Hokie Mock 1.0

[THE DUKE]

17 hours ago, theJ said:

Or a center.  Cuz i have my doubts they'll spend big money on a center too.  As sad as that is.

One would like to think they learned their lesson after what happened to the line when they let Whit and Zeitler both go.

[Hokie]

On 3/19/2018 at 2:00 PM, Futbudds said:

Do you like Vander Esch better than Evans?

Yes, especially for this team. Vander Esch, to me, offers greater upside and is better in coverage. Evans tends to fit in better with what they usually go for, but I think he's a bit redundant with Brown and Burfict. If the Bengals go LB in the first couple of rounds I'm hoping it'll be someone who offers more in coverage - Bengal LBs are traditionally not great in coverage and this is an area we really need to improve on.

[Hokie]

On 3/19/2018 at 5:43 PM, Jason_Bengal_Fl said:

I wouldn't hate it.  

1 kind of depends on who else is there.  I'm not sold they go LB that early, but he would make them a lot more athletic.

2. I'm not sure he makes it to 46 even with the injury, but if he does I like it.

5c. Love it, but will they do it?  Or is Bullock "their guy" now?

The rest is ok.

1) I'm not sold they go LB either. Prior to the Glenn trade I was really hoping for Smith or Edmunds (particularly Smith, in spite of me being a Virginia Tech grad), but it seems unlikely to me at this point. There is a good LB group available in the middle rounds - I think it's more likely they target their LB in rounds 3-5. LVE is a great fit but may not be in instant impact player, so I'm not sure they go that route.

2) I think Price will, but I don't think the Bengals are going to wait to address C at 46.

5c) I doubt they draft one to be honest. Bullock had a solid season even though they wouldn't let him try long kicks. I think they'll bring in a UDFA to compete or maybe go one in round 7. Taking another kicker in round 5 just to ultimately cut him again would subject them to quite a bit of ridicule.

[Hokie]

Appreciate the feedback all - I apologize for the delayed responses. I'm a CPA, and life is pretty busy for me until mid-April every year.

I took some time today to come up with my final Bengals mock. Rather than start a new thread, I figured I'd just post it here. Feel free to pick it apart! I tried to be as realistic as possible.

1. James Daniels, OC, Iowa

I think the Bengals are nearly set on taking an OL in the 1^st, and I think they would love to trade down into the late 1^st and pick up an extra 3^rd, similar to what they did with Zeitler several years ago. The Bengals value OT more than the interior, and if McGlinchey is available I suspect he’ll be the pick, but I don’t think he makes it to 21. The team really likes Ragnow and Daniels and I believe they’d be thrilled with either in the late 1^st while picking up a 3^rd, but there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to move down (more teams try to trade down than up). For simplicity’s sake, I’m not going to mock a trade. So alas, I have them going with Daniels at 21.

The Bengals have a gaping hole at center and the position really needs to be addressed within the first two rounds. Daniels is exceedingly quick and is great at getting to the second level. Great fit for Pollack’s zone blocking scheme and represents a massive upgrade to Bodine from day 1. I'm sure you guys have read enough about him, as he's the most popular projection for us at this point. I think he or Ragnow would be very solid 1st round targets, though I would much prefer to pick up that extra third and pick them around 25-30.

2. Sam Hubbard, DE, Ohio St.

DE isn’t a gaping hole on the team but they could use depth here. Dunlap is set to be a free agent next year and while Willis flashed at times last year, he hasn’t taken a starting job and ran with it. They lost Chris Smith, who was a nice contributor last year, and have yet to replace him. Plus, Johnson has aged and is a potential cap casualty.

Hubbard has the size the Bengals love (6’5, 265) and is a local kid. Hubbard isn’t the twitchiest of DEs but knows how to use his hands and is a relentless attacker. Hubbard would be a solid backup in year 1 with the potential to turn into an every game starter down the line. I suspect he'd be a popular pick among Bengals fans here.

3A. Tim Settle, DT, Virginia Tech

DT is a position the Bengals seem set at adding depth to, as Andrew Billings hasn’t shown much to date and the Bengals were piss poor against the run last season. Settle is highly agile, really way too agile for someone his size (6’3, 335). Plays with great play strength as well. He had 12.5 TFL last year as a redshirt sophomore, his first as a starter. As a VT alum who watched all their games, I was amazed at how he seemingly came out of nowhere and was in the backfield on what seemed like every play. Controlling his weight is something he is going to have to consistently show as a NFL player. I think he makes an impact from day 1; maybe not as a starter, but as a rotational DT who adds some beef to the DL. As I said, the Bengals have to be better against the run if they want to compete for a playoff spot this year.

