Your Draft Grades Please

[cincy9275]

this is by far the best draft marvin and company has ever had, we got talent and very soild players across the board. i still have to pinch myself to make sure i am not dreaming lol. not only do i think this is a great draft, i think we had the best draft of all 32 teams. i give it a A-, only because of the player from up north lol. with this draft we are rebiulding the core of this team, while at the same time we are stockpiling talent on defense.

[ArmyBengal]

I think it has to be an "A-" at worst. The Bengals drafted quality players at positions of need. I think the Center position would have been addressed earlier, but NO ONE expected Maualuga to drop to the 2nd round and when that happened, people kept falling to us making the Center position one that could, and based on players available, should wait.

I like the fact that they did what I was hoping for and actually used a pick to go get the best punter in the draft and also drafted the FB they viewed as the better option at the time they picked and one they really liked. That fact made me VERY happy as opposed to just waiting and hoping a FB would want to come here in an UDFA option.

Coffman, makes Coats find a new team and Kelly isn't getting younger either. Check his stats, he's just a monster of a TE that knows how to make things happen and gives Carson that "Tony Gonzales" type of red zone TE option. Meaning a big TE that can go up and catch the ball for a TD.

I still can't believe we are looking at those players on our roster. Hell even some of the undrafted guys that came in are real options...

I couldn't be happier to be a Bengals fan at this point in time. At least we didn't have a Raiders draft !!!

[princeton]

going in, the two things that I really, really wanted was to protect Palmer and to put Rothlisberger on his backside.

My concern is that Bengals remain a team with several RTs and no LT. If Andre Smith turns out to be a great LT, I'll be thrilled but he's got a lot to show.

I'd have taken DE Everette Brown over Maualago, who's a big question mark for me. I love the explosion, and think that he can give the defense a Polamalu personality IF he stays in position and stays upright, but I'm not sure that he ever will

I went to bed thinking "at least PLEASE take Michael Johnson to hit Rothlisberger." never had that happen before. I like the DT from Memphis, as well. I know that he's a PS player, but one day he might put Rothlisberger on his backside too.

The RB, I predict, will be highly successful for two years, which is great for a 6th rounder. After that, he'll get in a lot of trouble, the Bengals will be too dumb to drop him, and we'll have three years of soap opera.

Overall, the Bengals took a lot of guys that were ranked very highly for explosiveness. the 40 times of this group are also mighty impressive, and the positions fit. I think that Paul Brown would have been proud, for once.

[ArmyBengal]

The RB, I predict, will be highly successful for two years, which is great for a 6th rounder. After that, he'll get in a lot of trouble, the Bengals will be too dumb to drop him, and we'll have three years of soap opera.

D*mn, you are actually predicting he will get in trouble 2 years from now ??

Quick, what are tonight's lottery numbers ??

Kidding...

[whizzo]

at worst, this draft is an A-, if not a straight A. we got two definite first rounders in Smith and ReyRey (i love that we got him - our USC linebacker duo will instill fear into the hearts of opposing RBs for years to come ), a first-round talent in Johnson and another top talent in Coffman. we got the best punter on the board, a good FB, an RB with solid upside, and some training camp fodder. i'm happy

[Jet23]

Solid A. I really wanted them to select Raji, but I'm happy that they landed Rey M. in the 2nd. Chase Coffman could be the steal of the draft. He reminds me of a taller Chris Cooley. They need to finally figure out how to get the ball to the TE.

And from the has anyone seen my iPod file, like most everyone else, I could have done without the character issues surrounding the Scott selection, but perhaps this will be one that will not blow up in their face. He could turn out to be a great punt / kick returner / 3rd down back option.

[ArmyBengal]

Going back and doing some research, the only thing that I would have liked to see is them packaging their 6th and 7th round pick to move back up.

I get that you have to have a trade partner, but in that line of thought, the two picks would have put them in position to get a bunch of players:

Duke Robinson

Fenuki Tupou

Quinn Johnson

Javon Ringer

Hell even a backup QB was there.

Throw in a sweetener from next year's draft, but do something instead of sitting there taking a bunch of risks and projects that won't make the team.

That was my only real complaint, but realizing you need a trade partner...

[Jet23]

Going back and doing some research, the only thing that I would have liked to see is them packaging their 6th and 7th round pick to move back up.

I get that you have to have a trade partner, but in that line of thought, the two picks would have put them in position to get a bunch of players:

Duke Robinson

Fenuki Tupou

Quinn Johnson

Javon Ringer

Hell even a backup QB was there.

