Dehner's rookie grades

[*pally*]

Paul Dehner in The Athletic provided some updates on the draft class

paywall link

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5690172/2024/08/09/bengals-rookie-report-preseason/

A+
Amarius Mims
   Mims’ first impression has been the story of camp and suddenly he’s gone from the inexperienced rookie to, perhaps, the safer option to start on opening day over Brown.

A
Daijhan Anthony
    One pick by the seventh-rounder and it happens to be the first of camp? Nice. A second interception, this the first of Burrow in camp? Even better. A third interception, this time falling off your assignment reading the quarterback in a passing lane? OK, we have a trend. Anthony might be a seventh-rounder out of Ole Miss, but he’s made a big impression in the early portion of camp. He’s versatile and has been rewarded with snaps at different positions and up in the rotation. His knack for finding the football has been hard to miss.

A-
Josh Newton
    His tenacity, physicality and stickiness in coverage are notable. Every day he makes a play or two. He’s certainly arrived playing at a level higher than the fifth-round slot he was selected out of TCU.  

B
Erick All
    What we have seen is notable. The athleticism and versatility show up.  His play grew the encouragement exponentially.

C+
Cedric Johnson
    He needs plenty of development for his impressive physical traits that originally drew the Bengals’ scouts to him. He’s shown speed to burn coming off the edge.  they’ve focused him on the right side, but any action he sees on the field this year would probably come on special teams

C
Kris Jenkins
    We have not seen the instant impact to this point. As always, in the trenches, the games will be a better judge, but he hasn’t produced a buzzy first three weeks. There’s plenty to like about his foundation of technique and power but he needs to show some progress in the coming weeks

Jermaine Burton
     Burton’s merely going through a standard process of figuring out the NFL. That’s kept him in a reserve role and slightly off the radar considering the overwhelming hype that followed him into this camp.

C-

Tanner Mclachlan
    There’s just not much to analyze with McLachlan. He missed OTAs with a core muscle injury and missed some time in camp working his way back.   He also hasn’t shown himself.  You’d like to take more notice of a player, but he’s blended in

Mike Lee
    He’s not cracked reps with the second team with Hill getting all the work when the twos take over.  you would have liked to see a touch more momentum for Lee in the rotations.

Incomplete
McKinley Jackson
    The injury will put him behind.  He’s been fine so far. There hasn’t been much to note about his time on the field. That can often be the case for 330-pound nose tackles, but he hasn’t been a terror and also hasn’t looked like a liability.

[Nepa]

Wonderful report. Great to hear about Mims. And Anthony, really? That is an unexpected surprise.

[SunsetBengal]

(08-09-2024, 09:00 AM)Nepa Wrote: Wonderful report. Great to hear about Mims. And Anthony, really? That is an unexpected surprise.

That is the product of good scouting. Now, he appears to be just the sort of high football IQ guy that Anarumo loves to have in his secondary. Luckily he was an under the radar prospect as he only spent one season in a major program (transferred to Ole Miss after two seasons at Liberty).

[Whatever]

I detect some fudging of Dehner's grades.

How can he give Jackson an incomplete, but grade All and McLaughlin after they've missed even more time than he has during TC/OTA's?

[Nicomo Cosca]

- The positive:

Mims seems to be exactly as advertised.

- The disappointing:

Have heard absolutely nothing about Kris Jenkins other than that he got pancaked by Jackson Carman of all people.

Burton not making more noise for that WR3 spot.

[3wt]

(08-09-2024, 09:51 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: - The positive:

Mims seems to be exactly as advertised.

- The disappointing:

Have heard absolutely nothing about Kris Jenkins other than that he got pancaked by Jackson Carman of all people.

Burton not making more noise for that WR3 spot.

I have been concerned about the lack of mention with Jenkins.    I would rather have taken Frazier, the center out of WVA at that pick, adding some high level buttressing of the interior.

But in fairness, we haven't had a chance to see what he has yet.

Burton was making an impression before he injured his ankle, so I still have high expectations for him.

[SunsetBengal]

(08-09-2024, 09:58 AM)3wt Wrote: I have been concerned about the lack of mention with Jenkins.    I would rather have taken Frazier, the center out of WVA at that pick, adding some high level buttressing of the interior.

But in fairness, we haven't had a chance to see what he has yet.

Burton was making an impression before he injured his ankle, so I still have high expectations for him.

I wouldn't put much into that just yet. Interior DL are typically slow to develop and get up to NFL level. Now, come week 12 of the season and we still don't see him getting a fair amount of rotational reps, then I start wondering what is going on with him.

[jj22]

It has gotten quiet on the Burton front, and we've never heard much about Jenkins this offseason or Tanner this training camp. Overall though it seems the rookie class has been more active overall this camp then in years past.

