2017 Bengals Season

[Kingspoint]

http://overthecap.com/projecting-201...y-draft-picks/

Teams for the first time are able to trade Compensatory picks.

The Bengals are projected to receive two 4th's and two 6th's.

[Redhook]

Boy, they have a lot of holes. First Round, I'm hoping for Foster or Thomas, or possibly a WR. They're OL could be a mess though. Losing Whit and/or Zeitler could be devastating. This free agency is highly important. The problem is the Bengals are typically allergic to free agency. That has to change this year if they want to have any chance next season.

[WrongVerb]

If I was running the draft, this is what I'd do:

I'd try to trade down in the first, and pick up a 2nd round pick. Trade of McCarron should bring another 2nd round pick and a fourth in 2018. That gives four picks in the top 50. I'd select a DE with the first pick, then OT, CB, and WR IN the second, and either Pocic or Elflein in the third. After that spend the rest of the picks moving up as much as possible. There's a real talent drop off after the 180th ranked player or so. It wouldn't bother me if the Bengals didn't pick after their 5th round selection.

Oh, and for goodness sake, re-sign Zeitler! (Also, Re-sign Dre and move him to free safety, have Williams play strong, and Iloka be a Chancellor/Buchanan type hybrid.)

Oh and the first four picks, I'd go:

DE Charlton
OT Bolles/Garcia
CB Jackson
WR Samuels

[bucksfan2]

If I was running the draft, this is what I'd do:

I'd try to trade down in the first, and pick up a 2nd round pick. Trade of McCarron should bring another 2nd round pick and a fourth in 2018. That gives four picks in the top 50. I'd select a DE with the first pick, then OT, CB, and WR IN the second, and either Pocic or Elflein in the third. After that spend the rest of the picks moving up as much as possible. There's a real talent drop off after the 180th ranked player or so. It wouldn't bother me if the Bengals didn't pick after their 5th round selection.

Oh, and for goodness sake, re-sign Zeitler! (Also, Re-sign Dre and move him to free safety, have Williams play strong, and Iloka be a Chancellor/Buchanan type hybrid.)

Oh and the first four picks, I'd go:

DE Charlton
OT Bolles/Garcia
CB Jackson
WR Samuels

Here is what I would do:

Take the BPA at the #9 pick. My dream pick would be Malik Hooker, its not necessarily a need, but I think he will be an Ed Reed or Polomalu type player, a game changer at S. Its not only instincts, but when he made a play, he turned it up field and was dangerous. If they do trade back, I would look late at a Center (Elflein looks to be the best). I am not a huge fan of taking a C in the first round, but the Bengals have needed a C for the longest time.

I would target WR's or RB in rounds 2-4 (comp picks as well.)

LB is a need but I would reserve that for a right player at the right spot. With Burfict and hopefully Vigil making strides, they should be ok at LB.

I think you sign both Zeitler and Dre, let Jones go.

[Kingspoint]

From ProFootballFocus:

Best CB defending the go route in 2016 (min. six targeted routes); Dre Kirkpatrick, Bengals

Dre Kirkpatrick defended the go route as well as one can possibly do it in 2016. He was targeted nine times on such routes without allowing a catch, and he intercepted two passes (tied for most in NFL). He had the lowest QB rating against, with a 0.0, 39.6 points lower than if a QB just threw an incomplete pass every time. Kirkpatrick was used in multiple coverages when stopping the go route: five times he was in man coverage, either cover-1 or cover-2 man, and four times in zone, twice in cover-6, once in cover-4, and once in cover-3. Both of Kirkpatrick’s interceptions came in zone coverage, while in man he broke up one of five passes with another being incomplete due to an underthrow.


In another system, Kirkpatrick will be an excellent CB. The teams that can take advantage of his strengths will offer him a big contract. The Bengals not only don't take advantage of his strengths, but they won't pay as much as another team will be willing to offer him.

This season, the moratorium for meeting with players before signing has been reduced from three days before the signing period begins to two days.

If the Bengals would change some of their defensive schemes to take advantage of Dre's strengths, then the question-marks surrounding the entire Secondary would be greatly lessened. That would take a decision from Marvin, approval by Mikey, and implementation by Guenther. I'm not at all concerned about Guenther implementing it, but I doubt Marvin is willing to change. He's never shown the ability to adjust his schemes to match his personnel. He's simply a complete idiot.

[Kingspoint]

ProFootballFocus' rankings of the Top-10 Free Agent Offensive Linemen:

3. Andrew Whitworth, T, Cincinnati Bengals

At age 35, Whitworth may not be a long-term solution at this point. However, at worst, he can be an exceptional short-term answer for teams needing help at the tackle position. Whitworth has graded among the top-10 tackles for eight consecutive seasons, and his best play has actually come in recent years, as he’s ranked among the top-five tackles for the last four seasons. He remains one of the better pass-protecting left tackles, having allowed just 14 total QB pressures last season. Even though it may only be for a limited time, Whitworth could be a difference-maker for a playoff contender.


