Shady's Ultimate Pre-Free Agency Draft

[Shady]

OK, so I put the D ahead of the Offense. I'm hoping we address offense in free agency.

1. 21 Alex Okafor, DE Texas
Yes, Michael Johnson had a big year for us. We might re-sign him, and I hope we do. Even if we do, Okafor would bring more pressure from that side of the ball.

2a. 37 Alec Ogletree, LB UGa
Very smart player who will only get better. Put him or Tez in the middle.

2b. 52 Khassem Greene, LB Rutgers
Like Ogletree, Greene is a former safety with alot of speed. They'd really help us in terms of their ability to play the pass. Let's face it. We don't know how well Thomas Howard will recover. Time to erase our ??? at LB.

3. 85 Baccari Rambo, S, UGa
Great playmaker for the secondary.

4. 115 Stedman Bailey, WR UWV
I like this kid alot. He's a great WR because of his football intelligence as well as his athleticism and moxy. He has great body control and goes after the ball aggressively. Also great with YAC. Put him on the outside across from AJ, and run Sanu in the slot. I think we'd have a great WR corps.

5. 148 Kerwynn Williams RB Utah State
We don't have to draft a marquis name to get a great RB. Just ask the Redskins. Williams is a tough runner with good speed, averaging 7 yards a carry at Utah State his senior year. Plus, he's a tremndous receiver. When's the last time we said that about a Bengal RB?

6a. 181 Chris Thompson, RB, Florida State
Injured during his senior season, I think he falls. Great speed. Better than B. Scott as a change of pace back.

6b. 188 Shamarko Thomas, SS, Syracuse
Hard-nosed, tough safety. I'm not sure how good his cover skills are, but he's a beast in run support.

[Lolli]

Originally Posted by Shady

OK, so I put the D ahead of the Offense. I'm hoping we address offense in free agency.

1. 21 Alex Okafor, DE Texas
Yes, Michael Johnson had a big year for us. We might re-sign him, and I hope we do. Even if we do, Okafor would bring more pressure from that side of the ball.

2a. 37 Alec Ogletree, LB UGa
Very smart player who will only get better. Put him or Tez in the middle.

2b. 52 Khassem Greene, LB Rutgers
Like Ogletree, Greene is a former safety with alot of speed. They'd really help us in terms of their ability to play the pass. Let's face it. We don't know how well Thomas Howard will recover. Time to erase our ??? at LB.

3. 85 Baccari Rambo, S, UGa
Great playmaker for the secondary.

4. 115 Stedman Bailey, WR UWV
I like this kid alot. He's a great WR because of his football intelligence as well as his athleticism and moxy. He has great body control and goes after the ball aggressively. Also great with YAC. Put him on the outside across from AJ, and run Sanu in the slot. I think we'd have a great WR corps.

5. 148 Kerwynn Williams RB Utah State
We don't have to draft a marquis name to get a great RB. Just ask the Redskins. Williams is a tough runner with good speed, averring 7 yards a carry at Utah State his senior year. Plus, he's a tremndous receiver. When's the last time we said that about a Bengal RB?

6a. 181 Chris Thompson, RB, Florida State
Injured during his senior season, I think he falls. Great speed. Better than B. Scott as a change of pace back.

6b. 188 Shamarko Thomas, SS, Syracuse
Hard-nosed, tough safety. I'm not sure how good his cover skills are, but he's a beast in run support.

I have mixed feelings. That would be a top 5 D no matter who the DC is.

If they grabbed an interior guy, preferably a top Center (which is a cheaper position if FA in case you are listening MB) it would be a home run.

The only pick that I do not like is Bailey. I am not down on the player, but he might end up playing slot in the NFL, and I think we need a wide out.

[pulses]

Originally Posted by Lolli

I have mixed feelings. That would be a top 5 D no matter who the DC is.

If they grabbed an interior guy, preferably a top Center (which is a cheaper position if FA in case you are listening M it would be a home run.

The only pick that I do not like is Bailey. I am not down on the player, but he might end up playing slot in the NFL, and I think we need a wide out.

Regardless bailey is better than any WR on our team not named AJ he's a definite upgrade for our team.

[ibengals]

Love the Okafor pick. Dunlap/Okafor at LDE, with Johnson/Gilberry at RDE would be a scary set of ends. Not a huge fan of picking Ogletree AND Greene because they're so similar, but it does fill a need. I'd change out Greene for the top WR/RB on the board and it's great.

[Shady]

Originally Posted by Lolli

I have mixed feelings. That would be a top 5 D no matter who the DC is.

If they grabbed an interior guy, preferably a top Center (which is a cheaper position if FA in case you are listening M it would be a home run.

