1st complete off season

[Crowe]

Here is my official first mock + offseason. I use spotrac.com for my contracts and free agency if anyone is wondering.

We saw the Bengals front office act aggressively this offseason and I think it was the right decision, however, a couple of our prized FA were injured. I don't think this should deter the team from being active again. We have a number of guys that should be in their final year as Bengals so letting these guys go via cut or end of contract frees up a lot of cap space for us to use.


Cut Players
Geno Atkins - savings 9.6mil
Bobby Hart - savings 5.9mil
CJ Uzo- savings 5.25mil
Billy Price - savings 2.077mil
Cut or Trade Gio - savings 4.1mil

Key Players left to walk

AJ Green
John Ross
William Jackson
Shawn Williams
Randy Bullock
Alex Erickson
Cethan Carter
Leshawn Sims
Mike Daniels
Josh Bynes

Cap Space

68.375mil

Free Agent Signings

Carl Lawson - 3yr/6.5mil per

Kevin Huber - 2yr/2mil per

Mack Alexander - 3yr/5mil per

Brandon Wilson - 2yr/1.5mil per

Christian Covington - 1yr/1.3mil per

Outside Free Agents
Josh Reynolds - 3yr/3-4mil - long athletic build,  would have a chance to compete for snaps with Tate and Rookie WR
Leonard Williams - 4yr/8-9mil - has the size and athleticism to allow us to run a 3-4/4-3 hybrid with Williams playing edge, reader playing NT and Hubbard, and the next guy on my list playing opposite.
Ryan Kerrigan - 3yr/8-9mil - He's 32 but man has he been productive. Ryan would be great to rotate with Hubbard, Leonard, Lawson and Khalid Kareem. Also brings some good vet leadership and pairing Kerrigan and Williams together allows us to go back to what made our line so good with not only providing a great pass rush but keeping bodies fresh.
Ahkello Witherspoon - 2yr/4mil - has the size to be elite and has flashed throughout his 4 years, but he needs to be consistent. Adding him to a group of Waynes, Phillips, and Alexander means he has an opportunity to start.


Remaining Cap Space
29.075mil
Enough for rookies and injuries

Possible Coaching Changes
Head Coach - Depending on what happens to Taylor I'd like to make a run at Robert Salah
Def Coor - Lou has to go, I'd bring in Wade Phillips 
Off Coor - If you can grab Joe Brady, if not let's see what Brian Callahan can truly do
Line Coach - Make a run at Bill Callahan if you can if not look at a guy like Kyle Flood at Alabama

2021 NFL Draft
So onto the draft. Now most of us including myself are hoping for Sewell at 3, but with the Jets Losing it could open them up to either trading back or drafting Sewell if they are not sold on Fields or Wilson from BYU. In this scenario, this is exactly what happens and Sewell is not available. So what did I do, I thought outside of the box and knew that I had to find a trade partner on a trade that I believe could be very realistic. this is where the Indianapolis Colts come into play. The colts have a solid roster from top to bottom and play in an ok division, They have a very young team and good core on defense and a great offensive line, what they lack is a top-end WR and the most important position the future at QB. They have Rivers, but he's old and it's been showing the last couple of seasons. Yea they drafted a guy this year, but he was a late-round pick for a reason. The Colts are going to want to capitalize on the overall youth of their roster so I believe they would be willing to make a trade to get the top echelon signal caller.

So what do they give up to move up to the 3rd pick. Well they give up their 1st and 2nd rounders this year, pick 24 and 56, their 2nd round pick next year, and the player that I'm hoping we can pull from them, Quenton Nelson. Yes, he's a great lineman, but their overall line is pretty damn good so losing a player of his caliber, while it will hurt, they should still be able to manage the loss. They would have enough draft capital left to add some lineman as well as being able to probably sign a veteran for less. 

With that being said here is my draft.

Round 1
Zaven Collins LB Tulsa - We just drafted 3 lb'ers this year, but if we do transition to a 3-4, we'll need a couple of more. Collins is a freak of an athlete and he would give us great athleticism on the outside allowing us to move Logan Wilson inside with Pratt.

Round 2 
Patrick Jones Edge Pittsburgh - The panthers have a great dline and Jones is the premier player on it. We've lacked in the pass rush dept something serious this year. He helps fix this along with Lawson, Kerrigan, Hubbard, Kareem, and Williams, we now have a plethora of rushers that can play edge and outside rush lb

Jaylen Tywman DT Pittsburgh - Here is one of the other monsters along pitts line. He has a chance to come in and be our aaron donald/geno atkins type player. We've seen how bad the DT spot got hit with injuries and opt outs this year.

