10-31-2016, 09:46 AM
I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the past few drafts and see what contribution we are getting from the players drafted on the defensive side of the ball. Below is a list of players that have been drafted since 2009 that remain on this roster/practice squad:
Rey Maualuga (2009 - Round 2)
Michael Johnson (2009 - Round 3)
Carlos Dunlap (2010 - Round 2)
Geno Atkins (2010 - Round 4)
Vincent Rey (2010 - UFA)
Dre Kirkpatrick (2012 - Round 1)
Brandon Thompson (2012 - Round 3)
George Iloka (2012 - Round 5)
Vontaze Burfict (2012 - UFA)
Margus Hunt (2013 - Round 2)
Shawn Williams (2013 - Round 3)
Darqueze Dennard (2014 - Round 1)
Will Clarke (2014 - Round 3)
Marquis Flowers (2014 - Round 6)
PJ Dawson (2015 - Round 3)
Josh Shaw (2015 - Round 4)
Marcus Hardison (2015 - Round 4)
Derron Smith (2015 - Round 6)
DeShawn Williams (2015 - UFA)
William Jackson (2016 - Round 1)
Nick Vigil (2016 - Round 3)
Andrew Billings (2016 - Round 4)
Clayton Fejedelem (2016 - Round 7)
Following is a list of defensive players drafted since 2009 in the top 5 rounds that are no longer with the team. I chose the top 5 rounds just given the limited expectations for those in the 6th and 7th rounds of even making the roster:
Brandon Ghee (2010 - CB), Roddrick Muckelroy (2010 - LB), Dontay Moch (2011 - DE/LB), Robert Sands (2011 - DB), Devon Still (2012 - DT), Shaun Prater (2012 - DB), Sean Porter (2013 - LB)
You guys know the drill. If you don't use free agency you have to draft players, develop them into starters, rinse, and repeat. So, let's review how we've done on the defensive side of the ball.
For the 2009 class, it's hard to argue with the production we've gotten out of Maualuga and Michael Johnson. Up until this year, Maualuga has been a proven run stuffer in the middle. Again, up until this year, Michael Johnson had been a solid DE. He was good at setting the edge against the run and has had some good years getting at the QB and batting down passes.
From the 2010 class you've got our two most reliable pass rushers in Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap. The Bengals also grabbed Vinnie Rey as an UFA who's proven to be a nice depth piece at the LB position. You also had a couple swings and misses that year on Ghee and Muckelroy.
2011 was a year to forget from the defensive draft picks as the Bengals grabbed Moch and Sands in the top 5 rounds.
2012 was an interesting year as we grabbed Dre in the first round, who as of this year is our most reliable boundary corner (say what you want about this opinion, Adam Jones is not having a good year). Maybe not what you expected out of a first round corner, but he is at worst serviceable. Brandon Thompson remains as a depth DT, though he hasn't shown to be more than that in his time with the team. Iloka remains as a starting safety, although his play this year does not resemble the impact player we saw on the field the past two seasons. Burfict has been an enforcer at LB, although, he has proven a liability in coverage, especially this year. Our second round draft pick that year was Still, who didn't show much on the field, even when healthy and given the chance.
We are just now starting to see a return on investment from our 2013 draft picks. Hunt had done absolutely nothing up until this season, and still remains as nothing more than a depth piece at DE. Williams has been pressed into starting duties opposite Iloka, though he has been the primary suspect for several missed assignments, missed tackles, and dropped interceptions this season.
2014 is another class where we haven't seen much return on investment. Dennard has now been relegated to the 4th corner spot. In the only game this season where he played significant snaps (@ Pitt) he was repeatedly beat on deep passes. Will Clarke has shown some pass rush ability this season after doing nothing up to this point, but remains and unknown as a backup DE. Flowers has been a good special teams contributor.
The jury remains out on the 2015 class, but to this point we have our nickel corner (Shaw), what appears to be a solid backup safety (Smith), two unknowns at backup DT (Williams and Hardison), and our highest defensive draft pick from this class who is on the PS. I'll refrain from reviewing the 2016 draft class as it is impossible to speculate on what we have and what they may develop into.
So, what's the point of all of this? We have undoubtedly seen some poor play on the defensive side of the ball. We've been force fed this narrative that the Bengals have been incredible at drafting and have had one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the league (hence why guys don't see the field for the first 1-2 years after being drafted). At least for the defensive side of the ball that does not appear to be true. We have a lot of aging veterans on this defense whose play is on the decline (Maualuga, Johnson, and although not drafted by them - Dansby and Jones), several young draft picks whose play is lackluster (Williams, Dennard), and a lack of quality/proven depth behind them to take some snaps from them. I'm not sure if this is a matter of poor drafting or poor development. On that note, excuse me for not buying into the above mentioned narrative.
