ArmyBengal

It's always different from one mock draft simulation to the next, as they never rank the players the same. However, I did one on PFT this morning and came up with something I could see happening. I went the route of taking a trade offer from Denver and moved down from #17 to #20 and picked up #85. #20- Nick Emmanwori, Safety (still my favorite prospect) #49- Aireontae Ersery, OT (would start at OG and give flexibility for OT in the future) #81- Omarr Norman-Lott, DT (not my favorite, but a solid pass rusher) #85- Jordan Burch, DE (still don't see much difference between the guys in the 1st vs the 2nd and 3rd) #119- Danny Stutsman, LB (don't know how this guy keeps getting overlooked, might be my favorite pick) #153- Luke Kandra, OG (depth works for me) #193- Caleb Ransaw, CB (one of the more athletic players remaining) Again, this could go much differently and I still wouldn't be upset. CB earlier, maybe a RB, possibly a WR but doubt it.

I would be good with DE, DT, OG, OT/OG, S, and LB. Depending on how things fell, CB, RB and even WR enter the conversation. I'd be good with doubling up on either D-line or O-line if that came to be as well. I'd be good with trading down to get another pick, if only for a 3rd. I'd be good with trading up if you think they right player is there you can't live without. Basically, do your best to improve the areas which need improved and add the best talent you can. Does that really need to be said? Go Bengals !!

I missed that video of his or maybe didn't finish it and see him discuss Stewart. While I watch a lot of college football, Texas A&M wasn't a team I saw but maybe once. Like I said, never really gave him much thought and sounds like I can go back to that approach. If you compare Myles Murphy's college stats to Shemar Stewart, you would think Murphy was All-World. Hopefully cutting out Fruity Pebbles will be the secret to Murphy turning it on this year !!

I have seen and done a few mocks recently that had Shemar Stewart falling. I never really considered him as he was always going in the top 10. I looked into it and am completely baffled. Here's a guy that's 6'5, 267lbs and has a perfect 10 RAS score. On the other hand, he's never had more than 1.5 sacks in a year and a total of 4.5 in his three college seasons. Only 65 combined tackles in all three seasons as well? It's about as underwhelming as one can get from a production standpoint. He also led his team in tackles for loss had 42 QB pressures and had the best "seconds to pressure" in all of college football last season at 2.43 seconds. Is the potential enough to consider him? I've long heard that coaches really want to see the production at the college level. Really strange prospect...

I saw that as well. I'm at a point, where I want to see where the draft falls and then go from there. Risner and Lucas aren't far off from each other in my mind. Risner is younger I think, but it's whatever.

You really have a hard time letting shit go don’t you? That’s why people have to walk away from threads. You have never been able to just agree to disagree and let it be. It’s like an insatiable desire to be right and “win” discussions. Like not even open to considering another opinion. I was done with this conversation two posts ago, but now I’m really done.

There are limits to how much a guard can improve things, but I would bet being better than the fucking worst in the league would bear some fruit. Right ?? The Chargers? The Colts? The Jaguars? The Browns? Those are the teams you want to compare to the Bengals? Tell me what you think is different and then the conversation will make sense. You aren't talking about guards playing on a team with a high end offense. The Chargers finally made the playoffs again, the Jags suck, the Colts suck, the Browns suck. Their QB's suck. Them having great guards is irrelevant because their rosters suck. Yes the Bengals have built a roster that is good enough to be competitive (Well, not last year) and people are still talking about the guards. Want to take a guess why that is? It's because they are the worst unit in the NFL. Sorry but not everyone buys off on the "The offense is good, so don't worry" take on things. No one is worrying about QB, WR, TE, and probably the RB. No thinks we need to find a starter over Brown Jr. or Mims. But guess who needs to be improved on the offense? The fucking guards. Why? Because they suck. Should we spend the majority of our picks on defense? Absolutely. Everyone here would probably sign off on that. However, they can and should do both. 6 picks. I'm only asking for one of those to be a fucking guard. No one is asking for 4-5 guards being taken. Give me a DE, OG, LB, S, CB and maybe DT to throw into the rotation and we are good. There's your six picks. They are looking at and have brought in RB's. I think we could be competitive and possibly win a Super Bowl with our current running backs. You know why they are still looking? Because there's a possibility they can improve the roster should the draft fall a certain way. If you could take more pressure off of Burrow and company by adding a top tier running back to team up with Brown and Perrine, wouldn't that make a lot of sense? It's the same thing for any position. Always try to improve the roster. To claim the guards shouldn't be a part of that is senseless at best. Beyond fucking stupid at worst.

