First Mock of the Year

[PikesPeakUC]

Giving it a shot. It probably won't go this way, but I tried to focus on getting the best player available, though it worked out with hitting a few needs, too.


1. Joe Burrow - QB, LSU

I don't really think there's anything else I need to explain.


2. Patrick Queen - LB, LSU

Athletic linebacker that can play three downs. Had a great season for LSU and would slot in right away as a starting linebacker for us. We severely lack speed on defense and he would give us a major boost.

3. Robert Hunt - OL, Louisiana

Hunt played outside at ULL, but will probably move inside in the pros. He needs some polishing, but he's got a ton of strength and mobility that could put him in the starting line right away.

4. Ben Bartch - OT, St. John's

Word out of Mobile was that Turner loved coaching up Bartch, so I'm taking a shot that the Bengals scoop him up here. He's a talented and raw offensive line prospect, but has a chance to make a difference down the line.

5. Troy Pride - CB, Notre Dame

Another Senior Bowl guy who had a good week. There are still some concerns when it comes to getting off blocks and his length, but he made some strides and his stock is rising.

6. Justin Strnad - LB, Wake Forest

Strnad struggled with tackling, but has the range and athleticism to play at the next level. He's more of a developmental guy, but can play weakside and use his speed to get to a play. He oftentimes overplays with a high motor, but I'll take that over hesitation.

7. Aaron Parker - WR, Rhode Island

Small-school wide out with playmaking ability that fell under the radar. His size is his most tantalizing attribute and getting him late may reveal another end of the draft diamond at Wide Receiver like Auden Tate.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

As long as we either re-sign AJ to an incentive laden contract or bring another weapon in in FA I think this would be a
great Draft. Need to have some weapons for Burrow to work with and AJ, Ross and Eifert have significant injury histories.

But the Line and LB's are helped immensely with this Draft which is what we need the most besides staying healthy.

Like it a lot Pikespeak, great job man. A lot of players I haven't heard about after the Queen pick.

[PikesPeakUC]

(01-30-2020, 08:23 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: As long as we either re-sign AJ to an incentive laden contract or bring another weapon in in FA I think this would be a
great Draft. Need to have some weapons for Burrow to work with and AJ, Ross and Eifert have significant injury histories.

But the Line and LB's are helped immensely with this Draft which is what we need the most besides staying healthy.

Like it a lot Pikespeak, great job man. A lot of players I haven't heard about after the Queen pick.

I worry that Queen won't be there, so that may end up being a WR spot. I feel like we'll have a lot of options there to get a playmaker, either outside or on the interior of the DL.

I read a few pieces where Turner raved about Bartch during the Senior Bowl week, so I could see that one happening the most. 

Thanks for the feedback! I try to judge based on multiple rankings, so it's tough once you get past the first round or so.

[SunsetBengal]

Not bad, but I have a couple of fundamental criticisms. I'm doubtful that Queen will be there at 33, and with that said, you have one other LB on your draft, but you say that he has tackling issues.

Tackling issues, from a LB??? Tackling is THE most important, fundamental skill that MUST be possessed by any man wanting to play defense on a football team. I mean, if the guy can't even be counted on to tackle, he's not even valuable on Special Teams. I don't care how fast he runs, or how many passes he can deflect, because he can't possibly defend all the passes and THEN we need him to make an instant, sure tackle.

Honestly, I know that he was one of your late round picks, but why even bother? A late round LB that has tackling issues has little to no chance of sticking on an NFL roster. Might as well have went with a sure tackling S, CB, or a late round WR in that spot. (there are enough WRs in this draft that there will be quality guys left in the 6th round)

[SadFaceBengal15]

I hope to god we don’t draft a dude like
Ben Bartch lol who are we trying to impress. To me that’d be like when we drafted nick vigil. We needed a linebacker and u draft the most ridiculous one with a man bun and a porn stash and here we are in the 4th going with a small school guy with the name of Ben Bartch who looks like a dumpster. No no no. Don’t care what anyone says both vigil like I said from the get go and Bartch will Not be good nfl Football players. Bring on the squares and haters I don’t care but no thank you, next.
Queens a beast tho.

