Undrafted Free Agents

[cincyhokie]

I'm worried about the fact that he even considered being in the Navy. Not a good sign.

[derekshank]

I have a hard time getting excited about Undrafted Free Agents. I know that there will be some guys that have successful NFL careers, but it is usually a couple years after the fact, and often times with another team.

I liken it to the MLB draft. It's simply not that exciting, because it's almost always a few years before an impact is made.

I feel that happens in the NFL as well. I mean Peyton Manning sucked right out of the box. It was years later he accomplished a winning record in a season, and won a league MVP award.

Fair enough, but Manning was interesting and started from day 1. As do most 1st round picks, many 2nd round picks, several 3rd round picks... and role players are often drafted throughout the rest of the draft.

Undrafted Free Agents seem like the minor leagues, because many of them end up on the practice squad, and the ones that do make the team generally only contribute on Special Teams.

[NJ29]

FWIW, Sporting News gave Jeromy Miles a second round grade, and had him in front of Kam Chancellor, Morgan Burnett, Major Wright, Reshad Jones and many others.

[Trevor]

FWIW, Sporting News gave Jeromy Miles a second round grade, and had him in front of Kam Chancellor, Morgan Burnett, Major Wright, Reshad Jones and many others.

Well thank you for LOC!!!

[alleycat]

FWIW, Sporting News gave Jeromy Miles a second round grade, and had him in front of Kam Chancellor, Morgan Burnett, Major Wright, Reshad Jones and many others.

Actually, they are currently saying he's the #2 overall undrafted player as well. It's still amazing to believe that he'd be a "third round steal." Their writer is a former scout, though, so FWIW...

Is it wrong for me to get excited?

[kingwilly]

FWIW, Sporting News gave Jeromy Miles a second round grade, and had him in front of Kam Chancellor, Morgan Burnett, Major Wright, Reshad Jones and many others.

Actually, they are currently saying he's the #2 overall undrafted player as well. It's still amazing to believe that he'd be a "third round steal." Their writer is a former scout, though, so FWIW...

Is it wrong for me to get excited?

Sounds damn good to me.

[generaldreedle]

I'm worried about the fact that he even considered being in the Navy. Not a good sign.

What's wrong with the Navy?

[Dadraftnick]

A list of Bengals UFA's

As of this posting the Bengals have signed/drafted 16 players this weekend. Let's summarize for you so you don't have to go through the pain of scrolling through the entire site (but you should, you know, scroll through the entire site and make me feel really good). Each name is linked to the report of their signing (if CFA) or the report of the draft selection.

The following is a running chart of the team's college free agent activity.

UMass S Jeromy Miles

LB Vincent Rey

Virginia RB Mikell Simpson

Georgia S Bryan Evans

Tennessee TE Jeff Cottam

Ol' Miss RB Cordera Eason

UC LS Mike Windt

According to Joe Reedy, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Duke linebacker Vincent Rey Saturday evening. Before the draft, Rey met with several NFL teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, the New York Giants, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Oakland Raiders (note, those links actually go to reports of those visits, not team specific pages). In the end, no teams drafted the 240 pound linebacker and fell right into the Bengals laps. During his Pro Day, Rey "ran a 4.59 and 4.58 40, a 4.28 short shuttle and a 6.89 three-cone drill. Rey recorded a 38.5-inch vertical jump, a 10-foot, 4-inch broad jump and 20 bench press reps."

Likely a special teams player if he makes the squad, Rey entered his senior season second among active players in the ACC with 232 tackles and was the only active player in the conference to record over 100 tackles in each of the final two seasons (before his senior year). Rey finished the 2009 season on the Second Team All-ACC team.

SEASON TT SOLO AST SACKS INT

2006 12 5 7 0 0

2007 111 49 62 2 0

2008 109 54 55 2 1

2009 90 40 50 1 2

According to National Football Post:

A short, undersized middle linebacker prospect who possesses a long set of arms and a thick trunk, Rey has a nose for the ball inside and does a good job reading his run/pass keys. However, he struggles to take on blocks in all aspects of the game, lacks power at the point of attack and can be easily washed out of plays on contact. He doesn't use his hands well when trying to pick his way through traffic and gets cut down too easily on the inside. Rey has both above-average range and work rate in pursuit, but is easily knocked off balance and struggles to cleanly close on the ball.

