I don't watch a ton of college football nor do I research players who are likely to be drafted. I only know what I know from reading this forum and checking out the online mocks. I feel its important to establish this since I'm not a draft know-it-all. I'm only offering a simple opinion.
Favorite pick: Cordell Volson
I keep reading NDSU is an OL driven program where the players are coached up and ready for pro ball. I also like Pollack's vision for what he wants in an OL player, the "glass eaters" remark. Our free agency window with the three new starters was amazing. Since we were a terrible OL last season, I'm happy to even get more competition and depth among the position group.
Least favorite pick: Jeff Gunter
It's just the 7th round pick and most 7th rounders don't matter over the course of the season. I was hopeful we'd add a QB or RB to increase competition among the backup players.
Ultimately, I am trusting that Duke & Zac brought in good talent.
I don't have a least favorite or favorite individual player, really.
I'll say this:
The thing I love about this draft is that they became borderline loaded in the defensive backfield with players that fit what Anarumo wants to a tee.
The thing I dislike is the lack of offensive additions. As a rule, if I had a roster with a no-doubt franchise quarterback, I'd get him a new weapon or protector every year no later than round 3. Continuing the pipeline at TE or WR would just be the way I'd do business, not only to load up the receiver room, but to have reinforcements in-house when contract demands became heavy enough that attrition sets in. It's probably not a big deal, because they are loaded for 2022, but I'd get back to work in it in the 23 draft immediately.
I don’t hate any of the picks and understood early what they were doing. I think I have 2 hate picks but not really hate either.
Carter, as I think there a few better players that could make a better impact, but he adds 10lbs of muscle, he could be a major disruptor with his long arms.
Volson-I don’t trust there grades on OL, but I get that he’s a Pollack type and has more upside as a guard in the nfl with a massive frame.
My love pick has to be CTB. I liked him since day 1, wanted him for this defense, didn’t think he would be there half way through 3 and loved that they moved up and took him. He’s going to beat Apple out this year at some point and be really good.
(05-01-2022, 10:37 AM)Gdale_Bengal Wrote: I don’t hate any of the picks and understood early what they were doing. I think I have 2 hate picks but not really hate either.
Carter, as I think there a few better players that could make a better impact, but he adds 10lbs of muscle, he could be a major disruptor with his long arms.
Volson-I don’t trust there grades on OL, but I get that he’s a Pollack type and has more upside as a guard in the nfl with a massive frame.
My love pick has to be CTB. I liked him since day 1, wanted him for this defense, didn’t think he would be there half way through 3 and loved that they moved up and took him. He’s going to beat Apple out this year at some point and be really good.
The Athletic’s fave: Cincinnati Bengals: Cam Taylor-Britt, the cornerback from Nebraska, checked off every box the Bengals needed and wanted to accentuate coming off their run to the Super Bowl. They gave up a sixth-round pick to go up three spots to make sure they got him, at No. 60. He will be an ideal culture fit in a place that stresses it as much as any in the league. Add in his length and speed, and he pairs with first-round pick Daxton Hill to build a foundation of the future in a secondary that entered the weekend with only two players signed beyond this season. —
(04-30-2022, 09:43 PM)bfine32 Wrote: What was your favorite and least favorite pick?
Proper edit. Well done.
(04-30-2022, 10:39 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Hated giving up picks to trade up twice.
Loved adding 3 DBs which was much needed reinforcements from a loaded historically fast class of DBs. The way we are attacking problem positions with multiple players in recent years is something I like.
When they picked the three LBs in 2020, I was very, very happy. I was a little underwhelmed with their attempt at drafting O-line last year when it was a glowing weakness, but I'm liking the 3 DBs and don't care about Bates' feelings.
(04-30-2022, 10:41 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: CTB could have very well went to KC had we not moved up to grab him.
I don't think he had a problem with that.
