Rationale for the Sample Pick

[THE PISTONS]

This is from Mike Potts, the Bengals’ college scouting director:

“Drew is a lot more well-rounded than just a run-blocking tight end,” Potts told Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Run blocking is the best thing that he does but what kept coming up in our draft meetings was do we want a guy that tested better that can take the top off the coverage or really stretch the seam and maybe you get two or three big plays a game out of that guy but you feel like you have to take him off the field in certain instances. We always talk about playtime percentages. Maybe that guy only ends up playing 30-40 percent of the snaps. Whereas, this guy, if you want to be in 11 or 12 personnel, whatever you want to be in, he conceivably doesn’t need to come off the field because he’s not a liability in the pass game.”

and...

“These first two picks were two of the smarter guys if not the smartest at their respective positions... The way (Washington staff) rave about him and then you go and watch the tape and fall in love with him as a player,” Potts said. “You just envision how he could fit in here and bring something unique other guys don’t bring in our tight end room. He’s an easy player to like when you watch him on tape, then when the character and toughness and intelligence all match up with it, he pretty much checks every box you can think of other than if you are looking at the stat sheet. He didn’t have 50-60 catches. But not a lot of these guys do that are in-line tight ends coming out of college.”

https://www.cincyjungle.com/2019/5/10/18531365/bengals-draft-2019-drew-sample-washington-huskies-football