Grade The Draft

[NATI BENGALS]

Did we just find the missing pieces that help us win it all? Or did we totally blow it?

What say ye?

[Brownshoe]

Solid draft that addresses issues on defense and ST. We really needed to upgrade our pass rush and we took a potential beast in the 1st round. We added speed and depth to our secondary that just lost two starters, and we addressed issues with our ST that had an uncharacteristic down year with later round picks. If Jonah/Collins can sure up the RT position, we will have a solid line with two #1 receivers and Boyd/Mixon as weapons. If we hit on a few of these players there's no doubt in my mind that we're a better team than last year. I considered giving this draft an A , but I feel like we needed to get some more depth for the OL. Honestly this draft has the potential to be an A+ draft.

[CarolinaBengalFanGuy]

Solid draft. I gave it a B. It didn’t produce any flashy picks I would have liked to see and didn’t address some areas I thought we would, but everyone seems solid.

2 guys that went way late I would have been interested in was Kenny McIntosh and Max Duggan.

[Gdale_Bengal]

B. Getting more explosive in the backfield perhaps, but I feel like they should have tried to upgrade TE to be a bit more explosive too. I don’t know why ZT undervalues TEs as much as he does. Tgey can be a crucial part of winning and provides explosive plays at the heart of the defense

[Bronxbengal]

(04-30-2023, 08:08 AM)Gdale_Bengal Wrote: B. Getting more explosive in the backfield perhaps, but I feel like they should have tried to upgrade TE to be a bit more explosive too. I don’t know why ZT undervalues TEs as much as he does. Tgey can be a crucial part of winning and provides explosive plays at the heart of the defense

I am so tired of hearing the b and moaning on this board about not getting a TE. If Tobin and company hasn’t produced a championship caliber roster than I would get the persistent whining, but they have. I trust their wisdom and plan. There are only so many footballs that can go around. I think someone said it best during the draft that the TE just needs to block and find the empty space in the defense. Don’t need to waste a high draft pick for that.


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[SunsetBengal]

I'll give it an A for now, but we really won't know for 2-3 years how well these players develop. The team appears to have set themselves up with really good depth at WR and in the secondary, not to mention the huge shot in the arm that STs seems to have received. If those DBs and WRs develop into contributors and eventual starters, then it will have been a very good draft.

[NUGDUKWE]

I gave it a B. I like the depth we added. I just wish we had gone into the draft with a little less needs specifically in the secondary so we could've spent a pick on OL along the way. We got pretty lucky on health on OL until the end and then our depth ended our season. It's hard to say but maybe we could've traded back earlier to try and accumulate earlier picks.

[Speedy Thomas]

I think they did the best they could drafting at the end of every round (and I'm not complaining, except I would have liked to be drafting even lower). I really can't argue with any one pick but I am curious about tight end. Apparently they just value other positions more highly. I'm also a little concerned about 3-tech DT. But you can't fill every need in the draft. I give it an A minus.

[OSUfan]

They had an outstanding draft. They may get poor grades here because they drafted the players they felt best fit their needs going forward rather than players that fans wanted. I have not read thru many of the threads since yesterday but I would be shocked if there is not a bunch of griping about not getting a TE but as Taylor stated that need was created by someone other than the team. He obviously feels they have what they need to use the position as they do in their offense. If people look at last season it sort of speaks for itself when you play 4 games without TE1 or TE2 and win all 4 games.

They improved a Super Bowl caliber roster and that is what is important.

[OSUfan]

(04-30-2023, 08:08 AM)Gdale_Bengal Wrote: B. Getting more explosive in the backfield perhaps, but I feel like they should have tried to upgrade TE to be a bit more explosive too. I don’t know why ZT undervalues TEs as much as he does. Tgey can be a crucial part of winning and provides explosive plays at the heart of the defense

I don't know why people fail to understand that the TE is not a star in offense that the Bengals employ. The TE needs to be an adequate blocker that can slip out and find a soft spot in the defense and be a safety valve for the QB. The TE in this offense is not an integral part of the receiving game. This offense centers around the WRs and the RB being an extension of the passing game. You would think that fans would consider the fact Taylor know his offense scheme better than they think they do.

[BengalBob]

A-

Great draft. Managed to pick BPA at premium positions the 1st two rounds. Able to select at least 3 solid starters for the future while getting immediate help for next year.

[masonbengals fan]

B+ as of this morning. I'm confident the Bengals prioritized what they considered to be the best players available each round. They have forgotten more about developing players than I'll ever know. Anxious to see another season begin.

[Isaac Curtis: The Real #85]

B+/A-.

We got speedier.

I loved the Jones/Brown/Iosivas/Robbins picks on Day 3. And the first two were very good as well. Not thrilled about not getting a TE with such a deep class. Mayer (Rd 1), Kraft (Rd 2), Washington (Rd 3), and Kuntz (Rd 4-6) were all there..But we always had more areas of need than picks.

IOL, TE, RB, and QB are the areas I'd watch for in cuts/FA. Maybe CB as well.

[Ell Prez]

B+. I don’t see any pro bowlers, but I see a lot of NFL starters and contributors. Picks 1-3 I expect to all start in 1-2 years. The RB we’ll see, I want to see him play first. The WR’s I think can be 4th wr on the roster, maybe a 3rd on less WR heavy teams. Punter will be a starter, does that count?

[CJD]

It wasn't that flashy of a draft, especially early, but every choice serves a need. And, perhaps most importantly, not a single one was considered a "reach" on draft day. They followed their board and selected who they believed was the best player at each selection (within reason). You can't ask much more than that.

