Early Offense Mock+FA+Depth Chart

[OchoCincos]

Going in order of how things can go down between now and the draft...

Extensions:
Geno Atkins

Re-sign:
Thomas Howard, WLB
Adam Jones, CB
Terence Newman, CB
Andre Smith, RT
Andrew Hawkins, WR
Cedric Peerman, RB
Michael Johnson, DE
Wallace Gilberry, DE
Pat Sims, DT
Josh Brown, K
Kevin Huber, P
Clark Harris, LS

Free Agency:
SLB: Daryl Smith
SS: LaRon Landry or Kenny Phillips

Draft:
1: Trade back with JAX, KC, or ARZ for their second and third round picks. They would be trading up to get an offensive playmaker to go with their first round pick (RB, WR, QB, TE)

2A: Cordarrelle Patterson, WR Tenn (Dynamic playmaker on the outside opposite of AJ. Sanu primary slot, Hawkins and Jones as gadget players. Whalen depth)

2B: Eddie Lacy, RB Alabama or Giovani Bernard, RB UNC(Lacy is a true three-down RB. He would become our primary RB. Not blazing speed, but enough elusiveness to get to the open field and take it to the endzone after that. Bernard also a good option, as he is quicker and more elusive as Lacy, but not quite as powerful. Bernard could be a three-down RB as well.)

2C: Travis Frederick, C/OG Wisconsin (Has played LG and C, which are arguably our two weakest positions on our OL. Outstanding football IQ and a beast in both run and pass defense)

3A: Sean Porter, OLB Texas A&M (Successor to either Howard or Smith. Can play both OLB positions)

3B: Tank Carradine, DE FSU (Was having a great year before injury. Was projected early second round prior. Given our rotational scheme, we can afford this gamble and it should ease him back)

4: Shawn Williams, SS Georgia (Backup role to our new vet SS or spot starter in case of injury. Our future SS within a year or two. Great leader on a great defense. If not available at this pick, there should be plenty of other safeties to take with similar skill level)

5: Kiko Alonso, ILB Oregon (Comes from a 4-3 and has played pretty well. Backup role to Burfict. Upgrade for our depth)

6A: Michael Williams, TE Alabama (Amazing blocking TE and can still catch and be a factor in the red zone on play action)

6B: Kerwynn Williams, RB/KR/PR Utah St (Perfect 3rd down RB and returner. Great hands, fast, and elusive. He could be our burner as well. Ideally Lacy as main RB, BJGE as short yardage, and Williams as our COP/3rd and long RB )

Cut:
Travelle Wharton, OG
Jamaal Anderson, DE

Depth Chart:
QB: Dalton, Z. Robinson
RB: Lacy/Bernard, BJGE, K. Williams, Peerman
FB: Pressley
TE: Gresham, Charles, M. Williams
WR: Green, Patterson, Sanu, Hawkins, Jones, Whalen
OT: Whitworth, Smith, Collins
OG: Zeitler, Frederick, Boling
C: T. Robinson, Cook

DT: Atkins, Peko, Sims, Still, Thompson
DE: Dunlap, MJ, Gilberry, Carradine
SLB: Smith, Porter, Moch
MLB: Burfict, Alonso
WLB: Howard, Lamur
SS: Landry/Phillips, S. Williams, Mays/Sands
FS: Nelson, Iloka
CB: Hall, Kirkpatrick, Jones, Newman, Ghee/Allen

K: Brown
P: Huber
LS: Harris

This will make us a very strong team next year. We should be able to focus on luxury upgrades in the 2014 draft, like CB and TE.

[Stewee28]

If were trading back, does that mean our 2B is a higher 2nd round pick? Because if thats OUR second round pick, there is no way lacy lasts that long. Especially after the highlight reel he ripped off last night in the biggest game college football has!

Outside of that, I love the first 4 picks. Id rather have Rambo then Williams as a Safety!

I also wouldnt be opposed to fixing our LB issue with another athletic outside talent - Hodges, Thomas, Greene!