[PikesPeakUC]

(01-30-2020, 09:28 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Not bad, but I have a couple of fundamental criticisms.  I'm doubtful that Queen will be there at 33, and with that said, you have one other LB on your draft, but you say that he has tackling issues.

Tackling issues, from a LB???  Tackling is THE most important, fundamental skill that MUST be possessed by any man wanting to play defense on a football team.  I mean, if the guy can't even be counted on to tackle, he's not even valuable on Special Teams.  I don't care how fast he runs, or how many passes he can deflect, because he can't possibly defend all the passes and THEN we need him to make an instant, sure tackle.

Honestly, I know that he was one of your late round picks, but why even bother?  A late round LB that has tackling issues has little to no chance of sticking on an NFL roster.  Might as well have went with a sure tackling S, CB, or a late round WR in that spot. (there are enough WRs in this draft that there will be quality guys left in the 6th round)

That's fair. A lot of the criticism is that he'd overplay and miss the tackle rather than squaring up and hitting his target. I'm not saying it's an issue where he can't tackle, just that a lot of the times he'd go in like a missile and miss instead. I think with coaching ( hopefully ) you could get him to work on play recognition and slow the game down just a bit for him so that he could be more consistent with his play. I think it's easier to clean up things like that and work with raw tools then if someone was average across the board, though I was on the Malik Jefferson train, so I may not be the best judge. 

I do think there's a scenario where we leave this draft without drafting a linebacker. I hesitated putting Queen in because of how high he's moving, but for now I'm going to be hopeful. Ultimately I did, but I'm sure the next one of these I do will have a different result and will probably land with an interior pass rusher or receiver. 

[PikesPeakUC]

(01-31-2020, 01:16 AM)SadFaceBengal15 Wrote: I hope to god we don’t draft a dude like
Ben Bartch lol who are we trying to impress.  To me that’d be like when we drafted nick vigil.  We needed a linebacker and u draft the most ridiculous one with a man bun and a porn stash and here we are in the 4th going with a small school guy with the name of Ben Bartch who looks like a dumpster.  No no no.  Don’t care what anyone says both vigil like I said from the get go and Bartch will Not be good nfl Football players.  Bring on the squares and haters I don’t care but no thank you, next.
Queens a beast tho.

I don't necessarily disagree, but the trend recently has been teams drafting guys that they've coached at the Senior Bowl and Turner continued to rave about Bartch. Would I rather have someone else? Probably. But I think there's a likelihood that they take a shot on him after seeing him up close. 

[SunsetBengal]

(01-31-2020, 02:16 AM)PikesPeakUC Wrote: That's fair. A lot of the criticism is that he'd overplay and miss the tackle rather than squaring up and hitting his target. I'm not saying it's an issue where he can't tackle, just that a lot of the times he'd go in like a missile and miss instead. I think with coaching ( hopefully ) you could get him to work on play recognition and slow the game down just a bit for him so that he could be more consistent with his play. I think it's easier to clean up things like that and work with raw tools then if someone was average across the board, though I was on the Malik Jefferson train, so I may not be the best judge. 

I do think there's a scenario where we leave this draft without drafting a linebacker. I hesitated putting Queen in because of how high he's moving, but for now I'm going to be hopeful. Ultimately I did, but I'm sure the next one of these I do will have a different result and will probably land with an interior pass rusher or receiver. 

I think that Queen is a great choice who may or may not be there.  You know how the draft goes, some guys will go earlier than expected while others slip a little and are unexpectedly available when the pick rolls around.

[*bengalfan74*]

(01-30-2020, 08:23 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: As long as we either re-sign AJ to an incentive laden contract or bring another weapon in in FA I think this would be a
great Draft. Need to have some weapons for Burrow to work with and AJ, Ross and Eifert have significant injury histories.

