01-15-2020, 03:28 PM
Things were a bit different back in '03. Pretty much everyone agreed on the QB pecking order -- Palmer, then Leftwich (close second), then Boeller/Grossman. But Palmer was considered by almost everyone to be far and away the best QB in the class, just a well-rounded prospect. No Tuas or Herberts to compete with him, really. I was an SI subscriber at the time, and they -- particularly Peter King -- were in LOVE with Palmer. Remember his cover issue that came out just before the draft? I had it framed ...
http://www.millcreeksports.com/carson-palmer-autographed-sports-illustrated-magazine-usc-trojans-no-label-psa-dna-x64832/
Tons of other SI articles singing his praises. E.g.:
https://www.si.com/vault/2002/12/09/333981/hand-him-the-heisman-with-a-stellar-showing-against-notre-dame-uscs-carson-palmer-proved-he-deserves-college-footballs-most-coveted-award
Every mock draft I remember seeing had the Bengals picking Palmer. A very few people preferred the size and arm of Leftwich early on, and the Bengals did in fact open contract discussions with him, but that turned out to be a fallback position in case Palmer played hardball with them. Palmer was pedigreed enough that no one really cried one-year wonder, but Leftwich received the small school/no competition criticism. Recall that they ended up actually signing Palmer BEFORE the draft, and so everyone knew he was going to be the first selection.
The biggest debate I recall at the time was whether to go QB or defense. Remember we had Jon Kitna, who wasn't terrible, and had just hired Marvin Lewis, a former DC. Our defense was abysmal, and some argued that we should build our defense and wait until 2004 to draft a QB, as the 2004 QB class was thought to be much stronger, with Rivers, Eli, and Big Ben. To that end, we were thought to be looking at Terrence Newman, Terrell Suggs, and Dewayne Robertson (DT out of UK), and we even had some contract discussions with Newman. (I'm ashamed to admit it, but I really wanted Robertson if Palmer didn't work out, but he turned out to be a bust ... UK homer, I guess.) In 2004, I remember Bengals brass saying that they liked Palmer better than everyone in the '04 class, even though he didn't play a snap in '03. Turns out we couldn't have gotten any of the top guys anyway.
http://www.millcreeksports.com/carson-palmer-autographed-sports-illustrated-magazine-usc-trojans-no-label-psa-dna-x64832/
Tons of other SI articles singing his praises. E.g.:
https://www.si.com/vault/2002/12/09/333981/hand-him-the-heisman-with-a-stellar-showing-against-notre-dame-uscs-carson-palmer-proved-he-deserves-college-footballs-most-coveted-award
Every mock draft I remember seeing had the Bengals picking Palmer. A very few people preferred the size and arm of Leftwich early on, and the Bengals did in fact open contract discussions with him, but that turned out to be a fallback position in case Palmer played hardball with them. Palmer was pedigreed enough that no one really cried one-year wonder, but Leftwich received the small school/no competition criticism. Recall that they ended up actually signing Palmer BEFORE the draft, and so everyone knew he was going to be the first selection.
The biggest debate I recall at the time was whether to go QB or defense. Remember we had Jon Kitna, who wasn't terrible, and had just hired Marvin Lewis, a former DC. Our defense was abysmal, and some argued that we should build our defense and wait until 2004 to draft a QB, as the 2004 QB class was thought to be much stronger, with Rivers, Eli, and Big Ben. To that end, we were thought to be looking at Terrence Newman, Terrell Suggs, and Dewayne Robertson (DT out of UK), and we even had some contract discussions with Newman. (I'm ashamed to admit it, but I really wanted Robertson if Palmer didn't work out, but he turned out to be a bust ... UK homer, I guess.) In 2004, I remember Bengals brass saying that they liked Palmer better than everyone in the '04 class, even though he didn't play a snap in '03. Turns out we couldn't have gotten any of the top guys anyway.