He knows that he struggles when asked to stack and shed and will instead try to slip blocks and run around them. He consistently takes himself out of plays, losing sight of the ball. He showcases a good feel in zone coverage and displays the footwork to flip his hips and quickly get out of his breaks to close on the ball. Rey isn't a physical tackler in any area of the game. He's more of a drag-down guy, and from a physical standpoint doesn't have what it takes to find a spot on an NFL defense.

According to CDS Draft.com:

Overview

Vincent Rey has been a tremendously productive player for the Dukies since his sophomore year, when he started 12 games (11 @ WLB, 1 @ MLB) and led the team with 111 tackles. He started 11 of 12 games in 2008 at WLB and ended the year with 109 tackles, including 10.5 for loss and a pair of sacks. He moved to MLB full time as a senior in 2009 and led the team once again with 98 tackles. He earned the Blue Devil Heart Award following spring practice his senior year and was named 2nd team All-ACC.

Strengths

Rey is a stocky, powerful player who has shown a tremendous ability to make plays. Rey is an excellent tackler who always gets the guy down and can deliver a pop as well. Has a low center of gravity and is able to get under the pads of the blockers and has the strength to shed them and get to the ball-carrier. Smart player who understands what the offense is doing and doesn't waste steps going the wrong way. Rey is solid in pursuit and takes good angles to the ball. Durable player who has shown solid leadership skills too.

Weaknesses

Rey is a bit short and is not the most athletic player around. He's not flexible and doesn't have the COD and lateral agility to get to the outside. A real liability in pass coverage.

Projection

Rey's production can't be overlooked, despite his lack of size and athleticism. He projects as a special teamer and backup MLB at the next level. He could be taken in the latter stages of the 2010 NFL Draft, or may have to wait for his phone to ring after the conclusion of the selections.

Cincinnati signed safety Bryan Evans, according to Joe Reedy who writes that seven college free agents have signed with the Bengals. The Georgia safety will join Jeromy Miles as the team's newest safety additions after the team shut themselves out of the NFL draft this weekend. Evans ran a 4.46 and 4.47 at Georgia's Pro Day in mid-March. Much like several of the team's defensive draft picks, Evans has excelled in academics.

Cincinnati signed Tight End Jeff Cottam. Well, it would seem that the Bengals found their blocking Tight End. The three-time Academic All-SEC Tennessee Volunteer has seven career receptions, two of which were touchdowns. Cottam, the brother of current Chiefs Tight End, Brad Cottam, has played in 35 career games with eight being starts in his collegiate career. We can pretty much assume that Cottam's only change of making the squad is through special teams.

YEAR REC YDS AVG LNG TD

2006 0 0 0.0 0 0

2007 4 19 4.8 13 1

2009 3 41 13.7 21 1

Cincinnati signed Running Back Cordera Eason. His best season coming in 2008 where he rushed for 647 yards, averaging 4.6 yards-per-rush. Aside from that, the rarely used Ol' Miss running back ran the football 46 times in the three other seasons. Special teams guy?

YEAR ATT YDS AVG LNG TD REC YDS AVG LNG TD

2006 7 15 2.1 5 0 0 0 0.0 0 0

2007 3 6 2.0 5 0 0 0 0.0 0 0

2008 140 647 4.6 28 3 10 82 8.2 18 2

2009 36 133 3.7 40 1 4 39 9.8 23 0

According to Joe Reedy the Bengals have signed seven undrafted free agents. We know about Mikell Simpson and Mike Windt. The others are safeties Jeromy Miles from UMASS and Bryan Evans from Georgia, running back Cordera Eason from Mississippi, tight end Jeff Cottam from Tennessee and linebacker Vincent Rey from Duke.

