Rounds 2 & 3 Thread

[4256 Hits]

If you take Jones here you are left with table scraps at LB and WR without a significant move up either into Rd2 or early Rd 3 if you're lucky. Our offense isnt that bad with all the weapons coming back and the assumption that Jonah is the real deal. We have GAPING holes at LB still to be filled. I take the LB and then focus on how to trade back up for the BPA OL or WR. Could be the best first 3 rounds in a while if played right.

Edit - if we dont solve the LB problem this year I will officially name our defense the "2nd and 2 Crew".

I don't think there is LB worth taking at 33 and I am fine with the WR they have at this point. I am not fin with the OL that they have so would be happy adding another body to that group.

[Bengals1]

I agree with JoeB. My fear is that they're going to outsmart themselves again by trading back and then finding the players they want off the board.

So them comes the "Junior" Samples type pick or another trade back.

I'd rather just take Jones who fills a need and see who's there in round 3.

Don't get cute and don't over think this....

[Joe Bananas]

Ian Rappaport saying Mims or Blacklock

I haven't seen a Baylor WR make it yet in the NFL and I'm not overly impressed with Mims.

Not to crazy about the DT either.



Blacklock is primed for Bengals, he already tore his Achilles in 2018 and been mending ever since. Oh boy

[Jmble]

From Paul Dehner of The Athletic today.

Puts the highest probability at the Bengals trading back (40%)

30% chance they take a WR

15% chance they take an OL

15 percent chance they take a Defensive player.

CINCINNATI – We thought options would be on the table. We were right.

The Bengals have all day to sit at No. 33 overall and decide what direction they want to go. That direction could very likely be back.

Whatever way they go when put on the clock Friday night, a message will be sent regarding how they feel about a few critical areas of their team.

The headliners of this spot from a Bengals perspective are Houston offensive tackle Josh Jones and Baylor wide receiver Denzel Mims. With an interesting group of edge rushers sitting in the weeds, too.

I took a look at the four most likely paths to take with this selection, what it would mean and my view of the percentage chance each choice happens.

Going offensive line
When selecting a quarterback and face of the franchise with the first overall pick, the immediate instinct is to protect him with somebody better than Bobby Hart or the hope Fred Johnson turns into a quality player. It’s important to remember the language we’ve heard from the offensive staff throughout this leadup to the draft. They have lauded the potential of the offensive line and claimed the biggest addressing of concerns there happened last year. They think they could be in good hands with the debut of Jonah Williams at left tackle, Michael Jordan in his second year at left guard and Johnson potentially making good on his impressive small sample size at the end of last season.

Do they give Johnson a chance to make good with Hart-level play as the fallback option? Or do you blow the whole concept up for a player like Jones who is still around at 33 for his own reasons? In Bob McGinn’s survey of scout and evaluators, they ranked Jones behind Ezra Cleveland as the eighth-best tackle in this draft. The best comment given to McGinn about Jones was this: “He’s athletic. Sort of technique-flawed. It’ll take him a little time to get it all buttoned up. He’s a serviceable, functional NFL tackle. You can get by with him, I think.”

Not exactly a rave review. Pro Football Focus is higher on him than most everyone, buoyed by a strong performance for the North team at the Senior Bowl. Our Dane Brugler ranks Jones the fifth-best tackle in this class, ahead of Isaiah Wilson and Austin Jackson, who both came off the board in the first round.

As for Cleveland, his athleticism is a major plus and but his strength a concern during his time at Boise State. You could make an argument for him, though, he doesn’t fit in the typical Jim Turner mold we’ve seen the last two years.

Passing on Jones or Cleveland would mean backing up what the coaching staff has said all along. They like the direction they are headed with this group they have. Projection and hope is the plan and they wouldn’t see either prospect as an upgrade over the possible development of Johnson or current level of Hart.

Percentage chance: 15 percent
Going wide receiver
I’ve viewed Denzel Mims as the best Bengals fit of the second tier of receivers in this deep class for a long time. His speed, vertical threat and playmaking make up the exact type of player the Bengals lack. He showed off at the Senior Bowl and then ran a 4.38 in Indianapolis. Placing him in the second wide receiver spot between A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd would not only give depth and explosiveness at wideout this year, but it would also offer an option to develop into a No. 1 next season when we don’t know whether Green will be on the roster.

