Here you go Cincy78, your pick is in..

[CrashDavisSports]

SI completely agrees with you and painted a pretty sterling silver picture for the fan base.

Mock Draft 2.0: Bengals Add Top Prospect That Should Make Joe Burrow‘s Life Much Easier

Cincinnati Bengals Add Florida Tight End Kyle Pitts to Joe Burrow's offensive arsenal

www.si.com

 

[DanBengalfan]

well, we do use our tight ends a lot so a versatile weapon will be great. I think excess pressure on the QB pretty much invalidates our passing game against good defenses, but maybe we'll fix that issue to, who really knows?

 

[cincygrad]

The idea intrigues me. Whenever you can take a prospect that is heads and shoulders above the normal top prospect at the position, you have to be intrigued right? If the hype is true, you could have the best tight end in the league within his first few seasons. That's a game changer.

 

[Cincyfan78]

SI completely agrees with you and painted a pretty sterling silver picture for the fan base.

Mock Draft 2.0: Bengals Add Top Prospect That Should Make Joe Burrow‘s Life Much Easier

Cincinnati Bengals Add Florida Tight End Kyle Pitts to Joe Burrow's offensive arsenal

www.si.com

To me, it comes down to the value that the Bengals can find, plus what they already have, and not just the overall drafting grade at a position. With Boyd and Higgins already slated to be the guys - I think it's much easier to find a good slot WR, and 2ndary WR, on the market, or later in the draft, than a guy like Pitt at TE.

So, Yeah - Maybe Chase or Smith grade out at a (making an example up here) 93 or 92, and Pitt is an 89 or 88. Best player available would dictate taking the WR, and certainly with Burrow you'd want as many pass catchers as you can get. That being said, the Bengals already have 2 really good starting WR's, but have zero real impact at the TE position. Getting a guy like Pitt there still allows the Bengals to find a better fit at WR for the slot in the draft or in F/A than finding a guy like Pitt. That has kind of been my focus.

What would be the biggest upgrade?

Smith/Chase as the 3rd WR over Tate

Pitt as the TE over Uzomah/Sample?

To me, the biggest impact to the team is at TE ... and grading out either WR over Pitt is going to be pretty close - so it's not like you are dropping a ton to fill a spot, either. It's not a reach.

Then, you have to ask yourself - what would be easier to find later in the draft/FA?

Easier to find a 3rd/4th WR in round 2-3-4 or a potential game-changing TE like Pitt?

With those considerations - I think Pitt is, to me, the clear pick - and you might have a chance to slide back a few spots and still nab him if there is still a QB needy team wanting to get their guy if he's still on the board.

 

[alf8478]

You can find good receivers in all rounds of the draft, or even undrafted free agents.

A (potential) game changing tight end is rare. Look at how good KC's office is with Kelce, or the Pats was with Gronk.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

To me, it comes down to the value that the Bengals can find, plus what they already have, and not just the overall drafting grade at a position. With Boyd and Higgins already slated to be the guys - I think it's much easier to find a good slot WR, and 2ndary WR, on the market, or later in the draft, than a guy like Pitt at TE.

So, Yeah - Maybe Chase or Smith grade out at a (making an example up here) 93 or 92, and Pitt is an 89 or 88. Best player available would dictate taking the WR, and certainly with Burrow you'd want as many pass catchers as you can get. That being said, the Bengals already have 2 really good starting WR's, but have zero real impact at the TE position. Getting a guy like Pitt there still allows the Bengals to find a better fit at WR for the slot in the draft or in F/A than finding a guy like Pitt. That has kind of been my focus.

What would be the biggest upgrade?

Smith/Chase as the 3rd WR over Tate

Pitt as the TE over Uzomah/Sample?

To me, the biggest impact to the team is at TE ... and grading out either WR over Pitt is going to be pretty close - so it's not like you are dropping a ton to fill a spot, either. It's not a reach.

Then, you have to ask yourself - what would be easier to find later in the draft/FA?

Easier to find a 3rd/4th WR in round 2-3-4 or a potential game-changing TE like Pitt?

With those considerations - I think Pitt is, to me, the clear pick - and you might have a chance to slide back a few spots and still nab him if there is still a QB needy team wanting to get their guy if he's still on the board.

I have seen several mocks now showing Fields dropping all the way to the Patriots. I don't know if that is wishful thinking or what, but they have Wilson and Lance over Fields in some of these mocks.

There is a OL kid that participated at the Senior Bowl (Quinn Meinerz) that just wowed the hell out of everyone. He was basically a non-drafted type player to rising as high as mid-round maybe as early as early 3rd. But the way he handled the pass rushers at the senior bowl, pancaking most of them, and moving from position to position...he should be a guy we should consider with our second round pick, maybe trade back in the 2nd a bit and pick up and extra 3rd and then nab him.