Safeties are the most noticeable from the list after the Bengals elected to shut themselves out of drafting a safety in the NFL draft. Jeromy Miles is has a pretty good pedigree:

2009 Walter Camp First Team All-American

2009 CAA All-Conference First Team

2009 New England Writer All-Star

A four-year starter, Miles recorded nine interceptions in his career. As a freshman with Navy, Miles was named to the First-Team All-Best and the ECAC Freshman of the year and Honorable Mention Freshman All-American by the Sporting News. Here's his stats for his career:

Season Games Tackles FF Int PD

2006 (Navy) 13 61 0 2 3

2007 13 67 4 2 10

2008 12 104 1 3 5

2009 11 62 2 2 5

Mikell Simpson is a running back for the University of Virginia. Well, he was. As per his twitter account, the running back has signed with the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted college free agent and will be making his way into town on Thursday.

YEAR ATT YDS AVG LNG TD REC YDS AVG LNG TD

2006 13 56 4.3 18 1 1 12 12.0 12 0

2007 113 570 5.0 96 8 43 402 9.3 30 2

2008 87 262 3.0 19 3 15 66 4.4 23 0

2009 85 386 4.5 22 5 27 236 8.7 37 1

Simpson was rated as the 46th best running back in the draft by ESPN.

[BengalPappaw]

I read on Scout.com that Ciron Black, OT from LSU was undraft. I like to see us get him for the guard position behind Bobby. Has good size and is from a big school. What more do we need.

[NJ29]

FWIW, Sporting News gave Jeromy Miles a second round grade, and had him in front of Kam Chancellor, Morgan Burnett, Major Wright, Reshad Jones and many others.

Actually, they are currently saying he's the #2 overall undrafted player as well. It's still amazing to believe that he'd be a "third round steal." Their writer is a former scout, though, so FWIW...

Is it wrong for me to get excited?

Haha I'm with you alleycat, I'm having trouble not getting excited about him. I know he went undrafted, but he has to be better than Nelson, doesn't he?

[cincyhokie]

I'm worried about the fact that he even considered being in the Navy. Not a good sign.

What's wrong with the Navy?

I was kidding. Myself and some of the guys on here are Army and Marine vets. It was a feeble attempt at humor. (By the way: My father and grandfather were in the Navy)

[redsbengalsbucks]

FWIW, Sporting News gave Jeromy Miles a second round grade, and had him in front of Kam Chancellor, Morgan Burnett, Major Wright, Reshad Jones and many others.

Actually, they are currently saying he's the #2 overall undrafted player as well. It's still amazing to believe that he'd be a "third round steal." Their writer is a former scout, though, so FWIW...

Is it wrong for me to get excited?

Haha I'm with you alleycat, I'm having trouble not getting excited about him. I know he went undrafted, but he has to be better than Nelson, doesn't he?

I'm hoping he can knock Nelson from the team, better depth at the S position is a big need that was not filled in the draft. He sounds like he has a chance at being a solid NFL player.

[ArmyBengal]

I'm worried about the fact that he even considered being in the Navy. Not a good sign.

What's wrong with the Navy?

I was kidding. Myself and some of the guys on here are Army and Marine vets. It was a feeble attempt at humor. (By the way: My father and grandfather were in the Navy)

Aye, you know what he's talking about. Drop yer drawers and show me yer poop deck, AR AR AR !!!

Wait, that's pirate talk. Anyway, it's all in fun.

In regards to the thread, there's one question I haven't seen asked once since everyone is talking about how Miles had a second round grade.

WHY DID HE GO UNDRAFTED ??

I mean seriously, there has to be something for a 2nd round type guy being called better than some of those guys I would have loved to draft to completely fall through the draft, while other safety prospects we've never heard of get drafted.

So does anyone know ?? I would really love to have the guy I'm reading about, but will temper any excitement until there's an answer to that question.

[cincyhokie]

I'm worried about the fact that he even considered being in the Navy. Not a good sign.

