Pick #37, you choose

[Burma]

In my last poll I asked who would you select at the 21st pick. The answer, by a good margin was Alec Ogletree. So with Ogletree as our first pick who among those projected to be available at our 2nd pick (#37 overall) would you select.

1st (#21): Alec Ogletree
2nd (#37):_______________
Barrett Jones
Matt Elam
Robert Woods
Eric Reid
Justin Hunter
Eddie Lacy
Alex Okafor
Giovani Bernard
Khaseem Greene
trade down to @ #60 and pick up an extra late 3rd.
or other (say who of course)

[Speedy Thomas 17]

I voted for Jones, with the caveat that his best projected position turns out to be center. It's my understanding that his pro position is still up in the air. I would not take him as a guard and if he's a left tackle he won't be there at 37. As a center he would be a bargain at 37 and would anchor our line for years, as well as filling our greatest position of offensive need right now. I think there is enough depth at the RB and safety positions that we can get quality at 2B and 3.

[Stewee28]

No doubt in my mind......

Eddie Lacy!

I would say why I chose Eddie Lacy, but there has been a thread for the last week or two discussing it, so I will just say Lacy.

[Burma]

Originally Posted by Speedy Thomas 17

I voted for Jones, with the caveat that his best projected position turns out to be center. It's my understanding that his pro position is still up in the air. I would not take him as a guard and if he's a left tackle he won't be there at 37. As a center he would be a bargain at 37 and would anchor our line for years, as well as filling our greatest position of offensive need right now. I think there is enough depth at the RB and safety positions that we can get quality at 2B and 3.

Do you consider Jones to be that much better than Frederick that you would pull the trigget now? Woods at WR would be extremely tempting to pair AJ, perfect compliment. Or Okafor who looks like he could push MJ for a starting job? This draft is loaded in the 2-3 range. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top.

[Burma]

Originally Posted by Stewee28

No doubt in my mind......

Eddie Lacy!

I would say why I chose Eddie Lacy, but there has been a thread for the last week or two discussing it, so I will just say Lacy.

Is Lacy that much better than Montee Ball who might be had in the 3rd ? I could live and love either pick.

[SunsetBengal]

I went with Lacy, for a couple of reasons.

First of all, I see him as the best 3 down back in this draft. Not a "lightning in a bottle type", but plenty fast enough in the open field. Perfect opportunity to groom the feature back of the future, with Green-Ellis still under contract for next season.

Being that we already have a reliable feature back in Green-Ellis, it will allow the coaching staff to explore the spectrum of his capabilities by using him in specific situations. Given that Andre Smith will likely be re-signed, and the continued development of Zeitler, I see the running lanes on the right side as "open for business" for several years to come. Also want to see Lacy used as a receiver, he has good moves and gets up to speed quickly, after making those moves.

[Speedy Thomas 17]

Originally Posted by Burma

Do you consider Jones to be that much better than Frederick that you would pull the trigget now? Woods at WR would be extremely tempting to pair AJ, perfect compliment. Or Okafor who looks like he could push MJ for a starting job? This draft is loaded in the 2-3 range. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top.

Yes, Jones is that much better.

There are a lot of guys that I would be happy with, but I really don't want another DE this early.

[BengalBuckeye]

I chose Elam because this team needs a solid player at the other safety position instead of these fill-ins.I would also consider Barrett Jones if hes there but you can get fredericks or the center from USC a little later.

[et2house]

I voted Elam. The defense needs an attitude. If these players are there at 37 then I would be happy with any number if them.

[Burma]

Originally Posted by et2house

I voted Elam. The defense needs an attitude. If these players are there at 37 then I would be happy with any number if them.

I took 11 different mock drafts and came up with an average draft position for each player. (full list I pulled from is http://boards.bengals.com/showthread.php?t=108631 ) These players that are listed are the ones that fall right around our 2nd pick. Of course not all of them will be there but a good amount should be. I must say, this is turning out much closer than I had anticipated. We have a 4 way dead heat right now. Very interesting.

[McC]

I voted Jones but I would be happy with anyone on the list. They could all help this team. My least favorite would be a DE, not because of the player but the position, assuming MJ is kept.