[OchoCincos]

Originally Posted by Stewee28

If were trading back, does that mean our 2B is a higher 2nd round pick? Because if thats OUR second round pick, there is no way lacy lasts that long. Especially after the highlight reel he ripped off last night in the biggest game college football has!

Outside of that, I love the first 4 picks. Id rather have Rambo then Williams as a Safety!

I also wouldnt be opposed to fixing our LB issue with another athletic outside talent - Hodges, Thomas, Greene!

Trading back would yield an early second round and third round pick. But depending on who we would trade with, it could be a couple picks later than Oakland's second round pick. Honestly, they should be within a couple picks of each other, and Patterson and Lacy could be switched.

I too like Rambo more than Williams, but I don't see him lasting to our fourth round pick. If he were, I would choose Rambo over Williams. But Williams has the tools and leadership to be a great SS.

Sean Porter is an athletic linebacker, but can play any LB situation (coverage, pass rush, run support). We only have so many draft picks this year, so we can't make our team elite at *every* position just yet. 2014 draft should allow us more freedom to take more luxury picks to upgrade spots that are not necessarily holes, but could use improvement (OLB, CB, TE for example).

[mulligan]

Good stuff. Actually, this is great stuff. Very, very well put together. Thanks!

It seems to me that the Bengals are going to need between 2 to 4 solid veteran FA signings to lift this team to the next level. Solid signings (Landry and Smith, I know nothing about Smith). Not necessarily BIG NAME signings. Personally, I would love if the Bengals were to add another veteran WR as well as an insurance policy if the rookie WR takes more time than anticipated to get up to speed.

It appears that you have cut Taylor Mays as well.

And, Jason Allen's contract is quite steep for a "ghost" player with very, very minimal in "dead cost". He should/would be considered for the chopping block as well.

From what I understand Frederick has only played 1 game as a Center. WTS, I would consider him an OG not an OG/C. *edit, he played all 13 games at Center his senior year. If this is the case, why not start Frederick at Center, cut Cook, and keep Wharton as the back up LG?

As for the luxury 2014 picks, I would add Guard & LB to CB & TE.

As an editorial note, to me, the Bengals' team identity rests in their choice of either going offense heavy or defense heavy with the first three draft selections in 2013. My only concern is that I feel that Zimmer is better coach than Jay Gruden. If the Bengals were to go offense heavy AND they lost Zimmer as the DC, I would be quite concerned about the prospects going forward.

[pulses]

Originally Posted by mulligan

Good stuff. Actually, this is great stuff. Very, very well put together. Thanks!

It seems to me that the Bengals are going to need between 2 to 4 solid veteran FA signings to lift this team to the next level. Solid signings (Landry and Smith, I know nothing about Smith). Not necessarily BIG NAME signings. Personally, I would love if the Bengals were to add another veteran WR as well as an insurance policy if the rookie WR takes more time than anticipated to get up to speed.

It appears that you have cut Taylor Mays as well.

And, Jason Allen's contract is quite steep for a "ghost" player with very, very minimal in "dead cost". He should/would be considered for the chopping block as well.

From what I understand Frederick has only played 1 game as a Center. WTS, I would consider him an OG not an OG/C.

As for the luxury 2014 picks, I would add Center & LB to CB & TE.

Wrong! he played all 14 games at Center this year


http://www.buckys5thquarter.com/wisc...consin-badgers

[mulligan]

Originally Posted by pulses

Wrong! he played all 14 games at Center this year


http://www.buckys5thquarter.com/wisc...consin-badgers

Gotcha. Not to say that I don't believe what is written on SB Nation, but I don't believe what is written on SB Nation. But I do believe what is written on UW's website.
http://www.uwbadgers.com/sports/m-fo..._travis00.html

[OchoCincos]

Originally Posted by mulligan

Good stuff. Actually, this is great stuff. Very, very well put together. Thanks!

