Burma's NFL.com mock 1.0

[Burma]

Straight up draft.  No trades.  This uses only NFL.com's player rankings for positioning of picks. 

I took into consideration the following things said by the Bengals/Hobson/Lap
1. Getting a pass rusher is main focus
2. Get younger and more athletic on defense
3. The offensive line is not a concern/they like Ced and Fisher at LT/RT respectively
4. Desire to find starter opposite AJ to take the top off defenses

Also taken into consideration
1. Who the Bengals have met with
2. Mid/late round developmental O-line prospect tendency

Methodology:
-Round 1: any player ranked within 2 spots of Bengals draft position
-Rounds 2-3: Any player ranked within 4 spots of Bengals draft position
-Rounds 4-7: Any player ranked within 6 spots of Bengals draft position

The Draft:

1 (9): Taco Charlton. DE, Michigan.  9th ranked player on nfl.com meets need, bpa per rankings, and desire of team to get early pass rusher.

2 (41): Zach Cunningham. OLB, Vanderbilt.  37th ranked player. Mixon is ranked #41 but it seems he is climbing the board and could be out of range. Cunningham could provide a massive athleticism boost to the LB core and provide the much needed coverage linebacker which has been missing. Allows for Vigil to stay at MLB and get another year of experience under Minter.

3 (73): Zay Jones. WR, East Carolina. 71st ranked player. Explosive WR to play opposite AJ, able to be worked into WR rotation/possibly start early.

4 (116): Carlos Watkins. DT, Clemson.  114th ranked player.  Very interesting player who has shown the ability to be dominant on the biggest stage (vs Alabama and Ohio State 2017). Fortifies a questionable DT core lacking any certainty behind Geno. Has shown great pass rush skills and also burst to disrupt running game.

4 (138): Adam Bisnowaty. OT, Pitt.  138th ranked player.  Developmental O-line prospect. Good length, and strength. Very solid run blocking OT but needs to work on pass pro technique.  Reminds me quite a bit of Whit coming out of college.

5 (153): Damien Mama. G, USC. 147th ranked player. Extremely powerful and quick guard.  Knocks are weight is major issue after having ballooned to over 400lbs and inconsistent. 

5 (176): James Conner. RB, Pitt.  176th ranked player.  A true do it all back. Powerful runner, and showed ability to make catches out of the backfield.  1 cut runner who showed great vision in dominate performance against Clemson. High character guy whose body is getting back to being healthy. 

6 (193): Tyler Orlovsky. C, West Virginia. 188th ranked player.  Strong and powerful with very good hand skills. Average athleticism and quickness. Possible could challenge Bodine, but most likely depth for the short term future.

6 (217): KD Cannon. WR, Baylor.  213th ranked player.  Extremely athletic burner (4.41) and true home run hitter. 87 catches 1,215 yards, and 13 TDs. Has the production but needs to add strength and route running skills.

7 (227): Julie'n Davenport. OT Bucknell. 225th ranked player. Another developmental prospect. Has the length and shown flashes of the skill needed to play in the NFL bu needs to work on all aspects of his game.

7 (251): Marquell Lee. LB, Wake Forest. Big, strong, LB with + read and react skills. Only average cover skills. Dinged for questionable athleticism and instincts. May be a 2 down player.

Conclusion:

Not a bad draft at all for sticking to the basic rules layed out. Several guys that could come in and make an immediate impact and several others, even later in the draft who could develop into starters, or possible contributors. 

[lostpoet2]

Nice work.  Your rules make it surprisingly diffficult to creat a well-rounded draft.  Here is my version with completely different players (not that I dislike with your picks, I just wanted to show other options):

