Post by 77bengal on Apr 11, 2017 21:51:54 GMT -5
The Bengals should seriously consider trading down in round one or other rounds to garner even more draft picks than their allotted eleven. They should also considering trading up, maybe as many as three times, to get into position to draft players that can come in and contribute immediately or at a minimum, provide solid depth. With eleven picks; the number nine overall pick; and a few teams that are desperate to add a QB to their roster; the Bengals are in good position to turn this rather deep draft into one of the best in franchise history. Having said that, my mock draft doesn't include any trades nor is it reflective of who I think the bengals will draft, but rather who they should draft. However, I do think the Bengals will make at least two trades in this draft. This draft is also deep at quite a few positions and the Bengals would be wise to draft at least one player from these 'deep' positions. These positions include TE, WR and RB on offense. Defensively, this draft is strong at DE, LB, CB and S. I would also like to see the Bengals focus on players with great speed instead of slow footed athletes ala Ray Maualuga. Here goes nothing gang.
Round One: Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford. The Bengals are terrible at rushing the passer and I'm sure Geno and Carlos are tired of carrying their line mates. Thomas is an instant starter and impact player with a quick first step and speed. He single-handily destroyed the Mitch Trubisky led Tar Heels in the Sun Bowl. He's also quite flexible being able to play inside or outside. Pairing him up with the aforementioned players along with Marcus Harrison and Andrew Billings could instantly transform this line into one of the most feared in the league.
Round Two: Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma. I know a lot of mock drafts have the Bengals taking Mixon here, and I think they're right. I love this pick. Mixon made the terrible mistake of hitting a woman and breaking her jaw when he was 18. I'm not excusing him for his actions. They were horrible. But he hasn't been in trouble since and deserves a second chance. I would like to see him do the right thing by compensating the young lady he assaulted along with a heartfelt apology to her and her family.
Mixon is the real deal and could instantly turn the Bengals running game and the entire offense around. The guy is extremely fast and capable of hitting the hole in a blink of an eye. This is exactly the type of back the Bengals need considering how bad the o-line played last year. Basically, Mixon has the speed and talent to make a bad o-line look good. I'm really high on this guy if he checks out. His pass catching skills are great and he's actually capable of stretching the field. Don't believe me? Check out YouTube.
Round Three: Pat Elflein, C, Ohio State. The Russell Bodine experiment hasn't worked and it's past time to move on. Keeping Bodine around as a back-up interior linemen is his best bet to remain in the NFL. Simply put, he's in way over his head.
Elflein has been a solid C for Ohio State for a couple of years now and he's faced some of the best competition the Big Ten had to offer. He's also known to have a nasty streak and loves punishing his opponents. When I read that some scouts are comparing him to Nick Mangold, I was sold. However, he's not a sure thing and is riskier than other players that will be available at this point in the draft. The poor play of Bodine makes this pick necessary.
Round Four A: Tanoh Kpassagnon, DE, Villanova. Drafting only one pass rusher in this draft would be a crime considering how many great pass rushers will be available and how desperately Cincy needs to upgrade this aspect of their defense. Tanoh may be a tad raw, but the guy is a freak athlete that stands 6'7" and weighs 290 pounds. Scouts compare him to Jason Pierre Paul. I see Ziggy Ansah.
Round Four B: Josh Reynolds, WR, Texas A&M. Reynolds has been linked to the Bengals for a few weeks now and after watching him play, I can see why. Reynolds gives the Bengals something they crave - a WR other than A.J. Green that can stretch the field.
Round Five A: Eddie Vanderdoes, DT, UCLA. Marcus Hardison and Andrew Billings were injured last year so it makes sense to add an insurance policy. Vanderdoes was the number one prospect coming out of high school and lived up to that billing his freshman year. He totally dominated the competition. The next year Vanderdoes blew his knee out early in the season and was gone for the remainder. He came back the next year but wasn't himself. Sound familiar? Ala Geno Atkins? After Atkins came back from his knee injury, he too wasn't the same. It took a whole year to get him back on track and the same could easily hold true for Vanderdoes.
