2022 General Free Agency Thread

[TJJackson]

On Faalele: Gimme a consistent above average guy over an inconsistent star-level player every time, ESPECIALLY for an offensive lineman

On Lloyd: if we go linebacker in r1, I feel said player needs to be very good in coverage (in this era of passing) and what I have seen says he isn't top notch in this phase.  Not bad by any means, but not great, and yes, I am fully aware that he was formerly a safety.  Bottom line: in a r1 LB, I want greatness in coverage skills.  Also, as few linebackers as we seem to keep on the roster, I am not sure we can afford a run defense specialist.....they pretty much all need to be able to cover at least reasonably well

That aside, my priorities at pick 32 have linebacker as 5th or 6th: 1-ORT, 2-ORG, 3-OC, 4-passrushing DE.  Hoping Ossai is the missing passrush DE, but we just dont know that for certain yet.  Speed/man CB and LB would be tied at 5th from my point of view.  Lloyd (or any player not from one of these spots) would have to be overwhelmingly the BPA at pick 32 for me to be OK going with a position other than the top 4 priority spots.  I honestly and truly feel that a player from one of those top four will be BPA or close to it at 32.

(Understood and admitted that Mr Gimme a Lineman is just a tad biased here, hehe)

Related aside: if we dont re-sign Ogunjobi or adequately replace him with another quality 3TDT, add 3TDT as priority 4 or 5. 0gunjobi does seem to like being a Bengal, tho, saying all the right things, would love to see him re-signed, preferably longer term this time around

[ArmyBengal]

Hey TJ, that link had the Bengals taking Johnson in the first and Woolen in the 2nd. 
Maybe they changed it, but I didn't see a mention of Faalele.  That being said, I am not really a fan of his.

Both Wilson and Pratt have come a long way this season and I love their attitudes.
No longer thinking the LB spot is the priority I once saw it and I honestly think there are LB's to be had into the 4th round this year.

[TJJackson]

The Faalele comment was a separate but related aside, but yeah.  For me, he is a "do not draft" even if he falls to late rounds. 

I mentioned you in the post in question because Johnson in r1 is certainly a reach -- seen him taken as low at r3 in some mocks -- and you had spoken of not reaching.

unrelated aside: I keep reading Faalele as Fanene. 

[ArmyBengal]

I like Zion Johnson, but not sure where I place him really.  I think the bottom of the first may be a reach, but it depends where you look.
After the Senior Bowl (or whatever it's called) Johnson helped himself and will probably move up due to that.

Another thing I've seen a lot of and I think it simply speaks to how little we all know about the players is seeing players rated lower on big boards, but going much higher depending on needs of a team, depth at a position, or other players thought to be available.  Take Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi who I consistently seen rated in the 20's, but not thought to make it past 10 and in many instances, the top 5.  A reach now, may not be thought of much of a reach after pro days and the combine.

I'm always of the line of thought that someone is going to drop that we never thought would be there.
No one thinks Linderbaum will be there at the end of the first, but who really knows ??
Maybe one of those teams that would take him addressed it in free agency.  Maybe they didn't expect a different player to be there and he was.

It makes it very hard to predict before the teams hit free agency, decide what to do with their own FA and who they may bring in.
That will drive the draft in my thought process.
 

[ArmyBengal]

Just saw where two of the guys doing mocks on CBS sports have Johnson going  at 20 and 26.

[TJJackson]

On Linderbaum: Ive said it several times already, but I remain worried about his low (by NFL OC standards) weight

Ive not got a single other issue with him

I am hoping that when he tests....combine and/or Pro Day....he has his weight up 310 at bare minimum so we can see how he moves/drills at a standard NFL OC weight

Of course, on the flip side, if he gets to 310 and drills well at the higher weight, he is far less likely to fall to pick 32, so.......

related aside:  I am not sure I have sad this before, but I am very happy that many of you are - at least for now - adopting the GIMME A LINEMAN mantra.  I truly do believe strong teams are generally strong at the line of scrimmage, even though this years team stands as proof positive that this isnt always the case.  I dont say GIMME A LINEMAN to be funny, I truly do believe in it as the most important aspect of NFL team building

[membengal]

41 minutes ago, TJJackson said:

The Faalele comment was a separate but related aside, but yeah.  For me, he is a "do not draft" even if he falls to late rounds. 

I mentioned you in the post in question because Johnson in r1 is certainly a reach -- seen him taken as low at r3 in some mocks -- and you had spoken of not reaching.

unrelated aside: I keep reading Faalele as Fanene. 

Zion Johnson is flying up mocks. Only Walter Football still down on him and kinda getting called out for that. I would kill for Zion at 32 - would be a great pick. 

[TJJackson]

On the basis of his senior bowl alone?

