Post by 77bengal on Nov 30, 2016 23:22:41 GMT -5
With only five games left of what's been a horrible season, the Bengals have to start preparing for the teams future and that process begins now by benching veterans in favor of younger players.
The reason for doing so is two-fold. Firstly, the Bengals have to evaluate the teams younger players to find out which ones are viable options going forward. Secondly, it will give the teams veterans some additional rest as well as cutting down on their chances of being injured. There's just no logical reason for Andrew Whitworth, Adam Jones, etc., to be on the field as much as they have been for the remainder of the season.
The Bengals aren't going anywhere this year so lets see what Darqueze Dennard, Nick Vigil, Cody Core, Will Clarke, Rex Burkhead, Alex Erickson, Clayton Fejedelem, Darron Smith, Jake Fisher, Marquis Flowers, T.J. Johnson, Tyler Kroft, Cedric Ogbuehi, KeiVarae Russell, C.J. Uzomah, Christian Westerman, DeShawn Williams, James Wright and Jeff Driskel have to offer. I know that's a slew of players; but for the most part, Lewis has done a terrible job at developing and playing most of these guys. There's also several players on the practice squad that I would like to see on the field, but not at the expense at waiving a current player less it be a Domata Peko type player.
This would also be an excellent time to waive Nugent and bring in Zach Hocker to see what he has to offer as well as giving QB Jeff Driskel some snaps. The last thing the Bengals want is for either Dalton or McCarron to go down with an injury from playing behind an inexperienced o-lineman such as Christian Westerman. These are all common sense ideas/solutions that should be explored in building a better team. Will Lewis and company make any these moves? Doubtful considering their history, but anythings possible.
Don't get mad Rod, but I have to start thinking of the draft before my head explodes like the people in the movie "Scanners." I love college football, so the upcoming draft and bowl season is all I have to look forward to football-wise. This mock was put together rather quickly and there are several other directions/players the Bengals can take. i just want to focus on positions the Bengals need to upgrade and who may be available.
Round 1: DE Derek Barnett, Tennessee. Michael Johnson is done. He's a shell of his former self. Barnett does everything a DE should do and then some. There are some concerns about his speed, but there were concerns about Terrell Suggs speed as well prior to him being drafted by the Ravens. Pull up a highlight video on YouTube of Barnett and you'll see a player that has good game speed.
Round 2: WR Dede Westbrook, Oklahoma or WR/HB Curtis Samuel, Ohio State. Westbrook may be small, but he's virtually unstoppable. Samuel is bigger, but he too is virtually unstoppable. Their quickness and/or speed is off the charts so defenses would be forced to game plan for both of them which would basically consist of keeping them doubled-up more times than not. A threat to score every time either touches the ball. A.J. Green finally gets his receiving partner with the selection of either. Take your pick.
Round 3A: K Daniel Carlson, Auburn. The Bengals have the worst kicker in the league in Mike Nugent and just like that the best kicking prospect to come out in years falls right into their laps. Carlson may be the best player available at this point in the draft.
Round 3B: (Andre Smith) TE Jeremy Sprinkle, Arkansas. What I'm about to post are my own thoughts concerning Sprinkle. I haven't heard nor read this anywhere else; but Jeremy Sprinkle's running stride reminds me of Gale Sayers. Don't freak out! I'm not saying he's as fast or as nifty at running as Sayers was, but his longer than usual strides are reminiscent. Sprinkle may be my favorite player in this draft. He's a great receiver and he gets a lot of yards after the catch.
Round 3C: (Marvin Jones) C Mason Cole, Michigan. Cole would be a big upgrade over Russell Bodine or T.J. Johnson. Cole also played LT for the Wolverines which indicates to me that he's athletic and possesses quick feet. Cole hasn't given up one sack this season.
Round 3D: (Mohammad Sanu) OT Conor McDermott, UCLA. Whitworth and Winston are getting up there in age, so bringing in a well respected (and tall 6'8") tackle makes sense. How good is Ogbuehi and Fisher anyways?
Round 4A: LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Tennessee. Reeves-Maybin is smaller than your average LB'er, but he's also a lot faster than an average LB'er and has a penchant for making big plays. The Bengals desperately need some speed at the second level of their defense and Reeves-Maybin provides just that.
Round 4B: (?) CB Rasul Douglas, WVU. WVU continues to put out quality DB's and Douglas is their latest model. With the re-signing of Dre Kirkpatrick up in the air, the age of Adam Jones and the unknown talent of Darqueze Dennard and WJIII, this pick begins to make a lot of sense.