Round 3
Dillon Radunz OT North Dakota - No I didn't forget about getting Joe protection. Adding Dillon to a line of Jonah, Quenton, Finney/Hopkins, Spain(if resigned)/XSF would be great. That would allow us to continue to use Hakeem Adenji as our extra tackle as well as Fred Johnson and it would also mean that Jordan goes to the bench and sits and learns as he's been below average

Round 4
Anthony Schwartz WR Auburn - Smooth soft handed WR. Good height, but will need to add a few pounds. Gives us a nice option if Tate or Reynolds underperforms or gets injured

Round 5
Alec Lindstrom C  Boston College - Has the pedigree as his dad and brother both played/play in the NFL. Was a top-rated center this season and allows us to get creative on the interior. Could move Hopkins to RG or to backup G/C same with Finney.

Round 6
Trey Sermon RB Ohio State - Gives us some depth. I released Gio due to money as well as getting Mixon back, but it never hurts to grab a guy who can carry the load from time to time, but at a fraction of the cost.

Round 7 
Alaric Jackson OT Iowa - Was once a highly rated prospect. I saw last year there were talks of him going early rounds. He drops and for us that's great. We grab a guy we get to groom who hopefully lives up to his potential.

Quentin Lake S UCLA - Gives us a guy to groom behind Bates, Bell, and Wilson. He battles Trayveon Henderson for the last safety spot

[J24]

Carl Lawson will be getting paid at the very minimum 15 million and probably more and leonard Williams will be getting close to 20 million.
I like the draft but the Colts are not giving up on Quintin Nelson in fact I see them trading for a guy like Wentz or Darnold so I don't see them trading up that much. Maybe for a guy like Chase but not a QB.

[Crowe]

(12-24-2020, 02:32 AM)J24 Wrote: Carl Lawson will be getting paid at the very minimum 15 million and probably more and leonard Williams will be getting close to 20 million.
I like the draft but the Colts are not giving up on Quintin Nelson in fact I see them trading for a guy like Wentz or Darnold so I don't see them trading up that much. Maybe for a guy like Chase but not a QB.

I think you may be off on your valuation of lawson and Williams. Could they get more than the projected 8-9 mil, maybe. Spotrac has Williams valued at 8mil per year and I don't think Lawson is any better plus he has some durability concerns. As far as the trade it's a crapshoot, it could work for both teams, but I can't see the colts wasting a roster spot on a guy like Darnold to lead them anywhere, maybe Wentz, but he has regressed badly and the colts window is open to compete now. Either way, if it could work out similar to this I'd be thrilled. The team definitely needs to improve in the trenches and in the pass rush dept.

[J24]

(12-24-2020, 01:12 PM)Crowe Wrote: I think you may be off on your valuation of lawson and Williams. Could they get more than the projected 8-9 mil, maybe. Spotrac has Williams valued at 8mil per year and I don't think Lawson is any better plus he has some durability concerns. As far as the trade it's a crapshoot, it could work for both teams, but I can't see the colts wasting a roster spot on a guy like Darnold to lead them anywhere, maybe Wentz, but he has regressed badly and the colts window is open to compete now. Either way, if it could work out similar to this I'd be thrilled. The team definitely needs to improve in the trenches and in the pass rush dept.

William is getting 16 million right now and Lawson is a top 10 in pressures. Both will be payed this off-season.

[schroomytunes]

Here's my take on your mock/offseason:

Cut Players

1) Geno Atkins-9.6
2) Bobby Hart- 5.9

total= 15.5

Players walking:
1) AJ
2) John Ross
3) William Jackson- someone will way overpay!/ and we will use Darius Phillips
4) Shawn Williams
5) Randy Bullock
6) leshawn Sims
7) Carl Lawson- someone will way overpay!!
8) Cethan Carter
9) Mike Daniels
10) Quentin Spain


Re-signs:

1) Brandon Wilson- S/KR
2) Josh Bynes-LB
3) Christian Covington-DT
4) Mike Thomas-WR
5) Kevin Huber-P
6) Clark Harris-LS
7) Mackenzie Alexander-CB


Outside Free Agents:

1) Josh Reynolds-WR-Rams- he slides into the #3/4 role
2) Kevin King-CB- Packers- #2/3 CB
3) Morgan Fox- DE Rams- adds DE depth
4) Jermaine Elumanor- RG Patriots huge guard to protect Burrow
5) Daryl Williams RT- Bills- gotta protect Joe

Draft:
1-3 rounds

1) Greg Rousseau-DE UM- traded back
2) Christian Barmore-DT Alabama
2b) Liam Eichenberg- T Notre Dame
3) Terrace Marshall-WR LSU

[kalibengal]

(12-24-2020, 12:00 AM)Crowe Wrote: Here is my official first mock + offseason. I use spotrac.com for my contracts and free agency if anyone is wondering.

