04-27-2019, 12:46 AM
(04-27-2019, 12:32 AM)rfaulk34 Wrote: If he works out and contributes in meaningful ways, great. No one will care where or when he was drafted.
But that's down the road. Tonight, it was a bad pick for it's placement, imo.
As far as conjecture...it's a fact that not one other TE that is known for his blocking was taken after the Bengals pick and the two that were taken put up very good pass catching numbers this past year, which makes it clear they were not targeted mainly for their blocking. And that's my entire argument. They could have taken 2 other guys tonight and got him tomorrow.
(to the bolded) BTW, have you ever noticed how anyone not taken by the Bengals would have likely been a scrub, and anyone taken by the Bengals have a ton of potential and will likely end up helping the team?
I'm not saying those guys would be scrubs at all. But do I think any of those corners would play over Dre, WJII, and Dennard? No. Do I think any of those WRs are playing over Green, Boyd, or Ross? Hell no to the first two, and a maybe to Ross. Do I think Sample can see plenty of time on the field even with a healthy Eifert and Uzomah (which is obviously no guarantee)? Yes, I do. I think there's a good chance he contributes in the red zone as a receiver and as a blocker, and I'd bet he helps bust Mixon or Bernard loose on a few long runs.
I'll freely admit that over the rest of their careers a few of the guys taken between Sample and the Bengals next pick will probably have higher upsides even if Sample ends up having a good career here. Would they do it here? Not sure. I feel confident the Bengals will get a more immediate return from Sample than they will most of those others even though it most likely won't be reflected in his stats.
If taking him in the 2nd round cost them severely at other positions and hurt the rest of the draft, I'd be a lot more upset about. I just really don't feel like it has. They still got the linebacker they wanted. A few of the DBs and QBs I was looking at with interest in the 2nd are still sitting there to potentially be grabbed in the 4th. Hell, several LBs that you'd think would've been off of the board by now are *still* sitting there if they want to double up. I just think there's a good chance when we see the whole haul as a group it ends up being fairly in line with what people would've been happy with regardless of the order they were taken in. Does that make sense? I'm genuinely not trying to argue just to argue here, that's just the way I see it as of now.
