CNN's 2018 Mock Draft 1.0

[BFritz21]

Marvin says we'll be more active in free agency, but I'm way too brain damaged to project that, so this is assuming that we don't get any free agents.

1. Derwin James FSU S- he's just what we need to be a playmaker on the back end of our defense. He can cover tight ends, which is and always has been a weakness on our defense, he can rush the passer, and he can come in the box and be an enforcer. He does struggle sometimes when playing deep centerfield, which will be a problem against Ben and his ability to extend plays, but that can be improved through teaching, which hopefully Jones is up to the task.

He's a maniac!

He's always around the ball and just a playmaker.

He can be a game changer for us

2. Billy Price OSU C- played in the Big 10, which is basically just the college version of the AFCN with style of play and with the weather. He can handle the monster nose tackles of the division and can solidify our line for years to come.

We've ignored center for too long and Price is perfect for us.

3. Isaiah Wynn Georgia G- athletic guy that can play all over the line but will excel for us at guard. Does very well in run blocking, but is also a solid pass blocker, and just works hard and gets the job done.

Further solidifying the interior of our offensive line, which is our biggest weakness.

3©. Andre Dillard Washington State T- I love this dude's potential and I think he could excel at left tackle for us. He might need to be coached up a bit, which I'd say hell no with Alexander, but I trust Pollack to get the most out of him, and maybe it's not too late for him to coach-up Ogbuehi and at least create a solid competition because competition breeds excellence.

4. Josey Jewell Iowa ILB- I doubt he's there, but we need to take him if he is. A bit undersized for your traditional MLB, but the game is changing and we need a more mobile guy with agility emphasized more than size and power. I guess his size is why he's not rated higher, but this dude has all the intangibles and is always around the ball. He's a sneaky playmaker. Here are some highlgihts. I love this pick.

5. Jamarco Jones OSU tackle- I'm iffy on this pick because he has all the tools to be a monster but seems to lack motivation, be lazy, and give up big plays at points. I gotta trust Pollack to coach him up and get the most out of him. Not guaranteeing him a spot could make him hungry, make him play harder, and create a nice competition. If nothing else, he has time to become better and eventually take over for Fisher.

5©. Kemoko Turay Rutgers DE- I love this guy and think he'd be a steal here. He's a patient defender and can cover tight ends and backs out of the backfield, but, when he's allowed to be unleashed and get after the passer, he's a monster. That's where I think he excels for us- as a situational pass rusher that we put in on passing downs and just say "go get the quarterback." He's a steal here.

There's no videos that are just highlights, but watch some of this game film and see what I'm talking about.

6. Marcus Baugh OSU tight end- he was heavily underutilized at Ohio State, making him a sleeper, but he's 6'5 and has great straight-line speed, as well as the ability to get physical with linebackers and safeties. He struggles stopping and starting when running routes, which is fine because I just want him stretching defenses up the seam and keeping safeties and backers honest.

7. Brandon Mahon Penn State G- played tackle at Penn State and struggles against speed rushers from the edge, but is a great run blocker and would benefit from being moved inside to guard. He fits the AFC North style of play and I like him to open holes for Mixon and to protect Andy. At the very least, he offers some competition. I think he'd go a lot higher if he had played guard his entire collegiate career.

Thoughts?

[Hammerstripes]

1. Like the player, but I don't see the Bengals drafting a safety in round 1 with Williams and Iloka under contract. That's just not how they operate.

2. I would be shocked, hell I'd even bet my house that there is no way that Price is around in the second round when we pick.

The rest of it seems pretty good (and realistic).

[BFritz21]

(01-17-2018, 12:56 AM)Hammerstripes Wrote: 1.  Like the player, but I don't see the Bengals drafting a safety in round 1 with Williams and Iloka under contract.  That's just not how they operate.

2.  I would be shocked, hell I'd even bet my house that there is no way that Price is around in the second round when we pick.

The rest of it seems pretty good (and realistic).

1.  It's not how they operated under Mike Brown's typical calls, but Marvin says he has more control now, and he's a defensive guy, so a big upgrade at safety seems plausible.  

2.  He could be there when we pick and I think we just need him to get past the Vikings in the first round.  We could even trade up to make sure we got him.  We could take Bradley Bozeman out of Alabama if Price is gone or I like Frank Ragnow out of Arkansas (although that ankle injury does worry me).

[Jpoore]

Derwin james has been my guy since the season started and would love it if we took him, but I think I'm leaning towards not taking him and going with trumain Edmunds. Dude is an absolute monster. And price won't get past the Titans pick. He'll be gone by 25. He's the best c in draft and third best guard.

[J24]

Did Dillard enter the draft?

