Day 2 of draft

[cincygrad]

Round 2: Cam Taylor Brit. Not at all shocking - The guys at the Atheltic (Dehner and Morrison) have been on this scent for the last couple of weeks. I guess the only real surprise was that we gave up a 6th rounder so that we wouldn't lose out on him. Like Hill, the guy had very high athletic testing scores. Some questions about consistency.

Round 3: Zach Carter. The famous Bengals early round head-scratcher pick. Everyone seemed really confused about it. I don't know much about the guy, but there are some things that look real promising. He has very good athletic skills (a theme in this draft). He has some versatility. And no matter what folks say about his hand placement and all the other "tape features" that scouts get nuts about, he put up a bunch of sacks in the SEC..... And some of this production came in a season in which he originally didn't plan to play (the first COVID year). If he is a hard worker, the technique stuff should come.... Marion Hobby (d-line coach) is seen as one of the best in the NFL.

The two obvious common threads are getting younger on D and increasing athleticism on the roster. The latter point is important.... Sometimes with Tobin and Lewis, we would draft productive college players that weren't particularly fast or athletic. Our D was very slow a few years ago and it needed a reboot....Seems that Tobin is factoring this in with his picks.

 

[DanBengalfan]

unlike prior years, we're drafting for players to try and make the roster and possibly add depth.

no longer the days of hoping our 5th round draft pick could somehow contribute as a starter.

...

disappointed we didn't get another TE, but I don't doubt that the one we got will have big numbers with Burrow if he stays healthy.

 

[Cincyfan78]

The Zach Carter pick was interesting, but falls right in line with what Lou is trying to do with this defense. Outside of a very few spots (Reader, Wilson, Awuzie) nearly everyone can play more than 1 spot, and some more than 2. That's a lot of flexibility when teams are trying to line up for mismatches, or using motion to try and determine if the defense is in man or zone. If a guy no longer has to follow a WR in motion - the QB may think they are in a zone...when in reality, they are in man, and now the QB is going to snap the ball expecting the defense to be in 1 set, when they are in another.

The other thing about the draft, and this goes for everyone, I think the round grade vs when they are drafted gets way overblown at times. For example: Zach Carter.

One guy had him as a 6th rounder, but never projected his ability to play 3tech. That versatility would have added to his value - so he didn't properly evaluate this player.

Another guy had him as a 4th rounder. Problem is for the Bengals, they pick very late in the 4th round. So, do they take a guy they feel is a fit with a very late 3rd (basically early 4th) or risk this guy not being there when they wait to the late 4th (basically a 5th)? So, I think going within a round of a projected slot isn't as egregious as many make it out to be because it's not a straight linear equation on when a guy goes+when a team picks that player.

 

[cincygrad]

The Zach Carter pick was interesting, but falls right in line with what Lou is trying to do with this defense. Outside of a very few spots (Reader, Wilson, Awuzie) nearly everyone can play more than 1 spot, and some more than 2. That's a lot of flexibility when teams are trying to line up for mismatches, or using motion to try and determine if the defense is in man or zone. If a guy no longer has to follow a WR in motion - the QB may think they are in a zone...when in reality, they are in man, and now the QB is going to snap the ball expecting the defense to be in 1 set, when they are in another.

The other thing about the draft, and this goes for everyone, I think the round grade vs when they are drafted gets way overblown at times. For example: Zach Carter.

One guy had him as a 6th rounder, but never projected his ability to play 3tech. That versatility would have added to his value - so he didn't properly evaluate this player.

Another guy had him as a 4th rounder. Problem is for the Bengals, they pick very late in the 4th round. So, do they take a guy they feel is a fit with a very late 3rd (basically early 4th) or risk this guy not being there when they wait to the late 4th (basically a 5th)? So, I think going within a round of a projected slot isn't as egregious as many make it out to be because it's not a straight linear equation on when a guy goes+when a team picks that player.

I'm never overly concerned about how the prospects are picked vs. their relative ranking from the scribes. If a team wanted to "win the draft" in the media, it would be pretty easy to do. Just take the top 5 most popular big boards and select the top prospect from these boards each round. Teams grade prospects differently than the draft mafia..... I think the most important thing to do is to stay true to your vision - In this case, I think the Bengals have done that. They continue to favor prospects that show intelligence and leadership potential. And they continue to value versatility. The system Lou is putting together is really unique - He's almost the anti-Marvin Lewis. The flexibility is a really neat feature - One that will be essential to beat the different types of quarterbacks in the AFC.