Go ahead and throw Tee Higgins and Laviska Shenault in this same mix as potential picks they could like more than Mims. Any of those coming off the board here would still tell us a lot about how likely the Bengals feel it is they can ink Green to a long-term deal. This position isn’t as pressing of a need if Green is still around in the future.

They do still have the mercurial, injury-plagued John Ross to plug in as the second receiver if necessary. But the lack of vertical threat without him last year was suffocating for the entire offensive scheme. Ross is unreliable and it’s hard to see a path to him returning to the club in 2021 barring a massive breakout.

Percentage chance: 30 percent

Defensive options
Yetur Gross-Matos of Penn State and A.J. Epenesa of Iowa are both still on the board. The Bengals would like depth at edge rusher with Carlos Dunlap, Sam Hubbard and Carl Lawson the primary three in the mix right now. Dunlap is 31 and Lawson has been consistently hurt throughout his career and is also entering a contract year. There would be an immediate need, a highly regarded talent at a premium position that could be eased into the starter role immediately.

That’s enticing. Consider last year, Bill Bender of Sporting News did an early mock draft for 2020 at the conclusion of the 2019 draft and had Epenesa in the top five. Brugler calls Epenesa “an NFL starter with Pro Bowl upside,” offering stylistic comparables to Frank Clark.

Gross-Matos is more the athletic profile you desire but needs some time to develop once he gets here. High upside, to be sure.

Those guys are in the mix if the Bengals are true to the best player available philosophy.

Also, in the never-ending quest to land a linebacker, Zack Baun of Wisconsin still lingers. He could likely be had a little further back but at a position of need, he could be a versatile option to step in and supplement the gaping hole on the defense but also there in a trade back.

Percentage chance: 15 percent
Trading back
This might be the most likely scenario. Consider all the quality players still on the board and that the Bengals only have seven picks. They have held double-digit selections each of the last three years. You know what else they have done each of the last three years? Traded back in the second round. It’s their go-to move, as Jay Morrison outlined in this story Wednesday. If New England at 37 or Carolina at 38, all the way to Houston at 40 want to come up, there would be plenty of quality options still available and would be worth it if Cincinnati could add a fourth.

As for those in range where the Bengals could go back far enough to make that happen and the picks available, here’s a snapshot of what they have to offer:

37. New England: Two fourth-rounders, No. 125, No. 139. The draft trade chart would make for a fairly even swap if Bengals got 125, the 19th pick in the fourth.

38. Carolina: A fairly even trade would be their seventh pick in the fourth round, No. 113 overall.

39. Miami: They have a ton of picks, but to make this specific move work would have to offer both picks at bottom of fourth round: 136 and 141.

40. Houston: Would be a fairly even trade if the Texans gave up the fifth pick in the fourth round, No. 111 overall. The Texans’ Bill O’Brien is no stranger to trading up.

You start moving too much further back from this and you enter a new universe of players. Maybe the Bengals would be willing to do that in order to end up with a better ransom but this distance feels like the most likely.

You move back and you still are adding a quality receiver or one of the edge rushers or Baun. But the offensive linemen will likely come off the board because you have to think that’s what teams would be willing to come up for at this point.

Percentage chance: 40 percent

[stripesincarolina]

We gotta come out of this with 2 2nd round picks. Win now or die baby.

[TheBurn]

Albert Breer @AlbertBreer

Per sources, the Bengals are actively exploring trading down from the 33rd overall pick, even with a couple guys there (Ross Blacklock, Josh Jones, etc.) they like. Indy looking to go down from the 34th spot, too.

Lots of depth in the second round = movement on trades.

5:45 PM · Apr 24, 2020·Twitter Web App

Jed DeMuesy @Local12Jed

Lap has added: if they stay at 33, the pick will more than likely be a WR. Mims, Higgins top on #Bengals board, according to Lap.

5:42 PM · Apr 24, 2020·Twitter Web App

[Bengals1]

They're going to blow this....trust me.

[Joe Bananas]

If Lap said it it's stone!

So we taken a Baylor WR that will be the 6th Baylor WR that has done zilch in the NFL...overrated!

[Joe Bananas]

Take Jones or an Edge and lets go fooools!

[Mag]

If Mims and Higgins are at the top of the board, I can see them trading down, because one of the 2 should be there if they trade down with either the Giants or Pats.