[CJD]

I know PFF isn't the best representation of how good a player is, but our two starting safeties were actually pretty good last year.

I put together a list of all the PFF ratings of our players this year by position:
https://imgur.com/a/FOjCC

I put it on a gradient from red to green to indicate the relative weaknesses of our team and, while our safeties were in the high 70s, which is considered average on a national scale, they were light green relative to our roster.

I am an advocate for BPA most of the time, but when I look at those areas for LB and OT, it really makes me sad haha. There's only 1 non-red OLineman, Boling, and there's only 1 non-red LB, Burfict (Bell is orange, but he played in clean up duty and is not considered a long term option by most).

The first round isn't the only round, but I'd feel pretty bad about any draft where we don't get a premium player at one of those two position groups with our highest and most impactful pick.

I salivate at the idea of having Derwin James roaming our back field but this is a year where we, unfortunately, need to focus a bit more on need than BPA, as gross as that is to say.

Good mock draft though if we were to go BPA :).

[SunsetBengal]

(01-18-2018, 10:40 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I know PFF isn't the best representation of how good a player is, but our two starting safeties were actually pretty good last year.

I put together a list of all the PFF ratings of our players this year by position:
https://imgur.com/a/FOjCC

I put it on a gradient from red to green to indicate the relative weaknesses of our team and, while our safeties were in the high 70s, which is considered average on a national scale, they were light green relative to our roster.

I am an advocate for BPA most of the time, but when I look at those areas for LB and OT, it really makes me sad haha. There's only 1 non-red OLineman, Boling, and there's only 1 non-red LB, Burfict (Bell is orange, but he played in clean up duty and is not considered a long term option by most).

The first round isn't the only round, but I'd feel pretty bad about any draft where we don't get a premium player at one of those two position groups with our highest and most impactful pick.

I salivate at the idea of having Derwin James roaming our back field but this is a year where we, unfortunately, need to focus a bit more on need than BPA, as gross as that is to say.

Good mock draft though if we were to go BPA :).

Glassgow scored a 71.2?  Impressive.

[CJD]

(01-18-2018, 11:46 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Glassgow scored a 71.2?  Impressive.

You know, I was actually surprised by that too. I was also surprised by Redmond's and Westerman's poor grades.

PFF is far from perfect, but I trust their numbers for players who played a full season more than for those who played 2 games, so I'll still hold out hope for our young guards :).

[SunsetBengal]

(01-18-2018, 11:54 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: You know, I was actually surprised by that too. I was also surprised by Redmond's and Westerman's poor grades.

PFF is far from perfect, but I trust their numbers for players who played a full season more than for those who played 2 games, so I'll still hold out hope for our young guards :).

While I want to remain optimistic about Westerman and Redmond, as well.  I'm also wary of this thing that I refer to as "fresh legs syndrome".  That is the phrase I use to explain guys looking good, coming off the bench late in the season, playing against guys that have been pounded on all season long.

I caught some static for that phrase, last season when I used it in reference to Rex Burkhead looking like a hidden superstar the last couple games of the season.

[Goalpost]

(01-18-2018, 10:40 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I know PFF isn't the best representation of how good a player is, but our two starting safeties were actually pretty good last year.

I put together a list of all the PFF ratings of our players this year by position:
https://imgur.com/a/FOjCC

I put it on a gradient from red to green to indicate the relative weaknesses of our team and, while our safeties were in the high 70s, which is considered average on a national scale, they were light green relative to our roster.

I am an advocate for BPA most of the time, but when I look at those areas for LB and OT, it really makes me sad haha. There's only 1 non-red OLineman, Boling, and there's only 1 non-red LB, Burfict (Bell is orange, but he played in clean up duty and is not considered a long term option by most).

The first round isn't the only round, but I'd feel pretty bad about any draft where we don't get a premium player at one of those two position groups with our highest and most impactful pick.

I salivate at the idea of having Derwin James roaming our back field but this is a year where we, unfortunately, need to focus a bit more on need than BPA, as gross as that is to say.

Good mock draft though if we were to go BPA :).

We actually could be worse at linebacker than o-line.  Burfict, while a great player, is far from reliable to complete a full season, be it from injury or suspension that will follow him throughout his career 

[leonardfan40]

I like the draft even though I don’t see any way we draft that many OL (even though we probably should).

I also think you’re way off on Jamarco Jones. He is a very balanced and consistent player and I think when all is said and done he’ll be a 2-3rd round pick. He should be a solid starter in the NFL for years. He’s experienced and played very well last year. Not sure where the “lazy” label came from but I haven’t seen that out of him. OSU has quietly been putting quality OL into the NFL since Urban took over, and they’ve got two more starters in this years draft imo

[Yojimbo]

(01-17-2018, 12:56 AM)Hammerstripes Wrote: 1. Like the player, but I don't see the Bengals drafting a safety in round 1 with Williams and Iloka under contract. That's just not how they operate.

