Bengals Draft Depot

Overall I like the draft, I think they landed quite a few good players and some of those at great value. They had four players that I thought would be gone before they were picked, some of those a couple rounds before. They filled alot of team needs and gave Carson Palmer some weapons to work with next season.

I love the TE pick! I always have wanted to see what Carson can do with a legitimate threat at the Tight End spot. Look at all the top QB's in the league and they all have something in common, that is they all have at minimum a viable option at TE. Manning-Clark,Rivers-Gates,Brady had Watson now has Gronkowski, Rodgers-Finley,Brees-Shockey,Rothlisburger-Miller,Flacco-Heap. You get the picture.

I also like what the Bengals are doing on the defensive line. A few years ago the Giants upset the Patriots in the Super Bowl. This win was against the most explosive offense in league history. How did they do it? They had a dominant defensive line that had an 8 man rotation, keeping them fresh not only for the game, but the entire season. That line was the biggest reason they won the Super Bowl, well that and David Tyree having a pass stick to his helmet. Now the Bengals aren't on that level yet, but they should have an excellent group of 8 or 9 players on the line, with 6 of them having good ability to get a pass rush. Also most of those players have the versatility to play anywhere on the line.

The main thing about the draft is they didn't take a Safety anywhere in the draft. Marvin Lewis said they have the depth in house. He also said that about Cook when people wanted an early Center drafted and Cook has turned out to be very good, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. The only thing is Reshad Jones and Kendrick Lewis were both available in the 5th round and they opted to take an offensive lineman that may have gone undrafted. Jones was projected to go in the 2nd or 3rd round. I don't know if they plan on moving Trent to Safety or what the plan is but they better have something legit as both the starters are over 30 and have had durability issues in the past few seasons.

Overall I think atleast 7 of these 9 draftees are going to make the 53 man roster. Which means some veterans should be worried because quite a few are going to be cut. For the first time in forever the Bengals are going to have to cut some good players just because the other options are better and not because of trouble. It's unlikely Frostee Rucker is going to make this team unless they keep 10 on the D line. We know Odom,Geathers,Dunlap,Micheal Johnson,Fanene,Peko,Tank Johnson,Sims, and Atkins are all going to make the team and that makes 9 right there. Orien Harris' days are numbered in Cincinnati.

If either of the offensive lineman stick then someone who is good is going to be out. It'll be one of these players Roland,Livings,Luigs, or Collins. All of those are good players, especially for backups and 1 or 2 could be gone if 1 or 2 of the rookies stick. I doubt they make the 53 man roster, and both will be projects that go on the Practice Squad. The same is going to go for WR as there's alot of talent there and there's going to be some fighting for the last 2 roster spots between Briscoe,Cosby,Simpson,Purify, and Matt Jones. Dont forget about the undrafted players they sign as well, of all those players only 2 spots are available.

It's like that across the entire team now and that makes your team better as a whole. I believe you're only as strong as your backups in the NFL with all the injuries that take place. The Bengals should have some very good backups and depth across the roster. The only position I'm worried about is Safety now, but Lewis says it's covered and if that's the case we should be making a return trip to the post season this year.