Who would be your Bengals first round choice?
Who would be your Bengals first round choice?
Last edited by Thisyear; 04-25-2021 at 08:53 PM.
Fix the foundation first. Games are won in the trenches.
BillDoran (04-26-2021),Kingspoint (04-25-2021),Oxilon (04-26-2021),RedTeamGo! (04-26-2021)
It really depends. If Justin Fields is available at #5, then guarantee there will be a few teams trying to trade up for him. That's very valuable. But it's also unlikely. So I'll select Chase, I guess.
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. -- Carl Sagan (Pale Blue Dot)
I take Chase but I would be tempted to trade back maybe with Denver...it depends on the offer.
If you have a losing record at Reds games, please stop going.
As a football fan, I'd gamble on the biggest game-changer/ upside pick.
That's Pitts.
In looking at the board, there are (multiple) options at both lineman and WR that are nearly as good as those found in the first few picks. I'd gamble on Pitts' unique upside (and realize how poorly the Bengal TE set did last season). In the 2nd, I'd grab a lineman or WR BPA who fell, then grab the other in the 3rd.
I do understand why that may not be preferable for a team with as poor an offensive line as Cincinnati.
Bengals' history is riddled with failed attempts at Chase-ing rainbows. Their inabilty to develop talent, to be unable produce guys with a dominating attitude makes it paramount that they take the player with the ability to produce at a high level in spite of the Brown family. This pick needs to produce through the end of the 2nd contract with no thoughts whatsoever about ponying up the money it takes for the 2nd contract.
There's only one player in the entire draft that fits this description and that's Penei Sewell. Everyone else is a huge gamble for all kinds of reasons, including Chase and Pitts and Lawrence.
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
I chose Sewell but was torn between him and Chase. Both would help this team now. The thing that pushes me toward Sewell is Joe Burrow threw very few deep balls because he didn't have time. You gotta have the time to get it to the receiver no matter how talented.
Works for me.Sewell is dangerous when he fires to the second level, and he will get nasty with linebackers or defensive backs, overwhelming them with violence.
I think the reason Burrow threw very few deep balls is because he had no receivers with the ability to beat teams deep. It doesn't matter how good the line is, you don't beat teams over the top when your fastest receiver runs a 4.56. The line certainly didn't help last year, but the fault for deep ball issues was shared between Burrow, OL, and WR.
I prefer Chase, but barely. I'll be happy if it's Sewell. All I care is that they get much better at both WR and OL in the first two rounds, and I think they're in great shape to do that no matter which direction they go at 5.
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Thisyear (04-28-2021)
This is the wild card scenario that probably won't happen, but I'm kinda rooting for it. We know how Chase or Sewell would be used. Pitts is incredible. I'd be happy with him at 5, but there's a bit more mystery with how he would be used.
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Pitts as a Jimmy Graham/ Kellen Winslow/ Tony Gonzalez H back split wide would be a nightmare. Too big for nickel backs and too fast for LBs, he's got WR speed and catches almost everything in traffic. (The same argument for Chase can be made for Pitts-- and Pitts has game-changing speed for his position.) The Bengals had such putrid production from their TEs. With a porous offensive line (and that would continue with or without Sewell), the TE is a prime weapon to protect the QB a bit.
Cincinnati could then look to a speed guy to slot outside in the 2nd or 3rd round. For example, Auburn's Anthony Schwartz projects as a 4th round guy-- I think he might be a steal there. Rondale Moore, from Purdue, might slip to the 2nd round due to injury concerns and would be an ideal slot receiver. Shi Smith may slide to the 3rd or later-- he'd be another good slot guy.
Waiting on a WR until the 3rd round would allow them to choose an OT in the 2nd round. Christian Darrishaw profiles as a second rounder. Teven Jenkins does as well. Sam Cosmi from Texas has some incredible physical numbers too-- a 9.99 RAS. (He'd be my pick.)
The only two choices are Sewell (IMO the incredibly obvious pick) or Chase, anything else or trading back would be pure insanity to me.
Very bad reasoning, and you know this.
Quarterbacks are premium because of how rules are designed to give Quarterbacks and Receivers free reign. Any Super Bowl winner is going to have to have a QB that can throw for 4400 yards, 35 TD's, and keep the turnovers down to less than 1 per game. No QB can do this without protection from the O-Line. But, you have to keep swinging until you find a QB that can do this. While Sewell would have been the top overall pick 10 years ago and before, he's not now because rookie contracts for Top-5 QB's are manageable since Detroit took Stafford. They have to keep swinging until they find that QB that has poise at an NFL level after Defenses have NFL game film on him and can gameplan against his weaknesses. It takes the 2nd or 3rd year of starting to see if the QB can check all the boxes.
You used to be able to win a Super Bowl with an average QB protected by an elite Tackle and an elite Center with an elite Defense. Not anymore. An average Defense with an elite QB and and elite Tackle (on the blindside) and an elite Center (he has to be able to step into his throws).
Under both scenarios, average to above average Receivers are all you need. An elite Receiver is just a luxury.
You also have to know your franchise. The Bengals need sure things at key spots. This is a franchise that year after year is OK with having gaping holes and not addressing them in the offseasons to bring in multiple, capable options to fix that need, and are befuddled when going with what they have never works.
Now, the current Bengals have a LT that potentially can be above average year after year, and that would probably work, but he's only played 10 games out of 34 in his first two years. That's a huge red flag. They took care of the RT spot. Check. But, a check for only one year, maybe more. They added some options that could fix one of the two Guard spots. They mistakenly are going to go with what they have at Center. Huge mistake. They went big-time and made the best move I've seen them make in 10 years by jettisoning the very bad O-Line Coach and bringing back an excellent O-Line Coach. That move alone adds unlimited and unpredictable upside to the O-Line and Offense. Each position will be better at both pass-blocking and run-blocking, though we lost one of the league's best blocking backs in Bernard. It's very possible that they could add another Lineman through Free Agency after the draft. My favorite choice is still out there, and he can play Center better than any we have or play Guard.
We are going to be a lot better whether we take Pitts, Chase, Sewell or trade down. Nothing bad can happen. There's no John Ross out there for us to screw up on. Even if we traded down with DEN, we'll have the chance to take the best tackler and coverage Linebacker in the draft while using the other pick we get from DEN to add a quality WR or RT/LT. Win-win.
But, Sewell is a sure-thing. Nobody else in the draft is. Out of the first 120 games of Sewell's career, he's going to play in 120 of them. No other draftee will do this. From his first game, and first year, Sewell will be graded out as a Top-10 tackle before cementing himself as a Top-3 every year by his 2nd season.
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
Roy Tucker (04-27-2021)
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