2. I would be shocked, hell I'd even bet my house that there is no way that Price is around in the second round when we pick.

The rest of it seems pretty good (and realistic).

Isn’t that exactly how the Bengals operate? Draft for the future. They’re both up in 2020, better get a first rounder in the pipeline.

Seriously though, James is such a versatile player he could be on the field at the same time as Iloka and Williams, as a LB or CB or he could contribute early as a returner. I don’t have any faith in the Bengals being creative with a special player, though.

[BFritz21]

(01-19-2018, 11:01 PM)Yojimbo Wrote: Isn’t that exactly how the Bengals operate? Draft for the future. They’re both up in 2020, better get a first rounder in the pipeline.

Seriously though, James is such a versatile player he could be on the field at the same time as Iloka and Williams, as a LB or CB or he could contribute early as a returner. I don’t have any faith in the Bengals being creative with a special player, though.

Or even as a defensive end..........  but I agree that I have no confidence with them being creative with any player.

[TKUHL]

(01-17-2018, 12:28 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: 1.  It's not how they operated under Mike Brown's typical calls, but Marvin says he has more control now, and he's a defensive guy, so a big upgrade at safety seems plausible.  

2.  He could be there when we pick and I think we just need him to get past the Vikings in the first round.  We could even trade up to make sure we got him.  We could take Bradley Bozeman out of Alabama if Price is gone or I like Frank Ragnow out of Arkansas (although that ankle injury does worry me).

Didn't the Vikes just draft Elflein, why would they go C early again.

[*Go Cards*]

(01-18-2018, 10:40 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I know PFF isn't the best representation of how good a player is, but our two starting safeties were actually pretty good last year.

I put together a list of all the PFF ratings of our players this year by position:
https://imgur.com/a/FOjCC

I put it on a gradient from red to green to indicate the relative weaknesses of our team and, while our safeties were in the high 70s, which is considered average on a national scale, they were light green relative to our roster.

I am an advocate for BPA most of the time, but when I look at those areas for LB and OT, it really makes me sad haha. There's only 1 non-red OLineman, Boling, and there's only 1 non-red LB, Burfict (Bell is orange, but he played in clean up duty and is not considered a long term option by most).

The first round isn't the only round, but I'd feel pretty bad about any draft where we don't get a premium player at one of those two position groups with our highest and most impactful pick.

I salivate at the idea of having Derwin James roaming our back field but this is a year where we, unfortunately, need to focus a bit more on need than BPA, as gross as that is to say.

Good mock draft though if we were to go BPA :).

Good stuff.

Mixon in the green and Bernard in the yellow is not going to sit well with Bfine. 

Expect a rebuttal. 

 

[pulses]

(01-18-2018, 10:40 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I know PFF isn't the best representation of how good a player is, but our two starting safeties were actually pretty good last year.

I put together a list of all the PFF ratings of our players this year by position:
https://imgur.com/a/FOjCC

I put it on a gradient from red to green to indicate the relative weaknesses of our team and, while our safeties were in the high 70s, which is considered average on a national scale, they were light green relative to our roster.

I am an advocate for BPA most of the time, but when I look at those areas for LB and OT, it really makes me sad haha. There's only 1 non-red OLineman, Boling, and there's only 1 non-red LB, Burfict (Bell is orange, but he played in clean up duty and is not considered a long term option by most).

The first round isn't the only round, but I'd feel pretty bad about any draft where we don't get a premium player at one of those two position groups with our highest and most impactful pick.

I salivate at the idea of having Derwin James roaming our back field but this is a year where we, unfortunately, need to focus a bit more on need than BPA, as gross as that is to say.

Good mock draft though if we were to go BPA :).

We definitely need multiple new LB's .

[*ochocincos*]

(01-18-2018, 12:00 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: While I want to remain optimistic about Westerman and Redmond, as well.  I'm also wary of this thing that I refer to as "fresh legs syndrome".  That is the phrase I use to explain guys looking good, coming off the bench late in the season, playing against guys that have been pounded on all season long.

I caught some static for that phrase, last season when I used it in reference to Rex Burkhead looking like a hidden superstar the last couple games of the season.

I have more hope for Westerman than I do for Redmond. Westerman was considered a 2nd-to-3rd round pick by many analysts, and I agreed with that based on what I read/watched leading up to the 2016 draft. I still believe he can become a quality starter.