***2023 NFL Draft Thread***

[Housh]

(04-29-2023, 01:28 AM)Synric Wrote: I just wish the Bengals had gotten a top 100 prospect that could have made more of an impact in year one.

Turner is the guy I’m thinking sees the field a lot. Gonna need a new Eli Apple and Trey Flowers.

Not really seeing the roadmap for how Battle will play but I’m sure Lou has a package for him

[Frank Booth]

(04-29-2023, 01:32 AM)Housh Wrote: Not really seeing the roadmap for how Battle will play but I’m sure Lou has a package for him

Nick Scott is his competition

[*pally*]

Lou’s final words at the Battle presser were “I think I’m done” So maybe most of those last 5 picks will address some offensive needs

[Mike M (the other one)]

(04-29-2023, 12:20 AM)Frank Booth Wrote: was signing Nick Scott a waste of money?

in Hindsight maybe, no way we could have predicted we'd get Battle. 

Just be happy they have plenty of good-decent guys there to work with on replacing the Bates-Bell combo.

[007BengalsFan]

Ringo, Adebawore and Jones still available in the 4th for some team tomorrow.

Would love to land Adebawore. He reminds me a little of Geno except faster and a little lighter. Adebawore would need to gain little weight but the talent is there. We want an inside pass rush from the D-line? This guy should be the pick

[Mike M (the other one)]

(04-29-2023, 12:35 AM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Sad to say, hope it is so a touch, just better have some insurance at RB if we do that can pass block and has balance.

Yah know, do the things that Joe don't do well so we can cut him.

We aren't gonna draft a back up RB just to cut Mixon. Mixon will be on the team next year baring legal issues. 

So just chill out with the cut Mixon crap. 

KC didn't draft Pacheco with the idea that he was to be their starter. He was drafted as a back up to CEH and just so happened to end up out playing him. That would be the ideal situation for us as well if the plan is to move on from Mixon, but it's more of an outlier than a norm. So Mixon is here for another year.

[grampahol]

It's the kind of draft that's going to keep opposing offensive coordinators awake at night. Lots of speed, lots of college football experience and Lou at the helm.. 
I never really expected the Bengals to pick RB or TE at the top of the draft this season. Both positions have been devalued over the past several years and both seem to be injury prone just because they are targeted so often in the middle of the field by defenses. 
Anyway, baring injury or just lousy picks our secondary is set up for a good long run of success to keep our star QB on the field more often than the other leading brands..    

[Old Dipstick]

(04-28-2023, 09:52 AM)Synric Wrote: I bet Lions fans are going crazy right now... Gibbs at 12 and Jack Campbell at 18 both great players but kinda high on both lol.

Lions gonna Lion..

[Soonerpeace]

(04-29-2023, 01:50 AM)Mike M (the other one) Wrote: in Hindsight maybe, no way we could have predicted we'd get Battle. 

Just be happy they have plenty of good-decent guys there to work with on replacing the Bates-Bell combo.

Well they like guys to sit a year and learn. That may be the plan with Battle

[Brownshoe]

(04-29-2023, 08:09 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Well they like guys to sit a year and learn. That may be the plan with Battle

Is it the..... Battle plan?

[lone bengal]

I like the Bengals draft so far. Fans complain because we don’t draft starters , we have a super bowl roster because there are only a few open positions. These guys can contribute this year , Murphy rotating in plus keeping guys fresh. Turner could start if Awuzie isn’t ready and even if Awuzie is ready there’s a high chance one out of the 3 corners gets hurt at some point and Turner has to step in like Britt-Taylor did. Battle could beat out Scott and if not Lou plays a ton of 3 safety looks and Flowers wasn’t resigned.

[OSUfan]

(04-29-2023, 01:28 AM)Synric Wrote: I just wish the Bengals had gotten a top 100 prospect that could have made more of an impact in year one.

Guess the term "impact" is relative. 


* If Hendrickson or Hubbard can step off the field and the guy coming in to replace them has no drop off in caliber of play then is that not an impact?
* If a defense has to drop into a dime defense and every DB running out on the field is of starting caliber is that not an impact?
* If we lose a player to injury and the guy coming off of the bench is of starting caliber is that not an impact?


I believe as fans we tend to gripe about things such as draft selections for depth but then we tend to gripe as well when the next man up is not as talented as the guy he came in to replace. The Bengals have entered rarified space for their fans and it seems many are struggling with the affects of success.

[OSUfan]

(04-29-2023, 12:44 AM)Housh Wrote: Ugh


Signed Nick Scott to 3-year 12 Million, i can’t see us wanting him to have competition. We gotta be thinking about toying with 3 safety packages. There’s no other reason for this pick.

 The Bengals are a predominantly zone coverage team and were in a zone over 65% of the time in '22. However, the film I have seen of Jordan Battle shows a very capable man defender even though he did not play it a large portion of the time in the Bama defense. I have not really seen anything that states it is a weakness for him just may be that he is stronger in zone coverage.


Why wouldn't the Bengals want competition for Scott? They had no idea how the draft was going to play out and his contract is actually a rather reasonable one. Personally, I would like a roster that has no drop off in play as you do down the depth chart and it looks like the Bengals defense is working to get to that point.

[Nepa]

Rotational pieces, back-up depth, and replacement pieces in the future if cannot resign starters like Hubbard and Hendrickson. But no immediate upgrades of the starting 11 on defense or offense for the start of the 2023 season. Good for the future, and keeping the team at a high level, of course.

