to help me.  I am a member of a Dallas Cowboys Board and one of the many events we do is a team draft.  This year, I have drawn the Bengals and would like to get a better idea of what team needs are.  Fans usually know their team and they also know their cap situations and age of players etc.

I look at the Bengals and really, there do not seem to be a lot of needs but again, I don't see them a lot.  Any help would appreciated.

Thank you in advance,

ABQCOWBOY

Really depends on which of the team's current free agents it gets resigned.

Holes from 2015 which need to be addressed regardless of who's leaving in free agency would be SAM LB (the team would look for someone who is athletic, fast, can cover and is a good tackler). Think J Smith (Notre Dame) or Darran Lee (Ohio State). And another weak spot is C, but don't expect the team to fill that spot in round 1 or 2. We haven't spent a 1st round pick on a C since the 80's.

Positions we likely won't draft would be QB, OT, RB or TE unless some spectacular talent drops to our second round selection.

The Bengals have a history of taking 1st round CBs and we have two of them hitting the open market, so a first round CB with good cover skills is not out of the question. If one of the top CBs fall to the Bengals selection you could see them pull the trigger, especially if Adam Jones doesn't resign.

NT is aging and no real replacement on the roster. But don't expect that to be a 1st round selection. More likely a 3rd or 4th round pick as the guy will have a year or two to learn behind Peko.

We have a need for a edge rusher to add depth and become an eventual starter. If Noah Spence is available in the second round the team would take him in a heartbeat. He was kicked off the Ohio State team two years ago, but has kept his nose clean since and could be one of those draft steals in the second round. Frankly, though, if he plays in the NFL like he did at the Senior Bowl, he'd be great value at the Bengals 1st round selection.

The Bengals have had two 2nd round and a 3rd round DL projects turn into failures over the past few years, so don't look for them to draft a project early.

We'll take a WR at some point and possibly two of them. One has to be a kick returner though. Coleman out of Baylor gets mentioned as does Fuller out of Notre Dame (Fuller would be 3rd or 4th round). I do see Braxton Miller's name come up some, but he's a project, so don't look for the Bengals to pick him in the early rounds, if at all. If Marvin Jones leaves in free agency we'll be looking for someone who can play right away, either from the draft or from another team.

That's just my 2 cents worth. The team tends to draft with a blend of need and BPA. A guy playing on the field is more valuable than a higher rated guy on the bench who's waiting behind 3 other guys.

And just to make it all interesting, both our starting safeties are free agents. We have a SS who can take over already on the roster, but if both leave we'll need to draft a safety. We have a CB (Shaw) who can play FS.