1.  (9)  OJ Howard, TE - seems like a can't miss TE prospect who would give Andy two awesome tight end targets. Taco was the only other fit given the rules, and there are planty of DEs later.
2.  (41) TJ Watt, DE – Though more of a 3-4 OLB in college, could easily rotate in as DE in passing downs and/or add strength and become a base 4-3 end.  Low risk, high floor prospect.
3.  (73) Chris Godwin, WR – excellent quickness, speed, and college production.  Could become long term #2 receiver across from AJ.
4.  (116) Daeshon Hall, DE – big DE with long arms who can join rotation and in the future can rush from inside
4.  (138) Collin Buchanan, OG – big body guard prospect who can backup RG day one and projects to become future starter
5.  (153) Tarik Cohen, RB – tiny but electric jitterbug back.  We should draft another back so why not take a chance at finding the next Darren Sproles?
5.  (176) Rayshawn Jenkins, S – big aggressive safety who will either beat out Fejedelem or join the practice squad
6.  (193) Matt Milano LB – small, quick, but hard-hitting linebacker who is a former safety. Can back up the outside LB spots and play STs – worst case, he will push Dawson and Flowers to get their sh!t together.
6.  (217) Vince Biegel OLB/DE – projects more as a backup 3-4 OLB, but seems like a decent value here as a situational pass rusher
7.  (227) Julie’n Davenport OT – project tackle with upside
7.  (251) Jeremy Clark CB – giant (6’3” 220lb) corner coming off ACL surgery who we can stash on IR

notes: I looked at Center and DT numerous times, but except for the OP's picks, there always seemed to be better value where we were picking

[Hammerstripes]

I just can't get on board with Taco Charlton at #9. I get that a few guys might have him rated that high, but a majority have him in the late teens/early 20s. He's a decent prospect, but not a top 10 guy in this draft.

The rest of the draft is outstanding - although I would be shocked to see some of those guys on the board where you have them (not a knock on your draft you just played the hand you were dealt)

[Burma]

(03-28-2017, 05:53 PM)Hammerstripes Wrote: I just can't get on board with Taco Charlton at #9.  I get that a few guys might have him rated that high, but a majority have him in the late teens/early 20s.  He's a decent prospect, but not a top 10 guy in this draft.

The rest of the draft is outstanding - although I would be shocked to see some of those guys on the board where you have them (not a knock on your draft you just played the hand you were dealt)

Yeah, it was fairly interesting. The nfl.com's rankings are can deviate a lot from CBS's.  Cunningham is a late first on CBS, and Mama i saw as a possible 2nd round guy on another ranking.

Taco is interesting as well. He's ranked all over. People either rank him on potential or productivity. Having watched him his entire career at Michigan it was obvious that he belonged as a 4-3 DE and not a 3-4 guy. And once his nagging injuries cleared up he was like a whole new guy. So I am leaning towards the potential crowd, but understand the productivity crowd as well.

[lostpoet2]

(03-28-2017, 02:19 PM)Burma Wrote: Straight up draft.  No trades.  This uses only NFL.com's player rankings for positioning of picks. 

I took into consideration the following things said by the Bengals/Hobson/Lap
1. Getting a pass rusher is main focus
2. Get younger and more athletic on defense
3. The offensive line is not a concern/they like Ced and Fisher at LT/RT respectively
4. Desire to find starter opposite AJ to take the top off defenses

Also taken into consideration
1. Who the Bengals have met with
2. Mid/late round developmental O-line prospect tendency

Methodology:
-Round 1: any player ranked within 2 spots of Bengals draft position
-Rounds 2-3: Any player ranked within 4 spots of Bengals draft position
-Rounds 4-7: Any player ranked within 6 spots of Bengals draft position

The Draft:

1 (9): Taco Charlton. DE, Michigan.  9th ranked player on nfl.com meets need, bpa per rankings, and desire of team to get early pass rusher.

2 (41): Zach Cunningham. OLB, Vanderbilt.  37th ranked player. Mixon is ranked #41 but it seems he is climbing the board and could be out of range. Cunningham could provide a massive athleticism boost to the LB core and provide the much needed coverage linebacker which has been missing. Allows for Vigil to stay at MLB and get another year of experience under Minter.

3 (73): Zay Jones. WR, East Carolina. 71st ranked player. Explosive WR to play opposite AJ, able to be worked into WR rotation/possibly start early.

4 (116): Carlos Watkins. DT, Clemson.  114th ranked player.  Very interesting player who has shown the ability to be dominant on the biggest stage (vs Alabama and Ohio State 2017). Fortifies a questionable DT core lacking any certainty behind Geno. Has shown great pass rush skills and also burst to disrupt running game.

4 (138): Adam Bisnowaty. OT, Pitt.  138th ranked player.  Developmental O-line prospect. Good length, and strength. Very solid run blocking OT but needs to work on pass pro technique.  Reminds me quite a bit of Whit coming out of college.