Round 5: DT Davon Godchaux, LSU. It never hurts to draft for depth when a team has had so many injuries at one position. Billings, Hardison, Thompson and Sims have all dealt with injuries this season.
Round 5A: RB Donnell Pumphrey, San Diego State. Another small player for a team that desperately needs some speed on offense. Pumphrey would be great in a wildcat type role, as a slot receiver or used as a HB or used on end-arounds. Lots of options with his speed.
Round 6A: RB James Conner, Pittsburgh. Conner is big, strong, and a bull of a runner with decent speed. He would've been drafted much higher if not for being diagnosed with lymphoma. After defeating lymphoma, Conner came back big and looks like his old self. A steal at this point in the draft with great character. A huge inspiration to all, Conner would be an outstanding pick.
Round 6B: OG Forrest Lamp, Western Kentucky. The Bengals o-line is terrible. That's why I have the Bengals adding three of them through the draft. Can Lamp light the fuse?
Round 7: DE Trey Hendrickson, Florida Atlantic. Good-bye Margus Hunt. Hello to a player that actually understands the game.
There you have it. A draft that I didn't put a lot of time into but it works; for now. I used various websites and of course YouTube to grade most of the players listed but not all. I also read somewhere that the Bengals could end up with as many as 14 draft picks (I selected 13 players) for all the players they lost last year through free agency. I don't know if this is true or not, but I had fun with it!
Keep in mind that this is the first time that teams will be allowed to trade their compensatory picks to move up, trade for a player, etc. The Bengals would be wise to trade up as often as needed to garner some of the best talent available.
And don't forget that the Bengals can trade A.J. McCarron for draft picks, a veteran player from another team or a combination of both. If the Bengals were to get a second round draft pick out of McCarron, which I think is very possible, adding a S such as Justin Evans out of Texas A&M or Budda Baker our of Washington should be considered. But a team can't have enough pass rushers, so adding a DE such as Dewane Smoot, Illinois or Taco Charlton, Michigan would be the smarter move IMO. But the best move of all would be the drafting of LB'er Raekwon McMillan or Takkarist McKinley. Both of these guys are very talented and can also get after the QB. This is a really deep draft and it couldn't come at a better time for our Tigers.
The reason for doing so is two-fold. Firstly, the Bengals have to evaluate the teams younger players to find out which ones are viable options going forward. Secondly, it will give the teams veterans some additional rest as well as cutting down on their chances of being injured. There's just no logical reason for Andrew Whitworth, Adam Jones, etc., to be on the field as much as they have been for the remainder of the season.
The Bengals aren't going anywhere this year so lets see what Darqueze Dennard, Nick Vigil, Cody Core, Will Clarke, Rex Burkhead, Alex Erickson, Clayton Fejedelem, Darron Smith, Jake Fisher, Marquis Flowers, T.J. Johnson, Tyler Kroft, Cedric Ogbuehi, KeiVarae Russell, C.J. Uzomah, Christian Westerman, DeShawn Williams, James Wright and Jeff Driskel have to offer. I know that's a slew of players; but for the most part, Lewis has done a terrible job at developing and playing most of these guys. There's also several players on the practice squad that I would like to see on the field, but not at the expense at waiving a current player less it be a Domata Peko type player.
This would also be an excellent time to waive Nugent and bring in Zach Hocker to see what he has to offer as well as giving QB Jeff Driskel some snaps. The last thing the Bengals want is for either Dalton or McCarron to go down with an injury from playing behind an inexperienced o-lineman such as Christian Westerman. These are all common sense ideas/solutions that should be explored in building a better team. Will Lewis and company make any these moves? Doubtful considering their history, but anythings possible.
Don't get mad Rod, but I have to start thinking of the draft before my head explodes like the people in the movie "Scanners." I love college football, so the upcoming draft and bowl season is all I have to look forward to football-wise. This mock was put together rather quickly and there are several other directions/players the Bengals can take. i just want to focus on positions the Bengals need to upgrade and who may be available.
Round 1: DE Derek Barnett, Tennessee. Michael Johnson is done. He's a shell of his former self. Barnett does everything a DE should do and then some. There are some concerns about his speed, but there were concerns about Terrell Suggs speed as well prior to him being drafted by the Ravens. Pull up a highlight video on YouTube of Barnett and you'll see a player that has good game speed.