Throw in a sweetener from next year's draft, but do something instead of sitting there taking a bunch of risks and projects that won't make the team.

That was my only real complaint, but realizing you need a trade partner...

I would have loved to see them go after Mike Mickens with their 7th pick. Up until dropping out of the Senior Bowl due to his knee, he was projected as high as the 1st or 2nd round. Didn't Morgan Trent actually replace Mickens in the Senior Bowl? The news on his knee must not have been very promising, but heck IMO a year on the IR or the practice squad would be worth the risk.

[princeton]

D*mn, you are actually predicting he will get in trouble 2 years from now ??

yup. as a bengals fan, I know that all troublemakers will look pretty for a year or two before the fireworks begin.

personally, I've never thought that the Bengals were wrong to bring in brooding or combustible talents like Thurman, Henry, Dillon, Pickens. they just draft them too high, then wait far too long to cut them once the trouble starts.

here they drafted a guy no. 6, when in the past they'd draft him 2 or 3. so one problem solved. Next hurdle: release him quickly and without regret, when necessary. even if he plays really well for a time.

[COB]

I only grade drafts on a pass/fail basis and I give this one a pass. Come to think of it, I've never even graded a draft before.

If only they'd traded our prom queen for a first, or even a second, this would have been an incredible draft. As it is, injuries and normal human stupidity will have their effect, thus only time will tell.

That thug running back is no surprise to anyone here. Late enough to not hurt if he busts out. And you just knew something like that was coming. Mike is just a complete gambler, I'm convinced he can't help it.

[kingwilly]

Going back and doing some research, the only thing that I would have liked to see is them packaging their 6th and 7th round pick to move back up.

I get that you have to have a trade partner, but in that line of thought, the two picks would have put them in position to get a bunch of players:

Duke Robinson

Fenuki Tupou

Quinn Johnson

Javon Ringer

Hell even a backup QB was there.

Throw in a sweetener from next year's draft, but do something instead of sitting there taking a bunch of risks and projects that won't make the team.

That was my only real complaint, but realizing you need a trade partner...

I would have loved to see them go after Mike Mickens with their 7th pick. Up until dropping out of the Senior Bowl due to his knee, he was projected as high as the 1st or 2nd round. Didn't Morgan Trent actually replace Mickens in the Senior Bowl? The news on his knee must not have been very promising, but heck IMO a year on the IR or the practice squad would be worth the risk.

No kidding, huh? They messed around with Kilmer for like 2 years.

If healthy, Mickens is a viable nickel-back.

[TJJackson]

B to B+

Not an A because they should have taken a better center and they basically blew off the 7th round near as I can tell. I also think they had better cornerback choices than Trent available when they picked him

I don't devalue the picks in the later rounds because plenty of great players come in late rounds or even undrafted - like Tom Brady and James Harrison, and of course Mr Houshmanzadeh - so you need to do your best on each and every pick.

Overall, this is easily my favorite draft of all the ones I have ever considered

[vettespd20]

i would say a solid A, we drafted areas where we needed help the most. for the most part we draft the best player in each area that was still on the board

[membengal]

B to B+

Not an A because they should have taken a better center and they basically blew off the 7th round near as I can tell. I also think they had better cornerback choices than Trent available when they picked him

I don't devalue the picks in the later rounds because plenty of great players come in late rounds or even undrafted - like Tom Brady and James Harrison, and of course Mr Houshmanzadeh - so you need to do your best on each and every pick.

Overall, this is easily my favorite draft of all the ones I have ever considered

Re: your bold. f**k. no. The FB is legit and the DT has a lot of potential. Exactly the kind of flyer you want a team to take late. I get real confused about why some of you wad your panties so far up your asscracks over 7th round guys anyway...

[Dadraftnick]

Look Dadraftnick... I understand that the Bengals didn't select who you wanted in the 7th round... but you can't weigh all picks the same.... or even similarly.

If you add up all the pick values with the NFL draft pick value chart, the Bengals had 2622.35 total points available. The #6 pick was worth 1600 of that (61% of the Bengals entire draft's value). The last two 7th round picks combined were worth 1.35 points (.05% of the entire draft's value). They could have given those picks for free to the Steelers and not had enough of an impact to lower your grade to a B+.

Given that I went to the trouble of figuring out those percentages... I figured I would have some fun grading this out more scientifically. After all, I have a teaching degree, and don't have anything better to do tonight.