It seems to me that the Bengals are going to need between 2 to 4 solid veteran FA signings to lift this team to the next level. Solid signings (Landry and Smith, I know nothing about Smith). Not necessarily BIG NAME signings. Personally, I would love if the Bengals were to add another veteran WR as well as an insurance policy if the rookie WR takes more time than anticipated to get up to speed.

It appears that you have cut Taylor Mays as well.

And, Jason Allen's contract is quite steep for a "ghost" player with very, very minimal in "dead cost". He should/would be considered for the chopping block as well.

From what I understand Frederick has only played 1 game as a Center. WTS, I would consider him an OG not an OG/C. *edit, he played all 13 games at Center his senior year. If this is the case, why not start Frederick at Center, cut Cook, and keep Wharton as the back up LG?

As for the luxury 2014 picks, I would add Guard & LB to CB & TE.

As an editorial note, to me, the Bengals' team identity rests in their choice of either going offense heavy or defense heavy with the first three draft selections in 2013. My only concern is that I feel that Zimmer is better coach than Jay Gruden. If the Bengals were to go offense heavy AND they lost Zimmer as the DC, I would be quite concerned about the prospects going forward.

I was thinking about a vet FA WR too, possibly Domenik Hixon, to replace Whalen. I just think these coaches are stubborn heh. If we draft one high, I don't know if we'd get one in FA as well. But I would like to upgrade Whalen as well. Hixon would probably land starter money though.

Good eye on noticing Mays was missing. I knew my depth chart was missing a player. I have updated it as Mays/Sands, in which they would be battling for the final safety spot. I think it would go to Mays in this case though.

As for Frederick...he could start either at LG or C. I think the FO and coaches would be more likely to cut Wharton than Cook though. Once again, back to the stubborn thing. Not really sure whether I would prefer Robinson at C and Frederick at LG, or Frederick at C and Boling at LG. At least at the start, probably Robinson as starting C considering his knowledge of the plays and a bit of NFL experience already. Either way, good problem to have.

Thanks for feedback

[Brunz]

Originally Posted by OchoCincos

Going in order of how things can go down between now and the draft...

Extensions:
Geno Atkins

Re-sign:
Thomas Howard, WLB
Adam Jones, CB
Terence Newman, CB
Andre Smith, RT
Andrew Hawkins, WR
Cedric Peerman, RB
Michael Johnson, DE
Wallace Gilberry, DE
Pat Sims, DT
Josh Brown, K
Kevin Huber, P
Clark Harris, LS

Free Agency:
SLB: Daryl Smith
SS: LaRon Landry or Kenny Phillips

Draft:
1: Trade back with JAX, KC, or ARZ for their second and third round picks. They would be trading up to get an offensive playmaker to go with their first round pick (RB, WR, QB, TE)

2A: Cordarrelle Patterson, WR Tenn (Dynamic playmaker on the outside opposite of AJ. Sanu primary slot, Hawkins and Jones as gadget players. Whalen depth)

2B: Eddie Lacy, RB Alabama or Giovani Bernard, RB UNC(Lacy is a true three-down RB. He would become our primary RB. Not blazing speed, but enough elusiveness to get to the open field and take it to the endzone after that. Bernard also a good option, as he is quicker and more elusive as Lacy, but not quite as powerful. Bernard could be a three-down RB as well.)

2C: Travis Frederick, C/OG Wisconsin (Has played LG and C, which are arguably our two weakest positions on our OL. Outstanding football IQ and a beast in both run and pass defense)

3A: Sean Porter, OLB Texas A&M (Successor to either Howard or Smith. Can play both OLB positions)

3B: Tank Carradine, DE FSU (Was having a great year before injury. Was projected early second round prior. Given our rotational scheme, we can afford this gamble and it should ease him back)

4: Shawn Williams, SS Georgia (Backup role to our new vet SS or spot starter in case of injury. Our future SS within a year or two. Great leader on a great defense. If not available at this pick, there should be plenty of other safeties to take with similar skill level)

5: Kiko Alonso, ILB Oregon (Comes from a 4-3 and has played pretty well. Backup role to Burfict. Upgrade for our depth)

