Cosell talks about Bengals rookies

[crazyjdawg]

Dunno how many of you saw this on the front page. It is from the Bengals twitter.

Bengals RT @chrislittmann @gregcosell gives thumbs up to the @Bengals draft- bit.ly/JeCCd9 Thinks Zeitler>DeCastro. Compares Sanu to Colston.

http://nflfilms.nfl.com/2012/05/15/c...post-mortem-2/

The AFC team whose draft caught my attention was the Cincinnati Bengals. Let’s start with their second pick of the first round: Kevin Zeitler, the offensive guard from Wisconsin. I don’t know how the Bengals felt about the Zeitler/David DeCastro comparison, and we’ll likely never know because DeCastro had already been selected by the Steelers, but I felt that Zeitler was the more athletic and more complete guard prospect. Zeitler was very efficient in the zone-run game with his quick feet and sustained movement. He’s an excellent fit for the Bengals.

The two wide receivers Cincinnati selected, Rutgers’ Mohamed Sanu in the third round and Cal’s Marvin Jones in the fifth, also possess NFL attributes. The Sanu pick was particularly intriguing to me. Based on my tape study, I projected him as a slot receiver. In fact, I saw similar physical attributes to the New Orleans Saints’ Marques Colston: good size, fluid movement, excellent hands and the ability to work effectively in traffic in the middle of the field. But don’t lose sight of Jones. He will compete with Sanu for the starting job opposite Green. Jones had the widest catching radius of any receiver in this draft class. His ability to snatch balls outside his body frame is outstanding.


Mohamed Sanu (AP)
Keep this in mind: The Bengals feature A.J. Green, one of the most vertically explosive receivers in the NFL. Green tilts coverage, often commanding the attention of multiple defenders because of his game-breaking skills. And don’t forget Jermaine Gresham, a very talented tight end with the ability to align anywhere in the formation, including split outside the numbers. Green and Gresham impact the other wideout in base personnel packages. Sanu and/or Jones will likely encounter significant snaps of single coverage.

One other Bengals pick interested me: safety George Iloka from Boise State. I know safety is not a highly valued position in the NFL, unless a player is deemed special. Yet I was surprised Iloka was still available at pick 167. There are not many safeties who are 6-foot-3 1/2, 225 pounds with the speed and movement skills of Iloka. He also aligned on the outside at corner in Boise State’s final three games of the season due to injury and was not overmatched athletically. I watched many games, so I understand the concerns — one of which was a lack of splash plays — and I was told that was a main reason why he fell in the draft. But with his rare size, long arms, good range and closing speed, plus the fact the Bengals lack quality at the safety position, Iloka will get an opportunity. And I would not be surprised if he emerged as a significant contributor in Mike Zimmer’s defense.

The Bengals and Eagles — two teams who drafted players that I believe will transition effectively to the NFL. And that’s the entire point of the draft, right?

Pretty impressive. I think he's the first unbiased onlooker who admitted he had Zeitler rated higher than DeCastro.

And to say Sanu has attributes similar to Colston is a pretty big compliment.

He even brought up an interesting opinion I've never heard before, that Marvin Jones had the highest catch radius in the draft.

[Gorilla]

This is a pretty old article that has been discussed at length. But I agree with him.