But the Line and LB's are helped immensely with this Draft which is what we need the most besides staying healthy.

Like it a lot Pikespeak, great job man. A lot of players I haven't heard about after the Queen pick.

I'll be quite honest, our receivers scare me. It's the main reason I hope we trade some players for picks and are active in the top end of free agency. I'd love to see us either take a couple mid round WR/TE's or pick up a vet in free agency. I just don't trust those guys can stay on the field and who knows if AJ will even stick around ?

If we get a real Olineman an vet LBer in free agency that will give us some leverage in the draft and ability to go BPA which may be a receiver and we need some insurance there IMO.

[Truck_1_0_1_]

Bartch would be great; he's a lot like Ali Marpet, in that they are hardworking, high motor guys that play tough and can be versatile (also that they went to DIII schools).

Also like Marpet, his ascent was very similar; they went from being low-division, nobody guys, to rapidly ascending in workouts and all-star games, finally culminating in a good combine (Bartch hasn't had that yet) and drafted well.

I'd be cool with Bartch in the 3rd even, really.

(01-31-2020, 01:16 AM)SadFaceBengal15 Wrote: I hope to god we don’t draft a dude like
Ben Bartch lol who are we trying to impress. To me that’d be like when we drafted nick vigil. We needed a linebacker and u draft the most ridiculous one with a man bun and a porn stash and here we are in the 4th going with a small school guy with the name of Ben Bartch who looks like a dumpster.

WTF does a statement like that even mean? Who cares what they look like or what school they went do (Vigil went to Utah State, which isn't a small school, developmental-type situation)? If they can help the team and progress, that's all that matters.

People are nuts this morning.

[SadFaceBengal15]

(01-31-2020, 11:38 AM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: Bartch would be great; he's a lot like Ali Marpet, in that they are hardworking, high motor guys that play tough and can be versatile (also that they went to DIII schools).

Also like Marpet, his ascent was very similar; they went from being low-division, nobody guys, to rapidly ascending in workouts and all-star games, finally culminating in a good combine (Bartch hasn't had that yet) and drafted well.

I'd be cool with Bartch in the 3rd even, really.


WTF does a statement like that even mean? Who cares what they look like or what school they went do (Vigil went to Utah State, which isn't a small school, developmental-type situation)? If they can help the team and progress, that's all that matters.

People are nuts this morning.

Vigil blows and doesn’t help the team. Bartch would just be the next Christian westerman. No thanks.

[Okeana]

(01-31-2020, 01:16 AM)SadFaceBengal15 Wrote: I hope to god we don’t draft a dude like
Ben Bartch lol who are we trying to impress.  To me that’d be like when we drafted nick vigil.  We needed a linebacker and u draft the most ridiculous one with a man bun and a porn stash and here we are in the 4th going with a small school guy with the name of Ben Bartch who looks like a dumpster.  No no no.  Don’t care what anyone says both vigil like I said from the get go and Bartch will Not be good nfl Football players.  Bring on the squares and haters I don’t care but no thank you, next.
Queens a beast tho.

IQ 40

[SadFaceBengal15]

(02-01-2020, 10:21 PM)Okeana Wrote: IQ 40

Lmao

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(01-31-2020, 10:10 AM)bengalfan74 Wrote: I'll be quite honest, our receivers scare me. It's the main reason I hope we trade some players for picks and are active in the top end of free agency. I'd love to see us either take a couple mid round WR/TE's or pick up a vet in free agency. I just don't trust those guys can stay on the field and who knows if AJ will even stick around ?

If we get a real Olineman an vet LBer in free agency that will give us some leverage in the draft and ability to go BPA which may be a receiver and we need some insurance there IMO.

Luckily it is a very deep Draft for WR's. So true, hope we get a decent Lineman and LB in FA to free up the Draft.

We just cannot count on AJ, Eifert or Ross to stay healthy from history.