We saw the Bengals front office act aggressively this offseason and I think it was the right decision, however, a couple of our prized FA were injured. I don't think this should deter the team from being active again. We have a number of guys that should be in their final year as Bengals so letting these guys go via cut or end of contract frees up a lot of cap space for us to use.


Cut Players
Geno Atkins - savings 9.6mil
Bobby Hart - savings 5.9mil
CJ Uzo- savings 5.25mil
Billy Price - savings 2.077mil
Cut or Trade Gio - savings 4.1mil

Key Players left to walk

AJ Green
John Ross
William Jackson
Shawn Williams
Randy Bullock
Alex Erickson
Cethan Carter
Leshawn Sims
Mike Daniels
Josh Bynes

Cap Space

68.375mil

Free Agent Signings

Carl Lawson - 3yr/6.5mil per

Kevin Huber - 2yr/2mil per

Mack Alexander - 3yr/5mil per

Brandon Wilson - 2yr/1.5mil per

Christian Covington - 1yr/1.3mil per

Outside Free Agents
Josh Reynolds - 3yr/3-4mil - long athletic build,  would have a chance to compete for snaps with Tate and Rookie WR
Leonard Williams - 4yr/8-9mil - has the size and athleticism to allow us to run a 3-4/4-3 hybrid with Williams playing edge, reader playing NT and Hubbard, and the next guy on my list playing opposite.
Ryan Kerrigan - 3yr/8-9mil - He's 32 but man has he been productive. Ryan would be great to rotate with Hubbard, Leonard, Lawson and Khalid Kareem. Also brings some good vet leadership and pairing Kerrigan and Williams together allows us to go back to what made our line so good with not only providing a great pass rush but keeping bodies fresh.
Ahkello Witherspoon - 2yr/4mil - has the size to be elite and has flashed throughout his 4 years, but he needs to be consistent. Adding him to a group of Waynes, Phillips, and Alexander means he has an opportunity to start.


Remaining Cap Space
29.075mil
Enough for rookies and injuries

Possible Coaching Changes
Head Coach - Depending on what happens to Taylor I'd like to make a run at Robert Salah
Def Coor - Lou has to go, I'd bring in Wade Phillips 
Off Coor - If you can grab Joe Brady, if not let's see what Brian Callahan can truly do
Line Coach - Make a run at Bill Callahan if you can if not look at a guy like Kyle Flood at Alabama

2021 NFL Draft
So onto the draft. Now most of us including myself are hoping for Sewell at 3, but with the Jets Losing it could open them up to either trading back or drafting Sewell if they are not sold on Fields or Wilson from BYU. In this scenario, this is exactly what happens and Sewell is not available. So what did I do, I thought outside of the box and knew that I had to find a trade partner on a trade that I believe could be very realistic. this is where the Indianapolis Colts come into play. The colts have a solid roster from top to bottom and play in an ok division, They have a very young team and good core on defense and a great offensive line, what they lack is a top-end WR and the most important position the future at QB. They have Rivers, but he's old and it's been showing the last couple of seasons. Yea they drafted a guy this year, but he was a late-round pick for a reason. The Colts are going to want to capitalize on the overall youth of their roster so I believe they would be willing to make a trade to get the top echelon signal caller.

So what do they give up to move up to the 3rd pick. Well they give up their 1st and 2nd rounders this year, pick 24 and 56, their 2nd round pick next year, and the player that I'm hoping we can pull from them, Quenton Nelson. Yes, he's a great lineman, but their overall line is pretty damn good so losing a player of his caliber, while it will hurt, they should still be able to manage the loss. They would have enough draft capital left to add some lineman as well as being able to probably sign a veteran for less. 

With that being said here is my draft.

Round 1
Zaven Collins LB Tulsa - We just drafted 3 lb'ers this year, but if we do transition to a 3-4, we'll need a couple of more. Collins is a freak of an athlete and he would give us great athleticism on the outside allowing us to move Logan Wilson inside with Pratt.

Round 2 
Patrick Jones Edge Pittsburgh - The panthers have a great dline and Jones is the premier player on it. We've lacked in the pass rush dept something serious this year. He helps fix this along with Lawson, Kerrigan, Hubbard, Kareem, and Williams, we now have a plethora of rushers that can play edge and outside rush lb

Jaylen Tywman DT Pittsburgh - Here is one of the other monsters along pitts line. He has a chance to come in and be our aaron donald/geno atkins type player. We've seen how bad the DT spot got hit with injuries and opt outs this year.