[Whatever]

(08-09-2024, 09:51 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: - The positive:

Mims seems to be exactly as advertised.

- The disappointing:

Have heard absolutely nothing about Kris Jenkins other than that he got pancaked by Jackson Carman of all people.

Burton not making more noise for that WR3 spot.

I think Mims has been better than advertised.  Most feel he would be raw and struggle this year due to lack of experience.

DT's take a long time to develop, which was a big reason why I was  against investing so heavily in the position early in the draft.  The returns just won't be there for several years.  In fairness, Carman 's issues have always seemed more mental.  I mean, we all watched him drive a DL from the center of the field and plant him on his ass on the sidelines.  Getting pancakes by a guy like that once in camp doesn't raise alarm bells.

WR reports are conflicting, at best.  There's been people hyping Burton, Jones, and Yoshi at different points in camp.  I've seen tweets that say WR3 is still up in the air.  

[WeezyBengal]

Dehner isn't a scout or talent evaluater - he's a journalist. I take this entire list with a grain of salt.

[SunsetBengal]

(08-09-2024, 11:06 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: Dehner isn't a scout or talent evaluater - he's a journalist. I take this entire list with a grain of salt.

Even if he is just a journalist, he's getting eyes on the action in person. At least it gives us some perspective other than clips from social media postings.

[*Synric*]

(08-09-2024, 10:17 AM)Whatever Wrote: I think Mims has been better than advertised.  Most feel he would be raw and struggle this year due to lack of experience.

DT's take a long time to develop, which was a big reason why I was  against investing so heavily in the position early in the draft.  The returns just won't be there for several years.  In fairness, Carman 's issues have always seemed more mental.  I mean, we all watched him drive a DL from the center of the field and plant him on his ass on the sidelines.  Getting pancakes by a guy like that once in camp doesn't raise alarm bells.

WR reports are conflicting, at best.  There's been people hyping Burton, Jones, and Yoshi at different points in camp.  I've seen tweets that say WR3 is still up in the air.  

You are going to hate my mock drafts for the next several years because my team building philosophy is get elite QB draft tons of DL to affect opposing QBs. Lol

[*Synric*]

It's good to hear both Newton and Athnoy doing well while also moving around to different spots in camp. The DL guys will get a chance to show out more during the Pre-Season games when they don't have to pull up.

I think it was Pitcher who said recently because the core of the Offense is the similar they are going full force and not really slowing up for the rookies so it might be a few weeks into the season before they really get their shot.

[masonbengals fan]

I could get used to seeing A+ and Mims in the same sentence.

[Whatever]

(08-09-2024, 12:26 PM)Synric Wrote: You are going to hate my mock drafts for the next several years because my team building philosophy is get elite QB draft tons of DL to affect opposing QBs. Lol

I'm not opposed to drafting DL.  But two DT's in the first 4 picks was pretty meh, especially with needs at other positions with quicker development curves.  Plus, edge rushers tend to develop faster than DT's.  Aside from the elite guys, DT's are cheaper in FA, as well.  

[jj22]

What 1st round pick at a position of need has gotten all this love and accolades just to be benched?

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

I know it is just Dehner, but it is nice hearing some things from a dude on the sidelines and hearing his thoughts.

Mims getting so much praise is just great to hear. This dude is so talented and such a great guy on top of it. So happy Amarius is in
stripes. Daihjan Anthony is getting picks and that is great, but I will have to see how good he is in coverage before I go hyping a 7th
round pick. Fig Newton honestly doesn't surprise me, he has a great attitude and is very smart and a good tackler. I watched Fig for
years at TCU and think he was a steal where we got him, most had him as a 3rd rounder at the latest.

Hope to hear better things about Jenkins and McKinnley as the Preseason goes on. Will be interested in watching these guys. A NT
like McKinnley is hard to judge as Dehner says, their job is to take up space and eat up blockers and I think he will be just fine doing
this for us once he gets healthy.

Hoping Jermaine Burton gets healthy as he was getting mad praise before the tweaked ankle. Erick All when healthy is our most
talented overall TE and it really shows, hope he can stay healthy as well as this is my only question with the guy. The weird part is
McLachlan has actually been the injured one this Offseason.

[Bilbo Saggins]

If Mims, Newton, and All can "hit", that looks like a successful draft. Especially if Mims can be a big hit. 

[WeezyBengal]

(08-09-2024, 03:52 PM)Bilbo Saggins Wrote: If Mims, Newton, and All can "hit", that looks like a successful draft. Especially if Mims can be a big hit. 

If Mims can be a good/great RT then I don't care if every other pick in this draft turns to poo. 

[*ochocincos*]

I am one to focus on the negatives, but man it doesn't look good for the rookie DTs.
DT might be the one position to go ahead and sit the starters to avoid injury, and the depth needs all the reps they can.