What's wrong with the Navy?

I was kidding. Myself and some of the guys on here are Army and Marine vets. It was a feeble attempt at humor. (By the way: My father and grandfather were in the Navy)

Aye, you know what he's talking about. Drop yer drawers and show me yer poop deck, AR AR AR !!!

Wait, that's pirate talk. Anyway, it's all in fun.

In regards to the thread, there's one question I haven't seen asked once since everyone is talking about how Miles had a second round grade.

WHY DID HE GO UNDRAFTED ??

I mean seriously, there has to be something for a 2nd round type guy being called better than some of those guys I would have loved to draft to completely fall through the draft, while other safety prospects we've never heard of get drafted.

So does anyone know ?? I would really love to have the guy I'm reading about, but will temper any excitement until there's an answer to that question.

My guess is that he played at a smaller school at UMass. Teams are probably weary of looking at the gametape where he didn't face consistently good WR talent.

All of the safeties taken in the draft were from bigger schools, if not BCS conferences. The smallest school representative was from Montana in the 6th round. Montana is one of the top I-AA teams in the nation every year.

More than likely, as mini-camp gets underway, we'll find out the answers.

[alleycat]

According to Joe Reedy, the Cincinnati Bengals signed Duke linebacker Vincent Rey Saturday evening. Before the draft, Rey met with several NFL teams, including the San Francisco 49ers, the New York Giants, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Oakland Raiders (note, those links actually go to reports of those visits, not team specific pages). In the end, no teams drafted the 240 pound linebacker and fell right into the Bengals laps. During his Pro Day, Rey "ran a 4.59 and 4.58 40, a 4.28 short shuttle and a 6.89 three-cone drill. Rey recorded a 38.5-inch vertical jump, a 10-foot, 4-inch broad jump and 20 bench press reps."

Likely a special teams player if he makes the squad, Rey entered his senior season second among active players in the ACC with 232 tackles and was the only active player in the conference to record over 100 tackles in each of the final two seasons (before his senior year). Rey finished the 2009 season on the Second Team All-ACC team.

SEASON TT SOLO AST SACKS INT

2006 12 5 7 0 0

2007 111 49 62 2 0

2008 109 54 55 2 1

2009 90 40 50 1 2

According to National Football Post:

A short, undersized middle linebacker prospect who possesses a long set of arms and a thick trunk, Rey has a nose for the ball inside and does a good job reading his run/pass keys. However, he struggles to take on blocks in all aspects of the game, lacks power at the point of attack and can be easily washed out of plays on contact. He doesn't use his hands well when trying to pick his way through traffic and gets cut down too easily on the inside. Rey has both above-average range and work rate in pursuit, but is easily knocked off balance and struggles to cleanly close on the ball.

He knows that he struggles when asked to stack and shed and will instead try to slip blocks and run around them. He consistently takes himself out of plays, losing sight of the ball. He showcases a good feel in zone coverage and displays the footwork to flip his hips and quickly get out of his breaks to close on the ball. Rey isn't a physical tackler in any area of the game. He's more of a drag-down guy, and from a physical standpoint doesn't have what it takes to find a spot on an NFL defense.

According to CDS Draft.com:

Overview

Vincent Rey has been a tremendously productive player for the Dukies since his sophomore year, when he started 12 games (11 @ WLB, 1 @ MLB) and led the team with 111 tackles. He started 11 of 12 games in 2008 at WLB and ended the year with 109 tackles, including 10.5 for loss and a pair of sacks. He moved to MLB full time as a senior in 2009 and led the team once again with 98 tackles. He earned the Blue Devil Heart Award following spring practice his senior year and was named 2nd team All-ACC.

Strengths

Rey is a stocky, powerful player who has shown a tremendous ability to make plays. Rey is an excellent tackler who always gets the guy down and can deliver a pop as well. Has a low center of gravity and is able to get under the pads of the blockers and has the strength to shed them and get to the ball-carrier. Smart player who understands what the offense is doing and doesn't waste steps going the wrong way. Rey is solid in pursuit and takes good angles to the ball. Durable player who has shown solid leadership skills too.