My grades:

Andre Smith - A solid A. I won't give it an A+ simply because everyone admits that there are question marks surrounding his name. However, you can't ignore the fact that he 1) was the BPA; 2) addressed a major need; and 3) was talented enough to go in top 2. So you get great value at the #6 pick. (1520 out of a possible 1600 points)

Rey Maualuga - A+. Several on this board wanted this guy at #6 citing that he was worth the 10 pick reach for a dynamic playmaker who could change the attitude of the defense. Instead, they get him a good 20 picks later than most mocks projected him. An obvious pick, but you can't deduct points because simply because it was too easy. (520 points out of a possible 520 points)

Michael Johnson - B. I think he will be a big contributor this season and if used properly could go a long way in fixing the pass rush problem. That said, I thought Caldwell should have been the pick here. Frankly, had Luigs not fallen to the 4th round, I probably would have hated this pick. Luigs did fall, so it didn't bite them in the ass - but I still don't care for the risky strategy here. Center was a much greater need, and there were more pass rushers left than there were starting caliber Centers. (204 points out of a possible 240 points)

Chase Coffman - B+. Another very good value pick. The Bengals may have finally gotten their game breaking/pass catching TE, but how much was that a priority coming into the draft? With Utecht, Kelly, and Coats on the roster, TE was not a major need. I'm not questioning the value, but it would have done my heart better to select Luigs here and hope that Coffman fell the remaining 8 slots. Had that happened, Coffman would have gotten my full A+ endorsement... but I can't give it here because of the risk involved. (96 points out of 108 points)

Jonathan Luigs - A. He's the 5th ranked Center in this draft, and the last that is worthy of being called a starter. I'm concerned that he was taken with the 106th overall pick (Eric Ghiaciuc was taken with the 119th). The Bengals weren't aggressive to trade up to get Unger... but that would have been difficult anyway. I don't know how I feel about starting a 4th round rookie at Center... but it was a good pick at a position of need. (78 points out of a possible 82 points)

Kevin Huber - A+. It feels weird being excited about a Punter being drafted... but I feel like a good punter would have gone a long way in helping the defense hold up against the poor position the offense constantly put them in. If this guy is as good as advertised, we won't be complaining about the punting game anymore for a long time. (35 points out of a possible 35 points).

Morgan Trent - B-. I wanted Cedric Peerman here. I wasn't too upset that they took a CB, but if they were going to take a CB, I would have preferred Coye Francies who went 12 picks later to the hated Browns. I don't hate this pick, because I do think that CB is a need position, and don't feel like Trent is a bad pick. I doubt he was the BPA since he was the 28th CB taken. But it seems like a solid pick nonetheless. (16.6 points out of a possible 20.8 points)

Bernard Scott - B-. I don't love it, but I don't hate it. If he gets in trouble, you're losing a late 6th round pick. Spilled milk in my mind. If he gets his act together, it could be a huge boom. I have hope, but I'm leaning slightly toward bust over boom. As far as talent goes, it was a great pick. As far as risk, it's a big one - but could be worth it. (7 points out of a possible 8.8 points).

Fui Vakapuna - A+. Love it, love it, love it. I had a good deal of fear that the signing of Jeremi Johnson spelled the end of my hopes for a rookie FB. Not only did they take one, they take a guy I like a lot in the 7th round... a cousin and a clone of a guy the heavily pursued in FA... and it sends a very real message to Jeremi Johnson. "Don't get complacent." (6.4 points out of a possible 6.4 points).

Clinton McDonald and Freddie Brown - I don't know anything about them... and don't much care. I don't expect them to be more than practice squad material if they even make it that far. Of the two late 7th rounders last year, Urratia is on the team - but not Kirk Barton. Since I don't feel like doing my research, I'll give them both zeroes since it won't change my overall draft grade anyway (0 points out of a total 1.35 points)

Overall score:

2483 total points out of a total 2622.35 points (94.7%) Solid 'A' draft

It wasnt that they didnt take who I wanted in the 7th , it was that they "lost it" and just started to take guys that were not good picks or for that matter not even needs, you had guys like PJ Hill,RB Jeremiah Johnson,S Otis Wiley, CJ Spillman,CB Domnique Johnson,WR Aaron Kelley,and my favorite Phillip Hunt that put up 14 sacks-that they left on the board.

There was plenty of guys that would have been better picks in the 6th and 7th round- the Bengals do this every year, - but , what gets me about the 6th and 7th rnd picks is that, they couldnt have even have been sticking to their boards on those picks.

These were guys that ,would not only have not been drafted, but I doubt they would have had an undrafted free agent contract offer from another team.

When you look at the list of the guys that I listed, I know that every team in the league will be fighting for them.

When the Bengals try to sign a guy like RB PJ Hill to UFA contract , he is going to see that, the Bengals drafted a RB and go to another team- teams will be fighting for a guy like him.