6A: Michael Williams, TE Alabama (Amazing blocking TE and can still catch and be a factor in the red zone on play action)

6B: Kerwynn Williams, RB/KR/PR Utah St (Perfect 3rd down RB and returner. Great hands, fast, and elusive. He could be our burner as well. Ideally Lacy as main RB, BJGE as short yardage, and Williams as our COP/3rd and long RB )

Cut:
Travelle Wharton, OG
Jamaal Anderson, DE

Depth Chart:
QB: Dalton, Z. Robinson
RB: Lacy/Bernard, BJGE, K. Williams, Peerman
FB: Pressley
TE: Gresham, Charles, M. Williams
WR: Green, Patterson, Sanu, Hawkins, Jones, Whalen
OT: Whitworth, Smith, Collins
OG: Zeitler, Frederick, Boling
C: T. Robinson, Cook

DT: Atkins, Peko, Sims, Still, Thompson
DE: Dunlap, MJ, Gilberry, Carradine
SLB: Smith, Porter, Moch
MLB: Burfict, Alonso
WLB: Howard, Lamur
SS: Landry/Phillips, S. Williams, Mays/Sands
FS: Nelson, Iloka
CB: Hall, Kirkpatrick, Jones, Newman, Ghee/Allen

K: Brown
P: Huber
LS: Harris

This will make us a very strong team next year. We should be able to focus on luxury upgrades in the 2014 draft, like CB and TE.

I like it, as I like most draft with many different options. Like trading back if it is almost a garuantee we can get the players we need.

Instead of getting kyrwynn Williams, I'd like to try and get Barner from oregon to take that role and get him in the 4th. We don't really need a safety at that spot and could easily get the some value safety at 5 or 6 round, and plus we have like 6 biggilion safeties. I'd like to keep taylor mays as the back up alond with Illoka and call it a day. Some very good talent there, not going to get much better or if any at the 4th round and on.

Barner would be my pick there for sure.

Also, Frederick would be the starting C. Boling played pretty darn good and will add some more strength this offseason so keep him in there and don't mess with that.

[OchoCincos]

Originally Posted by Brunz

I like it, as I like most draft with many different options. Like trading back if it is almost a garuantee we can get the players we need.

Instead of getting kyrwynn Williams, I'd like to try and get Barner from oregon to take that role and get him in the 4th. We don't really need a safety at that spot and could easily get the some value safety at 5 or 6 round, and plus we have like 6 biggilion safeties. I'd like to keep taylor mays as the back up alond with Illoka and call it a day. Some very good talent there, not going to get much better or if any at the 4th round and on.

Barner would be my pick there for sure.

Also, Frederick would be the starting C. Boling played pretty darn good and will add some more strength this offseason so keep him in there and don't mess with that.

Definitely valid points. Everyone has their personal preference on Player X versus Player Y.

I too think Barner would be an upgrade over Kerwynn Williams, but I think Barner will go before the fourth round. We saw how soon LeMichael James went (almost an entire round earlier than projected). I can see the same for Barner and think he will go in round 3. Williams is a very good value for the sixth round and I think he's definitely going under the radar. If he goes to the combine, he will shoot up the boards. His performance at Utah State has been great.

I put Mays/Sands because we haven't really seen whether Sands is better than Mays or not. Let them battle it out at camp. I too think Mays would win the competition, but may as well let them compete for it to prove that.

I chose Shawn Williams both for his performance and leadership. Especially if we got Landry instead of Phillips for our starting SS, Williams could become starter within a year or two due to Landry's age and/or length of contract. Even if we were to land neither FA SS, Williams would be a good selection to be our starting SS. I think that if Rambo were not next to him, his performance would be more noticed and he would be ranked higher than he is. In this case, we may get a round 2-3 safety and leader at great value in the fourth round.

Boling did play well. As did Robinson. Similar to the above scenario with Mays/Sands, let Boling, Robinson, and Frederick compete to see which two earn the starter roles for LG and C. Neither Boling nor Robinson are costing the team enough financially that they "have" to start.

