SHRacerX Mock 11.0: How I think the Bengals do it

[*SHRacerX*]

No trades, and not overwhelmingly sexy, but solid finds by round that meet the Bengal's criteria:

Your Picks:
Round 1 Pick 1: Joe Burrow, QB, LSU (A+): No shit

Round 2 Pick 1: Patrick Queen, ILB, LSU (A-): I don't believe they would trade back if he is there. He may be a bit lighter than ideal for a Bengal LB, but the game is changing and speed is the name of the game. Far from a finished product, and an immediate starter.

Round 3 Pick 1: Kyle Dugger, SS/FS, Lenoir-Rhyne (A): Though I couldn't believe he was still here, a small school safety could slide since there are other bigger-school options. This kid is the alpha-dog I want in the middle of the secondary.

Round 4 Pick 1: Van Jefferson, WR, Florida (A+): A great Senior Bowl week didn't pull him out of the really deep WR class. His QB sucked, or he would have gone higher. I am praying he is there...Bryan Edwards is another guy the Bengals like. One of them should be here.

Round 5 Pick 1: Saahdiq Charles, OT/OG, LSU (A+): Has surprisingly slid due to character issues. Played a solid RT at LSU, but I see him as a RG here.

Round 6 Pick 1: Evan Weaver, ILB/OLB, California (A+): Savvy tackling machine. Won't wow with the traits but always finds the ball. Solo tackling numbers are insane.

Round 7 Pick 1: McTelvin Agim, DT, Arkansas (A+): Only one year at DT, but a strong fire-plug with some athleticism from his DE background that helps spell Geno from time to time.

I could see our draft looking a hell of a lot like this one.

[Whatever]

(04-08-2020, 10:20 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: No trades, and not overwhelmingly sexy, but solid finds by round that meet the Bengal's criteria:

Your Picks:
Round 1 Pick 1: Joe Burrow, QB, LSU (A+):  No shit

Round 2 Pick 1: Patrick Queen, ILB, LSU (A-):  I don't believe they would trade back if he is there.  He may be a bit lighter than ideal for a Bengal LB, but the game is changing and speed is the name of the game.  Far from a finished product, and an immediate starter.

Round 3 Pick 1: Kyle Dugger, SS/FS, Lenoir-Rhyne (A):  Though I couldn't believe he was still here, a small school safety could slide since there are other bigger-school options.  This kid is the alpha-dog I want in the middle of the secondary.

Round 4 Pick 1: Van Jefferson, WR, Florida (A+):  A great Senior Bowl week didn't pull him out of the really deep WR class.  His QB sucked, or he would have gone higher.  I am praying he is there...Bryan Edwards is another guy the Bengals like.  One of them should be here.

Round 5 Pick 1: Saahdiq Charles, OT/OG, LSU (A+):  Has surprisingly slid due to character issues.  Played a solid RT at LSU, but I see him as a RG here.

Round 6 Pick 1: Evan Weaver, ILB/OLB, California (A+):  Savvy tackling machine.  Won't wow with the traits but always finds the ball.  Solo tackling numbers are insane.

Round 7 Pick 1: McTelvin Agim, DT, Arkansas (A+):  Only one year at DT, but a strong fire-plug with some athleticism from his DE background that helps spell Geno from time to time.  

I could see our draft looking a  hell of a lot like this one.

There is no way this is what the Bengals are doing.  

Dugger is a pipe dream.  The last time the Bengals spent a Day 2 pick on a D2 prospect was when they took Jerome Simpson back in 2008.  On top of that, they are loaded at S, so there's no need to gamble on him.  They are also not spending both day 2 picks on defense after signing 5 starters and 6 total UFA's on defense.  There's also no way they are spending 4 of 7 draft picks on defense.

Literally every player on Day 2 and 3 of this draft has serious flags.  Queen's a one year starter with only 2-3 good games.  Dugger is a small school project player.  Jefferson just had surgery on a broken foot and has no workout numbers.  Charles has character issues.  Weaver has a weight problem.  Agim is inexperienced at his position. You can slide 1-2 of these guys into a draft, but all of them together is insanely high-risk.

Not to mention that you're doing nothing to help Burrow.  "Yeah, Joe, we got your college teammate a a backup T.  We drafted an injured WR in the 4th to go with our 3 other WR's that are always hurt.  We signed a 3rd tier G in FA, though.  Oh, and we got Mike Thomas...oh no, not THAT Mike Thomas. We think he can help on ST's, though.  Go out there and win us that SB."

[Hammerstripes]

(04-08-2020, 12:56 PM)Whatever Wrote: There is no way this is what the Bengals are doing.  

