Grade the Bengals Draft

[WVRed]

Title says it all.

I'm going with B. For the value of the picks, you can't criticize Marvin. Leon Hall, Jonathan Joseph, and Madieu Williams is going to make up a very lights out secondary hopefully by the end of the year. I wasn't too thrilled with the Irons pick at first, but with the average lifespan of running backs in the league, it may be time to consider life after Rudi. However, I think Ahmad Brooks in the third round is better than anybody who was available at that time.

While I give all the praise, the Bengals did not address the front seven until the seventh round unless you count Ahmad Brooks, and he was there last year. The team will be significantly better next year because of the schedule, but as Cedric said in the NFL Draft thread, they will not win many games in the playoffs.

A for the value of the picks, C for not filling needs.

[dsmith421]

I'm saying C, because the team has done very little to shore up the defensive front seven. Even assuming status quo on offense, this team is likely to be top 6 in yardage and points. Addressing the third-worst defense in the NFL should have been priority 1, 2, and 3, and the club has not acquired a single difference-maker in free agency and did not improve the front seven at all in the draft.

All in all, the Bengals continue to have a nice little team but with the strides forward Baltimore and New England have made, they are as far from the Super Bowl as they were in Marvin's first year.

[Cedric]

Until the Bengals shore up their defensive front four they are just pretenders. It's something Marvin Lewis refuses to adress in the draft.

[guttle11]

Until the Bengals shore up their defensive front four they are just pretenders. It's something Marvin Lewis refuses to adress in the draft.

Who did you want them to take? Jarvis Moss was taken right before them in round 1, and Woodley and Harris in round 2.

They got a guy widely viewed as top ten quality at 18. That's great value. You HAVE to take him. There were no highly rated defensive guys left when they picked Irons. Ahmad Brooks was their 3rd round pick, with 1st round potential and a year of experience... Then come round 4 you start taking the best player available on your board.

And I'm not sure you mean by refusing to address the front seven in the draft. Pollack, Thurman, Geathers, Brooks, I might be missing one or two. Some picks work out, some don't for various reasons. To say he refuses to addresses it is kinda silly IMO.

BTW, I gave this draft a B. They obviously believe the QB they took will be a good backup in a year, and I like the saftey they got, too. Sort of ho-hum, but I think 2, 3, 4 years down the road this will be a solid class for them.

[Cedric]

Who did you want them to take? Jarvis Moss was taken right before them in round 1, and Woodley and Harris in round 2.

They got a guy widely viewed as top ten quality at 18. That's great value. You HAVE to take him. There were no highly rated defensive guys left when they picked Irons. Ahmad Brooks was their 3rd round pick, with 1st round potential and a year of experience... Then come round 4 you start taking the best player available on your board.

And I'm not sure you mean by refusing to address the front seven in the draft. Pollack, Thurman, Geathers, Brooks, I might be missing one or two. Some picks work out, some don't for various reasons. To say he refuses to addresses it is kinda silly IMO.

BTW, I gave this draft a B. They obviously believe the QB they took will be a good backup in a year, and I like the saftey they got, too. Sort of ho-hum, but I think 2, 3, 4 years down the road this will be a solid class for them.

I said front four. I couldn't care less about linebackers. They are a dime a dozen in this league.

Pollack, Thurman, and Brooks were all LB's. Geathers was a 6th round pick and a lucky hit.

Marvin refuses to upgrade the most important position on his defense and I have no clear idea why.

[HotCorner]

I said front four. I couldn't care less about linebackers. They are a dime a dozen in this league.

Pollack, Thurman, and Brooks were all LB's. Geathers was a 6th round pick and a lucky hit.

Marvin refuses to upgrade the most important position on his defense and I have no clear idea why.

Upgrade with whom?

Geathers a lucky hit? To quote Ozzie Guillen, "please."

[Cedric]

Upgrade with whom?

Geathers a lucky hit? To quote Ozzie Guillen, "please."

