Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Grading the 2009 Draft
11:52 AM | 
Posted by
Eric
This is the final part of a three part series of going back over the last three years and re-grading the drafts from that particular year.
1st Round- Andre Smith (C-)
This is a tough pick to grade. I seriously considered giving it a D because of the holdout. The broken foot didn't help matters either. However when Smith finally got playing last year he showed some flashes of being really good. Based on his domination of the SEC I think he's going to end up being one of the best RT's in the NFL if he can stay healthy. This time next year I expect this grade to be atleast a B, if not higher. Just as a side note I wanted Micheal Oher and I was right, for now atleast.
Other players available- Micheal Crabtree, Brian Orakpo, Brian Cushing, Micheal Oher
2nd Round- Rey Maualuga (A)
Wow, I couldn't believe he was still on the board when the Bengals picked in the 2nd round. There was debate on the Bengals message boards of taking Rey with the number 6 overall pick. As I got closer and closer to the Bengals picking and he was still available I started getting really excited and nervous someone was going to take him. Then when Denver I think it was traded in front of the Bengals I thought he was gone for sure. They ended up taking Alphonso Smith I believe. Then I'm sitting in a hotel room in Columbus on the edge of the bed praying for them to take Mauluga, when the pick was announced I about jumped through the roof. He was a force on the defense last year and the run D suffered after he went down. Great pick and I immediately bought a jersey.
Other available players- Clint Sintim, LeSean McCoy, Phil Loadholt *none are as good as Rey!
3rd Round- Micheal Johnson (A-)
Another steal, early in the offseason people said Johnson could be a top 10 overall pick. Then rumors of him not having a high motor came out. I'm glad they did, he's played with a high motor here and has a skill set to be an all-pro. He had numerous batted balls last season and 3 sacks in limited playing time, including one to clinch the game against the Squealers. I'm really excited about this kid's future and with Dunlap now in the mix think the Bengals could be a pass rushing force from the DE for years to come. Great pick!
Other available players- Mike Wallace, Ladarius Webb
3rd Round- Chase Coffman (I)
Coffman gets an incomplete. I'm still excited about having him here even with the Gresham pick this year. I think the possibilities with 2 TE sets are very exciting. Add that with being able to throw 3 and 4 WR sets at defenses and now teams are gonna have a hard time preparing for the Bengals offense and a hard time getting in a rhythm on defense. Also with if he has improved blocking he provides the Bengals with 2 viable starters at the position and if injury hits he can step right into the starters role keeping Palmer with a middle of the field target and red zone target.
4th Round- Jonathon Luigs (B-)
I really liked this pick at the time, even though I felt an earlier Center was likely needed. The previous few years the play at the position was terrible at best thanks to Eric Guysuck. Kyle Cook was an unknown, thank god he turned out to be as good as he is. Luigs was a former Remington winner and now provides the Bengals with excellent depth at the position and has performed fairly well on special teams. I think this grade could be higher if he ever earns a starting job, possibly at LG or RG after Williams retires.
5th Round- Kevin Huber (B+/A-)
The grade is right inbetween the two and since I can't decide I'm giving him both. The Bengals were horrible at Punter for several years due to Kyle Larson having the leg of an 11 year old girl. Huber was an all-american at UC and punted an average of 4 yards more than Larson. He was 21st in punting average, but 11th in net yards which I believe is the more important of the 2 stats. This was only his rookie year and I expect bigger and better numbers in year two. Good Pick!
6th Round- Morgan Trent (C-)
This is tough as well as Trent was thrown into the nickel corner role immediately after David Jones was injured. I thought he performed well in some games, but was terrible in others. The grade should probably be a bit lower because the Bengals were horrible against teams 3rd WR, and that's Trent's responsibility. I believe he will show improvement this year, but he may have a tough time making the team with the Ghee pick and now Pacman Jones coming in. I hope he can beat out Jones for that 4th CB spot.
6th Round- Bernard Scott (A+)
Scott was an absolute steal in the 6th round. Red flags or not he showed flashes of being a similiar runner to Chris Johnson who may be the best player in the NFL not named Payton Manning,Drew Brees, or Tom Brady. Scott was very productive when he was given the chance to play and I'd look for him to be more involved in the offense in 2010. Also the kick return against Pittsburgh was the difference in the game and helped secure a division sweep. I think Scott can handle an entire workload unlike some people who say he can't. If Ced wants too much money after this season, I say draft a back in the mid rounds and give Scott a chance to be the starter.
7th Round- Fui Vakapuna (D+)
Fui was cut last year in the preseason and we saw on hard knocks they believed he was too much of a project. He has great athleticism for a FB, but his job is to clear paths blocking for the RB and he wasn't succesful at that. That being said it looks like Jeremi Johnson won't be back and he likely will be the starter heading into the season.
7th Round- Freddie Brown (C-)
Although he hasn't been active, I liked this pick. He was excellent in the Sugar Bowl the year before and has good potential. He's a big WR who can make plays, but now with Shipley, Briscoe, and Bryant here I don't see a spot for him which is too bad.
Overall- (A)
If this draft doesn't deserve an A then I don't know what does. Five players from this draft started at some point last year and 2 of them were regular starters from week one. That number could've been 3 if not for the Andre Smith holdout and injury. The future looks even brighter for this group of picks and I could see 4 or 5 potential pro bowlers in this draft class. I think they had 3 of the biggest steals in this draft with Maualuga in the 2nd, Johnson in the 3rd, and Scott in the 6th. They hit basically every need they had and didn't reach for a single pick and got good to great value with each pick. I think it was the best draft of any team in the NFL last year. This could be the draft that helps bring the Bengals it's first Super Bowl win. Especially if this 2010 draft turns out as well as alot of people think it will.