Now look at a team like Pittsburgh. Starter on OL, starter on CB, and major weapon for DL, and starter in two-TE sets. Major upgrade for the 2023 season. Same for many other teams. Even KC got some starters. So, the starters other teams put on the field in 2023 have improved more than the Bengals have for 2023. Maybe a few years from now, very different. But for 2023, the Bengals upgrade is limited. And we still are going to have to live with Mixon and his god-awful blocking. And Irv Smith, Jr. and his 6'2" seems short for a TE (the average height is 6'4") and could have used an upgrade.

[Soonerpeace]

(04-29-2023, 08:52 AM)lone bengal Wrote: I like the Bengals draft so far. Fans complain because we don’t draft starters , we have a super bowl roster because there are only a few open positions. These guys can contribute this year , Murphy rotating in plus keeping guys fresh. Turner could start if Awuzie isn’t ready and even if Awuzie is ready there’s a high chance one out of the 3 corners gets hurt at some point and Turner has to step in like Britt-Taylor did. Battle could beat out Scott and if not Lou plays a ton of 3 safety looks and Flowers wasn’t resigned.

I don’t think a lot on here realize their focus is competing for Super Bowls every year not one year. For every LA Rams there’s a Buffalo Bills. The Bills went all in with Von Miller and when they lost to the Bengals the GM Brandon Beane wigged out at his plight.

[Bengalbug]

(04-28-2023, 01:56 AM)Nepa Wrote: DE was a need, as our pass rush was not very good. And some had him top-5 prior to the combine. Should be immediate help.

(04-29-2023, 09:26 AM)Nepa Wrote: Rotational pieces, back-up depth, and replacement pieces in the future if cannot resign starters like Hubbard and Hendrickson. But no immediate upgrades of the starting 11 on defense or offense for the start of the 2023 season. Good for the future, and keeping the team at a high level, of course.

Now look at a team like Pittsburgh. Starter on OL, starter on CB, and major weapon for DL, and starter in two-TE sets. Major upgrade for the 2023 season. Same for many other teams. Even KC got some starters. So, the starters other teams put on the field in 2023 have improved more than the Bengals have for 2023.

The guys we drafted could take the jobs this year in camp.. and be starters.

Not many immediate needs going into the draft so you can go bpa. Pretty good concept

[masonbengals fan]

Really like the Battle pick. The kid although still young has a lot of snaps at the highest level. Can't wait to see what shakes out today.

[Nepa]

(04-29-2023, 09:29 AM)Bengalbug Wrote: The guys we drafted could take the jobs this year in camp.. and be starters.

Not many immediate needs going into the draft so you can go bpa. Pretty good concept

Was hoping for an upgrade at RB for Mixon, whose terrible pass-blocking was quite a detriment and whose running could be very frustrating at times. And was hoping for an upgrade at TE. Irv Smith is only 6'2", which is quite short for a TE. One of those two starting positions could have benefitted from an upgrade for the coming season. 

I don't see the guys drafted being starters for 2023. Some say Battle could replace Scott, but Scott is ready made, having started a year at safety on a Super-Bowl winning team. Hard to see a third-round rookie taking his place in camp. And Murphy is not taking a starting spot from Hendrickson and Hubbard. He will give them breathers, and keep them fresh, and improve the overall pressure on opposing QBs, which I admit is vitally important, but he is not taking a starter spot unless they suffer an injury. 

I'm not upset with the draft picks. I just came into the draft with more hope for a jump in the starting 11 on offense and defense. Hopefully they hit some homeruns in this third day, as KC did with Pacheco. 

[OSUfan]

(04-29-2023, 12:24 AM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Who is left at RB with speed that can catch the ball out of the backfield? Keaton Mitchell would be a great grab for us if he is still out there?

I do not think it has to be pigeon holed to a certain type of back. People may want to remember that it appears that Trayveon Williams may actually get a legit shot at more touches in '23 and the kid was a very productive back at A&M. Actually the first true freshman back at A&M to go over 1,000 yards and is a very good receiver out of the backfield.


There are some pretty darn good backs left in this draft and ones that could make an impact on the Bengals offense. Such as:

Roschon Johnson
Israel Abanikanda (was not used much as receiver but can he be?)
Eric Grey 
DeWayne McBride (if they feel confident fumbles are not going to be an issue)
Chase Brown
Zach Evans (as long character issues check out)
Chris Rodriguez (very underrated with speed as the reason but ran the same time as Josh Jacobs and Nick Chubb)
Hunter Luepke (anyone trying to stereotype him just as a FB is missing the boat)
Deneric Prince (I cannot understand why this kid is as low as he is on boards. Great film and one of my favorite backs in the draft)

[OSUfan]

(04-29-2023, 09:40 AM)Nepa Wrote: Was hoping for an upgrade at RB for Mixon, whose terrible pass-blocking was quite a detriment and whose running could be very frustrating at times. And was hoping for an upgrade at TE. Irv Smith is only 6'2", which is quite short for a TE. One of those two starting positions could have benefitted from an upgrade for the coming season. 

I don't see the guys drafted being starters for 2023. Some say Battle could replace Scott, but Scott is ready made, having started a year at safety on a Super-Bowl winning team. Hard to see a third-round rookie taking his place in camp. And Murphy is not taking a starting spot from Hendrickson and Hubbard. He will give them breathers, and keep them fresh, and improve the overall pressure on opposing QBs, which I admit is vitally important, but he is not taking a starter spot unless they suffer an injury. 

I'm not upset with the draft picks. I just came into the draft with more hope for a jump in the starting 11 on offense and defense. Hopefully they hit some homeruns in this third day, as KC did with Pacheco. 

Ironically Pacheco was not a starter. Guess what he was a depth piece who got an opportunity because of an injury to the starter. Depth is a wonderful thing isn't it?