Rey Maualuga (2009 - Round 2)
Michael Johnson (2009 - Round 3)
Carlos Dunlap (2010 - Round 2)
Geno Atkins (2010 - Round 4)
Vincent Rey (2010 - UFA)
Dre Kirkpatrick (2012 - Round 1)
Brandon Thompson (2012 - Round 3)
George Iloka (2012 - Round 5)
Vontaze Burfict (2012 - UFA)
Margus Hunt (2013 - Round 2)
Shawn Williams (2013 - Round 3)
Darqueze Dennard (2014 - Round 1)
Will Clarke (2014 - Round 3)
Marquis Flowers (2014 - Round 6)
PJ Dawson (2015 - Round 3)
Josh Shaw (2015 - Round 4)
Marcus Hardison (2015 - Round 4)
Derron Smith (2015 - Round 6)
DeShawn Williams (2015 - UFA)
William Jackson (2016 - Round 1)
Nick Vigil (2016 - Round 3)
Andrew Billings (2016 - Round 4)
Clayton Fejedelem (2016 - Round 7)
Following is a list of defensive players drafted since 2009 in the top 5 rounds that are no longer with the team. I chose the top 5 rounds just given the limited expectations for those in the 6th and 7th rounds of even making the roster:
Brandon Ghee (2010 - CB), Roddrick Muckelroy (2010 - LB), Dontay Moch (2011 - DE/LB), Robert Sands (2011 - DB), Devon Still (2012 - DT), Shaun Prater (2012 - DB), Sean Porter (2013 - LB)
You guys know the drill. If you don't use free agency you have to draft players, develop them into starters, rinse, and repeat. So, let's review how we've done on the defensive side of the ball.
For the 2009 class, it's hard to argue with the production we've gotten out of Maualuga and Michael Johnson. Up until this year, Maualuga has been a proven run stuffer in the middle. Again, up until this year, Michael Johnson had been a solid DE. He was good at setting the edge against the run and has had some good years getting at the QB and batting down passes.
From the 2010 class you've got our two most reliable pass rushers in Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap. The Bengals also grabbed Vinnie Rey as an UFA who's proven to be a nice depth piece at the LB position. You also had a couple swings and misses that year on Ghee and Muckelroy.
2011 was a year to forget from the defensive draft picks as the Bengals grabbed Moch and Sands in the top 5 rounds.
2012 was an interesting year as we grabbed Dre in the first round, who as of this year is our most reliable boundary corner (say what you want about this opinion, Adam Jones is not having a good year). Maybe not what you expected out of a first round corner, but he is at worst serviceable. Brandon Thompson remains as a depth DT, though he hasn't shown to be more than that in his time with the team. Iloka remains as a starting safety, although his play this year does not resemble the impact player we saw on the field the past two seasons. Burfict has been an enforcer at LB, although, he has proven a liability in coverage, especially this year. Our second round draft pick that year was Still, who didn't show much on the field, even when healthy and given the chance.
We are just now starting to see a return on investment from our 2013 draft picks. Hunt had done absolutely nothing up until this season, and still remains as nothing more than a depth piece at DE. Williams has been pressed into starting duties opposite Iloka, though he has been the primary suspect for several missed assignments, missed tackles, and dropped interceptions this season.
2014 is another class where we haven't seen much return on investment. Dennard has now been relegated to the 4th corner spot. In the only game this season where he played significant snaps (@ Pitt) he was repeatedly beat on deep passes. Will Clarke has shown some pass rush ability this season after doing nothing up to this point, but remains and unknown as a backup DE. Flowers has been a good special teams contributor.
The jury remains out on the 2015 class, but to this point we have our nickel corner (Shaw), what appears to be a solid backup safety (Smith), two unknowns at backup DT (Williams and Hardison), and our highest defensive draft pick from this class who is on the PS. I'll refrain from reviewing the 2016 draft class as it is impossible to speculate on what we have and what they may develop into.
So, what's the point of all of this? We have undoubtedly seen some poor play on the defensive side of the ball. We've been force fed this narrative that the Bengals have been incredible at drafting and have had one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the league (hence why guys don't see the field for the first 1-2 years after being drafted). At least for the defensive side of the ball that does not appear to be true. We have a lot of aging veterans on this defense whose play is on the decline (Maualuga, Johnson, and although not drafted by them - Dansby and Jones), several young draft picks whose play is lackluster (Williams, Dennard), and a lack of quality/proven depth behind them to take some snaps from them. I'm not sure if this is a matter of poor drafting or poor development. On that note, excuse me for not buying into the above mentioned narrative.