1st Round- Andre Smith (C-)
This is a tough pick to grade. I seriously considered giving it a D because of the holdout. The broken foot didn't help matters either. However when Smith finally got playing last year he showed some flashes of being really good. Based on his domination of the SEC I think he's going to end up being one of the best RT's in the NFL if he can stay healthy. This time next year I expect this grade to be atleast a B, if not higher. Just as a side note I wanted Micheal Oher and I was right, for now atleast.
Other players available- Micheal Crabtree, Brian Orakpo, Brian Cushing, Micheal Oher
2nd Round- Rey Maualuga (A)
Wow, I couldn't believe he was still on the board when the Bengals picked in the 2nd round. There was debate on the Bengals message boards of taking Rey with the number 6 overall pick. As I got closer and closer to the Bengals picking and he was still available I started getting really excited and nervous someone was going to take him. Then when Denver I think it was traded in front of the Bengals I thought he was gone for sure. They ended up taking Alphonso Smith I believe. Then I'm sitting in a hotel room in Columbus on the edge of the bed praying for them to take Mauluga, when the pick was announced I about jumped through the roof. He was a force on the defense last year and the run D suffered after he went down. Great pick and I immediately bought a jersey.
Other available players- Clint Sintim, LeSean McCoy, Phil Loadholt *none are as good as Rey!
3rd Round- Micheal Johnson (A-)
Another steal, early in the offseason people said Johnson could be a top 10 overall pick. Then rumors of him not having a high motor came out. I'm glad they did, he's played with a high motor here and has a skill set to be an all-pro. He had numerous batted balls last season and 3 sacks in limited playing time, including one to clinch the game against the Squealers. I'm really excited about this kid's future and with Dunlap now in the mix think the Bengals could be a pass rushing force from the DE for years to come. Great pick!
Other available players- Mike Wallace, Ladarius Webb
3rd Round- Chase Coffman (I)
Coffman gets an incomplete. I'm still excited about having him here even with the Gresham pick this year. I think the possibilities with 2 TE sets are very exciting. Add that with being able to throw 3 and 4 WR sets at defenses and now teams are gonna have a hard time preparing for the Bengals offense and a hard time getting in a rhythm on defense. Also with if he has improved blocking he provides the Bengals with 2 viable starters at the position and if injury hits he can step right into the starters role keeping Palmer with a middle of the field target and red zone target.
4th Round- Jonathon Luigs (B-)
I really liked this pick at the time, even though I felt an earlier Center was likely needed. The previous few years the play at the position was terrible at best thanks to Eric Guysuck. Kyle Cook was an unknown, thank god he turned out to be as good as he is. Luigs was a former Remington winner and now provides the Bengals with excellent depth at the position and has performed fairly well on special teams. I think this grade could be higher if he ever earns a starting job, possibly at LG or RG after Williams retires.
5th Round- Kevin Huber (B+/A-)
The grade is right inbetween the two and since I can't decide I'm giving him both. The Bengals were horrible at Punter for several years due to Kyle Larson having the leg of an 11 year old girl. Huber was an all-american at UC and punted an average of 4 yards more than Larson. He was 21st in punting average, but 11th in net yards which I believe is the more important of the 2 stats. This was only his rookie year and I expect bigger and better numbers in year two. Good Pick!
6th Round- Morgan Trent (C-)
This is tough as well as Trent was thrown into the nickel corner role immediately after David Jones was injured. I thought he performed well in some games, but was terrible in others. The grade should probably be a bit lower because the Bengals were horrible against teams 3rd WR, and that's Trent's responsibility. I believe he will show improvement this year, but he may have a tough time making the team with the Ghee pick and now Pacman Jones coming in. I hope he can beat out Jones for that 4th CB spot.
6th Round- Bernard Scott (A+)
Scott was an absolute steal in the 6th round. Red flags or not he showed flashes of being a similiar runner to Chris Johnson who may be the best player in the NFL not named Payton Manning,Drew Brees, or Tom Brady. Scott was very productive when he was given the chance to play and I'd look for him to be more involved in the offense in 2010. Also the kick return against Pittsburgh was the difference in the game and helped secure a division sweep. I think Scott can handle an entire workload unlike some people who say he can't. If Ced wants too much money after this season, I say draft a back in the mid rounds and give Scott a chance to be the starter.
7th Round- Fui Vakapuna (D+)
Fui was cut last year in the preseason and we saw on hard knocks they believed he was too much of a project. He has great athleticism for a FB, but his job is to clear paths blocking for the RB and he wasn't succesful at that. That being said it looks like Jeremi Johnson won't be back and he likely will be the starter heading into the season.
7th Round- Freddie Brown (C-)
Although he hasn't been active, I liked this pick. He was excellent in the Sugar Bowl the year before and has good potential. He's a big WR who can make plays, but now with Shipley, Briscoe, and Bryant here I don't see a spot for him which is too bad.
Overall- (A)
If this draft doesn't deserve an A then I don't know what does. Five players from this draft started at some point last year and 2 of them were regular starters from week one. That number could've been 3 if not for the Andre Smith holdout and injury. The future looks even brighter for this group of picks and I could see 4 or 5 potential pro bowlers in this draft class. I think they had 3 of the biggest steals in this draft with Maualuga in the 2nd, Johnson in the 3rd, and Scott in the 6th. They hit basically every need they had and didn't reach for a single pick and got good to great value with each pick. I think it was the best draft of any team in the NFL last year. This could be the draft that helps bring the Bengals it's first Super Bowl win. Especially if this 2010 draft turns out as well as alot of people think it will.
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