The only pick that I do not like is Bailey. I am not down on the player, but he might end up playing slot in the NFL, and I think we need a wide out.

I think Bailey has the skills and speed to be an outside guy, but he'd do well in the slot. The same holds true for Sanu, I think.

I'm really intrigued by our signing of Tuinei as well. He's lke 6'4" or 6'5". Bailey is 5'10".

I'm just sick of watching Hawkins sitting back on balls and waiting for them to come to him, allowing LBs and Safeties to either knock them away or pick them off. Related to his small stature, his arms are not very long. His reach and range are limited.

Having AJ and Tuinei/Jones on the outside and Sanu and Bailey on the inside in our 4 WR sets would be pretty imposing for opposing Ds.

I still like your pick of Jones with 2a, don't get me wrong. But when I sat down and looked at it, I thought that Marvin is not going to replace Cook unless Cook gets hurt. If he does, we have Robinson. We have Boling, with Wharton coming back. We have Whit and, hopefully, Andre Smith. And, of course, Zeitler. So, barring inury, I think our OLine is as good as it's going to get unless I'm just wrong about Marvin's love for Kyle Cook.

So, based on that, I went pure defense with the first 4 picks.

[Shady]

Originally Posted by ibengals

Love the Okafor pick. Dunlap/Okafor at LDE, with Johnson/Gilberry at RDE would be a scary set of ends. Not a huge fan of picking Ogletree AND Greene because they're so similar, but it does fill a need. I'd change out Greene for the top WR/RB on the board and it's great.

Besides Burfict, what LBs currently on our roster would you have us start? Greene and Ogletree are both smart players who make alot of tackles who can also play well in coverage. Putting them behind our DLine (with Okafor) would make for a tremendous front 7. Add Rambo to the mix of Hall, Dre K, Ghee, Neuman, Jones, and Nelson. I think we have the best D in the division.

[Murphy]

I love the draft for the most part....those first 3 picks? OUTSTANDING

I'm hoping that we get a RB and a WR2 in FA to balance it out...

[Shady]

Originally Posted by Murphy

I love the draft for the most part....those first 3 picks? OUTSTANDING

I'm hoping that we get a RB and a WR2 in FA to balance it out...

B + B?

Bush and Bowe?

Breaking Bad

[Murphy]

Originally Posted by Shady

B + B?

Bush and Bowe?

Breaking Bad

If that happens....then the Mayans forgot to carry a 1....the world ends in 2013.


I'd absolutely love it tho.

[Stewee28]

No way in hell Ogletree falls to our 2A pick!

[berserkerone88]

Originally Posted by Stewee28

No way in hell Ogletree falls to our 2A pick!

Why? Because that is where most have him going. Late first, early second.
He doesn't have a defined position yet. Raw as a LB in general and needs to get much stronger on top of his character concerns.

[Stewee28]

Originally Posted by berserkerone88

Why? Because that is where most have him going. Late first, early second.
He doesn't have a defined position yet. Raw as a LB in general and needs to get much stronger on top of his character concerns.

With Urlacher most likely not returning with the Bears, I could definitely see the Bears snatching him up.

If the Bengals for some reason would pass on him, well that would be a mistake.

The Ravens are losing Lewis, and with a win tonight, they fall farther down the draft board, so they would have to address their LB situation as well.

I have seen tons of mocks showing Ogletree going in the first round. I am by no means saying that mocks are a 100% correct, because there is always one or two players that fall down the boards, but I just dont see how Ogletree does not come off the board in the first round! Outside of Jones and Te'o, Ogletree is the best LB to come out!

[berserkerone88]

Originally Posted by Stewee28

With Urlacher most likely not returning with the Bears, I could definitely see the Bears snatching him up.

If the Bengals for some reason would pass on him, well that would be a mistake.

The Ravens are losing Lewis, and with a win tonight, they fall farther down the draft board, so they would have to address their LB situation as well.

I have seen tons of mocks showing Ogletree going in the first round. I am by no means saying that mocks are a 100% correct, because there is always one or two players that fall down the boards, but I just dont see how Ogletree does not come off the board in the first round! Outside of Jones and Te'o, Ogletree is the best LB to come out!

They could. But most aren't even projecting Ogletree inside anymore. So I don't think he ends up either place long run.

His rawness, character and lack of bulk could easily slide him to the 2nd round.
I wouldn't be shocked to see Khaseem Greene go ahead of him.

[goalpost]

Originally Posted by berserkerone88

They could. But most aren't even projecting Ogletree inside anymore. So I don't think he ends up either place long run.

His rawness, character and lack of bulk could easily slide him to the 2nd round.
I wouldn't be shocked to see Khaseem Greene go ahead of him.

