Bengals Draft Board

[Monkeyfeng06]

^ i think it's time to start that process!

[PhilipNelsonFan]

In the grand scheme of things, though, this team needs a lot more immediate help at OL, DL, LB and CB than at TE. If someone comes up on the FA market (say, Aaron Shea), the Bengals can grab him as a stopgap.

Tight end was a pretty deep position last year; look at guys like Kevin Boss (now starting for the Giants in lieu of Shockey) and Ben Patrick (played some for the Cardinals this year). This tight end class doesn't look great right now (top three, per NFLDraftCountdown, are Jon Carlson, Davis and Martin Rucker). There is a guy for the later rounds, Joey Haynos of Maryland, that would be a decent pickup...he's 6-8, 260, and has decent athleticism. He's basically a skinnier OT who can catch the damn ball.

I do have a question, though...what do you all think of Chinedum Ndukwe? He was a pleasant surprise this year.

[Monkeyfeng06]

^ he is. awesome pickup. i wonder what happened to marvin white? i thought he will be a great player for our defense this year. he just disappeared and replaced by ndukwe. i don't know about our safety positions.. madieu williams is good, dexter is getting old. i have no idea what to do with our safety positions.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

That's my question too. I think Ndukwe has a clear-cut role on the team as a backup S, but that's probably it. No idea what happened to Marvin White either. I guess he just got buried on the depth chart. So we should probably call the safety position set (it's far from that but it's not a gaping need) and concentrate our efforts elsewhere.

Here's the depth chart. Useful piece of information, that.

Our DL and LB positions so terrible we needn't bother deliberate further. Our WR and QB depth are excellent, and RB depth is fine. With the exception of St. Louis (the long snapper) and Kelly, all tight ends should be cut.

The OL is talented but old and not very deep. Andrew Whitworth may need to be moved to T this season if Anderson or Jones can't step up. This team needs another T (Gosder Cherilus?) badly. I'd also like to see them draft another G.

CB is mostly set for the future with Hall and Joseph, but I'd love for them to add a young CB. If we're three-deep at that position we're in good shape.

Here's how I'd prioritize it:

1st round: LB/DL/OT
2nd round: CB/OT/LB
3rd round: CB/OT/TE
4th round: OT/OG/TE
5th round: OG/TE/WR
6th round: Fill out the depth chart
7th round: Fill out the depth chart

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Bengals draft history

Not bad considering a lot of those players remain on the team. The problem is, not many of them are very good.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Ideal Bengals draft:

1st-James Laurinaitis
2nd-Aqib Talib
3rd-J Leman
4th-Heath Newberry
(I think we traded our 5th to get Fitzpatrick)
6th-Joey Haynos
7th-Geoff Schwartz

[Monkeyfeng06]

so laruinaitis is gone, i guess ellis is the best pick possible.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Ellis would be great, and don't forget about Vernon Gholston on the off-chance that he drops.

Another name of interest: Haruki Nakamura, the S from Cincinnati (CU). He's a ballhawk, but I wonder if he has the measurables to get drafted. If he does, Cincy should jump on him.

[Monkeyfeng06]

should the bengals resign justin smith?

i think madieu williamd is a better resign in my opinion. i don't know about justin smith... he's a great player but...

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Madieu Williams has to be re-signed. Smith I don't really want, but I don't know where we then spend that money.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Cincinnati should make a draft-day trade and try to pick up an extra 3rd-rounder and maybe a 5th-rounder. Package those 5th-rounders for a 4th-rounder and I think this draft might be possible:

1st: Sedrick Ellis
2nd: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
3rd: DeMario Pressly
3rd: Heath Benedict
4th: J Leman
4th: Jerome Simpson
7th: Haruki Nakamura

That's two DTs, a CB, a S, an OT, a LB, and a WR. That'd be an excellent haul that filled needs across the board and complemented existing talent.

[Monkeyfeng06]

omg! cromartie's cousin!!

*drooling...

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Here's a scenario I was playing around with in my head...

What if we traded Rudi Johnson for a 3rd-rounder, traded down a couple spots from the first round for an extra pick, and draft Jonathan Stewart?

Stewart can do a lot of what Rudi does, but he has home-run speed. Jeremi Johnson is a decent fullback and will probably make Stewart even better than he already is.

The way I look at it, if we miss out on the top need picks (DT, OT), we could always hit the home run ball with a top-10 prospect in the draft who will almost surely fall because no one will pick up a running back. From there, we can fill some needs with less valuable picks...but the players should still be pretty good given the depth of this draft.

Say we get a fourth-rounder in a trade down...then we could pull off a draft that looks like this:

1st: Jonathan Stewart
2nd: Erin Henderson (I love this pick the more I see it)
3rd: Anthony Collins
3rd: DeMario Pressly
4th: Heath Newberry
4th: Donnie Avery

Needs and depth can then be crossed off.

[GS Warriors 1]

The Rudi/Stewart scenario would be quite interesting.

You guys seem to have a great shot at Ellis with the 9th pick. I would be wary of a team in the teens trying to trade up for him though, most likely New England being the trade partner.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

If Ellis is gone, I don't expect the Bengals FO to sweat too hard. There's a legitimate chance Ryan Clady hangs around by the 9th pick, and he fills a definite need (young stud LT). Some mocks have them taking Derrick Harvey of Florida, but DE isn't really a need as long as Justin Smith is re-signed.

If neither of those guys work out, Cincy could trade down and pick up Mike Jenkins, Jeff Otah or Dan Connor. They have a lot of options.

[GS Warriors 1]

Clady at #9 would be a great pick.

I think he'll be a top 5 pick when its all said and done.

[Monkeyfeng06]

but do we really need clady? we have whitworth, jones and andrews that can play LT. i don't know about drafting another tackle... i wouldn't mind drafting another guard but we don't need a tackle.

1st round pick should be a defensive pick... i'm just wish ellis is still there. if not, harvey and gholston are great picks since justin smith isn't coming back.

[Monkeyfeng06]

i think defensive line should be the focus of this draft. giants proved in the superbowl that having a great defensive line and create havoc even against one of the best team in history.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

i think defensive line should be the focus of this draft. giants proved in the superbowl that having a great defensive line and create havoc even against one of the best team in history.

This is true. I'm worried, though, that we wouldn't be able to get the best pieces. If we can't get one of the top 3 defensive linemen, though, there seems to be a huge dropoff in talent. There's some depth to the LB position, however, and plenty of room for the Bengals to move.

That said, we shouldn't expect to fix every defensive hole in this draft because there are so many.

[Monkeyfeng06]

glenn dorsey
sedrick ellis
chris long
derrick harvey
vernon gholston

that's the top 5 defensive linemen. i wouldn't mind getting any one of them.