Round 3
Dillon Radunz OT North Dakota - No I didn't forget about getting Joe protection. Adding Dillon to a line of Jonah, Quenton, Finney/Hopkins, Spain(if resigned)/XSF would be great. That would allow us to continue to use Hakeem Adenji as our extra tackle as well as Fred Johnson and it would also mean that Jordan goes to the bench and sits and learns as he's been below average

Round 4
Anthony Schwartz WR Auburn - Smooth soft handed WR. Good height, but will need to add a few pounds. Gives us a nice option if Tate or Reynolds underperforms or gets injured

Round 5
Alec Lindstrom C  Boston College - Has the pedigree as his dad and brother both played/play in the NFL. Was a top-rated center this season and allows us to get creative on the interior. Could move Hopkins to RG or to backup G/C same with Finney.

Round 6
Trey Sermon RB Ohio State - Gives us some depth. I released Gio due to money as well as getting Mixon back, but it never hurts to grab a guy who can carry the load from time to time, but at a fraction of the cost.

Round 7 
Alaric Jackson OT Iowa - Was once a highly rated prospect. I saw last year there were talks of him going early rounds. He drops and for us that's great. We grab a guy we get to groom who hopefully lives up to his potential.

Quentin Lake S UCLA - Gives us a guy to groom behind Bates, Bell, and Wilson. He battles Trayveon Henderson for the last safety spot

I'm sorry but Colts arent giving us Nelson and all those high picks...he is a proven talent and a perennial probowl level talent.  

[Crowe]

(12-25-2020, 05:10 PM)schroomytunes Wrote: Here's my take on your mock/offseason:

Cut Players

1) Geno Atkins-9.6
2) Bobby Hart- 5.9

total= 15.5

Players walking:
1) AJ
2) John Ross
3) William Jackson- someone will way overpay!/ and we will use Darius Phillips
4) Shawn Williams
5) Randy Bullock
6) leshawn Sims
7) Carl Lawson- someone will way overpay!!
8) Cethan Carter
9) Mike Daniels
10) Quentin Spain


Re-signs:

1) Brandon Wilson- S/KR
2) Josh Bynes-LB
3) Christian Covington-DT
4) Mike Thomas-WR
5) Kevin Huber-P
6) Clark Harris-LS
7) Mackenzie Alexander-CB


Outside Free Agents:

1) Josh Reynolds-WR-Rams- he slides into the #3/4 role
2) Kevin King-CB- Packers- #2/3 CB
3) Morgan Fox- DE Rams- adds DE depth
4) Jermaine Elumanor- RG Patriots huge guard to protect Burrow
5) Daryl Williams RT- Bills- gotta protect Joe

Draft:
1-3 rounds

1) Greg Rousseau-DE UM- traded back
2) Christian Barmore-DT Alabama
2b) Liam Eichenberg- T Notre Dame
3) Terrace Marshall-WR LSU

If someone is willing to overpay for Lawson then I'm all for letting him go, but that dude is not worth 15mil/yr.  I thought about doing trade back without players but just picks and signing King and a vet olineman so I would be happy with the RG from the patriots as consolation for Quenton Nelson.

[Crowe]

(12-25-2020, 07:13 PM)kalibengal Wrote: I'm sorry but Colts arent giving us Nelson and all those high picks...he is a proven talent and a perennial probowl level talent.  

If it meant grabbing a franchise QB then yes they would because it's much easier to replace a good guard than it is a good QB adn right now that's what that team is lacking. Rivers has been mediocre and if they had a franchise QB right now you could make a case that they are top 2-3 in AFC with how well that defense plays and how good the oline is across the board. And as far as the chart goes trading up from the 23-24th pick to number 3 would almost certainly net 2 first rounders and more

[Hammerstripes]

LOL at that Colts trade.

[Hammerstripes]

(12-25-2020, 08:36 PM)Crowe Wrote: If it meant grabbing a franchise QB then yes they would because it's much easier to replace a good guard than it is a good QB adn right now that's what that team is lacking. Rivers has been mediocre and if they had a franchise QB right now you could make a case that they are top 2-3 in AFC with how well that defense plays and how good the oline is across the board. And as far as the chart goes trading up from the 23-24th pick to number 3 would almost certainly net 2 first rounders and more

There is ZERO chance they give up that much.  

[Crowe]

(12-28-2020, 08:06 PM)Hammerstripes Wrote: LOL at that Colts trade.

[Crowe]

(12-28-2020, 08:08 PM)Hammerstripes Wrote: There is ZERO chance they give up that much.  

