Look out
everyone, the 2012 season is upon us.
Training camps are opening and the winter of inactivity between the
draft and preseason is more or less over.
Before the season gains too much steam, I’m going to peek back at the
draft and give you my take on how things played out for your Cincinnati Bengals
(sorry any non Cincy readers out there...if you exist. Feel free to overt your eyes for this
edition). Ideally I would have posted
this three months ago, but I’ve been chipping away at it for a while and just
never got it all sewn together until now.
Oh well, training camp news hasn’t really started rolling in yet. Hopefully it will be a good way to refresh
your memory on the new young players in town and get you pumped up for the
upcoming season.
Looking
back, how about the first round of that draft, eh? It was fast and furious with a total of eight
draft-day trades in the first round (in addition to the four non-draft-day
trades involving first round picks: RG3 trade, Carson Palmer trade, Julio Jones
trade, and Mark Ingram trade). The
excessive fluidity has been widely attributed to the new rookie salary
structure, but a less publicized factor was the gargantuan talent plateau from
about pick seven spilling into the second round. Yes, the landscape wasn’t totally flat, but
it was clear there was a wide variety of opinion on various players, and teams
slid around to secure the players they liked accordingly.
The Bengals
have drawn rave reviews for their efforts.
While I’m not as ready as others to declare it a home run, the Bengals
definitely hit a line shot into left field.
Many have assigned Cincy a letter grade in the A- to A range. I’d
leave it at a B to B+ until we see some of these guys on the field. Here’s my take on each pick.
The First Round:
To start
out, Cincinnati addressed one of their top roster needs in youth at cornerback. The addition of Alabama CB Dre
Kirkpatrick allows them to pair the rookie with free agent signee Jason
Allen. Now they just need one of the
veterans to pan out between Leon Hall (injury), Terrance Newman (age), Nate
Clements (age/injury), and Adam Jones (head case) to give them a solid trio of
CB’s in their secondary for the next couple of years. None of these players are going to silence
high-end receivers, but they should give Mike Zimmer the tools he needs to stop
opposing offenses.
That, of
course, assumes that Kirkpatrick himself pans out. He is a tall corner with average speed that plays
hard and is a willing tackler.
Essentially he is a cocky version of Leon Hall. He’ll never be a top-five guy at his
position but if the defensive line realizes its potential, it shouldn’t
matter. From a pure value standpoint, Kirkpatrick
probably grades out about six or seven picks later than where he was drafted,
but at this point there’s no need for the Bengals to quibble about that. Their pick came up. A guy that, by all accounts, they were high
on (…no pun intended. More on that in a second.) at a need position was
available. They pulled the trigger. In other words, the roster has strengthened to
where they can afford not to get too cute and try to squeeze every ounce of
value possible out of every pick. The
last question and the reason for angst as my initial reaction to the pick is
the character flag. Until he was charged
with marijuana possession this winter, Kirkpatrick had no reported issues in
his past, but the recent brush with the law makes me wonder how he’ll handle
life with a truckload of money. Yes, the
charges were dropped and reportedly he was in a car with a friend who purchased
the drugs and Kirkpatrick was unaware of what the friend was buying (good one
Dre), but that doesn’t stop me from being anxious he’ll be the subject of the
next heart-sinking headline I read on ESPN.com.
Despite reputation, the Bengals actually now have a pretty
high-character locker room. Hopefully
it’s enough to steer Kirkpatrick away from trouble.
After
nabbing Kirkpatrick with the pick acquired from Oakland, Cincy found themselves
back on the clock at pick 21 with their own pick, and the value ripe on
everyone’s top guard prospect, David DeCastro.
They had a few other options where the value was a little softer in guys
like ILB Dont’a Highertower, WR Stephen Hill, RB Doug Martin, and S Harrison
Smith, but if they had decided to keep the pick I don’t see how they could have
strayed away from a guy at a need position that most people think will make at
least a half dozen pro-bowls. Instead,
the Bengals traded down with New England to the 27th slot. If you would have told me before the draft
that DeCastro was available at 21, I would have done cartwheels. The punch to the stomach of Cincy passing on
him only worsened two picks later when he was snatched up by the Steelers. With the 27th pick, the Bengals
selected Kevin Zeitler, another guard drawing very high praise from
analysts. So, the question became: is
the gap between Decastro and Zeitler small enough to justify allowing DeCastro
to go to a division rival while settling for Zeitler and an extra third
rounder? The contention from the Bengals
camp of course is that they didn’t see much separation between the two. I think he’s a slightly lesser guard, but
he’s still tough, strong, and can pull better than anyone they’ve had in a
while. The clincher that appears to have
tipped the scales towards Zeitler for Cincy coaches is his ability to fill in
as backup center. It‘s a role that is
drastically underrated (look what happened to the Bengals’ high powered offense
while they searched for Rich Braham’s replacement), and having the vacancy
filled is a big bonus. A silver lining
to taking Zeitler at 27 was the fact that Baltimore was reportedly looking to
bring him in to replace Ben Grubbs, their star guard they lost via
free-agency. There are pros and cons to
this debate. We’ll find out if it was
the right call soon enough.
