Always take a lineman in first?

[bengals67]

I would love to hear thoughts on whether an NFL team should always consider taking a lineman in the first- barring the opportunity for a QB or a truly transitional player like AJ.

It seems to me that good RBs and WRs can be had in later rounds.

It also seems to me that a great D line sets up the LBs and the DBs.

Thoughts?

[BengalChris]

(05-10-2019, 10:09 AM)bengals67 Wrote: I would love to hear thoughts on whether an NFL team should always consider taking a lineman in the first- barring the opportunity for a QB or a truly transitional player like AJ.

It seems to me that good RBs and WRs can be had in later rounds.

It also seems to me that a great D line sets up the LBs and the DBs.

Thoughts?

None of our D linemen are 1st round picks and that includes Dunlap and Atkins. On the offensive side of the ball, Whitworth was a 2nd round pick, as was Boling.

It's hard to find top cover corners in the 3rd and beyond and often even in the 2nd round. Most of the top corners in the league were 1st round picks. There are some exceptions to this, but for the most part teams know the corners pretty well.

What positions are "HOT" in the draft vary as time goes on.

Our LBing corp has no one taken higher than the 3rd round and it shows as this is the team's worst unit.

So, I'd say no to such a drafting policy.

[Bengalitis]

(05-10-2019, 10:09 AM)bengals67 Wrote: I would love to hear thoughts on whether an NFL team should always consider taking a lineman in the first- barring the opportunity for a QB or a truly transitional player like AJ.

It seems to me that good RBs and WRs can be had in later rounds.

It also seems to me that a great D line sets up the LBs and the DBs.

Thoughts?

I think this has been the squeelers strategy for the last 30 yrs or so.

[depthchart]

(05-10-2019, 10:09 AM)bengals67 Wrote: I would love to hear thoughts on whether an NFL team should always consider taking a lineman in the first- barring the opportunity for a QB or a truly transitional player like AJ.

It seems to me that good RBs and WRs can be had in later rounds.

It also seems to me that a great D line sets up the LBs and the DBs.

Thoughts?

Tom Coughlin seems to be doing a form of this but he gets at least one lineman in the first two rounds.


2017  -  (1sr round) RB Leonard Fournette      (2nd round)   OT Cam Robinson

2018  -  (1st round) DT Taven Bryan            (2nd round)  WR DJ Chark

2019  -  (1st round) DE Josh Allen                (2nd round) OT Jawaan Taylor


Four of Tom Coughlin's 6 picks above in the first two rounds were Lineman.

I would lean towards this Tom Coughlin type of strategy but not pass on a Great player at another position just to get a Lineman.

As they say, you win in the trenches.

[THE PISTONS]

Well, I think you should take lineman high occasionally, but with the pay some positions earn in free agency at certain positions and the slotted rookie contracts, I think it makes sense to take other positions.

[Fan_in_Kettering]

If a team has an existing offensive line which already plays well, then it’s not necessary to take an offensive lineman in the first round. However, this is not the case in Cincinnati...

[SunsetBengal]

I think that in order to have a great team, winning the battles at the line of scrimmage is critical to sustained success. However, once a team already has great lines in place, I don't see it as critical to having to look at an OL or DL at the top of every draft. Once the lines are good and established, depth can be found via BPA in mid rounds to develop into eventual starters.

The Bengals just happened to have a double swing and miss, in the 2015 draft that left them at a serious deficit of OL talent on hand. Compounding was the fact that several of the late round/UDFAs they had on the bench haven't developed into dominating starters, either.

[OSUfan]

Hard for a QB to be successful without a good O line. I always think you have to look at what is available in the first when it comes to the O line but it is also relative to the make up of your team as well and the value of what is there with each selection.