Bengals Take Michigan Corner With 1st Pick in 6th
By david
Michigan corner back Morgan Trent is the newest Cincinnati Bengal.
Corner was a moderate need going into this weekend’s draft. Their No. 3 corner last season was David Jones, a Saints cast-off who ended up starting seven games after Jonathan Joseph was hurt. Jones was more than shaky early on, though he seemed to firm up a bit at the tail end of the season.
Trent was projected as a fifth-rounder by CDS so, again, the Bengals get good value. They pick again with the last selection in the round. Over at Fantasy Football Toolbox, Randall Weida provides this snapshot:
"Morgan Trent is often overlooked in the Big Ten, with fellow corners Vontae Davis and Malcolm Jenkins getting all the hype. The Michigan senior had a very productive career, and continued to show improvement every week. Trent has good size for the position, standing 6’1″, but only weighs 188 pounds. Trent will need to add a little bulk so he isn’t manhandled by bigger NFL receivers. In 48 career games he has registered 149 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 7 interceptions, and 12 passes broken up in coverage. He has excellent instincts, and makes good breaks on the ball when it’s in the air. Trent’s major weakness at this point is playing bump and run coverage. He doesn’t always get a good jam on his receiver at the line of scrimmage, which allows receivers to get between him and the safety for big gains. Trent has good speed, but lacks that extra gear that the elite corner back prospects tend to have. He has excellent hands and doesn’t drop interceptions when he has the chance to make them. Despite being a little thin for the position, Trent is a good open field tackler. His best fit in the NFL may be as a cover 2 corner. His instincts and run support skills would make up for his lack of top end speed in a system that plays more zone, and has safety help over the top. Trent had a solid year in 2008 and looks like a fourth round prospect. The only thing that could hurt his stock is the deep selection of corners that will be available in the first four rounds. If Trent has a good off season, he could leapfrog several of his competitors and land in the third round. If he doesn’t do anything to distinguish himself, he could easily have to wait until the fifth round."
REAX
BengalsZoners say meh. Bengals Jungle isn’t impressed either. Go-Bengals shrugs, too.
OMCW wanted RB Rashad Jennings. My sentiments exactly.