[wolfkaosaun]

Going with Giovani Bernard. Love this kid, and I do really like Barrett Jones. Honestly, either one I would be happy with, but I like Bernard's ability to be explosive. He can catch, has quickness, and can return kicks. Meaning good-bye Tate. So that's another plus

[RIPChrisHenry]

there is no wow factor with Bernard. He is quick thats it. not powerful not fast. I am soo confused with all the love here for bernard. dude is weak. bernard and Mike gillislee are my least most talked about running backs. only thing il give MG is the dude can pass protect. and thats a huge plus.

[SunsetBengal]

Originally Posted by RIPChrisHenry

there is no wow factor with Bernard. He is quick thats it. not powerful not fast. I am soo confused with all the love here for bernard. dude is weak. bernard and Mike gillislee are my least most talked about running backs. only thing il give MG is the dude can pass protect. and thats a huge plus.

Who's MG?

Nevermind...Mike Gillislee....

[wolfkaosaun]

Originally Posted by RIPChrisHenry

there is no wow factor with Bernard. He is quick thats it. not powerful not fast. I am soo confused with all the love here for bernard. dude is weak. bernard and Mike gillislee are my least most talked about running backs. only thing il give MG is the dude can pass protect. and thats a huge plus.

So he can't catch the ball out of the backfield? He's not good at returning punts? He's not a threat to take it to the end zone every play (might I add, had a league most 19 TDs combined this season).

So, what exactly don't you like about his game?

[berserkerone88]

Originally Posted by wolfkaosaun

So he can't catch the ball out of the backfield? He's not good at returning punts? He's not a threat to take it to the end zone every play (might I add, had a league most 19 TDs combined this season).

So, what exactly don't you like about his game?

He wont return punts in the NFL.
He is no more a threat than Lacy to take it to the endzone every play.

[RIPChrisHenry]

Originally Posted by wolfkaosaun

So he can't catch the ball out of the backfield? He's not good at returning punts? He's not a threat to take it to the end zone every play (might I add, had a league most 19 TDs combined this season).

So, what exactly don't you like about his game?

Everybody rides this "he can catch" thing like its saying he can run a 4.3. saying he can catch impresses me non whatsoever...ur in the nfl now...u better be able to catch. If he can return punts cool. so can pacman and he finished 7th in the league in that. cut tate stick with pacman. I dont want my starting running back returning punts. Nor does cincy im sure. My biggest thing with gio tho is he is not fast at all. and everybody wants to say he is the homerun threat we have been needing. Well i strongly disagree...he is constantly being cuaght from behind...homerun hitters are constantly having their ball caught at the fence. No thanks on the slow gio bernard. Rather have the bigger faster stronger more explosive and complete back in lacy. Where ever lacy is picked gio imo should be atleast a round behind that. sorry dude hes just slow. not impressed.

[RIPChrisHenry]

Originally Posted by berserkerone88

He wont return punts in the NFL.
He is no more a threat than Lacy to take it to the endzone every play.

Yuup.

[wolfkaosaun]

Originally Posted by berserkerone88

He wont return punts in the NFL.
He is no more a threat than Lacy to take it to the endzone every play.

Why won't he? And he could definitely return kicks.

Originally Posted by RIPChrisHenry

Everybody rides this "he can catch" thing like its saying he can run a 4.3. saying he can catch impresses me non whatsoever...ur in the nfl now...u better be able to catch. If he can return punts cool. so can pacman and he finished 7th in the league in that. cut tate stick with pacman. I dont want my starting running back returning punts. Nor does cincy im sure. My biggest thing with gio tho is he is not fast at all. and everybody wants to say he is the homerun threat we have been needing. Well i strongly disagree...he is constantly being cuaght from behind...homerun hitters are constantly having their ball caught at the fence. No thanks on the slow gio bernard. Rather have the bigger faster stronger more explosive and complete back in lacy. Where ever lacy is picked gio imo should be atleast a round behind that. sorry dude hes just slow. not impressed.

Gio actually creates separation with his catching, he was used to it in North Carolina. Which helps in the WCO. Also very elusive. Great cutting ability, very good at YAC, also has a pretty thick lower body. And Gio is not slow actually. He has a better projected time than even Lacy. I see no reason why he shouldn't be the top RB in this draft. Sure, he came off an ACL injury. But he has had 11 games where he has carried the ball 20+ times.