[membengal]

no

[membengal]

Homework assignment - go to this linked pod - Zierlein and Mays and Dane Brugler talking about the aftermath of the Senior Bowl practices - but they spend a chunk of time on Johnson - whole pod is candy if you like draft stuff but for Zion Johnson talk jump to 20:58 second mark and listen to that next bit and then get back to me...

 https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9vNVJna0xNZA/episode/ZDVmYTk5YzYtNjlhNC0xMWVjLWFkM2EtNWZhNTJkOGY5MmIz?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwiwv_jKw_D1AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQCg&hl=en

[ArmyBengal]

https://thedraftnetwork.com/player/zion-johnson/t0XOabVe01

[TJJackson]

I did the homework, and promise to spend more time evaluating Zion (he is a talented lineman after all, GIMME GIMME GIMME), but this didnt move the needle for me

I am a little confused about them using him at OC in the Senior Bowl, since he hadnt had any collegiate time there

[membengal]

okey dokey.

[membengal]

I now don't want them to draft any linemen just to spite TJ. Hoping for 7 WRs/TEs. 

[membengal]

I want Johnson for guard. Or, I did. Now I want  7 punters drafted. 

[TJJackson]

1 minute ago, membengal said:

I now don't want them to draft any linemen just to spite TJ. Hoping for 7 WRs/TEs. 

Hey, if the two of us arent at odds, there's something very wrong going on, right? :-)

[membengal]

I mean, you are flat wrong to be down on Johnson. 

[TJJackson]

down is relative, tho. :-)

For now, I think he is a mid to low second rounder.  Thats a very high evaluation in most folks eyes.

I'd love to have him join us - just not as pick 32 

I honestly dont see that as "being down" on him

all that said, it is still early - plenty of time for more observation to change my mind

if we can get him at pick 64, Mem, wouldnt you be dancing naked in the streets of Baltimore out of pure joy? :-)

[membengal]

That’s not remotely a low eval on him - he’s heading to round 1 evals

[membengal]

We aren’t gonna have him at 32

[ArmyBengal]

In all fairness I haven't seen any recently updated mocks or bog boards which would suggest Zion falls to the bottom of the 2nd.
That's not to say they aren't out there, because I don't go looking for the obscure, but I just don't see it.

[TJJackson]

Let me ask his:  are there any OLs that are thought to last until, lets say 25 (since some weird picks are always taken, and ergo a pick graded at about 25 can often slip to 32) that you guys (anyone, not just Mem or Army) that you would prefer at 32 over Zion?

for sake of this question, confine your pick(s) to OLs

without giving a name per se, I will say I'd personally prefer an ORT here.

 

[HoosierCat]

If he doesn't, someone else will. Might be better. Zion shot up the boards because of a good senior bowl. Nothing wrong with that but I'm more attracted to the guys who were highly regarded before the Great Draft Hype Machine began spinning last week.

What does seem clear tho is that we have another deep year for OL. It seems likely we'll have 7-8 OL (at least) with first round grades and probably about as many with seconds. So if they are dead set on going OL at the end of the first, there will be a good prospect there.

That said, put me down in the "fix the oline in FA" camp. Just a feeling at this point but it won't surprise me a bit if the first round this year is absolutely crazy with trades. There ae a lot of teams that need QBs and a lot of good but not home run prospects. I can see some teams trading down before taking a flyer on one of them, others trading up to get whoever "the One" is in their scouts' eyes, and still others looking to jump up in the late first/early second to grab whoever drops. Which could lead to an unexpected player being there when the Bengals pick, or an unexpected phone call. In that case I'd rather not be locked into a position.

[ArmyBengal]

One name that gets mentioned around there is the Ohio State OT, Petit-Frere.
Not sure what it is about that guy, but I'm not a huge fan of his either.  He's a LT and not sure I want to moving Williams.
Then you are back to moving a player out of their natural position like we did with Carmen.

Raimann, is another one, but that dude has like 2 seasons at the OT position and is super raw.

I personally think both Petit-Frere and Raimann are reaches in the 1st although i've seen both go there.

A pure RT prospect that could probably be had in the 3rd is Raheed Walker, OT, Penn State.
He's not a first round talent, but potentially a solid add at the position.

[TJJackson]

16 minutes ago, HoosierCat said:

put me down in the "fix the oline in FA" camp

I am firmly in that camp as well, but I look at the draft to provide high-quality future protection for New Guy....as it is my hope he is our QB for the next 10 years, maybe more.

so many FAs are signing 1 year contracts, so I dont look at FA as fixing anything beyond 1 year, maybe 2 at best.  In two years, a day 1 or day 2 OL taken in 2022 would be (or at least should be) fully groomed and ready to start.