3B. Will Richardson, OT, NC St.

I fully expect three of the five starting OL for the Bengals this year to be Glenn, Boling, and whatever center they draft. I think RG and RT will be open competitions; Richardson would add to that competition as a rookie, though I haven’t given up hope that Fisher can be a starting RT (I think the ship has sailed on Ogbuehi though). Richard has good foot quickness and a powerful lower body, but what will cause him to drop is 1) he’s built like a guard and 2) he has some definite character concerns, as he had a DWI several years ago and a team suspension last year (weed). He’s a risk due to the character concerns, but he can provide Fisher with competition at RT and add depth as a swing tackle if Glenn stays healthy/Fisher pans out. If any team out there knows that you need depth on the OL it’s the Bengals.

4. Armani Watts, S, Texas A&M

The Bengals have been interested in adding a safety the entire offseason and I think there’s a solid chance they go with one on day 2. I also think there’s a solid chance they, more or less, ignore the position in the draft then sign a free agent afterwards. They seem to be looking for one with plus ball skills and that can create turnovers, and I think Watts would be a nice fit here. He’s a bit undersized at 5’10 but he’s highly athletic and a four year starter. He has four INTs, 5 PBUs, 10 TFL, 2 FF, 2 FR, and 2 blocked kicks his senior year, so suffice to say he seems to have a nose for the ball. He’s a bit feast or famine and will have to learn how to pick his spots, but he could contribute in sub packages in the early stages of his career. Also needs to work on his tackling, as he’s not going to be a run-down player early in his career. I think he could make an impact in nickel packages as a rookie.

5A. Tremon Smith, CB, Central Arkansas

Bengals seem overdue to draft a CB (we can’t rule it out of round 1, knowing their history), and while there’s potential for them to bring Pacman back as a 4^th corner (or maybe they trust Russell to fill that role), I fully expect them to take one at some point on day 2 or 3. Smith fits what they’re looking for – good size/speed and is a ballhawk. He takes a lot of chances however and plays extremely aggressively, which could lead to penalties. I think he has potential to be a big steal in the 5^th - with good coaching, I really think he could be an impact starter down the line.

5B. Tegray Scales, LB, Indiana

I think LB is a fairly significant need for the Bengals but there doesn’t appear to be a great deal of chatter about them taking one early, so I’ve slotted them with one in the 5^th. Scales is another local kid who had a very nice career at Indiana. He had a whopping 26.5 TFL in 2016 and another 12.5 in 2017. He’s very instinctive and made impact plays at Indiana; he has shown some flashes in coverage as well. The knock on him is size, or lack thereof (6’, 230) and doesn’t have great speed. Adds depth to a position that needs it (especially with Burfict out the first four games). He reminds me a bit of Vinnie Rey.

5C. Tyler Conklin, TE, Central Michigan

I mean, this is a slam dunk, right? Bengals just love TEs named Tyler. On a serious note, the Bengals have three TEs set to hit free agency this year so it’s likely they’ll draft one at some point on day 2 or 3. Conklin missed a lot of time last year with a foot injury but he won’t be expected to contribute in year 1, so I don’t see that as any sort of real issue. Very good hands and a good athlete, and has flashed as a run blocker. I like him as a guy who can contribute as a TE2 in his second year.

7A. Kurt Benkert, QB, Virginia

Benkert has a good arm, good size, and a good senior season. His accuracy isn’t great, however, and his decision making is questionable at best. I like him as a developmental QB you stash on the practice squad and hope by year 2 he can compete for a backup role. Keep in mind that guys taken at the end of the 7th rounds are nothing more, basically, lottery tickets.

7B. Roc Thomas, RB, Jacksonville St.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bengals go RB in round 5, as they don’t have much behind Mixon and Gio. Thomas is a plus athlete (former 5 star prospect) but has to learn to run with more patience and discipline. Not sure if he can show anything on special teams, but if so, it would definitely increase his chances at sticking on a roster.

7C. Andre Levrone, WR, Virginia

Teammate of Benkert, he has good size and speed but his roster chances will suffer due to a lack of special teams experience. Bengals brought him in for a visit however, so he makes sense as a 7^th round/UDFA target.