The DT’s:
The two
defensive tackles taken in the second and third rounds looked like pure value
picks on the surface, but playing in the AFC North where the battle cry is
focused more intensely on winning the war in the trenches than any other
division, both moves have significant
roster functionality. Devon Still
(Penn State) and Brandon Thompson (Clemson) are big, strong grizzly bears capable
of stepping into the fray early if needed.
Still is a little taller and sleeker with some pass rush ability while
the beefier Thompson is more squat but is strong as an ox. Still carried some first round buzz but fell
to the second. Thompson carried some
second round buzz but fell to the third.
Both picks brought good value, but did they really need two DT’s? My initial reaction was No. You could make a case for Still. They have gone light on DT’s the past couple
of years and relied on versatile players like Robert Geathers, Jonathan Fanene,
and Frostee Rucker to fill in where needed.
The strategy worked well when everyone was healthy. Unfortunately, when Pat Sims went down last
year, the combo guys filling in at DT weren’t quite good enough and the run
defense crumbled. With last year’s
roster headaches fresh in his mind and Fanene and Rucker out the free-agency
door, come draft day Marvin Lewis opted for a new D-line game plan. Retain Sims to back up Peko and draft Still
to back up Atkins for a more traditional four DT approach. Once I digested it, it made sense…and then
came the third round where they drafted ANOTHER tackle and the questions
immediately started rattling through my head: Will they keep five? Will they go light at DE? If not, what other position do they skimp on? It took me a few days, but I finally got on
board with the pick. In fact, it has
become my second favorite (stay tuned for my first favorite) pick of this
draft. With NFL rosters these days, depth
has almost become as important as skill.
The season is a war of attrition now more than ever and it starts with training
camp. Functionally, if you don’t think
of Thompson as the fifth guy but instead consider him Sims’ replacement it goes
from a questionable pick to a shrewd move.
I like Sims, but he’s been around a few years and is coming off a
significant injury. If they want to keep
him around much longer they’ll have to pay him more than they want to pay a
backup. Thompson is younger and
cheaper. If he shows up at camp and he
gets hurt or he isn’t who they thought he was, Sims is the contingency. Go into the season with as few roster
vulnerabilities as possible. That’s the
name of the game and with fewer and fewer holes to plug, the Thompson pick is a
luxury the Bengals can now afford.
The Receivers:
Jordan
Shipley’s ’11 injury and Jerome Simpson’s legal woes / free agency left a
gaping hole in Cincy’s receiving corps behind A.J. Green heading into the
draft. It felt like they toyed with
grabbing somebody in the bottom of the first, but opted to pass. They strengthened the D-line in the second
(maybe seeing Pittsburgh take a bull dog like DeCastro had something to do with
that). By the third round they
considered trading up, but stayed patient and finally ended up with Rutgers WR
Mohamed Sanu. Sanu is a big body receiver
(6’ 2”, 211 lbs) with adequate speed (4.67 in the 40) who runs routs with more
polish than most incoming WR’s. The
early feedback has been positive with the coaches seeming to think he can
compete for the WR2 job right away. If that’s
true, he’s a pretty good get for a third rounder. The fifth WR selection, Marvin Jones, brings
some speed to the depth chart (4.46 in the 40) but he will be in a dog fight to
make the team with returnees Brandon Tate, Armon Binns, and Ryan Whalen all
performing well so far in the offseason.
I’ll go
ahead and lump in the fourth round TE pick, Orson Charles (Georgia), with the
receivers. This is it: my favorite
Bengals pick of the year. Charles was in
the mix for top TE of the 2012 class status until a miserable January through
April washed him into day three of the draft.
