Thought the same thing - would think they would work to get him about 10-15lbs bigger...if he could add some weight, he could easily be a guy to watch.
All you can do is make the best picks at the time with the available information you have.
Good mix between potential and peformance. A lot of good college football players with some questions about how it translates. That is, you can worry about Kri Jenkins pass rush, but you can't discount his presence an impact on his unit in the college game. You can worry about Burton's 10-cent head, but you can't discount his YPR and what he brings on the field. Even in the later rounds - There are some physical questions about the corner from TCU or Lee the Center. But both guys were good football players - Not necessarily a project.
Right - and even the ones that have the mix, you see the fit at the NFL level.
I don't recall all the numbers - but last year Volson started off as one of the worst 5 IOL in the NFL. Then around week 7 or so, he turned a corner and was much, much better. He had a stretch where his pass blocking grade was 84, which was 6th best in the NFL through that stretch.
From a football standpoint, I have no worries about Mims. A guy with his size and athleticism will figure it out and he has a lot of room for error. The guys that have missed were normally missing either size or athleticism. Having both would make it hard to not at least be average or above. The only thing you can't account for is injuries. The only real red flag is injury history. But the history is really just with a bad ankle - He had surgery, came back and then hurt it again. This isn't abnormal for ankle injuries. The key for him will be to work with trainers to try to prevent soft tissue injuries. I'd be more worried if the guy had knee or back issues given his size.
I think he came back a bit too quick on the tightrope surgery. He tried to play 6 weeks after...it was always a long-shot. That's on the low end of the spectrum, and while maybe he's not a RB/WR type guy, putting 340lbs on an ankle is asking a lot...lol
As much as I love what Boyd brought to the Bengals over the years, his lack of speed and explosion limited what the Bengals could do in the middle of the field. He also didn't have any versatility to play as an outside threat which would allow Chase to move into the slot more to create match-up issues. It was clear watching other NFL teams use more athletic players in the slot that this is a way to beat modern zone defenses.... Flowers from Baltimore and Dell from Houston were good right away. Burton isn't a true slot - But he can play any of the three positions which allows the Bengals to be multiple. Throw in Gisecki and they have added some unique pieces that should stress the D if schemed correctly. Between the added speed (Chase Brown included) and improvements in offensive line, this is the most explosive version of the Bengals offense since Burrow has been with the team. Now we need to see how Pitcher puts it together and how Zac calls it.
100% agreed. I mentioned more than once last year the lack of middle-field targets. When they were able to move Chase around and get him targets over the middle - the offense opened up. Boyd simply was not bringing that ability to the offense any longer.
It's also telling that Pittsburgh and KC won't sign Boyd.... Not sure what his demands are, but nobody wants to give him very much.
I read his demands were 3 years for $27 million. Pittsburgh is offering him $5 million a year for 2 years.
No way. He's 29 now, and will turn 30 before the season ends.
Ironic that his best game was also a game that he basically lost for the team by dropping a game-winning touchdown.