We'll have to see how Greene measures.

[Stewee28]

Originally Posted by berserkerone88

They could. But most aren't even projecting Ogletree inside anymore. So I don't think he ends up either place long run.

His rawness, character and lack of bulk could easily slide him to the 2nd round.
I wouldn't be shocked to see Khaseem Greene go ahead of him.

Yea true. But I think he really grew as a LB this year. He looked like he knew what to do and athletically gifted to make big plays. He was suspended for 4 games and still managed to lead the Bulldogs in tackles.

What's he projected to play in the NFL?

[berserkerone88]

Originally Posted by Stewee28

Yea true. But I think he really grew as a LB this year. He looked like he knew what to do and athletically gifted to make big plays. He was suspended for 4 games and still managed to lead the Bulldogs in tackles.

What's he projected to play in the NFL?

Most have him playing WLB right now.

[mulligan]

Originally Posted by Stewee28

With Urlacher most likely not returning with the Bears, I could definitely see the Bears snatching him up.

If the Bengals for some reason would pass on him, well that would be a mistake.

The Ravens are losing Lewis, and with a win tonight, they fall farther down the draft board, so they would have to address their LB situation as well.

I have seen tons of mocks showing Ogletree going in the first round. I am by no means saying that mocks are a 100% correct, because there is always one or two players that fall down the boards, but I just dont see how Ogletree does not come off the board in the first round! Outside of Jones and Te'o, Ogletree is the best LB to come out!

Jay Cutler wants an olinemen.

The Ravens may be loosing Ed Reed as well.

[Bengals0425]

At first glance, we're a top-10 defense and an underachieving offense. You would think offense is the way to go - and maybe it is. That being said, I have no problem spending our first 3-4 picks bolstering an already stout defensive unit.

If our first 4 picks shook out this way - I'd be pretty ecstatic.

I don't think we take 2 RBs and I'd like to see an O-lineman in there at some point, though.

[D.Boon]

Love it.

[BengalRugby]

I really like the idea of Greene and Ogletree, as it gives the Bengals a pair of linebackers who can cover.


Don't like going after a DE in the first with S and RB being a much bigger need. In addition, Gilberry really played well for the limited snaps and Johnson will likely get re-signed.

Drafting a WR is a bad idea as the talent is already so young and first year WR's rarrly contribute much.

[pulses]

Originally Posted by BengalRugby

I really like the idea of Greene and Ogletree, as it gives the Bengals a pair of linebackers who can cover.


Don't like going after a DE in the first with S and RB being a much bigger need. In addition, Gilberry really played well for the limited snaps and Johnson will likely get re-signed.

Drafting a WR is a bad idea as the talent is already so young and first year WR's rarrly contribute much.

Stedman Bailey is better than any WR on our team not named AJ. Upgrading our WR corp and letting someone like Whalen or Tate or Sazenbacher(sp) go is a win win.

[RIPChrisHenry]

alec ogletree will be a first round pick. he is projected in the second round right now because it is prior to the combine. Alec ogletree is a freak athlete and when it comes to vert, 40 times, ect at the combine his numbers are gonna be eye popping and someone like chicago will grab him in round 1.

[Bengalsman1983]

Originally Posted by Stewee28

No way in hell Ogletree falls to our 2A pick!

I second this!

[Shady]

Originally Posted by BengalRugby

I really like the idea of Greene and Ogletree, as it gives the Bengals a pair of linebackers who can cover.

I agree. We really need LBs who can cover as well as tackle with ferocity.

Don't like going after a DE in the first with S and RB being a much bigger need. In addition, Gilberry really played well for the limited snaps and Johnson will likely get re-signed.

I appreciate your point. I just think Okafor is THAT much better than what we have, and our pass rush could still improve.

Alot of posters have questioned whether Ogletree will be around in the 2d. I'd be ok with moving him up to our first round pick, and sliding the best RB available between him and Greene.

Drafting a WR is a bad idea as the talent is already so young and first year WR's rarrly contribute much.

You could be right about this, but taking Stedman Bailey in the 4th would improve our WR corps. To quote Pulses' comment:

Stedman Bailey is better than any WR on our team not named AJ.

[OchoCincos]

I'm a bit skeptical of Bailey as our WR2 due to his size, but other small receivers make it work, such as Steve Smith.

I definitely like Kerwynn Williams. Not only can he do everything you mentioned, but he is a great return man as well. Also, he does not have good speed. He has great speed.

Like some others, there are still places that could have been addressed if this draft happened, but they could be filled in FA beforehand. If this draft scenario happened, hopefully FA was kind to us. Still a pretty good draft.