05-25-2016, 08:09 AM
I confess that after being very happy with the selections of WJIII and Boyd (although my guy was Sterling Shepard, I like Boyd) that I was very disappointed in the selection of Vigil.
Here's why: You don't typically use picks 1-3 on guys that won't be starters. Otherwise, your starters will all come from the later rounds. There are only so many Geno Atkins out there. The selection of Vigil, not the player, but the position of LB was a real head-scratcher for me. The Bengals are in nickel roughly 66% of the time. Two LBs. Those two LBs are going to be a combination of Burfict and Dansby, Burfict and Rey, Burfict and Maualuga, and while Burfict is out, you will see more of Dansby. They also have another third round selection from last year, Paul Dawson, that you would like to see get more opportunities. Marquis Flowers has athleticism and is supposedly on the best coverage guys, but he has trouble staying healthy.
The bottom line is that for Vigil to get in on 33% of the snaps, you will have to remove one of the following: Burfict, Dansby, Maualuga, Rey, or Dawson... That is not many snaps.
Then I started to think about if Burfict was lost for an entire season, be it injury or suspension. Then the selection makes a bit more sense. I would still love to see more of PJ Dawson and Flowers won't likely make the team without an injury. And guys like Maualuga, Rey, and the FA Dansby aren't the youngest guys out there. A future starting tandem of Burfict and Vigil in nickel might be a solid corps, and maybe even Dawson and Vigil. In the rare base, Vigil is probably the best option at MLB if Maualuga is out or when he retires. Dansby could fill in there this year, but down the road, Vigil is probably there in base.
I viewed the fourth rounder Billings as a rotational player that will spell Peko on up to 50% of the plays when he gets his endurance up and understands his role. I think he will be an immediate impact on pass rushing situations. That is what had me so excited. To hear that he isn't going to necessarily blow by people but he has enough speed to get a guy moving and then just mow him back to the QB. We haven't really had a rotational DT like that to put next to Geno. There is no way Billings will be double teamed with Geno out there. You can imagine the pocket folding right in the face of opposing QBs and it just makes me grin ear-to-ear. That is why I wanted Billings over the LB position. The fact that we got both might just have been luck, but I will take it.
Here's why: You don't typically use picks 1-3 on guys that won't be starters. Otherwise, your starters will all come from the later rounds. There are only so many Geno Atkins out there. The selection of Vigil, not the player, but the position of LB was a real head-scratcher for me. The Bengals are in nickel roughly 66% of the time. Two LBs. Those two LBs are going to be a combination of Burfict and Dansby, Burfict and Rey, Burfict and Maualuga, and while Burfict is out, you will see more of Dansby. They also have another third round selection from last year, Paul Dawson, that you would like to see get more opportunities. Marquis Flowers has athleticism and is supposedly on the best coverage guys, but he has trouble staying healthy.
The bottom line is that for Vigil to get in on 33% of the snaps, you will have to remove one of the following: Burfict, Dansby, Maualuga, Rey, or Dawson... That is not many snaps.
Then I started to think about if Burfict was lost for an entire season, be it injury or suspension. Then the selection makes a bit more sense. I would still love to see more of PJ Dawson and Flowers won't likely make the team without an injury. And guys like Maualuga, Rey, and the FA Dansby aren't the youngest guys out there. A future starting tandem of Burfict and Vigil in nickel might be a solid corps, and maybe even Dawson and Vigil. In the rare base, Vigil is probably the best option at MLB if Maualuga is out or when he retires. Dansby could fill in there this year, but down the road, Vigil is probably there in base.
I viewed the fourth rounder Billings as a rotational player that will spell Peko on up to 50% of the plays when he gets his endurance up and understands his role. I think he will be an immediate impact on pass rushing situations. That is what had me so excited. To hear that he isn't going to necessarily blow by people but he has enough speed to get a guy moving and then just mow him back to the QB. We haven't really had a rotational DT like that to put next to Geno. There is no way Billings will be double teamed with Geno out there. You can imagine the pocket folding right in the face of opposing QBs and it just makes me grin ear-to-ear. That is why I wanted Billings over the LB position. The fact that we got both might just have been luck, but I will take it.
![[Image: 4CV0TeR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4CV0TeR.png)
