7 round mock draft (trades, 3 round comments - even a punter pick)

[TedLavie]

On 4/21/2024 at 3:30 AM, Melbourne 9er said:

Pretty good for the Niners. The only thing that I would definitely change would be the 3rd round pick. Based on your draft I would pick any of the players that you picked between Rice and Cowing as our 3rd round pick instead of Rice. Literally all of them, except for the WRs, would be better for the 9ers as far as value and positional need. Personally I would prefer Sinnott, Bishop, C. Jones, Rosengarten or Zinter.

I would much prefer to trade down or even trade out into next years draft, and get a furture 1st rounder +,  with board as it is, as I don't like anyone left around our 1st round pick. However in this exercise you have to take someone and you've done a decent job.

I have to say, the Rice to Niners thing I feel would be more of an owners' pick than a FO one 🙂 But I also think with Deebo always injured and Ayiuk being in the middle of trade rumors, Niners should probably get some insurance there - and both Rice and Cowing can provide that.

[THE DUKE]

I wouldn't hate Barton at 18 for the Bengals, but i'd like it a lot better if we traded down to the mid 20s and took him and picked up another 3rd rd pick.  I also think they'd have a hard time passing on Murphy.  If they traded to the mid 20's and Barton was gone, then Johhny Newton would be a slam dunk choice as well.  They've met with him on 4 different occassions.

Pearsal is a solid choice, but he doesn't hit a few key indicators on guys the Bengals tend to draft at WR.  I much rather would have gone Murphy at 18 and Beebe here than Barton in rd 1.

Hard pass on Johnny Wilson, they have taken his prototype before, but they did it in rd 7.   Especially taking WR back to back on picks 49 and 80, they took Iosivas and Charile Jones last year, Iosivas had 6 TDs even in limited snaps.  They might target A WR in the rd 3-5 range, but i'll be shocked in they take two.

They signed Zack Moss to play next to Chase Brown, they aren't going to reach for a nearly 25 year old RB on day 2 to be RB3 or RB4 with limited upside

Sinnott at 115 is an absolute steal, I would have been happier with him at 49 than Pearsal.  I think he goes much closer to rd 2 than he does rd 4.

Bit of a reach for Hadden at 149, most consensus ranks have him closer to 200 and nothing i've seen makes me believe he's going much higher than that.  This would be a good spot for a RB like Isaac Guerendo.  While also older, he's also one of the fastest RB in the draft.  And he's still about 9 months younger than Davis.

Jordan Jefferson at 194 is a solid pick

I like them taking a punter in late rd 6, they definitely need competiton there in camp and better to have your choice than rely on them signing with you as an UDFA.

The Bengals have met with a slew of IDL this year, probably more than any other position, but Gabe Hall is one they haven't met with.  I think they'll also address 3 tech before rd 7 as well.

I've never even heard of Tylan Grable, but late rd OL is definitely a possibility

As a collective, pretty meh draft for me for the Bengals.  Barton with no trade down, two WR's early that I don't see as fits for the Bengals, a third string RB with limited to no upside.  Sinnott and Jefferson are your best picks, and both are day 3 picks, so this would probably be a C graded draft.

Given the board, here is how I would have gone:

18. Byron Murphy, DT, Texas
49. Cooper Beebe, IOL, Kansas State
80. Brenden Rice, WR, USC
97. Cedric Gray, LB, North Carolina
115. Ben Sinnott, TE, Kansas State
149. Isaac Guerendo, RB, Louisville
194. Jordan Jefferson, DT, LSU
214. Dwight McGlothern, CB, Arkansas
224. Josiah Ezirim, OT, Eastern Kentucky
237. Cedric Johnson, Edge, Ole Miss

[TedLavie]

1 hour ago, THE DUKE said:

I wouldn't hate Barton at 18 for the Bengals, but i'd like it a lot better if we traded down to the mid 20s and took him and picked up another 3rd rd pick.  I also think they'd have a hard time passing on Murphy.  If they traded to the mid 20's and Barton was gone, then Johhny Newton would be a slam dunk choice as well.  They've met with him on 4 different occassions.

Pearsal is a solid choice, but he doesn't hit a few key indicators on guys the Bengals tend to draft at WR.  I much rather would have gone Murphy at 18 and Beebe here than Barton in rd 1.

Hard pass on Johnny Wilson, they have taken his prototype before, but they did it in rd 7.   Especially taking WR back to back on picks 49 and 80, they took Iosivas and Charile Jones last year, Iosivas had 6 TDs even in limited snaps.  They might target A WR in the rd 3-5 range, but i'll be shocked in they take two.

They signed Zack Moss to play next to Chase Brown, they aren't going to reach for a nearly 25 year old RB on day 2 to be RB3 or RB4 with limited upside

Sinnott at 115 is an absolute steal, I would have been happier with him at 49 than Pearsal.  I think he goes much closer to rd 2 than he does rd 4.

Bit of a reach for Hadden at 149, most consensus ranks have him closer to 200 and nothing i've seen makes me believe he's going much higher than that.  This would be a good spot for a RB like Isaac Guerendo.  While also older, he's also one of the fastest RB in the draft.  And he's still about 9 months younger than Davis.

Jordan Jefferson at 194 is a solid pick

I like them taking a punter in late rd 6, they definitely need competiton there in camp and better to have your choice than rely on them signing with you as an UDFA.

The Bengals have met with a slew of IDL this year, probably more than any other position, but Gabe Hall is one they haven't met with.  I think they'll also address 3 tech before rd 7 as well.