Round Five B: Bucky Hodges, TE, Virginia Tech. Hodges is raw and needs to polish his game, but when you get a chance to draft a TE that is fast, athletic and measures in at 6'6" and weighs 260 pounds, you pounce. Hodges made some jaw dropping catches on occasion at Virginia Tech. He's faster than most LB'ers as well as being a size mismatch for most defenders. Great value at this stage of the draft.
Round Six A: Zane Gonzalez, K, Arizona State. This may be the most obvious pick of any in this Bengals draft class. As of right now, they have almost nothing at K'er, so adding a good prospect like Gonzalez is a no-brainer. Maybe that's why the Bengals stated they aren't interested in rookie K'ers?
Round Six B: Jerry Ugokwe, OT, William and Mary. Ugokwe has all the physical traits an offensive line coach looks for in an OT. He has good size, long arms and quick feet. Big upside, small risk.
Round Seven A: Brandon Wilson, CB, Houston. The Bengals bring in WJIII's running mate. Can lightning strike twice?
Round Seven B: Jalen Reeves Maybin, LB, Tennessee. Reeves-Maybin is a bit banged up and a tad small compared to other NFL LB'er's, but he's fast playing sideline to sideline, can drop into coverage and simply makes plays all over the place. Well worth spending a seventh rounder on.
Drafting an OT, a CB and a LB late may not set well with many and understandably so, but there is a reason for doing so. This is a weak draft for offensive linemen, so reaching for an OT early just doesn't make sense to me. By all indications, the Bengals two young OT's have shown improvement over the offseason and they would be better off adding a veteran OT off the waiver wire for insurance.
This draft is strong at the CB position, but the Bengals are already loaded at the position especially after inking Dre Kirkpatrick and signing Bene Benwikere. It also, unfortunately, looks like Adam Jones is returning. Throw in WJIII, Darqueze Dennard and Josh Shaw, and the Bengals have the making of a very talented defensive backfield.
There were a few LB'er's that I was tempted to mock, but every time I wanted to, there was a better player available. The rise of Nick Vigil and the signing of Kevin Minter along with the release of Ray Maualuga makes this squad better than last years. Adding a veteran free agent is an option.
Keep in mind that this mock represents only one of dozens that I could come up with that would greatly improve the team. So what do you guys think?
Round One: Solomon Thomas, DE, Stanford. The Bengals are terrible at rushing the passer and I'm sure Geno and Carlos are tired of carrying their line mates. Thomas is an instant starter and impact player with a quick first step and speed. He single-handily destroyed the Mitch Trubisky led Tar Heels in the Sun Bowl. He's also quite flexible being able to play inside or outside. Pairing him up with the aforementioned players along with Marcus Harrison and Andrew Billings could instantly transform this line into one of the most feared in the league.
Round Two: Joe Mixon, RB, Oklahoma. I know a lot of mock drafts have the Bengals taking Mixon here, and I think they're right. I love this pick. Mixon made the terrible mistake of hitting a woman and breaking her jaw when he was 18. I'm not excusing him for his actions. They were horrible. But he hasn't been in trouble since and deserves a second chance. I would like to see him do the right thing by compensating the young lady he assaulted along with a heartfelt apology to her and her family.
Mixon is the real deal and could instantly turn the Bengals running game and the entire offense around. The guy is extremely fast and capable of hitting the hole in a blink of an eye. This is exactly the type of back the Bengals need considering how bad the o-line played last year. Basically, Mixon has the speed and talent to make a bad o-line look good. I'm really high on this guy if he checks out. His pass catching skills are great and he's actually capable of stretching the field. Don't believe me? Check out YouTube.
Round Three: Pat Elflein, C, Ohio State. The Russell Bodine experiment hasn't worked and it's past time to move on. Keeping Bodine around as a back-up interior linemen is his best bet to remain in the NFL. Simply put, he's in way over his head.