Weaknesses

Rey is a bit short and is not the most athletic player around. He's not flexible and doesn't have the COD and lateral agility to get to the outside. A real liability in pass coverage.

Projection

Rey's production can't be overlooked, despite his lack of size and athleticism. He projects as a special teamer and backup MLB at the next level. He could be taken in the latter stages of the 2010 NFL Draft, or may have to wait for his phone to ring after the conclusion of the selections.

I keep seeing everything saying Rey is short. At his pro day Gil Brandt of NFL.com lists him as 6-2 240. Not short for a LB...

[ArmyBengal]

I'll buy that Hokie, but you get where I'm coming from on this ??

It's hard to read that a guy is a second round talent, that some consider a top 5 safety prospect, and then watch him go undrafted.

It really doesn't add up, but I guess we will see. No doubt about that...

[cincyhokie]

I'll buy that Hokie, but you get where I'm coming from on this ??

It's hard to read that a guy is a second round talent, that some consider a top 5 safety prospect, and then watch him go undrafted.

It really doesn't add up, but I guess we will see. No doubt about that...

It's the first thing I tought of too. How can a guy rated so high, not get drafted? Dunno. Skill and technique positions are a little easier to read, I assume. WR, RB, QB, TE, OT, etc.

Safety is a position where you mostly react to the other players, the WRs. If the competition is not there, then how do you grade?

Plus, if the consensus around the NFL is to wait and see on some of these positions, like safety, then why waste a draft pick on a guy you can get and try out as a UDF?

I'm hoping he makes the team and is serviceable depth. If he can play special teams and not get plowed like Nelson, he'll be alright.

[generaldreedle]

I'm worried about the fact that he even considered being in the Navy. Not a good sign.

What's wrong with the Navy?

I was kidding. Myself and some of the guys on here are Army and Marine vets. It was a feeble attempt at humor. (By the way: My father and grandfather were in the Navy)

I thought you were kidding. I was even snickering when I wrote my original reply.

Cheers, to some good natured military humor!

[derekshank]

Don't want to be a wet blanket... but this reminds me of Hype Henderson a few years back.

It was hard to not get at least a little excited - but then, nothing.

[cincyhokie]

I'm worried about the fact that he even considered being in the Navy. Not a good sign.

What's wrong with the Navy?

I was kidding. Myself and some of the guys on here are Army and Marine vets. It was a feeble attempt at humor. (By the way: My father and grandfather were in the Navy)

I thought you were kidding. I was even snickering when I wrote my original reply.

Cheers, to some good natured military humor!

Ha! I figured.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Cheers, to some good natured military humor!

Always good to see some fun between we former military members here.

[Kazkal]

FWIW, Sporting News gave Jeromy Miles a second round grade, and had him in front of Kam Chancellor, Morgan Burnett, Major Wright, Reshad Jones and many others.

Actually, they are currently saying he's the #2 overall undrafted player as well. It's still amazing to believe that he'd be a "third round steal." Their writer is a former scout, though, so FWIW...

Is it wrong for me to get excited?

Being Nelson is currently our backup FS hell ya ill get excited I like Nelson but the guy just got abused.

[Kazkal]

not going to the combine probably didn't help

Mike Mayock a short blurb

“UConn’s got a couple of players. Lindsay Witten, defensive end, brother is Donta Whitner, had a good senior year, he’s an intriguing guy to watch. Is he a defensive end or is he a linebacker? And UMass also has a kid not invited to the Combine named [Jeromy] Miles, a safety, a tough guy who can run. I think he’s got a chance to make an NFL team also.”

[ArmyBengal]

Still perplexed, for a guy with a 2nd round grade, I can't find him on anyone's top 10 list of UDFA's.

[alleycat]

Still perplexed, for a guy with a 2nd round grade, I can't find him on anyone's top 10 list of UDFA's.

The Sporting News has him listed as the #2 overall UDFA.