Signs that Next Year will see more talent depart

[BengalChris]

(03-22-2017, 12:13 AM)bambino5130 Wrote: This thread really got me thinking. I don't think the Bengals have drafted for a position of need or BPA in the first rounds  since Jermaine Gresham. Instead, it has only been picks for insurance of upcoming Free Agents. This might be why I have been questioning every pick with the exceptions of Green & Zietler since. I could also argue those same 2nd round picks. I am thinking more of the same this year. If they draft OJ at TE, they have no intention of resigning Eifert, or with Foster at 9, no interest in resigning Burfict. Maybe they look at at DE or DT, not to replace Peko or MJ, but as insurance for not resigning Atkins or Dunlap. God I hate this cheap a$$ Front Office. I hope I am wrong & the Bengals draft pick makes sense this year, & maybe the Bengals will get a practice bubble instead of embarrassingly using UCs facilities, or maybe someday replace the smallest video scoreboards in the league.......

Past 1st Rd Insurance picks
WJ3 for Kirkpatrick
Cedric for Whit
Dennard for Jones
Eifert for Gresham
Kirkpatrick for Hall
Zietler for Livings
Green for Ocho/Owens

I started the thread because I know the Bengals took Ogbuehi with idea that they were drafting Whit's replacement. We all knew they'd take an OT in the first or second round in 2015, but most of us were surprised by them taking two. When the guy they ended up with was Ogbuehi, who was coming in injured with an ACL tear, they signed Whit to a 1 year extension.

Here we are and that 1 year extension has expired and we are left with Ogbuehi. Only problem is that Ogbuehi sucked badly last year, but the team didn't adjust for that possibility and, in Whit's own words, he either left or had to take what he could get from the Bengals (implying Mikey was offering sub par money).

So, Ogbuehi is an example of what can go so wrong with this type of strategy if the front office isn't willing to adjust to bad draft choices.

I'm pretty sure Dennard was drafted as Hall's eventual replacement, although he has yet to live up to that billing.

We took Hunt to be an eventual starter, but he didn't pan out and his combined 4 years production (blocked kicks last year aside) wasn't even up to a good 6 game stretch by a real DE.

Still, another 2nd round pick like Hunt, couldn't stick with a team that almost never lets a young guy go who's under contract.

I'd half believe an argument that the Bengals only ponied up the money for Kirkpatrick to keep him away from the Steelers.

The Bengals don't only replace departing stars with 1st or 2nd round picks, but they'll throw in a late round guy too. Shaun Williams, who played well in very limited action in 2015, was given a contract extension averaging $5,166,667 per year over league leading Reggie Nelson, who signed for Oakland for $4,410,000 per year. I know Williams is younger and Reggie only has a few years left in the tank, but Reggie is the better player.

Back in the late 90s I remember reading an article by someone or other who really shed some light on Mike Brown and the Bengals front office. Essentially the writer came to the conclusion that Mike Brown had become so afraid of making wrong decisions (as he had made so many) that he would not act. Then it would be too late to act and he'd panic and make irrational decisions.

I don't believe we've sunk to those lows again, but when I see how the team is drafting it reminded me of those days. When we draft we should be making selections from the viewpoint of improving the talent on the team.

I'm all for having 3 good corners on defense. But we draft 1st round corners every other year, then sit them until one of the other 1st round corners leaves in free agency.

A more practical approach would be to draft a player in the 1st round who's going to start that year and upgrade a position at the same time. That way you not only improve the talent on the team but you get that player's services on the field early. Now maybe that isn't always possible, but most teams seem to be able to do that year in and year out.

When we sit guys for 2 or 3 years their talent is wasting away on the bench, unused in a game. The flaws of this draft strategy can be seen when you add up the un-utilized talent sitting on the bench, then add up the sub-par talent starting at other positions which could have been upgraded.

I loved Dennard at Michigan State, but were there players available who would have been starting and upgrading another position all these years?

We all more or less hoped for a WR last year in the draft and the top guys were gone when we picked, but Code Whitehair was sitting there and an upgrade at center would have been better than a future corner on the bench or IR. Even if Jackson weren't injured, he still would not have played much on defense. In fact, the team left him on IR when he was eligible to come off. Cody Whitehair is now one of the top centers in the league. What difference would that have made last year?

It's like Mike Brown is so afraid of having key positions be lacking because he can't sign them in free agency that he'll stock pile them in quantity while letting more pressing areas go begging.