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Drafting D-line


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Interesting point (last item in this article by Adam Schefter)...

http://nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/10222274

STAT OF THE DAY

There's no reason Houston shouldn't have one of the NFL's top defensive lines.

In each of the past four years, the Texans have used a first-round pick on a defensive lineman. There were two defensive tackles in Travis Johnson and Amobi Okoye, and two defensive ends in Jason Babin and Mario Williams. Now the Texans need those No. 1s to play up to their potential and to help the franchise make a name for itself.

One popular point of view is that we have made a big mistake not drafting more D-linemen -- especially Day 1. Looks like we have a chance to play "what if" by looking at a team who has spent their last four 1st round picks on D-linemen. Might be interesting to see how these guys perform this year. Granted, being on the Texans is probably enough to ruin any good player, but then some might say the same about the Bengal D. Plus, at least 2 of these players (Johnson and Okoye) were picked in many mock drafts to go to the Bengals.

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Did we have a shot at mario or Okoye? I'm more then happy with Jjoe and we've found a gem in peko hopefully it continues with big toe.

As it turns out, we didn't have a shot at any of these guys except Babin (the Texans had an extra Rd 1 pick right after we picked CPerry at #26). I only meant that Travis Johnson and Okoye were both guys that a lot of folks thought the Bengals could *possibly* draft. You know, before they went ahead of us. (No, we obviously never had a shot at Super Mario, sorry if I was unclear).

Oh, and I agree about JJ, Peko and Big Toe. And Hall, for that matter. The point of my post is that, I have heard a lot of criticism from some fans that the Bengals haven't spent Day 1 picks on D-line (and very few Day 2 picks). Texans have done the opposite, spending a Rd1 pick on D-line for each of the past 4 drafts but their D-line is really no better than ours (although these guys could still gel and become a force -- that's why I said it'll be interesting to see how they perform this season).

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The Bengals subscribe to the BPA philosophy... so they aren't going to reach for D-Linemen (i.e. Irons with the 2nd round pick). Also, DT's are some of the most difficult players to judge out of college. It's not quite as difficult as QB... but there are an incredible number of 1st round DT busts... so there's also a risk factor to consider.

And by the way... they took Frostee Rucker with a 1st day (3rd round) pick in '06, followed by Peko with their first pick on the second day (4th round), so they haven't completely ignored the D-Line with fairly early picks. Agreed, they're not 1st and 2nd round picks... but it isn't as if the Bengals are just standing pat with their D-Line situation.

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Eyes front, people. The coming draft is going to boast impressive depth in defensive lineman of all types and sizes, and unless things change it's quite possible that the Bengals greatest need will perfectly match one of the drafts deepest positions. And if things fall their way the Bengals could even double dip.

My flag is already flying high in Camp DL.

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