(04-30-2022, 10:50 PM)Benton Wrote: My favorite: CTB
Least favorite: Gunter
I didn't hate the Gunter pick. It's hard to except a ton out of seventh rounder. It just seems like they could've gambled on a WR or RB there as there isn't as many success stories of DL working out as other positions.
But who knows. We didn't have a home run like the last two years, but that's ok. We got several potentially solid guys. Gunter included.
I would love to know who the Returner will be for the next four or five years. Why the Bengals haven't tried to get a legit WR/Returner for so long baffles me.
(04-30-2022, 11:00 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Even though I listed CTB as my least fav I dig the team trading up.
I think his problem with it was trading up the second time, not both, because that's how I feel about it all.
"Cool! Love it! Not used to seeing that!" and then a day later it was more "Really? or "Why?" than anything else. The Bengals have only walked away from the draft with only 6 selections twice before. The Ki-Jana Carter draft with Melvin Rootin' Tuten in 1995 and Levi Jones and Matt Schobel in 2002 so it felt a little weird only having six selections.
(05-01-2022, 12:40 AM)sandwedge Wrote: Kind of a different feel to this draft compared to the last few.... Very solid draft, but at the same time nothing that made me want to jump up and down and get excited.
Probably favorite pick is Volson - Guy just has bad intentions!
Least favorite - Carter, only because I know nothing about him and hadn't heard anyone talk about... He does have good numbers though!
Not just the last few. After a great FA period, this has easily been the least amount of time that I've spent on the draft since the early 90s. Glorious.
I will start off by saying that I LOVED this entire draft. Literally all of it. It MAKESE SENSE given how the draft fell and it shows a definite direction the coaches are taking the roster. This draft was about 3 things to me:
1- Completely changing the game on defense. I think the Bengals coaches are on to something philosophically unique with how they want to pin down and stop the elite QBs/offenses in the NFL. If you look at how they stopped the Chiefs 2x, their approach is reminiscent in the sense of how Golden State changed the NBA by completely changing the way basketball is played. Inside out is now outside in.
2 - Recognizing that they have tough contract choices imminent with the 2ndary players that are currently there and making those decisions EARLY. For nearly 2 decades we saw a lot of players hold the team hostage and be given larger contracts they maybe shouldn't have received because the Bengals were scared of moving on or held an affinity for them. Players had leverage at spots where maybe they shouldn't and that's now changed.
^ The Bengals have tried for 2 years to get an extension with Bates. He doesn't want it or grossly overvalues himself to the point that if they did pay him it would hamper other, more important positions. Not a problem now. They just worked towards solving that with an outstanding first round pick.
Von Bell will be 28 at the end of this season and between he, Bates, & Apple, Bell is the one I would resign... but not at an unreasonable, long term cost. The 2nd safety ensures that gun won't be put to the Bengals head.
3 - The key pieces on offense WILL be kept together when it's time to pay them due to this draft. At least, that's what the Bengals look to be setting themselves up to be able to do. I am 100% on board with that. Higgins & Chase + these 3 Rookies >>>>> Bates, Bell, & Apple. Not even a close call there. The Bengals are just flipping the deals around. Cheap rookie WRs become expensive veterans and expensive veteran DBs become cheap rookies. Simple enough.
To answer OP's question....
Favorite: GUNTER just due to this funny Jomboy video. I love that this guy roughed up D-Bag-Zach Wilson, showed good angles and pursuit of the QB, caused a fumble to win the game, and was obviously super intense because he wanted to win. The penalty on him at 2:15 is WEAK and wouldn't be called in the NFL. He actually showed restraint/awareness and let up at the last second.
I think that, for a 7th rounder, it was great that the Bengals coaches found someone like this to come in and compete for a rotational spot. GREAT!
Least Favorite: The 2nd rounder (at first). I was bummed Jurgens didn't slide down to them (pun!) and thought there were some good CBs for the 3rd round. NOTHING against the player they selected. In fact, after researching CTB and watching his interviews, I'm really excited to see this kid rotate in and around the vet DBs that are there starting and seeing if he can eventually overtake Apple on the outside.
