Post by chocowinity on Jan 26, 2016 12:34:10 GMT -5
Virus really let us down. First he attacks all of us with a crazed (seemingly schizophrenic), name calling rant and then selfishly pulls the plug on the entire board in an attempt to punish us just because I gave him a dose of his own medicine. In that post I even extended my hand to him by telling him that if he were to be respectful and/or act like an adult, all would be forgiven but to no avail.
Anyway, I agree with a lot of your post. In the first three or four rounds, I want the Bengals to draft players that have big play ability and can contribute from the get-go. The reason I would like to see a safety drafted is because both Reggie Nelson and George Iloka are free agents; Iloka is going to demand a lot of money and he isn't a big play maker; Shawn Williams and Derron Smith are unproven (although Williams did look good in spot duty this past season as you stated); and at least two rookie safeties listed above could elevate the entire Bengal D to new heights as Ed Reed did in Baltimore. Also, the Bengals can trade Iloka's rights to another team before free agency begins and I do think a second round pick is possible considering his talent and age.
Andrew Whitworth has already been signed to a one year extension which was a smart move. Greg Little, Robert Geathers and Chris Carter are no longer with the team and Andre Smith will probably walk. That leaves Sanu and Jones as the teams offensive free agent priorities. I would like to see the Bengals sign Jones even if they have to pay a tad more than he's worth because the team really needs his experience and production. Signing Sanu isn't as important. I like Sanu and appreciate what he's done for the team, but he's slow and disappears for long periods of time. Adding at least two speedsters to the receiving corp is a must and there are several the Bengals will have a shot at adding in round two and later on. They are WRs Josh Doctson, TCU; Jalin Marshall, Ohio State; Sterling Shepard, Oklahoma; Rashard Higgens, Colrado State; Braxton Miller, Ohio State; Kolby Listenbee, TCU; etc. Currently the Bengals only have two WRs that can stretch the field in AJ Green and Mario Alford. By adding two more speedy WRs, the Bengals would double their speed at this position which would go a long way in opening things up underneath for Eifert, Kroft, Bernard and Burkhead.
Defensively there are a lot of players at every level of the defense that need to be signed but I wouldn't break the bank signing any of them. Iloka, Nelson and Jones are priority and all need to be signed. Thompson, Rey and Hall should only be brought back if a cap friendly deal can be reached. Gilberry has been a good player through the years, but he's getting older and his production has really slipped the last couple of years. The team would be better off by moving forward with Marcus Hardison, Will Clarke and DeShawn Williams. Drafting DT Andrew Billings in round one should also be considered if he does fall to them. Billings rushes the passer much like Atkins but he's also strong enough to clog up the run.