Ok, I got your point AMPHAR. Regardless of the Guards sucking more ass than any combination of guards in the league, the offense still succeeds. "It is FACT the Bengals with Volson and a combination of other lower performing guards have been apart of playoff wins, top 10 point/yardage offenses." Thereby no reason to draft one in the first three rounds. As strongly as I can, I disagree with that line of thought and your conclusions. Which is fine. We don't have to agree, but they win in spite of poor play, not because of it. PROBLEM. If, as you say, they are "lower performing" you make the effort to use an early pick to improve that low performance. If you do and are successful in that attempt, you not only improve the offense, but the odds of actually winning the Super Bowl. You know, as opposed to what has happened despite some success. See not getting to or losing the Super Bowl. I'm out of this conversation.

Can he play guard? LMAO !!!

I think everyone can agree that the interior of the o-line is a need. AMPHAR, I don't think anyone is suggesting the Bengals "reach" for a guard, but some specificity may be helpful. I don't think any round would be considered a reach if they choose a guard. However, it may not be wise to select a guard over another position of need, such as defensive end, if there is a higher rated defensive end to take when they go on the clock. In that instance, NO, don't reach. However, I don't think anyone is saying that. Can this team win a Super Bowl right now? Could this team have a highly ranked offense? Can they score points and rack up yards? The answer to all of those questions is, of course they "could". My thought is that if that happens, it would be in spite of the interior o-line play because they are one of the worst in the entire league. The fact is, this team has done all of those things to this point IN SPITE of the IOL, not because of them. Yes, Burrow, Chase, Tee and the others are that good. Again, sacks are a concern and you yourself has stated that cannot continue. The IOL is the main culprit to that issue. Why on earth would they not address that concern? It's not media sensationalism and the sky is not falling. It's simply acknowledging we are working with one of the worst units in the league and they should try to improve that. If they are successful in doing that, what MORE could this offense be capable of? Put me in the camp that wants to find out.

Austin Hays getting healthy again doesn’t hurt either. If he can get back to his All-Star form and the batting improves, this could be a fun team moving forward. Its the Reds though, so who knows?

I'm looking at the guards in and of themselves. Did the offense do well because of them or in spite of them? The offense may or may not perform in the top 10, but what about the o-line as a whole? The offense finished just in the top 10 last year, but the o-line was damn near the bottom. I don't view what Volson and Cappa did last year and apply that to what Volson and Ford will look like this year. Ford is markedly worse than Cappa and Cappa was one of the worst pass blocking guards in the league last season. You yourself AMPHAR have noted, more than I mention linebackers, how this unit cannot keep giving up sacks at the rate they continue to do so. The o-line gave up 48 sacks and the guards gave up 19 of those. Again, when looking to improve the roster, to ignore a bottom of the league unit is just not smart. If you at least continue to make an effort to improve the o-line (and do so) how does that impact the offense? Considering the money spent on the offense, isn't that a smart thing to consider? My point is, while I don't think the o-line world is falling, you cannot ignore what is one of the worst o-lines in the league when you have the skilled position players we pay. The guards aren't the only ones I mention, although they are the most glaring. An OT capable of playing OG for a season or two would be welcomed.

My favorite thing to watch with the o-line is seeing a guy they start all season long get cut. You would expect a "starter" to at least get looked at by other teams, but that's not what happens. Our "starters" get cut and then never play in the league again. Not brought in to start, not to be a back up, not the practice squad, but out of the league. Is that an over exaggeration? Sure, but not by much...

I will also add that, like any other position, if they don't address it, it's not the end of the world. However, you don't ignore an obvious weakness when you have the chance to improve it.

#1. Can they line up what they have at OG and play? #2. Can they think Super Bowl while lining up with what they have at OG? As to #1... Yes they can, but when looking at how shitty Ford and Volson are, I'm not in favor of that approach. As to #2... They can think that all day long if they so desire. I simply disagree. Ford and Volson are both below average OG's by any standard, not some PFF crap either. If the process is about improving the roster through the draft, look for what gives you the most bang for the buck. Just world according to ArmyBengal, but DE, OG, LB are my top three. They have 6 picks. There's no way you can look at the OG's on this roster and think, "Yeah, we are good there". If you do, cool. Again, I disagree. They suck ass.

