Worthless Draft Grades

[Jmble]

They mean nothing, but if you are interested in reading or adding to how the Bengals did this weekend, this is a good topic to do it.

Here is the rundown from NFL.com

Cincinnati Bengals
Draft picks: Alabama OT Jonah Williams (No. 11 overall); Washington TE Drew Sample (No. 52); N.C. State LB Germaine Pratt (No. 72); N.C. State QB Ryan Finley (No. 104); Arizona State DT Renell Wren (No. 125); Ohio State C Michael Jordan (No. 136); Texas A&M RB Trayveon Williams (No. 182); Auburn LB Deshaun Davis (No, 210); Oklahoma RB Rodney Anderson (No. 211); South Dakota State CB Jordan Brown (No. 223)
Day 1 grade: A
Day 2 grade: C+
Day 3 grade: A
Overall grade: A-
Draft analysis: Cincinnati desperately needed help at offensive tackle, and Williams proved he can handle playing on the left or right side at Alabama. With both of the top inside linebackers off the board, this pick made a whole lot of sense. Just a solid pick.

Sample was considered one of the better combination tight ends (run blocker/receiver) in the draft, and the new Bengals coaching staff wanted that sort of player on the roster. It was probably two rounds too early, though. Pratt will be a good inside 'backer for Cincinnati, which needed to replace Vontaze Burfict.

Finley has the chance to be a starter eventually, whether it is in Cincinnati after the Andy Dalton era concludes or with another team via trade. Wren's athleticism is just waiting to be tapped by the right coach -- don't be surprised if he becomes a top-notch starter. Jordan is a guard for the Bengals, who could use an upgrade there. Mark Walton's departure made Williams a must-pick, given his value. Anderson's injury history caused him to fall into the sixth round, but that pick could pay off if he can get healthy. The addition of Brown's coverage ability closed a strong draft for the Bengals.

[stripesincarolina]

I've seen everything from near A+ to B-. All the discussion is around Sample as the #2 pick. Look, if he can block as advertised and keep Eiffert healthy by sharing some of the load, then I dont care if they picked him in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th round. Likewise, if he's a bust nobody here will care which round they picked him in because he's a bust. So I am not about to knock them for the pick.

I'm fine with the draft. All I really care about heading into camp are 3 things:
- Are Ross, AJ and Eiffert going to be 100% for camp.
- Can Bobby Hart take a huge step forward with his game.
- Can we find another LB somewhere that would give us an improvement over Nick Vigil. We are still so thin at LB with mediocre talent.

[Jmble]

This may have been mentioned elsewhere, but PFT reported that the Bengals tried hard to move up in the second round to get another offensive lineman, but other teams beat them to the punch. Because of that they ended up moving down and taking Sample.

They couldn't get who they wanted. There was a guy on the board they did want, so they traded down some because they knew they could still get him, added a pick and got the guy they wanted. I mean, you can argue all you want about whether they should have taken Sample in the second. They did what they thought they had to do and got guys that they wanted to get.

We'll see whether they were right or not, but it beats the best guy available approach when you have so many holes to fill. Taylor wanted a blocking Tight End and he got someone who many think was the best blocking tight end in the draft. If this helps open holes for Mixon, I'm all in on it.

[stripesincarolina]

Yep, I posted a link on that article over in the draft thread. But I agree 100%. Pundits can question all they want but they made the right move given the circumstances.

[Exile]

We'll see whether they were right or not, but it beats the best guy available approach when you have so many holes to fill. Taylor wanted a blocking Tight End and he got someone who many think was the best blocking tight end in the draft. If this helps open holes for Mixon, I'm all in on it.

And Taylor seems to be a big believer in the run setting up the pass, setting up play-action, so if we've got a guy here who can also catch the ball out of running formations, all the better. As Stripes said, it all comes down to how he pans out, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt here.

[stripesincarolina]

We'll see whether they were right or not, but it beats the best guy available approach when you have so many holes to fill. Taylor wanted a blocking Tight End and he got someone who many think was the best blocking tight end in the draft. If this helps open holes for Mixon, I'm all in on it.

And Taylor seems to be a big believer in the run setting up the pass, setting up play-action, so if we've got a guy here who can also catch the ball out of running formations, all the better. As Stripes said, it all comes down to how he pans out, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt here.

I've been thinking about your exact point Exile, and if the collective thinking is right about play action passing and using our RBs more in the passing game, this should be a huge season for Gio. My hope is that Zac doesnt overlook him in favor of his new project. We all know that some of our biggest passing plays over the last few years were thrown to Gio out in the flat where he can make people miss. I'd love to see a resurgance in Andy using the backs more in a ball control offense.

[4256 Hits]

IMO Andy is best with play action plays and quick slants. I hope the passing game focuses on those two type of plays.

[Andysbigfateyebrows]

^^^^^this^^^^^

[Joe Bananas]

Basically Samples is another Olineman they took because the dude they wanted wasnt there in second.

He's gonna be our reggie kelley

[Andysbigfateyebrows]

I disagree. I think they wanted Sample and got him. There’s a chance we wanted Bush but when the Steelers drafted him we were happy to improve our line. As many experts have said, our draft felt intentional, not made up on the fly. Many undervalue Gronk’s blocking and focus on his TDS. But we drafted a more athletic TE who was and okay blocker in Gresham. To me, this feels like we grabbed our Gronk. If you want a TE to play receiver, just draft a big receiver. We actually want a TE in the true definition of the position. I think people will be happy with Sample once his career plays out.