There is also a good chance that RB Bernard Scott is a bust, so, it make sense to draft another RB, in the 7th just incase, and there is the value of those guys.

All of those guys that I listed(ufa's) were expected to be drafted and were ratted much better that any of the players that they drafted in the final rnds.

It makes no sense to leave guys like the ones I listed ,on the board and waste picks on these -nothing picks that I doubt

I know this - I have been right every time that I have said that the draft was good and right about the draft when I said it was bad- and I have taken ALOT of $hit from some of you guys that thought the horriable drafts were , just great, when it comes to draft I know what I am talking about.

I am not going to argue about about the difference between an B+ and an A- , I am fairly happy with the draft-

While, I would have went a different way with some the draft, I thought that the guys they drafted were at least "draftable" (until the6th and 7th rnd)which is saying something, because I dont rate that many guys as "draftable"

By the way, I have no idea where you got your number of points assigned to certain draft choices but, it looks like something from that guy at the huddle report.

I noticed you didnt give A's to those picks in the last two rns picks either.

Be happy - we had a good draft.

[Clackwoods]

We need to take our second round pick next year, Luigs, and Levi and trade them to Buffalo for Wood!

[DesperateDerelict]

I only grade drafts on a pass/fail basis and I give this one a pass. Come to think of it, I've never even graded a draft before.

What are you, some kind of communist? Giving meaningless grades prior to any useful data being collected is the American Way!

Also, please note, idiot-Mikey's bonus is totally dependent on these BZ grades.

On a less whimsical note, does anybody get the feeling that the scouting department ( lol ) kind of stopped working around December 1st? At that time, the best 2 OT's were A.Smith & Oher, the best LBs (inside or out) were Maualaga, Laurinitis, and Cushing, the best DE's were Orakpo, Ayers, Johnson, and E.Brown, and the best TE's were 3 Big 12 guys - Pettigrew, Coffman, and gresham (who stayed in).

All of the subsequent movement of players, up and down, were the result of bowl games, all-star games, and the combine.

PS - My grade is a B+ - their last 4 picks were very uninspiring.

[TJJackson]

DD - you need to take a longer look at Bernard Scott and 'Poon-a'

last 2 picks, yeah.

last 4? not so much

[membengal]

Back off the DT. You may end up being presently surprised.

[derekshank]

I still can't believe we are looking at those players on our roster. Hell even some of the undrafted guys that came in are real options...

Yeah... why is it that several of the undrafted free agents always look better than the last couple of 7th rounders for the Bengals?

[derekshank]

By the way, I have no idea where you got your number of points assigned to certain draft choices but, it looks like something from that guy at the huddle report.

It's the scoring system that is pretty much agreed upon by NFL GM's when approaching one another for trading picks. For instance... if the Bengals would have wanted to trade their #6 pick to, say that 49ers... there is a 300 point difference between #6 and #10, and the 49ers would have needed to give a late 2nd rounder, or a mid 3rd and early 4th rounder.

Draft Pick Value Chart

My scoring system was not arbitrary. Did I misuse it a bit? Well... perhaps it wasn't intended for the grading of a draft... but since this is an already agreed upon ranking system, it seems like the best tool at our disposal when weighing the importance of individual picks.

I noticed you didnt give A's to those picks in the last two rns picks either.

Yep. I never said I liked the picks. Nor do I dislike them much. I just don't care. My point was that given the value of picks coming that late, it has virtually no impact when grading the draft overall.

[membengal]

Derek, it's not nice to confuse draftnik during one of his crybaby rants with common sense. It puzzles him so.

[HairOnFire]

All of the subsequent movement of players, up and down, were the result of bowl games, all-star games, and the combine.

More likey, the ridiculous and near constant shuffling of players up and down draft boards was the result of media dinks needing fresh material to talk about as the draft process drug out over months.

Teams say all the time that game film represents 90% of a prospects grade and everything else added together shouldn't be enough to push a player up or down more than a single round. Frankly, I don't doubt it a bit.

[BengalPimp]

A Hopefully Andre Smith is the real deal. Maualuga was an absolute Steal( Somebody better call the Police). Michael johnson has 1st round talent. Coffman is the receiving TE we need. Luigs is a decent C.

The best draft we've had in a long time.

[sparky151]

I'd give it a B. We still have a problem at center and merely a collection of bodies at RB. I feel pretty good about the defense if we have good health there. We still need a nickel CB but can get a veteran during training camp cuts. If we'd signed Jason Brown in free agency, I'd give it an A.