2008 Draft — Complete analysis Sunday evening
By david
Updated: Seventh round pick Mario Urrutia, WR Louisville. Finally a player in this region of the draft that can at least return kicks and play on special teams.
Seventh round pick OLB Angelo Craig, a local product from the University of Cincinnati. What a wasted pick, not because of the player, but because of the position. We don’t need a 7th round LB to come in that isn’t going to compete for a starting spot. We need OL that can provide depth and we need WR that can catch and run a route, along with a DL-man that can stop someone.
Updated: Sixth round pick TE Matt Sherry from Villanova is a mystery pick to me. We have 3 TE’s on the roster with NFL experience and another rookie. This pick could have been a solid Center/Guard for the O-line. I don’t know about some of these picks today. If I had to grade this draft now, I’d go C at best and I’m considering a D+. I’m hoping something comes out of mini-camp or training camp to say “Ah ha, ok..I didn’t know that about….” and surprise me on one of these picks. The 6th round Fatboy for the middle of the line was probably a good pick, if he can stay out of legal trouble.
Updated: Sixth round pick DB Corey Lynch from Appalachian State. A relative unknown, that could find his way into the lineup as a nickle or future starter, seems to play alot like Kesvaharn and has good instincts but maybe a little undersized. Add about 10 pounds to this guy and who knows. Should contribute to special teams pretty quickly though.
Updated: Fith Round pick NT Jason Shirley from Fresno State. He’s another one with off-field problems, but is a big body at 340 that is reported to play like a 300 pounder. That could bode well as a late round DT convert, assuming he can stay out of trouble.
Updated: Fourth round pick OT Anthony Collins from Kansas. As predicted earlier, the Bengals are not drafting to the best player available philosophy. They are drafting to their needs after the first round. However, I still cannot help but wonder how they decided on second rounder Jerome Simpson from a small school when DeSean Jackson and other higher rated players were still available. We all have commented on the scouting, and Cincy’s ability to draft a quality receiver AND one that isn’t still having gansta fantasies seems to be a difficult combination for them (a la Carl Pickens, Chris Henry, now Chad Johnson, and a score of others). Name the top 5 WR’s the Bengals have drafted in the last 4 years, still in the league or still playing for the Bengals, and isn’t always in trouble with the law. TJ is the only one I can think of . The next pick in the fifth round should be interesting. It appears that the Bengals are drafting the best player available, to the position they want. Seems like a targeted draft, choosing whomever is left on the board at that time. But if the best player available is a CB, they won’t draft him. They’ll look for the best DL, OL, RB or WR on the board. Those are their biggest holes to plug. The fifth round is a good spot to pick up an OL that won’t cost them alot, and could be an immediate or second year player. They might be able to pick up a WR there that can play special teams immediately as well.
Updated: Third round pick DT Pat Sims Jr from Auburn. While not the best DT in the draft, his stock had risen some from his workouts. The compensatory third round pick by the Bengals is Andre Caldwell, WR. I had said the Bengals would go WR or OL with this pick. I predict in the fourth round we see an OL or RB coming our way . Does he replace the value lost in Eric Steinbach (the reason why the Bengals have this pick)?
Updated: Second round pick Jerome Simpson, WR Coastal Carolina. Looks like the CJ saga just went into high gear.
First round pick a surprise. Not because they took Rivers, it was well known that he was on the Bengals short list. However the trades by New Orleans and Jacksonville to get ahead of the Bengals to grab Ellis and Harvey were surprises. Cincinnati’s second round pick is on the clock in 11 minutes, and it is very possible we’ll see a WR picked up to offeset the suddenly thin WR corps, due in large part to Chad Johnson’s series of immature comment.