1. Kevin Zeitler, G, Cincinnati Bengals

Zeitler may be just below the “elite” tier of guards, but not by much. He has earned a top-10 overall grade among guards in each of the last three seasons, and is pretty balanced in having success as both a run and pass blocker. Zeitler has allowed just one sack over the past two seasons, and recorded the fifth-highest pass-blocking efficiency among guards in 2016. At age 27, he likely has a whole contract’s worth of good years ahead of him, which gives him the edge over the next two players.

[Kingspoint]

Current Depth Chart under contract:

Cincinnati Bengals

QB:Andy Dalton>A.J. McCarron>Jeff Driskel
RB:Jeremy Hill>Giovani Bernard>Tra Carson
FB:Ryan Hewitt
WR1:A.J. Green>Cody Core>Alonzo Russell>Chris Brown
WR2:Tyler Boyd>Alex Erickson>James Wright>Jake Kumerow
TE:Tyler Eifert>C.J. Uzomah>Tyler Kroft
LT:Cedric Ogbuehi
LG:Clint Boling>Alex Redmond
C:Russell Bodine>T.J. Johnson(RFA)
RG:Trey Hopkins>Christian Westerman
RT:Jake Fisher

LE:Carlos Dunlap>Ryan Brown
RE:Michael Johnson>Will Clarke
DT1:Geno Atkins>DeShawn Williams>Marcus Hardison>David Dean
DT2:Pat Sims>Brandon Thompson>Andrew Billings
MLB:Rey Maualuga>Paul Dawson
WLB:Vontaze Burfict>Marquis Flowers
SLB:Vincent Rey>Nick Vigil>Bryson Albright
LCB:Josh Shaw>William Jackson III
RCB:Adam Jones>KeiVarae Russell
SCB.Darqueze Dennard>Bene Benwikere>Tony McRae
FS:George Iloka>Derron Smith
SS:Shawn Williams>Clayton Fejedelem
K:Randy Bullock>Jonathan Brown
P:Kevin Huber

[Redsfaithful]

If the Bengals don't resign 2 out of 3 of Whitworth, Zeitler, Kirkpatrick it's going to be really hard not to just tune out and be a bandwagon fan for the next little bit.

The thing they supposedly do is sign their own - if they abandon that too, along with never doing anything in free agency then what else is left?

[Kingspoint]

ProFootballFocus' Top-10 FA RB's:

8. Rex Burkhead, Cincinnati Bengals (74.5)

Burkhead has received a very limited number of snaps over his three-year NFL career, but he enjoyed his most expanded role last season, and he thrived within it. Burkhead averaged 3.03 yards after contact per attempt in 2016, which ranked 12th*among all RBs receiving at least 50 carries, forcing 15 missed tackles on 91 total touches.

[Kingspoint]

From Rotoworld with Rotoworld comments:

The Denver Post's Nicki Jhabvala expects the Broncos to give free agent LT Andrew Whitworth a "serious look" when the market opens.

The offensive tackle market -- both in free agency and the draft -- is expected to be pretty barren, which bodes well for Whitworth, who is easily the best one available despite his advanced age (35). Whitworth has said he'd be open to a return to Cincinnati, but he also wants to test the market. He's a candidate for a massive payday with so many teams looking for offensive line help.

Source: Denver Post

[Kingspoint]

ProFootballFocus' ranking of the best 2016 Receivers for each route:

Post and corner routes

The post and corner routes are essentially the same thing, just run in different directions. The corner route is when a receiver runs deep and then cuts diagonally to the sideline. The post route is the same thing except the receiver cuts toward the middle of the field. These routes are designed to get deep down the field; in 2016 they had an aDOT of 22.38 yards.


Best post and corner routes (min. 10 targeted routes): A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals

Green was highly successful on these routes, with an 80 percent catch rate on 10 targets — all eight catches resulted in a first down or touchdown. In all, he had 185 yards and a touchdown for a 152.08 WR, tied for highest in the league. Green’s aDOT on post routes was 19.8 yards, and his longest catch came on a 51-yard route that he caught for 54-yard touchdown. If Green had stayed healthy this year, his numbers likely would have led the league in more categories.


If you consider that Green probably faced Safety help on every one of those routes because of Eifert's absence and a lack of a deep threat/playmaker on the opposite side, it makes his production that much more impressive.

If Zeitler and/or Whitworth are let go, Dalton will have a much more difficult time getting the ball deep to anyone.

Whatever happens with the O-Line, the best way to make Green better is to use that #9 pick on a WR, in all likelihood the first WR off the board in 2017. The Top-2 Safeties expect to be gone. The Top-5 DE's expect to be gone. Any QB's that sneak into the Top-8 are likely to push a DE down, but if that's an EDGE Defender, he doesn't fit the 4-3 scheme.