Most Nervous For: Bates' attitude after this draft and how it may affect his play and the locker room. He has come across as clownish with some of his tweets (Last years price ain't this year's price" - or whatever it was) and how unprofessional he handled things through most of last year. He seems to think the Bengals owe him more than what his contracts have been and, personally, I side with the Bengals thus far.
My least favorite is not trading up to get Tyler Linderbaum and letting him go to the Ravens. I would have traded our 3rd or 4th rounder to go up and get him. I am fine with the rest of the draft. But the first mistake will cost us for the next decade since the Ravens will be our biggest rivals. I feel like we found replacements for 2 of our best players (Bates, and Bell). So even though we drafted well I don't think we improved much as a team and pretty much guaranteed we won't have Bates back next year. The Ravens improved much more than we did, so that might be the difference in the division. So pretty much the draft was a failure in that respect.
(05-01-2022, 05:45 PM)AtomicBlaze Wrote: My least favorite is not trading up to get Tyler Linderbaum and letting him go to the Ravens. I would have traded our 3rd or 4th rounder to go up and get him. I am fine with the rest of the draft. But the first mistake will cost us for the next decade since the Ravens will be our biggest rivals. I feel like we found replacements for 2 of our best players (Bates, and Bell). So even though we drafted well I don't think we improved much as a team and pretty much guaranteed we won't have Bates back next year. The Ravens improved much more than we did, so that might be the difference in the division. So pretty much the draft was a failure in that respect.
It’s not a fair comparison with the Ravens having 2 first rounders before us and 5 in the 4th round. They got great value in the draft. Why on earth would we trade up to select Linderbaum just to keep Baltimore from him? It would have taken a 3. We have a center BTW. So we lose our backup DT at 3 and lose Dax Hill in your scenario. We are on the verge of losing both safeties next year because keeping Higgins and Joe is going to take a lot of money. Maybe we can keep Bell. It was smart to bring Hill in early. I disagree trading up to get Linderbaum. It’s more heck no than hell no. Linderbaum is going to be good.
(05-01-2022, 06:21 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: It’s not a fair comparison with the Ravens having 2 first rounders before us and 5 in the 4th round. They got great value in the draft. Why on earth would we trade up to select Linderbaum just to keep Baltimore from him? It would have taken a 3. We have a center BTW. So we lose our backup DT at 3 and lose Dax Hill in your scenario. We are on the verge of losing both safeties next year because keeping Higgins and Joe is going to take a lot of money. Maybe we can keep Bell. It was smart to bring Hill in early. I disagree trading up to get Linderbaum. It’s more heck no than hell no. Linderbaum is going to be good.
If we were trying to win it all this year Linderbaum helps us more than anyone else we got for the rest of the draft, but now our division rival has him and he will be kicking our ass for the next decade which is twice as bad. The draft is mostly for depth and we didn't really get anyone that is better than what we currently have in our starters. I also think Linderbaum all but guarantees we have great depth and starters across the OL. Right now we have a big old question mark at LG.
Trading up for a center would have been asinine. We have Karras. It wasn’t even a guarantee Linderbaum would go in the 1st round. The league doesn’t traditionally value the position like that, not to mention the size/length concerns with him. Baltimore only took him that early because they had multiple 1st round picks, and were desperate due to the departure of Bozeman.
(05-01-2022, 06:29 PM)AtomicBlaze Wrote: If we were trying to win it all this year Linderbaum helps us more than anyone else we got for the rest of the draft, but now our division rival has him and he will be kicking our ass for the next decade which is twice as bad. The draft is mostly for depth and we didn't really get anyone that is better than what we currently have in our starters. I also think Linderbaum all but guarantees we have great depth and starters across the OL. Right now we have a big old question mark at LG.
And the Ravens have big old question marks at their entire WR group. Which is much worse than a single guard spot.