I've never even heard of Tylan Grable, but late rd OL is definitely a possibility

As a collective, pretty meh draft for me for the Bengals.  Barton with no trade down, two WR's early that I don't see as fits for the Bengals, a third string RB with limited to no upside.  Sinnott and Jefferson are your best picks, and both are day 3 picks, so this would probably be a C graded draft.

Given the board, here is how I would have gone:

18. Byron Murphy, DT, Texas
49. Cooper Beebe, IOL, Kansas State
80. Brenden Rice, WR, USC
97. Cedric Gray, LB, North Carolina
115. Ben Sinnott, TE, Kansas State
149. Isaac Guerendo, RB, Louisville
194. Jordan Jefferson, DT, LSU
214. Dwight McGlothern, CB, Arkansas
224. Josiah Ezirim, OT, Eastern Kentucky
237. Cedric Johnson, Edge, Ole Miss

I would agree it's a little high for Barton. But as I said, I think there are plenty of teams that need help all along the OL, and versatile dudes like Barton are going to go higher that we think. Murphy would be a great choice as well, I just think you saw what Bengals looked like without Burrow - it's time to invest in protecting him.

I did struggle about the wideouts. I disagree with your point on Wilson, if I understood it well - I think he's not that far off in terms of player profile than Higgins, who was selected in the 2nd. I don't know if Iosivas has shown enough to prevent Cinci from going with someone like Wilson. But maybe double dipping was too much, unless Higgins is traded during draft weekend, which I don't think will happen.

As for the RB - we can disagree on the player for sure - but to me the Bengals are one of the teams the most likely to draft one in Day 2. I know you guys have a lot of faith in Chase Brown but, realistically, he's unproven, and Moss is a great backup option but not someone you necessarily want to rely as a part time starter imho. Adding someone in that mix makes all the sense in the world imho.

[THE DUKE]

24 minutes ago, TedLavie said:

I did struggle about the wideouts. I disagree with your point on Wilson, if I understood it well - I think he's not that far off in terms of player profile than Higgins, who was selected in the 2nd. I don't know if Iosivas has shown enough to prevent Cinci from going with someone like Wilson. But maybe double dipping was too much, unless Higgins is traded during draft weekend, which I don't think will happen.

About the only thing Higgins and Wilson have in common is being tall.  Higgins has waaaaay better hands, high points it better, better route runner, and was much better in college.  Anyone who takes Wilson before mid to late day 3 is more than likely just burning a premium draft pick on fire.

[The Gnat]

On 4/19/2024 at 9:28 AM, TedLavie said:

Minnesota Vikings
 
5:  QB  - J.J. McCarthy - MICHIGAN
69:  DI - Mekhi Wingo - LSU
129:  RB  - Jaylen Wright -  Tennessee
157:  IOL - Trevor Keegan - MICHIGAN
167:  CB - Josh Newton - TCU
177:  WR  - Isaiah Williams - ILLINOIS
230:  WR  - Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint - GEORGIA
232:  CB - Sheridan Jones - CLEMSON

Maybe one more WR than needed, but I like the first five picks a ton.

[scar988]

On 4/19/2024 at 10:28 AM, TedLavie said:

8:  ED - Dallas Turner - ALABAMA
43:  CB - T.J. Tampa - IOWA STATE
74:  ED - Jonah Elliss - UTAH
79:  WR  - Jermaine Burton - ALABAMA
109:  CB - Caelen Carson - WAKE
143:  iOL - Tanor Bortolini - WISCONSIN
187:  RB  - Cody Schrader - MISSOURI
197:  TE  - AJ Barner - MICHIGAN

As much as I like this situation, I don't see a second EDGE and second CB if they do that in this draft. I think they'll throw in a S or an IDL at some point instead of the second EDGE or CB. 

[43M]

Sorry, but you completely botched the Steelers draft by having them take RB in rd 2.    Seriously?  That was so....sooooo bad.

Najee is better than you're giving him credit for.   He isn't elite or even great, but him and Warren are already a really good 1/2 punch when our OL actually blocks.   We could use a developmental rookie, but later rounds.   Way too many holes to be wasting an early pick on an already strong position.   Najee may even get an extension.

Beyond that, while I like Frazier and the trade down, Id be shocked if we traded down with Arnold, Latham and Mims still on the board.

Give us Ruke or even Blake Fisher at 60 and I could live with it.  Even better would be not trading down and...

1.  OT Mims

2.  C Van Pran

3.  WR Polk

3.  DL Maason Smith

[TedLavie]

29 minutes ago, 43M said:

Sorry, but you completely botched the Steelers draft by having them take RB in rd 2.    Seriously?  That was so....sooooo bad.

Najee is better than you're giving him credit for.   He isn't elite or even great, but him and Warren are already a really good 1/2 punch when our OL actually blocks.   We could use a developmental rookie, but later rounds.   Way too many holes to be wasting an early pick on an already strong position.   Najee may even get an extension.

Beyond that, while I like Frazier and the trade down, Id be shocked if we traded down with Arnold, Latham and Mims still on the board.

Give us Ruke or even Blake Fisher at 60 and I could live with it.  Even better would be not trading down and...

1.  OT Mims

2.  C Van Pran

3.  WR Polk

3.  DL Maason Smith

Yeah after discussing it with rackcs I realized that Najee still had a 5th year option in addition to his year left so it's definitely too high for a RB (though I still think they need a 3rd RB - but probably later on) when you have two guys on rookie contracts for two years.

I'm releasing a 4-rounder today and Pitt isn't getting a RB anymore. Which is a shame because I really like Benson, much more than Harris.