Elflein has been a solid C for Ohio State for a couple of years now and he's faced some of the best competition the Big Ten had to offer. He's also known to have a nasty streak and loves punishing his opponents. When I read that some scouts are comparing him to Nick Mangold, I was sold. However, he's not a sure thing and is riskier than other players that will be available at this point in the draft. The poor play of Bodine makes this pick necessary.
Round Four A: Tanoh Kpassagnon, DE, Villanova. Drafting only one pass rusher in this draft would be a crime considering how many great pass rushers will be available and how desperately Cincy needs to upgrade this aspect of their defense. Tanoh may be a tad raw, but the guy is a freak athlete that stands 6'7" and weighs 290 pounds. Scouts compare him to Jason Pierre Paul. I see Ziggy Ansah.
Round Four B: Josh Reynolds, WR, Texas A&M. Reynolds has been linked to the Bengals for a few weeks now and after watching him play, I can see why. Reynolds gives the Bengals something they crave - a WR other than A.J. Green that can stretch the field.
Round Five A: Eddie Vanderdoes, DT, UCLA. Marcus Hardison and Andrew Billings were injured last year so it makes sense to add an insurance policy. Vanderdoes was the number one prospect coming out of high school and lived up to that billing his freshman year. He totally dominated the competition. The next year Vanderdoes blew his knee out early in the season and was gone for the remainder. He came back the next year but wasn't himself. Sound familiar? Ala Geno Atkins? After Atkins came back from his knee injury, he too wasn't the same. It took a whole year to get him back on track and the same could easily hold true for Vanderdoes.
Round Five B: Bucky Hodges, TE, Virginia Tech. Hodges is raw and needs to polish his game, but when you get a chance to draft a TE that is fast, athletic and measures in at 6'6" and weighs 260 pounds, you pounce. Hodges made some jaw dropping catches on occasion at Virginia Tech. He's faster than most LB'ers as well as being a size mismatch for most defenders. Great value at this stage of the draft.
Round Six A: Zane Gonzalez, K, Arizona State. This may be the most obvious pick of any in this Bengals draft class. As of right now, they have almost nothing at K'er, so adding a good prospect like Gonzalez is a no-brainer. Maybe that's why the Bengals stated they aren't interested in rookie K'ers?
Round Six B: Jerry Ugokwe, OT, William and Mary. Ugokwe has all the physical traits an offensive line coach looks for in an OT. He has good size, long arms and quick feet. Big upside, small risk.
Round Seven A: Brandon Wilson, CB, Houston. The Bengals bring in WJIII's running mate. Can lightning strike twice?
Round Seven B: Jalen Reeves Maybin, LB, Tennessee. Reeves-Maybin is a bit banged up and a tad small compared to other NFL LB'er's, but he's fast playing sideline to sideline, can drop into coverage and simply makes plays all over the place. Well worth spending a seventh rounder on.
Drafting an OT, a CB and a LB late may not set well with many and understandably so, but there is a reason for doing so. This is a weak draft for offensive linemen, so reaching for an OT early just doesn't make sense to me. By all indications, the Bengals two young OT's have shown improvement over the offseason and they would be better off adding a veteran OT off the waiver wire for insurance.
This draft is strong at the CB position, but the Bengals are already loaded at the position especially after inking Dre Kirkpatrick and signing Bene Benwikere. It also, unfortunately, looks like Adam Jones is returning. Throw in WJIII, Darqueze Dennard and Josh Shaw, and the Bengals have the making of a very talented defensive backfield.
There were a few LB'er's that I was tempted to mock, but every time I wanted to, there was a better player available. The rise of Nick Vigil and the signing of Kevin Minter along with the release of Ray Maualuga makes this squad better than last years. Adding a veteran free agent is an option.
Keep in mind that this mock represents only one of dozens that I could come up with that would greatly improve the team. So what do you guys think?