(05-01-2022, 06:30 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Trading up for a center would have been asinine. We have Karras. It wasn’t even a guarantee Linderbaum would go in the 1st round. The league doesn’t traditionally value the position like that, not to mention the size/length concerns with him. Baltimore only took him that early because they had multiple 1st round picks, and were desperate due to the departure of Bozeman.
Most draft experts had Linderbaum as a top 10 overall talent. Everyone knows that Karras can be moved to left guard. I almost guarantee you that Linderbaum will be better than anyone we drafted. Lets see who has more pro bowls in the next 10 years between Linderbaum and the rest of our picks combined.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t keep up with college football as much this year, just UC. And I didn’t do my usual 92 something mock drafts. So I have no idea who these guys are so I’ll speak in regards to position taken. They all seem athletic and fast. Someone please convince me we didn’t just draft one possible starting nickle back, a practice squad OLinemen and 4 special teams players. I mean at least our ST will be bad ass. I’m not trying to shit talk this draft, I honestly want to know. Did we kick ass?
(05-01-2022, 06:30 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Trading up for a center would have been asinine. We have Karras. It wasn’t even a guarantee Linderbaum would go in the 1st round. The league doesn’t traditionally value the position like that, not to mention the size/length concerns with him. Baltimore only took him that early because they had multiple 1st round picks, and were desperate due to the departure of Bozeman.
This times 100. The only team I see trading with us to get Linderbaum was GB and likely would have cost us our #2. The Bengals were smart. CTB has a great chance to beat out Apple. Hill will play a ton of snaps and groom for taking over at S next year. We were headed for disaster next year at safety. Now we’ve got some leverage. I expect they approach Bell with an extension and leverage him as first shot at resigning
Favorite: Volson. Didn't reach for a TE or WR that couldn't contribute, but allowed Pollack to "stand on the table for his guy" and took a guy that, when you projected him as a GUARD and not an OT, he rated out as a 93 RAS, and you got the guy in the fourth round...at the very end of the fourth round.
I also really like that he played in an astonishing 65 games (he's a "super senior") and has experience on every position on the line except center. He is tough as nails, long, strong, and perhaps what I like best is that Pollack and the Bengals don't care if the last time they took a tackle and projected him as a guard didn't really pan out (Carman, but just one year in...). They believe strongly in their process and doubled down on the same type of strategy. The difference being this guy played everywhere, but center. Volson also won FOUR National Championships at NDSU and comes from a pro-style offense. He will either win the LG job or Carman will play very well because this guy won't settle for average performance.
Least Favorite: Zach Carter. While I see the clear need at the position group, I wish they had selected someone that was a bit more 3T specific and less of an end/tackle hybrid. I see him as a bigger school version of Cam Sample, and while that can be a good thing, I am not sure he has the size and strength to hold up at 3T.
Love: Overall, I love the emphasis on speed on defense. All three of the secondary players ran sub 4.4 and have a ton of experience. I am very happy they doubled down on safety because that is where there was still impactful talent in the 5th round and both players have tremendous flexibility. Even though I said ZC was my least favorite, at least he had production. All guys seem of high character and leaders, again.
Hate: If I had to criticize anything it would be the loss of entire picks to move up. I understand the logic, but I sure would have liked having an extra pick for Araiza or a burner WR with punt and KR abilities. I really don't hate anything about the draft at all. Well done, Bengals.
Zachary Carter was my least favorite pick in real time, but after researching him a ton, watching his tape, his interviews, seeing his overall enthusiasm for being a Bengal, and immediate adoption of all things Cincinnati, he’s becoming my favorite pick. Really hoping that things shake out well for him and he pans out to be a solid starter on the D-Line for us.
![[Image: 4CV0TeR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4CV0TeR.png)
![[Image: oyb7yuz66nd81.jpg]](https://i.redd.it/oyb7yuz66nd81.jpg)
