03-09-2020, 01:22 PM
(03-09-2020, 10:18 AM)ochocincos Wrote: When most people were projecting Sample in Rd 5 or later, I will always have a hard time believing he wouldn't have been available in Rd 3 or that the Bengals couldn't have just taken a different TE who could be just as good (or better) if he wasn't available in Rd 3.
I've been wrong on draft picks before though.
We all have to take what the coaching staff said after the draft with a grain of salt; but when interviewed, they stated that after talking to their league sources/scouts/TE coaches around the league, they were assured that Sample wouldn't have been there at their Rd 3 pick.
They knew it was a little high, and dropping down several picks like they did made some sense. If you really want a player and fall in love with them, I'll never fault a team for taking them up to a half round higher when you just gotta have that player.
The Bengals are much better at that than they used to be. They'd pick guys a few rounds higher than expected all the time. They weren't in alignment with the rest of the league. Now they seem to be.
