Core looking great!

[masterpanthera_t]

(05-31-2017, 08:50 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: I don't understand how Malone would be ranked ahead of Core and Erickson when he has had zero NFL production thus far, and is also extremely raw.

Draft position was based on potential, but Core showed excellent coachability.  They raved about how quickly he picked up the nuances of NFL route running.  Erickson had an outstanding rookie season after a slow start and is also a capable backup slot WR.  

Malone has done nothing thus far.  

Simple, Malone was drafted in the fourth round and considered somewhat of a steal.  Putting him on the PS, means some other team will pick him up for sure.  He was drafted as a long term prospect who won't play much this year, but the coaches seem to think that he's already ahead of where Marvin Jones was in his first rookie camp according to a Hobson article.  Since they will not put him on the PS or cut him, Malone will be one of the top 6.  That means, the cuts come down to whether they value Erickson's return ability (not sure where he will rank in this aspect once Wilson, Mixon and maybe Ross have shown their skills), over Core's potential as a receiving threat (right now it's nothing more than potential).  Based on what he has shown so far in a real game, he looks like number 7 to me.  Maybe the Bengals keep 7 and no one gets cut.  I don't think Core will be developing into a consistent player this year, but I hope to be wrong.  I do however think that Core should be kept as I believe he will become a solid player next year as they phase LaFell out of the offense.   

Considering that this team took many years to find a replacement for Brandon Tate, and kept keeping him over and over, surprising some of us after like the fourth year of keeping him in a row, I wouldn't at all be surprised if they decide to keep Erickson simply out of a reluctance to mess with special teams and Erickson has proven to be solid (a quality that they value in their return guys).