That would give us an extra 3rd to draft a WR. That is 3 straight offensive players, but all at an area of need. If our defense is going to be porous, we need a strong offense. I think that is the way to go. See who can win the shootouts right now.

#1 - Kyle Pitts, TE (it is no surprise that our best year since 1988 was when Tyler Eifert caught 15 TD's at TE)
#2 - Quinn Meinerz, G/C (traded back into 2nd round to pick up extra 3rd
#3a - Chris Olave, WR
#3b - Azeez Ojulari, LB
#4 - Tedarrell Slaton, DT

 

[cincygrad]

You can find good receivers in all rounds of the draft, or even undrafted free agents.

A (potential) game changing tight end is rare. Look at how good KC's office is with Kelce, or the Pats was with Gronk.

This is similar to my thinking.... Very few offenses in the NFL have this kind of weapon at tight end and it really shows when they do.

The only thing that gives me pause is whether the kid is too much of a tweener WR/TE. Not really special as a wide receiver where he could be more of a focus of defensive coverage, but not enough of a blocker to be a tight end. Ultimately I suppose it doesn't really matter if Zac Taylor and crew call 50 passes a game, but its worth considering when thinking about how he would be used.

 

[DanBengalfan]

someone like Eifert that isn't injured all the time.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

This is similar to my thinking.... Very few offenses in the NFL have this kind of weapon at tight end and it really shows when they do.

The only thing that gives me pause is whether the kid is too much of a tweener WR/TE. Not really special as a wide receiver where he could be more of a focus of defensive coverage, but not enough of a blocker to be a tight end. Ultimately I suppose it doesn't really matter if Zac Taylor and crew call 50 passes a game, but its worth considering when thinking about how he would be used.

That is not what the article was saying. They were saying that he consistently beats CB's and at 6'6" 245 pounds he is a mismatch for CB's, and too fast for LB'ers. If you can manage to get him a decent blocker, you start running single back sets with two TE and two WR. Can use TE's for added protection on blitzing without having to run and change packages on a regular basis. Plus you still have 5 possible passing options.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I have seen several mocks now showing Fields dropping all the way to the Patriots. I don't know if that is wishful thinking or what, but they have Wilson and Lance over Fields in some of these mocks.

There is a OL kid that participated at the Senior Bowl (Quinn Meinerz) that just wowed the hell out of everyone. He was basically a non-drafted type player to rising as high as mid-round maybe as early as early 3rd. But the way he handled the pass rushers at the senior bowl, pancaking most of them, and moving from position to position...he should be a guy we should consider with our second round pick, maybe trade back in the 2nd a bit and pick up and extra 3rd and then nab him.

That would give us an extra 3rd to draft a WR. That is 3 straight offensive players, but all at an area of need. If our defense is going to be porous, we need a strong offense. I think that is the way to go. See who can win the shootouts right now.

#1 - Kyle Pitts, TE (it is no surprise that our best year since 1988 was when Tyler Eifert caught 15 TD's at TE)
#2 - Quinn Meinerz, G/C (traded back into 2nd round to pick up extra 3rd
#3a - Chris Olave, WR
#3b - Azeez Ojulari, LB
#4 - Tedarrell Slaton, DT

Another guy who really impressed at the Sr Bowl - UC's James Hudson. Dude is going to be a hell of an OL. He's an OT, though his arm length is less than ideal at 33" (34 is consider the cutoff), but he off-sets that with his ability to move his feet EXTREMELY well and moves laterally as well as any OL in the draft. He has a tremendous "punch" with his hands, and has above average hand strength.

I think he could be there in the 3rd - and would be a good pickup for depth at OT, and at worst, would be a guy that could also slide in at G - especially with more of a emphasis on zone blocking and pulling the guard in plays - he would be a perfect fit in those cases.

And, honestly - I thought the LB's last year did ok. I'd be OK with re-signing the guy they got last year from B-more, and allowing the other 3 to continue to develop. Adding 1 more wouldn't hurt, but for me - I'd look more along the DL/OL, personally, or WR if they don't go there earlier.

 

[Cincyfan78]

This is similar to my thinking.... Very few offenses in the NFL have this kind of weapon at tight end and it really shows when they do.

The only thing that gives me pause is whether the kid is too much of a tweener WR/TE. Not really special as a wide receiver where he could be more of a focus of defensive coverage, but not enough of a blocker to be a tight end. Ultimately I suppose it doesn't really matter if Zac Taylor and crew call 50 passes a game, but its worth considering when thinking about how he would be used.