The dude above was thinking Leonard Williams is getting $20mil/yr let alone worth that much and you think it's out of the question for a team to give up a good player and a few picks for a franchise QB, have you been watching the NFL and seeing what teams are giving up or how what teams are receiving in return? As far as my trade I'm basing the value off of them trading from 23 up to 3. They would have to give up 2 first rounders plus at least a 2nd and probably more. Nelson would be considered the 2nd of the first-rounders. Even if they only gave up 2 picks it would be worth it as they are going to need a franchise QB which is far harder to come by than a guard.

[Hammerstripes]

(12-29-2020, 09:20 PM)Crowe Wrote: The dude above was thinking Leonard Williams is getting $20mil/yr let alone worth that much and you think it's out of the question for a team to give up a good player and a few picks for a franchise QB, have you been watching the NFL and seeing what teams are giving up or how what teams are receiving in return? As far as my trade I'm basing the value off of them trading from 23 up to 3. They would have to give up 2 first rounders plus at least a 2nd and probably more. Nelson would be considered the 2nd of the first-rounders. Even if they only gave up 2 picks it would be worth it as they are going to need a franchise QB which is far harder to come by than a guard.

Considering Nelson would be a franchise tag, he's worth 2 first rounders.  He's easily the best OG in the league right now.  It would be completely stupid to give him up in a trade and it would never happen.  Not on a team that's in the middle of it's Super Bowl window.

[Okeana]

(12-24-2020, 01:12 PM)Crowe Wrote: I think you may be off on your valuation of lawson and Williams. Could they get more than the projected 8-9 mil, maybe. Spotrac has Williams valued at 8mil per year and I don't think Lawson is any better plus he has some durability concerns. As far as the trade it's a crapshoot, it could work for both teams, but I can't see the colts wasting a roster spot on a guy like Darnold to lead them anywhere, maybe Wentz, but he has regressed badly and the colts window is open to compete now. Either way, if it could work out similar to this I'd be thrilled. The team definitely needs to improve in the trenches and in the pass rush dept.

sorry to burst your bubble and im sure others have pointed it out, but your contract evaluations are so far off.  Look at the season the player just had.  Go to sportrac and look at players at his position who signed last year.  Find someone with similar production and add 10%

[Goalpost]

I kind of soured on Collins after his performance against the Bearcats.

[Crowe]

(12-31-2020, 03:27 PM)Okeana Wrote: sorry to burst your bubble and im sure others have pointed it out, but your contract evaluations are so far off.  Look at the season the player just had.  Go to sportrac and look at players at his position who signed last year.  Find someone with similar production and add 10%

You ain't bursting my bubble, the evaluations came from spotrac directly, also for reference Clowney whom many thought was the premiere pass rusher this year didn't even sniff 20mil per, he ended up with what a 1 year/10mil contract. Maybe we just don't value players the same, but Leonard Williams has never really been elite at least to the point to warrant upwards of 20mil/yr, solid for sure, but not elite. If some team wants to give him 20mil per than by all means do it, but I pulled my numbers straight from the site so while they may not be accurate in the end you can alter the numbers a little and still have the cap space to sign him as well as a few others. Carl Lawson would fall under the same thought, he's not getting 15mil per year unless a team is very desperate. He has a history of season-ending injuries and while he is great at pressure he completely disappears at times, he really is only a good pass rusher who doesn't put up huge sack numbers. I'd say his ceiling is more likely around 10mil/yr. 

And as everything goes this is just a mock-up with the potential to make changes. If you have any different ideas then share them, I like to hear other opinions on what you would do.

[Crowe]

(12-31-2020, 03:38 PM)Goalpost Wrote: I kind of soured on Collins after his performance against the Bearcats.

I'd like to think if we got a good d-coor and a move to a 3-4 would do wonders for him. We sorely need pass rush help and while he may never be a true 3 down lb, if we could get a good combo of pass rush from him and davis-gaither that would go a long way

[Hammerstripes]

I can't wait for people to realize that even though we are "transitioning" to a 3-4, that we use 2 linebackers over 75% of the time.

There is no need to load up on linebackers.

[TrenchWarfare]

Love the effort and time you put into this. Very well thought out. If it went this way the one beef I'd have is that we only, at best, added a (very good) guard. The defensive front seven (which got a lot of love in the last draft) got two of the four FA signings and the first three draft picks. That's a lot of love for that group while the OL is so desperately in need of improvement. Our franchise, if it is going to be successful will depend on Burrow and Burrow will depend on a strong OL...

[XenoMorph]

what if those players want more than you list?