Round 2: WR Dede Westbrook, Oklahoma or WR/HB Curtis Samuel, Ohio State. Westbrook may be small, but he's virtually unstoppable. Samuel is bigger, but he too is virtually unstoppable. Their quickness and/or speed is off the charts so defenses would be forced to game plan for both of them which would basically consist of keeping them doubled-up more times than not. A threat to score every time either touches the ball. A.J. Green finally gets his receiving partner with the selection of either. Take your pick.
Round 3A: K Daniel Carlson, Auburn. The Bengals have the worst kicker in the league in Mike Nugent and just like that the best kicking prospect to come out in years falls right into their laps. Carlson may be the best player available at this point in the draft.
Round 3B: (Andre Smith) TE Jeremy Sprinkle, Arkansas. What I'm about to post are my own thoughts concerning Sprinkle. I haven't heard nor read this anywhere else; but Jeremy Sprinkle's running stride reminds me of Gale Sayers. Don't freak out! I'm not saying he's as fast or as nifty at running as Sayers was, but his longer than usual strides are reminiscent. Sprinkle may be my favorite player in this draft. He's a great receiver and he gets a lot of yards after the catch.
Round 3C: (Marvin Jones) C Mason Cole, Michigan. Cole would be a big upgrade over Russell Bodine or T.J. Johnson. Cole also played LT for the Wolverines which indicates to me that he's athletic and possesses quick feet. Cole hasn't given up one sack this season.
Round 3D: (Mohammad Sanu) OT Conor McDermott, UCLA. Whitworth and Winston are getting up there in age, so bringing in a well respected (and tall 6'8") tackle makes sense. How good is Ogbuehi and Fisher anyways?
Round 4A: LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Tennessee. Reeves-Maybin is smaller than your average LB'er, but he's also a lot faster than an average LB'er and has a penchant for making big plays. The Bengals desperately need some speed at the second level of their defense and Reeves-Maybin provides just that.
Round 4B: (?) CB Rasul Douglas, WVU. WVU continues to put out quality DB's and Douglas is their latest model. With the re-signing of Dre Kirkpatrick up in the air, the age of Adam Jones and the unknown talent of Darqueze Dennard and WJIII, this pick begins to make a lot of sense.
Round 5: DT Davon Godchaux, LSU. It never hurts to draft for depth when a team has had so many injuries at one position. Billings, Hardison, Thompson and Sims have all dealt with injuries this season.
Round 5A: RB Donnell Pumphrey, San Diego State. Another small player for a team that desperately needs some speed on offense. Pumphrey would be great in a wildcat type role, as a slot receiver or used as a HB or used on end-arounds. Lots of options with his speed.
Round 6A: RB James Conner, Pittsburgh. Conner is big, strong, and a bull of a runner with decent speed. He would've been drafted much higher if not for being diagnosed with lymphoma. After defeating lymphoma, Conner came back big and looks like his old self. A steal at this point in the draft with great character. A huge inspiration to all, Conner would be an outstanding pick.
Round 6B: OG Forrest Lamp, Western Kentucky. The Bengals o-line is terrible. That's why I have the Bengals adding three of them through the draft. Can Lamp light the fuse?
Round 7: DE Trey Hendrickson, Florida Atlantic. Good-bye Margus Hunt. Hello to a player that actually understands the game.
There you have it. A draft that I didn't put a lot of time into but it works; for now. I used various websites and of course YouTube to grade most of the players listed but not all. I also read somewhere that the Bengals could end up with as many as 14 draft picks (I selected 13 players) for all the players they lost last year through free agency. I don't know if this is true or not, but I had fun with it!
Keep in mind that this is the first time that teams will be allowed to trade their compensatory picks to move up, trade for a player, etc. The Bengals would be wise to trade up as often as needed to garner some of the best talent available.
And don't forget that the Bengals can trade A.J. McCarron for draft picks, a veteran player from another team or a combination of both. If the Bengals were to get a second round draft pick out of McCarron, which I think is very possible, adding a S such as Justin Evans out of Texas A&M or Budda Baker our of Washington should be considered. But a team can't have enough pass rushers, so adding a DE such as Dewane Smoot, Illinois or Taco Charlton, Michigan would be the smarter move IMO. But the best move of all would be the drafting of LB'er Raekwon McMillan or Takkarist McKinley. Both of these guys are very talented and can also get after the QB. This is a really deep draft and it couldn't come at a better time for our Tigers.