I could see a trade for Trey being capable of happening during the draft, but I don't see the Bengals pulling that off. It's just not something I could see them doing. I would bet they will just stick to their guns with Trey and force the issue. I'm not saying that's good or bad, but a draft day trade which includes a high profile player? Not something I see happening.

The idea of starting Ford and Volson scares the shit out of me. I could handle Volson if there was someone markedly better than him playing on the other side, but that's not the case with Ford. Ford is pretty much a shit show and regardless of how you view him, was a much below average OG when given the opportunity last season. Volson gave up more sacks than Ford did as well. If Lucas Patrick can play up to par and start over Ford, that would be a plus as well, but there simply isn't anyone else with any type of experience that you can hang your hat on and say, "We are good there". Kirkland? Maybe the guy from all those years ago that once was viewed as a top end player before getting hurt. Not today. I'm not commenting on the OG position because it's just a hot topic among reporters, but because they suck. WHY NOT SCHERFF ??

I will root for whatever really. If they went DE, RB and OG in the first three rounds, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Jeanty? I really don't like his game at all. Not quite certain what it is, but I really don't like considering him. Like at all.

Again, if the question is do I like Judkins or any other skilled position player early on, the answer is/may be YES. However, I do not think those positions should be a priority over the needs the Bengals have unless someone ungodly just happens to fall. Maybe if the needs weren't SO glaring you could justify going in a different direction, but I don't view that as the case at this point. I mean take a look at the OG's on the roster currently. Volson and Ford are your starters if the season started today. I'm in full on hate mode with both of those guys. They are depth at best. Then there are the guys listed as depth behind the guys I don't think are worth more than depth in Kirkland and Patrick. If that isn't a early round need, I don't know what is. Now some may say that DE may or may not be a need, but with no certainly regarding Trey, it's a HUGE need. Couple that with a bunch of unknowns regarding depth and Ossai taking over for Hubbard and I'm no where near content there. Of course I'm going to bring up linebackers because what about Pratt? Is he staying, is he going? Do we even want him to stick around? What about the depth? Does the additional of Oren Burks move the needle for you much? This is a need for me as well. Then there's reports about safety and God knows I love Emannwori. If they were to take him in the first and follow that up with Judkins in the 2nd, this draft and the 2025 season could be in a lot of trouble by ignoring the OG and DE spots early. I may be wrong, but that's where I am.

OT Josh Simmons is a 1st rounder. OG Donovan Jackson is a 2nd, maybe 1st. OC Seth McLaughlin probably goes in the 4th or 5th. Pretty solid for sure. Don’t let that fool you with those RB’s though. Both Judkins and Henderson are above average. Not just my homer Buckeye stance either.

Dude I love Judkins. He was a beast playing at Ole Miss and then he transferred to Ohio State. I would have no issues with Judkins in the least, but my gripe would be, “At the expense of what position?”. From looking at that scenario we draft a Safety, RB and DT. That’s two massive holes needing to be filled at OG and DE. That’s not to say they couldn’t go that route in the 4th and 5th but always thought those would be the priority. I like Omar-Norton Lott, but there are more athletic DT’s later in the draft that would equally excite me. Something to think about when it comes to Judkins is, he put up over 1000 yards rushing, had 14 TD’s and tacked on another 161 yards and two more TD’s receiving the ball. He did that while having TreVeyon Henderson almost mirror his stats. Speaks highly of both of them. Speaks enough to not address OG or DE earlier? Thats another question.

Torn labrums aren’t the easiest to overcome quickly either and being a linebacker who has to tackle makes me worry about reinjury. If the team is sold on his recovery time frame, Campbell is an above average linebacker. However, we need impact this year from whomever they take in the first round.

Love the linebacker talk. I was all in on Campbell at #17 until his shoulder surgery that has him out 6-8 months. That’s a shame. There are some other guys out there I like later on and wouldn’t mind an add there at some point. Danny Stutsman out of Oklahoma is one I have my eye on and wouldn’t mind in the least. Hard to say what’s going on with Pratt. He seems all butthurt about Lou being shown the door. Be a pro, get over it and go play ball. Quit being a whiner.

This makes my head hurt. I might think I can do better, but really don't want the headache of finding out. I have enough stress in my life without creating more. Hope it works out.

I caught them out of the gate and am waiting for more from them. If you liked, check out some more. Their songs are really short, but brutal. "On the Verge" is different and heavy at the same time.