Dugger is a pipe dream.  The last time the Bengals spent a Day 2 pick on a D2 prospect was when they took Jerome Simpson back in 2008.  On top of that, they are loaded at S, so there's no need to gamble on him.  They are also not spending both day 2 picks on defense after signing 5 starters and 6 total UFA's on defense.  There's also no way they are spending 4 of 7 draft picks on defense.

Literally every player on Day 2 and 3 of this draft has serious flags.  Queen's a one year starter with only 2-3 good games.  Dugger is a small school project player.  Jefferson just had surgery on a broken foot and has no workout numbers.  Charles has character issues.  Weaver has a weight problem.  Agim is inexperienced at his position. You can slide 1-2 of these guys into a draft, but all of them together is insanely high-risk.

Not to mention that you're doing nothing to help Burrow.  "Yeah, Joe, we got your college teammate a a backup T.  We drafted an injured WR in the 4th to go with our 3 other WR's that are always hurt.  We signed a 3rd tier G in FA, though.  Oh, and we got Mike Thomas...oh no, not THAT Mike Thomas. We think he can help on ST's, though.  Go out there and win us that SB."

Normally I would agree with you, but does anyone really know what the Bengals are doing this year?  They've been so "anti-Bengal" with their activity in free agency.

I think the defense is undergoing much more of a change than we actually realize.  I don't think we are loaded at safety.  I see couple guys that fit as "big nickel" type LBs in Bell and Williams and one guy that covers fairly well in Bates.  I wouldn't be the least bit shocked to see a guy like Winfield or Delpit at #33.

I also think we will be running more 3-4 type concepts.  I could see a bigger 5-T defensive end like Raekwon Davis or Epenesa at some point in the draft.

[Whatever]

(04-08-2020, 01:26 PM)Hammerstripes Wrote: Normally I would agree with you, but does anyone really know what the Bengals are doing this year?  They've been so "anti-Bengal" with their activity in free agency.

I think the defense is undergoing much more of a change than we actually realize.  I don't think we are loaded at safety.  I see couple guys that fit as "big nickel" type LBs in Bell and Williams and one guy that covers fairly well in Bates.  I wouldn't be the least bit shocked to see a guy like Winfield or Delpit at #33.

I also think we will be running more 3-4 type concepts.  I could see a bigger 5-T defensive end like Raekwon Davis or Epenesa at some point in the draft.

Thing is, if you're running a lot of big nickel out of a 3-4 base, adding both stack LB's and SS's is diminishing returns.  You pull a stack LB off the field when you go nickel, meaning you're usually only playing one stack LB if you're spending most of your time in big nickel.  This draft combined with our FA would have us adding 3 stack LB's and 2 SS's to spots where you would usually only have 1-2 of them on the field.  

DE could stand an upgrade, but they have lots of guys with the.traits to be a 5t.  Atkins, obviously, but they have Andrew Brown, Glasgow(if healthy), and Dunlap can play 5t or edge.  Wren has the traits to play NT or 5t.  Reader has also played some 5t, and I can see him there in some heavy sets with Tupou at NT.

I think big points people are missing are the Bengals were in trade talks for Hopkins and Trent Williams, as well as having interest in Jason Peters.  Those are big names at T and WR, indicating they see them as big needs.  Hard to see them punting to day 3 on both of those.

[*SHRacerX*]

(04-08-2020, 01:26 PM)Hammerstripes Wrote: Normally I would agree with you, but does anyone really know what the Bengals are doing this year?  They've been so "anti-Bengal" with their activity in free agency.

I think the defense is undergoing much more of a change than we actually realize.  I don't think we are loaded at safety.  I see couple guys that fit as "big nickel" type LBs in Bell and Williams and one guy that covers fairly well in Bates.  I wouldn't be the least bit shocked to see a guy like Winfield or Delpit at #33.

I also think we will be running more 3-4 type concepts.  I could see a bigger 5-T defensive end like Raekwon Davis or Epenesa at some point in the draft.

If the Bengals are going to play some three safety packages, they need more than what they have and especially guys that can cover.  Dugger does both of those things.  We are far from loaded at safety.  We have four incomplete players.  Bates is a solid center fielder that has tackling issues.  Wilson lacks the intincts for coverage and both Bell and Williams are better as nickel backers.  That is where Shawn played 500 snaps last year.  I think Dugger gives them a better long term upgrade over Williams with better flexibility and they don't have to rush him given Bell's arrival.  They also lost Feg.  Dugger is a beast.  He would help immediately on special teams and could push Williams out of a job.  

Epenesa makes a lot of sense if he is there at 33 as well.  I would be thrilled with him or Queen.  It didn't happen in this mock, but Tanner Muse is a guy that could be had in later rounds as an OLB.  He won't be a safety in the NFL.  I like his experience and his ability to always be near the ball.