And say he is a change-of-pace back on the Bengals team, that can free his up to return punts and kicks. He is versatile. He had 4 games this season where he broke off 40+ yard runs. And 3 of those games were 55+ yard runs.

And he didn't play in two games this season. Besides injury, I see no reason why he shouldn't be drafted

[bfine32]

Robert Woods (only because we took Ogletree in the 1st) . I would not be too happy if we went D with our 1st 2 picks.

[JungleRock85]

Originally Posted by RIPChrisHenry

there is no wow factor with Bernard. He is quick thats it. not powerful not fast. I am soo confused with all the love here for bernard. dude is weak. bernard and Mike gillislee are my least most talked about running backs. only thing il give MG is the dude can pass protect. and thats a huge plus.

Same things were said about Doug Martin last year by a lot of people. He is a complete running back that catches passes, can break a long run, and is good in the return game. You are underestimating his play a lot.

[NATI BENGALS]

Originally Posted by SunsetBengal

I went with Lacy, for a couple of reasons.

First of all, I see him as the best 3 down back in this draft. Not a "lightning in a bottle type", but plenty fast enough in the open field. Perfect opportunity to groom the feature back of the future, with Green-Ellis still under contract for next season.

Being that we already have a reliable feature back in Green-Ellis, it will allow the coaching staff to explore the spectrum of his capabilities by using him in specific situations. Given that Andre Smith will likely be re-signed, and the continued development of Zeitler, I see the running lanes on the right side as "open for business" for several years to come. Also want to see Lacy used as a receiver, he has good moves and gets up to speed quickly, after making those moves.

Exactly how I see it. There are not many guys in this draft who I see as future workhorse backs. The type that can put the team on his shoulders and run the ball when the other team knows the run is coming and be successful.

Last I checked this is still the AFC North and being able to pound the rock is what gets the job done. I wouldn't mind a one dimensional speed back who can't run between the tackles. But that is definitely not all I want if we go that route.

If we come out of this draft with nothing other than a speed back then we are pretty much saying the entire season rests on BJGE. Because if he goes down we have nobody that can carry the load.

I like Gio. I was impressed every time I saw him this year. To say he is slow is pretty ignorant. But the injury history and just the fact that he is not a brute like Lacy makes me rank him 2nd.

I just can't help but think drafting Lacy is basically drafting a guy who is going to get you 1000 yards on the ground for the next 10 years. We screwed up passing on Steven Jackson (Lacy) for the quicker more versatile Perry (Gio) years ago. I hope that lesson is still fresh in their minds.

[JungleRock85]

Honestly don't think we could go wrong with Bernard or Lacy. I personally like Bernard more because I think he can co-exist and even bring out the best in BJGE. He adds dimensions that this offense hasn't seen from in a RB for a while. However, Lacy is a phenomenal talent as well and would be an upgrade over BJGE. If we picked him then we could look at drafting another speed type back like Barner later on in the draft. I really wouldn't be upset with either RB because it certainly is a position that needs to be upgraded. My feelings though are that this staff will be more likely to pass on Lacy because that would make BJGE obsolete and his contract is manageable enough to just bring in someone to complement him instead of replacing him.

[NATI BENGALS]

Originally Posted by JungleRock85

Honestly don't think we could go wrong with Bernard or Lacy. I personally like Bernard more because I think he can co-exist and even bring out the best in BJGE. He adds dimensions that this offense hasn't seen from in a RB for a while. However, Lacy is a phenomenal talent as well and would be an upgrade over BJGE. If we picked him then we could look at drafting another speed type back like Barner later on in the draft. I really wouldn't be upset with either RB because it certainly is a position that needs to be upgraded. My feelings though are that this staff will be more likely to pass on Lacy because that would make BJGE obsolete and his contract is manageable enough to just bring in someone to complement him instead of replacing him.

I don't think it makes him obsolete. I think it allows our offense to keep the playbook open when one is replaced by the other. If we are running the ball up the middle with success I don't want to have to go away from what is working when our HB needs a breather.

[Shady]

Taking Ogletree puts me in a bind. I want Greene here, but I chose Lacy in your survey because he's there. I'd have taken him at 21 and Greene at 37, but that's alright. Maybe we can get Greene later in the second.