The Bengals taking a WR seems to be the surest pick among the Top-10 this year. The Western Michigan WR, Corey Davis, is a common choice as 1st WR off the board.

[Kingspoint]

Per ProFootballFocus, what Corey Davis does best:

Excellent route-runner who can separate really well due to his sharp route-running.

Sells double moves exceptionally well, especially with his head fake.

Uses his hands subtly to create separation.

Demonstrates attention to detail and savviness on tough sideline catches by tapping both feet inbounds.

Does not let the ball in to his body and uses his hands to catch passes, which extends his catch radius and allows him to turn up field quicker.

Excels at making adjustments when the football is in the air (e.g. his touchdown vs. Wisconsin).

Dangerous in the open field with the ball in his hands.

Lined up all over the field and ran all routes at Western Michigan, including trick plays such as jet sweeps.

Knows how to find space in the middle of the field in against zone coverage.

Can finish receptions even when absorbing a hit at the catch point.

Secures the ball well and had only one fumble on 266 receptions over the last three years.

[Kingspoint]

There's plenty of golden opportunities for finding quality players, including Starters and Pro-Bowlers after the 5th Rd. In fact, there are plenty of quality players that go undrafted every season. If your Scouting Department doesn't fall into the trap of following others like lemmings and truly investigates players while not falling into the "he never faced competition" syndrome, then you can retool a franchise fairly quickly. Management has to trust their Scouting Department or it doesn't work. It would help to have more than five Scouts like the Bengals, but five can get it done.

It was only 20 months ago I was clamouring for the Bengals to be proactive and bring Tyrell Williams into Training Camp as an Undrafted FA. Had they done this, they wouldn't be using this year's #9 pick on a WR, and instead could address the RDE position.

[WrongVerb]

There's plenty of golden opportunities for finding quality players, including Starters and Pro-Bowlers after the 5th Rd. In fact, there are plenty of quality players that go undrafted every season. If your Scouting Department doesn't fall into the trap of following others like lemmings and truly investigates players while not falling into the "he never faced competition" syndrome, then you can retool a franchise fairly quickly. Management has to trust their Scouting Department or it doesn't work. It would help to have more than five Scouts like the Bengals, but five can get it done.

It was only 20 months ago I was clamouring for the Bengals to be proactive and bring Tyrell Williams into Training Camp as an Undrafted FA. Had they done this, they wouldn't be using this year's #9 pick on a WR, and instead could address the RDE position.

Most years I would agree that you can find quality players after the 5th round. This isn't one of those years. This is just a year where there aren't that many quality players entering the draft. Last year the draft was very deep. Fejedelem could wind up being a starter, for instance. I really like that pick and had even mocked him a few times to the Bengals.

Oh, and 20 months ago I was begging the Bengals to draft La'el Collins (who was tangentially associated with a murder) in the 7th round. He's now anchoring the Dallas offensive line. Imagine how different the team would be with your Williams and my Collins.

[bucksfan2]

There's plenty of golden opportunities for finding quality players, including Starters and Pro-Bowlers after the 5th Rd. In fact, there are plenty of quality players that go undrafted every season. If your Scouting Department doesn't fall into the trap of following others like lemmings and truly investigates players while not falling into the "he never faced competition" syndrome, then you can retool a franchise fairly quickly. Management has to trust their Scouting Department or it doesn't work. It would help to have more than five Scouts like the Bengals, but five can get it done.

It was only 20 months ago I was clamouring for the Bengals to be proactive and bring Tyrell Williams into Training Camp as an Undrafted FA. Had they done this, they wouldn't be using this year's #9 pick on a WR, and instead could address the RDE position.

Kingspoint I love your post, but dislike when you speak in absolutes. As of right now I don't see them using their #9 pick on a WR. In recent memory they have drafted a WR in the first round, twice, Warrick and Green. I don't think WR (or TE for that matter) is a need early in the draft. I think with a corps of Green, Boyd, Eifort, and Kroft they should be set at the WR/TE position. They do need depth, probably need quite a bit of depth, but I don't think you draft depth in the 1st round. The only way you use the #9 overall pick on a TE is if the guy from Western Michigan is the BPA and a game breaking talent.

I wonder if the Bengals finally let Whit walk. Guy has been awesome as a Bengal, probably one of the most underappreciated players nationally, but is entering his 13th season. If I were to rank FA needs it would be 1. Zeitler, 2. Dre, 3. Whit. Its not a shot at Whit, just a reality that the wheels are going to fall off sooner than the other three. Just for fun I went and looked at Willie Anderson's career, the Bengals let him go after his 12th season, he played one more in Baltimore and was done.