When the Bengals threw him a lifeline, he eagerly grabbed on instantly
trying to figure out how he could get on a plane and start learning the offense
and his teammates. He seems genuinely
remorseful over his offseason DUI and adamant it will be a one-time
incident. I can’t wait to see how he
fits in. I think they’ll stick him on
the field in two TE sets and really punish teams down the seams with Jermaine
Gresham…or Charles…or both, sending one deep and one on a cross or at the
flag…or send neither and go with a power run.
Gruden has to be salivating over the scheme versatility (oh by the way,
this is on top of being able to throw out three WR sets with a big body in the
slot like Sanu or Whalen or Bins…OR a jitter bug in the slot like Andrew Hawkins. Yes, pretty much every receiver besides Green
has to prove they can play at a high level against NFL level talent. Yes, I am drinking a little too much
Kool-Aid, but it sure tastes good.
Something is brewing. This unit
might surprise a few people.).
The Rest of the Crop:
Along with
Marvin Jones, the Bengals selected Shaun Prater (CB, Iowa) and George Iioka (S,
Boise State) in the fifth round. Prater
was a good college corner with average size and decent athletic ability. He might need an injury to make the team and
if they send him to the practice squad I have a feeling he’ll get plucked off
waivers. Iioka is another big, athletic
safety to go with their collection of big, athletic safeties (am I the only one
picturing Marvin Lewis sitting in his basement hand painting little metal toy
soldiers?). It’s a good direction to go
with the onslaught of freakish TE athletes in the league, but the big question
will be if any of these guys can cover?
Iioka has a reputation as more of a run defender that flies to the ball,
but he’s a below average tackler (sort of the opposite of what they need, but as
a fifth rounder maybe he’ll develop). Lastly, the Bengals took OSU RB Dan
Herron. Again, it’s a decent pick, but
I’m not sure he jumps ahead of Brian Leonard or Cedric Peerman in line behind
BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Bernard Scott.
All three late round picks are injury insurance players that hopefully
stick on the practice squad.
What’s Missing?
Overall, the
Bengals did an admirable job strengthening their roster through the draft. There’s some work left to do. Young players have to develop for things to
fall into place, but looking at the big picture they are in pretty good
shape. Notably missing from this draft
class was young talent at the linebacker position. Perhaps it was a vote of confidence for the
backup guys like Dan Skuta and Micah Johnson or an indication that Roddrick
Muckelroy is on the mend, but the depth behind the starters makes me a little
nervous. Heck, the starters make me
nervous. Manny Lawson and Thomas Howard
are solid on the outside, but both are in their late 20s and are on short term
contracts. What’s the long range
plan? On the inside, it’s a make or
break contract year for Rey Maualuga.
Maybe he finally puts it all together, but it’s hard to feel warm and
fuzzy about him. The enigmatic Vontaze
Burfict, added as a college free agent, is an interesting fly in the
ointment. He is a definite character
risk on and off the field, but the early reports have been positive and Marvin
Lewis has taken him on as a pet project.
If nothing else he gives us something to look for in the fourth quarter
of preseason games.
The next
biggest team weakness is still at safety.
Will anyone emerge opposite Reggie Nelson? It sounds like it’s Taylor Mays’ job to
lose. I don’t think he or anyone else
behind him is reliable enough to take this defense where it needs to go
(especially playing behind a MLB that struggles at times to fill the right
holes). It won’t be a total
disaster. There will certainly be
moments when you think the kids are all alright. Don’t let your guard down too far
though. The backbreaking 40 yard runs
and 60 yard bombs that have plagued this defense the last few years are likely
to keep you consistently screaming at the TV all year long (Come on Marvin! For the sake of my mother’s blood pressure, develop
an elite safety or MLB will ya??). The
sleeper solution here might be to shuffle someone out of the crowded scrum at
cornerback over to safety. Jason Allen
has played there before, but I kind of like the idea of Leon Hall stabilizing the
middle of the field. Although, with Nate
Clements sitting out the start of camp with an injury and Kirkpatrick out at
least a month with a mysterious leg problem, they might need all of that depth
at corner. Long story short, if you’re
hoping for the Bengals defense to become an elite unit in the league, keep an
eye on safety and middle linebacker.
That’s where they most need someone to grow by leaps and bounds. I just don’t know if anyone they have has it
in them.
That’s all
for now. Next up, I plan on a season
preview post. Hopefully, it will make it
up some time before they season starts… but, at the rate I’m going who knows
(maybe it will be three months into the season before I get it posted. At least that way my predictions will be more
accurate).