Myles Murphy will be an early contributor at DE with his efficiency against the run and potential as a pass rusher and he will likely step in for Hendrickson when he moves on in 2025.

DJ Turner serves a similar role as Murphy, with potential for early contribution in sub packages and in case of injuries and will step in for Chidobe Awuzie after 2023.

Jordan Battle has a bit of a different role because no one in front of him on the depth chart is leaving in the next 3 years via free agency. So if he is going to play, he will have earned that play time. Nick Scott was signed to be the starter on the depth chart, but he isn't a pro bowler and we don't even know for sure if he's an average starting safety. Battle provides competition to Scott (and Hill) such that we aren't forced to start a player who is struggling just because we have no one better behind them. Scott's contract is cheap enough and structured well enough that we could cut him after 1 or 2 seasons if Battle excels.

Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas are crucial depth at WR and will help to replace Tyler Boyd after the 2023 season. They also provide some level of insurance if, in the worst case scenario, Tee Higgins and the Bengals don't reach a new deal and he leaves after being franchise tagged in 2025.

Chase Brown will immediately compete for that 3rd down/pass blocking RB role that Perine used to fill. He has all the tools you want in that position and should complement Mixon very nicely in 2023. After this season, there's a chance Mixon is no longer on the team, in which case Brown is capable of being a 3 down back. We'll have to see if he grows into that role, but the talent is there.

Brad Robbins is a punter that specializes in directional punting, long hang time and very little opportunity for returns. His average punt was only 42.3 this past season, but his net average was 41.2 A difference of 1.1 yards between your average and net average ranked 7th overall in college last season, meaning he does not give up many returns at all. On 43 punts, he only allowed 7 returns.

As I was looking at stats, Adam Korsak beat him in several niche categories, like difference between net and average, in20%, yards per return average, average and net average and returns per punt, yet he wasn't drafted (and it seems he has not signed on with another team as a free agent either). So I'm curious about what happened there, but either way we needed a punter and we got one that has high hang times that doesn't give up big returns with games on the line. Who could complain about that?

And then, finally, we took a CB that I know nothing about. There's a pick like this every year. I don't factor it into the equation because he's likely to not make the team regardless. Such is the life of 7th round picks.

I'd give it a B+ to an A-, depending on how you feel about the fact that this team CLEARLY does not give two shits about the tight end position.

[bk42]

I like it - I was hopeful the Bengals might trade up in rd 1 (especially with receivers not going until the 20's in rd 1). But Myles Murphy should contribute this year and be a key part of their future. Turner and Battle may be more depth pieces for this year but will be valuable going forward for the Bengals. They have some good draft capital invested in CB and S - hopefully its pays off for them (mostly rookie contracts at S and CB so they can pay the contracts of Burrow, Chase and more).

I really like the Charlie Jones and Chase Brown picks - they should contribute some this year wile potentially taking on bigger roles in the future.

And no offensive lineman drafted this year but I'll take that as their confidence in Carman and Volson (or maybe their confidence in Williams or LC at RT this year).

[phil413]

We have a cheap young:

Versatile DL that immediately keeps Trey and Sam from getting gassed and keeps Ossai in his better suited rush specialist role if either is injured. They'll likely use him for a few reps at UT, which was an underrated need.

Potential LCB since resigning Awuzie will be near impossible with his play level, injury history, desperation on the market for good cover corners and all the money going to our offense.

Balanced safety that excels on ST and may even get in the mix to defend TEs. They are admitting that they could get better at safety, no worries of being doomed if the others don't hold their roles.

RB with a heck of a burst, balanced complement to Mixon.

Polished WR that can improve WR4 NOW. Sure he will replace Boyd in a year but I'm dead serious that they may let Burrow have k oh re of the 4 wide sets he wants. This is especially if Jonah/Jackson hold down RT well in run and pass blocking to compensate not having a TE at times.

A raw deep threat that will either be a backup longterm outside (or WR4) and worst case gives us long term hope if Tee negotiations go south. I know their aim is to keep him, but if they're forced to tag him and negotiations go south after the first tag maybe they tag and trade him the following year. No doom and gloom, my point is they are getting ahead on TWO slots in a position group that tends to have a bigger learning curve and aren't cheap to replace in FA.

A smart punter with good hang time, possibly sticks as a late 6th, and a DB that I have no clue on.

This in an A class, trying not to be a homer. We had a plan and the luxury of not drafting percieved need. I'm not letting not taking a TE in a deep class drop it to a B+. We have enough with what they want to do and others have mentioned, we may Benin play for a cut vet and even one at RB.

[QueenCity]

I went with a grade of a B.

Obviously as others mentioned our depth this season will be outstanding. A key injury may not derail the team.

My thoughts in a Superbowl run you should be highly aggressive and I get it's not the Bengals way to trade picks or players typically... but think they are missing out on opportunities to put the team over the top.

[*Go Cards*]

Would have liked to have gotten Washington in the 3rd instead of trading back.

Yet other than that, am pretty pleased with the draft and give it a B

[MasonDT70]

B, they got a lot of great athletes at positions that will help with not leaving holes in the roster for the next few upcoming years. Got what should be high end depth for this year, and potential stater later on. Really like the chase brown pick as an immediate contributor, but I'm not high on Mixon atm. I am with the crowd that wanted a TE somewhere in that 3rd-5th round as Irv Smith hasnt realiably stayed healthy. Hoping for a solid vet cut the can grab for insurance there.