DRAFT GRADES ROUND BY ROUND

[BengalszoneBilly]

A+++.

Are you sure?

[ArmyBengal]

Gresham- A (Fills a need with a starter, but there were other players there)

Dunlap- B+ (Unmotivated, undisciplined, don't know where he fits)

Shipley- C+ (Will NEVER be a #1 or #2 and we now have at least 3 slot receivers)

Ghee- C (Forgot we still had Jones on the roster, so not sure he provides any upgrade)

Atkins- B+ (Love what he brings to the DT rotation and allows greater flexibility on the d-line)

Muckelroy- C (Not sure he's really a great fit as I don't know if he's able to take SLB or MLB, depth maybe)

Hudson- F (Still think the pick sucked and people are still trying to figure out who the hell he is)

Briscoe- C (I like the fact he can develop into a #2 type guy, but I liked other players more at that spot)

Stephens- D (To little to late, but I like the pick better than Hudson 2 rounds earlier, no Blount ??)

After going back and reading some things on the players and how our coaches viewed them after being drafted, I changed some of my thought process.

With that being the case, I would give this draft and overall grade of:

"B-"

They got some good players and addressed some needs, but I just felt there were places they could have done better and didn't.

As stated in one of the theads, the coaches know more than us fans do, but it's just how this fan sees it.

[Kazkal]

Shipley- C+ (Will NEVER be a #1 or #2 and we now have at least 3 slot receivers

Why not Welkar is a fine 2#

Ghee- C (Forgot we still had Jones on the roster, so not sure he provides any upgrade

seems like Jones may be jobless though since Trent was nickle corner and they brought ghee in to compete for that roll... though probably keep 5 corners so guess not keke

Hudson- F (Still think the pick sucked and people are still trying to figure out who the hell he is

I won't disagree because Paul Alexander isn't exactly a miracle worker....he seemed high on himself because we had 3 undrafted linemen starting last year but 2 of them sucked balls.

[HoosierCat]

Draft love for the Bengals:

/>http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-best-and-worst-of-the-2010-draft;_ylt=AkukGI1egag_70DKIlzcnMFDubYF?urn=nfl,236463

Cincinnati Bengals: An unheralded bounty of value. First-round tight end Jermaine Gresham(notes) will be a matchup nightmare at the next level, reminiscent of Antonio Gates(notes). End Carlos Dunlap(notes) has ridiculous athleticism, and should put the rest together under defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. The sleeper pick here is sixth-round receiver Dezmon Briscoe, who should develop into an attractive short-area and red zone target.

[membengal]

A+++.

Are you sure?

I may be short a couple of ++.

[kingwilly]

.he seemed high on himself because we had 3 undrafted linemen starting last year but 2 of them sucked balls.

Dude, what are you talking about? rather, what are you smoking?

[Kazkal]

.he seemed high on himself because we had 3 undrafted linemen starting last year but 2 of them sucked balls.

Dude, what are you talking about? rather, what are you smoking?

Livings was crap Roland was good for a few games but then got crappy.

[kneepit]

This article sums up the questions about the Bengals draft.

[BengalszoneBilly]

This article sums up the questions about the Bengals draft.

I dunno. I have problems with a website that can't even spell "Cincinnati".

[HairOnFire]

Upon further reflection?

Gresham - First impression - B

Upon further reflection - A

Dunlap - First impression - C

Upon further reflection - B

Shipley - First impression - D

Upon further reflection - D+

Ghee - First impression - C+

Upon further reflection - B

Atkins - First impression - B

Upon further reflection - No change

Hudson - First impressison - F

Upon further reflection - No Change

Briscoe - First impression - F

Upon further reflection - No change

Stephens - First impression - F

Upon further reflection - No change

Recap: Gresham is a solid pick that addresses a need, and I said earlier I would bump the grade to an A depending on what happened in the rest of the draft. And to that end, the homer in me was happy enough with the direction of three of the next four picks. That said, I wasn't happy enough with the Shipley pick to bump Greshams grade a full letter. As for Dunlap, I admit he was mostly off my radar as I didn't think he'd fall from the 35-45 area of the 2nd round, and truth be told he wasn't one of the players I hoped they'd target even if he did, as he defines what it means to be a hot or cold player. That said, he's been more productive than I initially gave him credit for, and upon reflection is probably a more solid player and pick than first thought. Moving on, I still feel the Shipley pick was marginal, at best, in regards to value, need, player speed, and any other standard you care to use. However, the following two picks of Ghee and Atkins were perfect examples of a team using the remarkable depth of a few positions in a draft to good advantage. Sadly, two of the last three picks the Bengals made were little more than way too much way too late at a position the Bengals had ignored until it no longer mattered. And of course the 6th round selection of Briscoe fit their now annual habit of wasting a late round pick on a WR destined for a short stint on the practice squad before disappearing altogether.

Overall Grade - I've seen plenty of impartial sources give the Bengals glowing grades of A, but I wonder how you can do that when the team wastes 5th and 7th round picks on players projected to be UDFA's, and also burn a 6th round pick on a player destined to practice squad obscurity.

Thus, a B- grade that still manages to feel a bit too generous.

[alleycat]

During the draft I suggested I was interested to see when we drafted TE, WR, and OL, because I thought it would offer some interesting insight into what the team ACTUALLY thought was the source of the passing game woes last year (that once teams discovered, completely killed us).

Factoring in that Palmer undoubtedly has significant influence on that determination, I think we can say it's safe to assume that pass-catchers were considered more pressing needs than OL (coupled with the fact that the ones we did draft are developmental projects). And the only thing I have to dispute that are my eyes, bc I don't remember Palmer having any time to throw last year.

I'm willing to take the coaches at face value that the safeties that existed by our third round pick weren't an upgrade over what we had here. One thing's for sure, Dunlap's effectiveness will always be measured against our safety play, because Burnett, Jones, and Wright were all available at rd 2 and we went with the DE instead.

[HairOnFire]

The need for safety help was confirmed by the Bengals interest in moving up in the 2nd round for Mays. That they were shut out at the position for the rest of the draft is proof enough of an important need not being addressed.

As for OG/OC? The primary weakness isn't in pass protection. Rather, it's the interior running game, and by ignoring the position until too late the Bengals made it clear enough that this failure isn't a primary concern, either because of their success when running outside or because they must think the incumbent starters can get the job done inside far better due to another year of experience.

I've got my doubts.

[princeton]

During the draft I suggested I was interested to see when we drafted TE, WR, and OL, because I thought it would offer some interesting insight into what the team ACTUALLY thought was the source of the passing game woes last year (that once teams discovered, completely killed us).

Factoring in that Palmer undoubtedly has significant influence on that determination, I think we can say it's safe to assume that pass-catchers were considered more pressing needs than OL (coupled with the fact that the ones we did draft are developmental projects). And the only thing I have to dispute that are my eyes, bc I don't remember Palmer having any time to throw last year.

I'm willing to take the coaches at face value that the safeties that existed by our third round pick weren't an upgrade over what we had here. One thing's for sure, Dunlap's effectiveness will always be measured against our safety play, because Burnett, Jones, and Wright were all available at rd 2 and we went with the DE instead.

great synopsis

I also think that the coaches think (or, hope) that the OL might improve since it has played as a unit for just a single season. The WR/TEs, OTOH, appeared to be regressing and not progressing.

[alleycat]

I know I miss me some Hue Jackson...