[mulligan]

Originally Posted by OchoCincos

I was thinking about a vet FA WR too, possibly Domenik Hixon, to replace Whalen. I just think these coaches are stubborn heh. If we draft one high, I don't know if we'd get one in FA as well. But I would like to upgrade Whalen as well. Hixon would probably land starter money though.

Good eye on noticing Mays was missing. I knew my depth chart was missing a player. I have updated it as Mays/Sands, in which they would be battling for the final safety spot. I think it would go to Mays in this case though.

As for Frederick...he could start either at LG or C. I think the FO and coaches would be more likely to cut Wharton than Cook though. Once again, back to the stubborn thing. Not really sure whether I would prefer Robinson at C and Frederick at LG, or Frederick at C and Boling at LG. At least at the start, probably Robinson as starting C considering his knowledge of the plays and a bit of NFL experience already. Either way, good problem to have.

Thanks for feedback

Thanks for the feedback to the feedback.

As for the "stubborn" thing, I really think that this mentality is on its way out the door. The Bengals signed BJGE last year, and they would have also drafted an RB had an opportunity presented itself (and Brandon Thompson hadn't have fallen so far). WTS, I could see the Bengals signing a vet WR and drafting a young WR as well.

Don't forget that Robinson was an UDFA. Frederick will probably be a 2nd rounder. Of course, they will compete. But, I foresee the biggest upgrade if Frederick would start at Center and Boling would stay at LG.

Cutting Cook frees up $1.4 million in 2013, $3.4 million in 2014, & $3.4 million in 2015. Wharton provides quality depth, has some dead cost to his contract if cut, and it really doesn't make too much of an impact to our salary cap to keep or cut him. So I say keep him. Depth is a good thing. And for the most part, Robinson proved that he is about a push with Cook (though younger and much cheaper).

[OchoCincos]

Originally Posted by mulligan

Thanks for the feedback to the feedback.

As for the "stubborn" thing, I really think that this mentality is on its way out the door. The Bengals signed BJGE last year, and they would have also drafted an RB had an opportunity presented itself (and Brandon Thompson hadn't have fallen so far). WTS, I could see the Bengals signing a vet WR and drafting a young WR as well.

Don't forget that Robinson was an UDFA. Frederick will probably be a 2nd rounder. Of course, they will compete. But, I foresee the biggest upgrade if Frederick would start at Center and Boling would stay at LG.

Cutting Cook frees up $1.4 million in 2013, $3.4 million in 2014, & $3.4 million in 2015. Wharton provides quality depth, has some dead cost to his contract if cut, and it really doesn't make too much of an impact to our salary cap to keep or cut him. So I say keep him. Depth is a good thing. And for the most part, Robinson proved that he is about a push with Cook (though younger and much cheaper).

I know that Robinson was an UDFA, and he still performed better than Cook. We know that Cook is not great at C, and I would be fine cutting him personally.

I personally would like to see what Wharton has to offer at LG, as he may still be better than Boling. I just am going based on past trends that Cook is more likely to stay than Wharton. But you never know, as the trend of no first round OG and TE have been busted the past couple years. May the best players win the jobs and cut the weakest links.

Also, it would be great knowing we have Boling, Robinson, and Frederick that can play both LG and C. Very valuable.

[RIPChrisHenry]

Originally Posted by OchoCincos

Going in order of how things can go down between now and the draft...

Extensions:
Geno Atkins

Re-sign:
Thomas Howard, WLB
Adam Jones, CB
Terence Newman, CB
Andre Smith, RT
Andrew Hawkins, WR
Cedric Peerman, RB
Michael Johnson, DE
Wallace Gilberry, DE
Pat Sims, DT
Josh Brown, K
Kevin Huber, P
Clark Harris, LS

Free Agency:
SLB: Daryl Smith
SS: LaRon Landry or Kenny Phillips

Draft:
1: Trade back with JAX, KC, or ARZ for their second and third round picks. They would be trading up to get an offensive playmaker to go with their first round pick (RB, WR, QB, TE)

2A: Cordarrelle Patterson, WR Tenn (Dynamic playmaker on the outside opposite of AJ. Sanu primary slot, Hawkins and Jones as gadget players. Whalen depth)

2B: Eddie Lacy, RB Alabama or Giovani Bernard, RB UNC(Lacy is a true three-down RB. He would become our primary RB. Not blazing speed, but enough elusiveness to get to the open field and take it to the endzone after that. Bernard also a good option, as he is quicker and more elusive as Lacy, but not quite as powerful. Bernard could be a three-down RB as well.)

