Media Draft Grades

[Bengalbug]

(04-30-2017, 11:41 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote:  I may be wrong as my memory is not what it used to be, but I believe we received low marks for our 2005 draft. Pollack was a tweener and we were dinged for it and they hated Thurman due to his character concerns (unfortunately they were correct on Thurman, but wrong as Pollack was coming into his own until the injury.

But I do agree, good or bad rating's the day after a draft are meaningless. The Mixon pick was unacceptable for some, I understand it to a point, but we all need forgiveness in the eyes of God.

on 5/1/05: A 
Grade given on 6/3/08: D  

Good Moves: Cincinnati's first two picks--DE David Pollack and MLB Odell Thurman--will be stars on the Bengals' defense for a very long time. Central Michigan offensive linemen Eric Ghiaciuc and Adam Kieft are welcome additions to the Bengals' offensive line. Cincinnati chose WR Chris Henry in the third round. While Henry has some character issues, he is worth the risk in the third round.  

Bad Moves: I was not a fan of Marvin Lewis' sixth- and seventh-round choices.  

June 3, 2008 Update: The draft is unpredictable for a number of reasons. I often state how difficult it is to project how prospects will play at the next level, given that there are so many busts in the top 10. Another reason is injury. David Pollack (No. 17 overall) was forced to retire this season after playing just 17 games in his career. 

Something less difficult to project is character and work ethic. The Bengals clearly didn't pay attention to those things in 2005, as their second- and third-round choices were used on Odell Thurman and Chris Henry, respectively. Both were kicked off the team this offseason. 

The rest of the Bengals' draft was unspectacular, save for the fourth-round pick. Eric Ghiaciuc played well as Cincinnati's starting center in 2007 ... Adam Kieft (5th round) never materialized into an NFL player ... Tab Perry (6th round) may have suffered a career-ending injury, though he wasn't anything special before that ... Jonathan Fanene (7th round) is a solid reserve defensive lineman for the team.  

Potential 2005 Starters: DE David Pollack, MLB Odell Thurman.