09-06-2015, 03:23 PM
(09-06-2015, 12:56 PM)BengalChris Wrote: I'm not saying the Bengals draft philosophy is wrong. Just pointing out that we do not go straight BPA, not matter what people say or think. Positions of need have a bigger affect on the selections than most realize and it is part of the team's player ranking system.
You combine that with the team's reluctance to trade picks (either up or down) and you get our draft philosophy. Fisher could have been drafted later, but not likely when the Bengals picked in the 3rd round, so the team took him at their spot in the 2nd.
We have a large number of FAs end of this year and the team wanted two future starting OT from this draft. Not saying it's wrong. Just saying that the team wasn't going to pick a WR on day one or two. If I remember correctly, the Bengals let it be known that WR was not a priority in the draft this year.
But going back to 2010, if the old boards were open, many wanted Bryant over Gresham and they turned out to be correct. But there are other times where one thinks a player is better and they turn out like less than decent.
You can't look at media projections of rounds and expect that to translated to the draft. 32 teams passed on Fisher in the first, and that's after we took Og and the LSU kid became undraftable. So, Fisher couldn't have been as highly regarded as that by teams.
- I think the Bengals use their own formula to come up with their own BPA but also factor in need, depth, and future contracts. This is working well so far, so I think it's a + !
- The Bengals traded picks as recently as the 2014 draft for Bodine who is underwhelming so far.
- Think about this.... The Browns "win the draft" every year based on activity alone, but have outsmarted themselves immensely. WITHOUT their jockeying around the draft board you realize that right now on their roster they could have Julio Jones, Sammy Watkins, & Teddy Bridgewater.... among others? Pretty sure that long ago someone in the Browns FO burned an original copy of "The Catcher in the Rye" which has now put a conspiracy theory curse in their draft room.
There are a few instances both ways I can point to where the Bengals almost traded and didn't that are "whew!" or "dang it!" moments. I guarantee all teams have those. Tough to knock the Bengals for theirs when staying put has yielded such strong results, sin't it?
- I wish they would have used one of their 3rd rounders this year on Collins from LSU, but I get why they didn't.
- Bryant could have also turned out like Justin Blackmon - another talented but troubled kid from O(k)SU, too. Dallas has had to commit serious resources to help Dez and I don't know and don't blame the Bengals for not wanting the headache. At the time you never know. That draft I actually wanted Gronk, but he had back issues and surgeries that were red flags, too. Gresham was a bummer for me, but sometimes you swing and miss.
- Media projections are interesting and are fun to look back and talk about when analyzing this stuff. I look at guys like Marvin Jones who was projected as a 2nd or 3rd rounder and the Bengals got him in the 5th. If draft experts could look back in time, if he has a repeat of his 2013 season this year - after missing 2014 - he would project as a mid to late first rounder. Same thing with Geno Atkins. 4th rounder, but would be a top 5 pick in his draft class knowing what we know now.
That's why I look at the Bengals draft this year and think it's a home run all the way. They didn't NEED a WR at all. MLJ is a monster and AJ is top 5. Slot is handled by Eifert, who should be top shelf as well and I actually love that the Bengals went Patriots and shifted a guy like Burkhead into the slot. THAT kind of flexibility is what wins championships.
- The reason so many FAs are up this season is because it is one of the first ones since the new CBA which requires rookies to play out deals a certain length of time before extensions. The Bengals have a lot of players they have drafted still on the roster so they are in a weird spot. I don't see it as such a big deal as the older FAs are old enough to renegotiate for reasonable amounts and only one guy, Green, should be up for a block buster deal. Also, Leon Hall is taking up $10 freaking million dollars in cap space. After this season that will go a long way spread over several guys.