2C: Travis Frederick, C/OG Wisconsin (Has played LG and C, which are arguably our two weakest positions on our OL. Outstanding football IQ and a beast in both run and pass defense)

3A: Sean Porter, OLB Texas A&M (Successor to either Howard or Smith. Can play both OLB positions)

3B: Tank Carradine, DE FSU (Was having a great year before injury. Was projected early second round prior. Given our rotational scheme, we can afford this gamble and it should ease him back)

4: Shawn Williams, SS Georgia (Backup role to our new vet SS or spot starter in case of injury. Our future SS within a year or two. Great leader on a great defense. If not available at this pick, there should be plenty of other safeties to take with similar skill level)

5: Kiko Alonso, ILB Oregon (Comes from a 4-3 and has played pretty well. Backup role to Burfict. Upgrade for our depth)

6A: Michael Williams, TE Alabama (Amazing blocking TE and can still catch and be a factor in the red zone on play action)

6B: Kerwynn Williams, RB/KR/PR Utah St (Perfect 3rd down RB and returner. Great hands, fast, and elusive. He could be our burner as well. Ideally Lacy as main RB, BJGE as short yardage, and Williams as our COP/3rd and long RB )

Cut:
Travelle Wharton, OG
Jamaal Anderson, DE

Depth Chart:
QB: Dalton, Z. Robinson
RB: Lacy/Bernard, BJGE, K. Williams, Peerman
FB: Pressley
TE: Gresham, Charles, M. Williams
WR: Green, Patterson, Sanu, Hawkins, Jones, Whalen
OT: Whitworth, Smith, Collins
OG: Zeitler, Frederick, Boling
C: T. Robinson, Cook

DT: Atkins, Peko, Sims, Still, Thompson
DE: Dunlap, MJ, Gilberry, Carradine
SLB: Smith, Porter, Moch
MLB: Burfict, Alonso
WLB: Howard, Lamur
SS: Landry/Phillips, S. Williams, Mays/Sands
FS: Nelson, Iloka
CB: Hall, Kirkpatrick, Jones, Newman, Ghee/Allen

K: Brown
P: Huber
LS: Harris

This will make us a very strong team next year. We should be able to focus on luxury upgrades in the 2014 draft, like CB and TE.

I actually really like this mock. Love patterson and the trade back idea. No on bernard. It should just be lacy. Lacy is our guy this year. Not a fan of williams. Swearinger is a much better safety. Williams is weak. Swearinger played corner alot against big time recievers and locked em up. And with your third pick...i love the position and before he was hurt i loved the dude, but if we are going to take a risk on an fsu rusher the much better pick here is Brandon Jenkins. 22 sacks in 2 seasons and his injury wasnt an acl and it was at the begining of the season where as tanks was a month ago. great mock tho. those would be the only changes id make.

[OchoCincos]

Originally Posted by RIPChrisHenry

I actually really like this mock. Love patterson and the trade back idea. No on bernard. It should just be lacy. Lacy is our guy this year. Not a fan of williams. Swearinger is a much better safety. Williams is weak. Swearinger played corner alot against big time recievers and locked em up. And with your third pick...i love the position and before he was hurt i loved the dude, but if we are going to take a risk on an fsu rusher the much better pick here is Brandon Jenkins. 22 sacks in 2 seasons and his injury wasnt an acl and it was at the begining of the season where as tanks was a month ago. great mock tho. those would be the only changes id make.