 

[Beck Bristow]

I'm on board with the trade back in one. Just worried that they will do something stupid if they can't pull off a trade.

[Johnny Nix]

7 hours ago, Beck Bristow said:

I'm on board with the trade back in one. Just worried that they will do something stupid if they can't pull off a trade.

Like take Calvin Ridley just like Hobson did in his mock 

[ochocinco4pres]

love Scales obviously. 

[theJ]

4 hours ago, johndeere1707 said:

Like take Calvin Ridley just like Hobson did in his mock 

Just think of how funny that would be.  

Brandon Lafell would still make the team and start.

Josh Malone, who flashed as a rookie, gets approximately 4 snaps on the year.

John Ross, the #9 pick from 2017, plays approximately 9 snaps (200% more than his rookie year!).

The new #1 pick rides the pine behind Lafell and plays maybe 20% of the snaps.

Alex Erickson, a UDFA, makes the team again and plays most of the slot snaps.

 

It would be an incredible pick.

[Beck Bristow]

6 hours ago, johndeere1707 said:

Like take Calvin Ridley just like Hobson did in his mock 

Yeah I saw that. It's pretty much the worst case scenario.  Hobson is trolling us I think. Or trying to get bad info out  there. 

[TheVillain112]

Calvin Ridley would be like the WJIII pick for me.  I didn't want a first round corner, but I liked WJIII as a prospect so ultimately I was fine with the pick.  I didn't like Kirkpatrick coming out of college, but I was high on WJIII.  Even though it's not the position I wanted, I liked the player.

Similar with Calvin Ridley.  If we draft him, I'm assuming we trade Tyler Boyd.  Probably move up in the 2nd round by trading Boyd and our 2nd round pick to get the Center that we want.  AJ Green + Ross + Ridley is not a bad trio.  The one thing it's lacking is a physical tackle breaking WR.  Christian Kirk seems to be that guy in this years draft, and if we somehow ended up with him, I wouldn't be too upset. 

The Bengals would really have to do something stupid to get me mad this year, like draft Mason Rudolph.  I think I've talked myself into almost every prospect that might be on our radar, lol...

[Futbudds]

14 minutes ago, TheVillain112 said:

Calvin Ridley would be like the WJIII pick for me.  I didn't want a first round corner, but I liked WJIII as a prospect so ultimately I was fine with the pick.  I didn't like Kirkpatrick coming out of college, but I was high on WJIII.  Even though it's not the position I wanted, I liked the player.

Similar with Calvin Ridley.  If we draft him, I'm assuming we trade Tyler Boyd.  Probably move up in the 2nd round by trading Boyd and our 2nd round pick to get the Center that we want.  AJ Green + Ross + Ridley is not a bad trio.  The one thing it's lacking is a physical tackle breaking WR.  Christian Kirk seems to be that guy in this years draft, and if we somehow ended up with him, I wouldn't be too upset. 

The Bengals would really have to do something stupid to get me mad this year, like draft Mason Rudolph.  I think I've talked myself into almost every prospect that might be on our radar, lol...

I like James Washington, Deshawn Hamilton, and Anthony Miller better than Ridley unless he falls to the second.

[theJ]

52 minutes ago, TheVillain112 said:

If we draft him, I'm assuming we trade Tyler Boyd

Haha i totally forgot about him.  whoops.

[TheVillain112]

22 minutes ago, theJ said:

Haha i totally forgot about him.  whoops.

@theJ is Marvin Lewis.  I knew it!

[TheVillain112]

56 minutes ago, Futbudds said:

I like James Washington, Deshawn Hamilton, and Anthony Miller better than Ridley unless he falls to the second.

I'm a huge fan of Anthony Miller.  But reaching for him in the first when we don't need a WR, would be hard to justify.  As for Ridley, what I like about him is that he's elite in route running.  That should get him on the field, whereas any other WR will be on the bench behind LaFell...

[INbengalfan]

1 hour ago, Beck Bristow said:

Yeah I saw that. It's pretty much the worst case scenario.  Hobson is trolling us I think. Or trying to get bad info out  there. 

I wouldn't call it trolling.  I think it's more figuartive, as in, what do we do when a totally unexpected player lands in our lap, even if it doesn't fill a need....  I think everyone took it too literally.  Or maybe I have spent too much time teaching the difference to 10-112 year olds