5 (153): Damien Mama. G, USC. 147th ranked player. Extremely powerful and quick guard.  Knocks are weight is major issue after having ballooned to over 400lbs and inconsistent. 

5 (176): James Conner. RB, Pitt.  176th ranked player.  A true do it all back. Powerful runner, and showed ability to make catches out of the backfield.  1 cut runner who showed great vision in dominate performance against Clemson. High character guy whose body is getting back to being healthy. 

6 (193): Tyler Orlovsky. C, West Virginia. 188th ranked player.  Strong and powerful with very good hand skills. Average athleticism and quickness. Possible could challenge Bodine, but most likely depth for the short term future.

6 (217): KD Cannon. WR, Baylor.  213th ranked player.  Extremely athletic burner (4.41) and true home run hitter. 87 catches 1,215 yards, and 13 TDs. Has the production but needs to add strength and route running skills.

7 (227): Julie'n Davenport. OT Bucknell. 225th ranked player. Another developmental prospect. Has the length and shown flashes of the skill needed to play in the NFL bu needs to work on all aspects of his game.

7 (251): Marquell Lee. LB, Wake Forest. Big, strong, LB with + read and react skills. Only average cover skills. Dinged for questionable athleticism and instincts. May be a 2 down player.

Conclusion:

Not a bad draft at all for sticking to the basic rules layed out. Several guys that could come in and make an immediate impact and several others, even later in the draft who could develop into starters, or possible contributors. 

Oops, I didn't realize I doubled up on Davenport in my second post.  Overall, I like your draft, although I'm not crazy about Mama @ 153.  Great job!

[pulses]

(03-28-2017, 06:38 PM)Burma Wrote: Yeah, it was fairly interesting. The nfl.com's rankings are can deviate a lot from CBS's.  Cunningham is a late first on CBS, and Mama i saw as a possible 2nd round guy on another ranking.

Taco is interesting as well. He's ranked all over. People either rank him on potential or productivity. Having watched him his entire career at Michigan it was obvious that he belonged as a 4-3 DE and not a 3-4 guy. And once his nagging injuries cleared up he was like a whole new guy. So I am leaning towards the potential crowd, but understand the productivity crowd as well.

CBS has Mama as a 7-UDFA..no way i see him going in the 2nd with his weight issues.

[NATI BENGALS]

Other than Zay Jones in the 3rd I absolutely hate that draft.

If you were making a worse case scenario. This would be a good example.

[Whatever]

It's a decent excercise, but I just don't think Taco is worth the 9th pick. 4 OL in a bad OL draft is pretty terrible. Mama won't even make the 53 unless they keep 4 G's, and that's not happening.

[Burma]

Draft updated with new NFL.com player rankings.  Not A lot of Changes.

1.  Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan
2.  Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt
3.  Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina
4.  Tarell Basham, DE, Ohio
4c. Adam Bisnowaty, OT, Pittsburgh
5.  Ryan Glasgow, DT, Michigan
5c. James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh
6.  Tyler Orlosky, C,West Virginia
6c. K.D. Cannon, WR, Baylor
7. Vince Biegel, LB, Wisconsin
7c. Marquell Lee, LB Wake Forest

[Essex Johnson]

(04-03-2017, 12:04 PM)Burma Wrote: Draft updated with new NFL.com player rankings.  Not A lot of Changes.

1.  Taco Charlton, DE, Michigan
2.  Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt
3.  Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina
4.  Tarell Basham, DE, Ohio
4c. Adam Bisnowaty, OT, Pittsburgh
5.  Ryan Glasgow, DT, Michigan
5c. James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh
6.  Tyler Orlosky, C,West Virginia
6c. K.D. Cannon, WR, Baylor
7. Vince Biegel, LB, Wisconsin
7c. Marquell Lee, LB Wake Forest

I see Taco at 9 as a reach.. we would be better served if that many DE are gone, to trade back and believe he will still be there at 15 to 20 anyway

[Burma]

(04-04-2017, 11:38 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: I see Taco at 9 as a reach.. we would be better served if that many DE are gone, to trade back and believe he will still be there at 15 to 20 anyway

Possibly. Based on the site I used they had Taco as #9 so went with that. 

[Essex Johnson]

(04-05-2017, 10:05 AM)Burma Wrote: Possibly. Based on the site I used they had Taco as #9 so went with that. 

maybe one site of many I have looked at have him that high