If Lacy were already gone by that pick, would you be angry if we got Bernard? I don't know many around here that would be mad. In fact, I think most would be very happy that we got Bernard as a consolation to Lacy.

I do like Swearinger, especially as he has played CB too and may be able to play CB in the NFL as a third-down CB. I like his passion most of the time, but sometimes he lets it get out of hand and rightfully draws penalties for being too aggressive. Shawn Williams is a leader that doesn't let his passion and aggression get away from him hardly at all. With that said, he does not shy away from contact. This is just arguing player X versus player Y though, so IMO doesn't matter much. Either way, if the Bengals got Williams or Swearinger in the fourth round, I'd be happy. Just personal preference.

As for Jenkins over Carradine, both are good and had injuries. Jenkins to me is more of a 3-4 OLB rather than a 4-3 DE. Some may not think it matters much, but I think Jenkins would do much better as a 3-4 OLB as he has trouble shedding blockers. He would be a force running around the DL and getting to the passer though. Also, I think because of Jenkins' pass rushing ability, he will be gone by our mid-late third round pick.

[RIPChrisHenry]

Originally Posted by OchoCincos

If Lacy were already gone by that pick, would you be angry if we got Bernard? I don't know many around here that would be mad. In fact, I think most would be very happy that we got Bernard as a consolation to Lacy.

I do like Swearinger, especially as he has played CB too and may be able to play CB in the NFL as a third-down CB. I like his passion most of the time, but sometimes he lets it get out of hand and rightfully draws penalties for being too aggressive. Shawn Williams is a leader that doesn't let his passion and aggression get away from him hardly at all. With that said, he does not shy away from contact. This is just arguing player X versus player Y though, so IMO doesn't matter much. Either way, if the Bengals got Williams or Swearinger in the fourth round, I'd be happy. Just personal preference.

As for Jenkins over Carradine, both are good and had injuries. Jenkins to me is more of a 3-4 OLB rather than a 4-3 DE. Some may not think it matters much, but I think Jenkins would do much better as a 3-4 OLB as he has trouble shedding blockers. He would be a force running around the DL and getting to the passer though. Also, I think because of Jenkins' pass rushing ability, he will be gone by our mid-late third round pick.

The 4 running backs i prefer in order are Lacy, montee ball, Le'veon Bell, and stepfan Taylor in rounds 2 or 3...depending on availability. Bernard reminds me of lamar miller lasy year, in the sense that nothing about the guy wows me. Ive watched bernard over and over again to try and get comfortable with the guy but i cant so im sticking to my 3 guys on this 1. i guess to answer ur question...i wouldnt be happy but no i wouldnt be mad. were addressing a need.

With the safties...your right. no sense in arguing ha

Your right about jenkins being more formed for a 3-4 and almost had a hunch u were gonna say that, i guess im just bias towards jenkins. Jenkins wows me with his athletisicm, quickness, and explosiveness. Carradine too and being more formed for our 4-3 i should prefer him but acl injuries scare the hell outa me. torn mine in college. And for me it was it as far as athleticism. i worry about that with Tank. but i almost view this similar to our convo for safties. i like them both and would be happy with either or.

[pulses]

Originally Posted by OchoCincos

Going in order of how things can go down between now and the draft...

Extensions:
Geno Atkins

Re-sign:
Thomas Howard, WLB
Adam Jones, CB
Terence Newman, CB
Andre Smith, RT
Andrew Hawkins, WR
Cedric Peerman, RB
Michael Johnson, DE
Wallace Gilberry, DE
Pat Sims, DT
Josh Brown, K
Kevin Huber, P
Clark Harris, LS

Free Agency:
SLB: Daryl Smith
SS: LaRon Landry or Kenny Phillips

Draft:
1: Trade back with JAX, KC, or ARZ for their second and third round picks. They would be trading up to get an offensive playmaker to go with their first round pick (RB, WR, QB, TE)

2A: Cordarrelle Patterson, WR Tenn (Dynamic playmaker on the outside opposite of AJ. Sanu primary slot, Hawkins and Jones as gadget players. Whalen depth)

2B: Eddie Lacy, RB Alabama or Giovani Bernard, RB UNC(Lacy is a true three-down RB. He would become our primary RB. Not blazing speed, but enough elusiveness to get to the open field and take it to the endzone after that. Bernard also a good option, as he is quicker and more elusive as Lacy, but not quite as powerful. Bernard could be a three-down RB as well.)