Over the years they have had countless chances to upgrade the front four and he hasn't yet. It's the most important position on the field and yet he goes for Carl Powell and Bryan Robinson type players. Just dumb, IMO.

How is drafting someone in the 6th round not a lucky hit? Marvin has shown over the years that he doesn't value the front four like he should.

[George Foster]

I said front four. I couldn't care less about linebackers. They are a dime a dozen in this league.

Pollack, Thurman, and Brooks were all LB's. Geathers was a 6th round pick and a lucky hit.

Marvin refuses to upgrade the most important position on his defense and I have no clear idea why.

totally agree, if linebackers are making tackles on runningbacks, they have already gained 5 yards. To not even try and move up in the draft, or get a free agent signing is horrible. The front four is responsible for the pass rush and making tackles on runningbacks before they gain over 3 yards. Teams will continue to pass for over 300 yards and gain 120 on the ground until this problem is addressed.

[Yachtzee]

totally agree, if linebackers are making tackles on runningbacks, they have already gained 5 yards. To not even try and move up in the draft, or get a free agent signing is horrible. The front four is responsible for the pass rush and making tackles on runningbacks before they gain over 3 yards. Teams will continue to pass for over 300 yards and gain 120 on the ground until this problem is addressed.

Actually, I thought many systems used the DL to engage the OL and LBs to step up into the holes at the line. Now if you had said if the FS is making a tackle on RBs, they've already gained 5 yards, I'm right there with you. But LBs are typicall up "in the box" to stuff runs at the line of scrimmage.

[UKFlounder]

It's something Marvin Lewis refuses to adress in the draft.

Or in free agency.

Or by trades.

[pedro]

I honestly don't know.

[Danny Serafini]

I gave it a D. I'm not a Leon Hall fan, he got torched in big games last year. The Kenny Irons pick was absurd. Terrible first day. Maybe something will come of the second day guys to salvage this draft, but at first glance it looks to be Lewis' worst draft as coach.

[Sea Ray]

I gave it a D.

I agree. D it is.

I'm fine with Hall. He can be a nickel CB this year and grow into a bigger role.

Picking a RB and a QB were stupid. Irons was not a steal at #2. It's not like a 1st rounder fell to the second. RBs and backup QBs can be picked up later and in free agency. No one ever projects Irons as an every down back in the NFL.

Put it this way: The only players drafted who project to possibly being a starter in this league is Hall and Ahmad Brooks. That's not good.

[Yachtzee]

I agree. D it is.

I'm fine with Hall. He can be a nickel CB this year and grow into a bigger role.

Picking a RB and a QB were stupid. Irons was not a steal at #2. It's not like a 1st rounder fell to the second. RBs and backup QBs can be picked up later and in free agency. No one ever projects Irons as an every down back in the NFL.

Put it this way: The only players drafted who project to possibly being a starter in this league is Hall and Ahmad Brooks. That's not good.

I got the impression that the Irons pick means that they aren't counting on Perry and they realize that Rudi is more effective when they have a change of pace back to run to the outside.

For all this talk about the DLine, I thought Peko and Adams worked pretty well with Smith and Geathers, and that's with Adams having injury problems. They do lack depth, but I thought a lot of the issues they had were as a result of a depleted LB corps. I think the failure to address it in the draft may mean they expect guys coming back from injury to produce and possibly a deal with Ed Hartwell. What should be promising is that the Hall pick means that the Bengals have what draftniks have said is a shutdown-level corner to complement Joseph. If Deltha O'Neal doesn't return to the form he displayed his first year with the Bengals, it might not be the problem it was this past season. With Jackson and Williams, the secondary might not only be formidable, but also might be good at stopping the run.

I don't see them becoming a top-10 defense, but I think if they could at least improve to top half of the league, the offense with a Carson Palmer 1 more year removed from his injury is potent enough to carry the team to the playoffs.

[Joseph]

I'm a C- rater.

Hall I like, nothing else do I like though