He's a guy that if you can get him to be a "decent" inline blocker (he'll likely never be great) that really opens up the offense with Mixon. Teams will have to decide how to defend Pitt from a scheme standpoint knowing that he'll pancake any CB in a run game, and if he releases against a LB (especially a MLB) he'll torch them. He's a true mismatch on offense.

Think of a redzone package where you lineup Pitt out wide left at 6'6", Tate out wide right, and Higgins in the slot (or however you want to place them) and then even Boyd somewhere out there, and Mixon releasing into the flat. That's a lot of 1-1 with size, and 2 guys in Boyd and Mixon who will eat up any space left over if guys like Pitt and Tate are doubled.

 

[BKBroiler9000]

I think Burrow is the the type of QB who would get more out of a TE/mismatch weapon like Pitts, than a pop off the top WR on the outside. Similar to how Brady and Gronk were always in sync.

If it’s between Chase, D. Smith and Pitts, I’d be very tempted to go with the TE.

Chase, while tremendous in his one season at LSU with Burrow and Jefferson opposite him, only has the one season of tape. That, and he’s on the shorter side than what you typically look for at WR at the top of the draft.

Devonta Smith is a stud, but I just don’t see a 170 lb twig lasting a decade in the NFL. I’d love to be proven wrong, cause the kid is for real. And the type of story you root for. He wasn’t a big time recruit. Stayed his whole career and developed his skills. Outperformed other blue chippers at his position, at school who attracts them in bunches. Won the freaking Heisman.

As others have said, you can find WRs elsewhere. Hell, Tee Higgins had a good season and he was a top of the 2nd guy. Guys like Allen Robinson and Michael Thomas were 2nd rounders. Keenan Allen was a 3rd rounder.

Guys like Kyle Pitts are rare. A lot of draft capital has been chewed up trying to find the next Gronk, Kelce type. That said, if you think he’s Travis Kelce, you take him. A guy like that adds more to this offense than reaching for a WR, or even an OL.

 

[BKBroiler9000]

There’s also the possibility that Pitts becomes an Evan Engram as well. A tweener who doesn’t block. Although Pitts isn’t a drop machine like Engram. It certainly comes with risk at #5.

 

[jbuck]

we always get a boner for a can't miss TE

 

[alf8478]

Watching Gronk own the super bowl is making me lean towards Pitts

 

[DanBengalfan]

yea, but kelce is a good TE too, but KC's OL is banged up, thus it doesn't matter. such is the value of good OTs

 

[Cincyfan78]

yea, but kelce is a good TE too, but KC's OL is banged up, thus it doesn't matter. such is the value of good OTs

Agreed. I think we all agree that the OL is the 1st target both in F/A and likely in the draft. However, if Sewell is not there, I'm not sure I'm reaching for another OL prospect. If forced to select, at that point - I'd go Pitts knowing I could still land an OT/OG in both rounds 2 and 3.

In a better scenario - if Sewell is gone, I'd trade back and pick up another 2nd and/or 3rd, especially if a QB is still there and a team is willing to make the jump up, but I wouldn't go too far back. Nearly all the teams 6-9 will be looking to add a QB at some point, and if one of the few are still there, with that many teams grouped, someone might be willing to jump to 5 from, let's say, 7 to ensure they get their guy. Pitts would likely still be there, and at that point, you can take BPA if not.

 

[DanBengalfan]

Agreed. I think we all agree that the OL is the 1st target both in F/A and likely in the draft. However, if Sewell is not there, I'm not sure I'm reaching for another OL prospect. If forced to select, at that point - I'd go Pitts knowing I could still land an OT/OG in both rounds 2 and 3.

In a better scenario - if Sewell is gone, I'd trade back and pick up another 2nd and/or 3rd, especially if a QB is still there and a team is willing to make the jump up, but I wouldn't go too far back. Nearly all the teams 6-9 will be looking to add a QB at some point, and if one of the few are still there, with that many teams grouped, someone might be willing to jump to 5 from, let's say, 7 to ensure they get their guy. Pitts would likely still be there, and at that point, you can take BPA if not.

yea, certainly, if we can upgrade at more positions, the better.

 

[futballiscool]

Todd McShay has the first 4 picks off the board all as QBs in his new mock draft.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Todd McShay has the first 4 picks off the board all as QBs in his new mock draft.

If that is the case, Sewell is the guy - and you grab WR/OL in round 2 and 3, and BPA (well, BPA in those rounds too, but the focus would be on OL/WR, IMO).

The Bengals are really going to have a lot of options at that 5 spot if they play F/A the right way. If they can score an OT and an OG - and Sewell falls to them, they hit the jackpot with the OL and creating good young depth. If Sewell isn't there, then they still end up with a decent OL and Pitts to add to the offensive weapons.

F/A is going to be critical for this team and the draft.