2C: Travis Frederick, C/OG Wisconsin (Has played LG and C, which are arguably our two weakest positions on our OL. Outstanding football IQ and a beast in both run and pass defense)

3A: Sean Porter, OLB Texas A&M (Successor to either Howard or Smith. Can play both OLB positions)

3B: Tank Carradine, DE FSU (Was having a great year before injury. Was projected early second round prior. Given our rotational scheme, we can afford this gamble and it should ease him back)

4: Shawn Williams, SS Georgia (Backup role to our new vet SS or spot starter in case of injury. Our future SS within a year or two. Great leader on a great defense. If not available at this pick, there should be plenty of other safeties to take with similar skill level)

5: Kiko Alonso, ILB Oregon (Comes from a 4-3 and has played pretty well. Backup role to Burfict. Upgrade for our depth)

6A: Michael Williams, TE Alabama (Amazing blocking TE and can still catch and be a factor in the red zone on play action)

6B: Kerwynn Williams, RB/KR/PR Utah St (Perfect 3rd down RB and returner. Great hands, fast, and elusive. He could be our burner as well. Ideally Lacy as main RB, BJGE as short yardage, and Williams as our COP/3rd and long RB )

Cut:
Travelle Wharton, OG
Jamaal Anderson, DE

Depth Chart:
QB: Dalton, Z. Robinson
RB: Lacy/Bernard, BJGE, K. Williams, Peerman
FB: Pressley
TE: Gresham, Charles, M. Williams
WR: Green, Patterson, Sanu, Hawkins, Jones, Whalen
OT: Whitworth, Smith, Collins
OG: Zeitler, Frederick, Boling
C: T. Robinson, Cook

DT: Atkins, Peko, Sims, Still, Thompson
DE: Dunlap, MJ, Gilberry, Carradine
SLB: Smith, Porter, Moch
MLB: Burfict, Alonso
WLB: Howard, Lamur
SS: Landry/Phillips, S. Williams, Mays/Sands
FS: Nelson, Iloka
CB: Hall, Kirkpatrick, Jones, Newman, Ghee/Allen

K: Brown
P: Huber
LS: Harris

This will make us a very strong team next year. We should be able to focus on luxury upgrades in the 2014 draft, like CB and TE.

If your dead set on a DE in the 3rd how about Datone Jones or Malliciah Goodman, at least they've stayed healthy and have upside also.

[OchoCincos]

Originally Posted by pulses

If your dead set on a DE in the 3rd how about Datone Jones or Malliciah Goodman, at least they've stayed healthy and have upside also.

Jones is currently projected about round 2 to really early round 3 and I think he would go before our third round pick. I would have picked him over Carradine, but I'm being conservative in this case. Goodman would be a good choice too, but I chose to go with the guy that was a potential early second rounder prior to injury. I think though that if we keep MJ and Gilberry, a third round DE is someone we will try and target. Obviously, if MJ leaves, DE becomes a much higher priority and I'd probably go Okafor or Ansah with the first pick.

[pulses]

Originally Posted by OchoCincos

Jones is currently projected about round 2 to really early round 3 and I think he would go before our third round pick. I would have picked him over Carradine, but I'm being conservative in this case. Goodman would be a good choice too, but I chose to go with the guy that was a potential early second rounder prior to injury. I think though that if we keep MJ and Gilberry, a third round DE is someone we will try and target. Obviously, if MJ leaves, DE becomes a much higher priority and I'd probably go Okafor or Ansah with the first pick.

I think Okafor is going to be a real stud.

[OchoCincos]

Originally Posted by pulses

I think Okafor is going to be a real stud.

Same.