Bengals could have their eyes on Wynn

[The Entertainer]

[quote][size=3][b]Bengals could have their eyes on Wynn[/b][/size]
By Carlos Holmes

Monday, March 19, 2007


Don't be surprised if former Reading High School football star RB DeShawn Wynn ends up with the Cincinnati Bengals on draft day.

The Florida Gator running back has eased his way up the charts ever since his performance in the National Championship game against Ohio State. Wynn continued to improve on his stock with a stellar performance at the Scouting Combine last month.

Several teams took notice of the workout including the hometown Bengals. Wynn had a formal meeting with the Bengals while at the combine followed by an informal chat with the club during the school's pro day two weeks ago. If that's not enough, the Bengals are scheduled to have Wynn in for a visit April 17th.

Versatile back

At 5-foot-11, 232-pounds, Wynn is considered one of the bigger backs entering the draft, not to mention one of the most physical runners.

He's best described as a Stephen Davis type bruising runner. Wynn rushed for 699 yards on 143 carries averaging 4.9 yards a pop and made six trips to the end zone this past season.

However, Gator fans never really got to see what the former high school All-America running back was truly capable of since he was forced to play in three different offenses in his five-year career at Florida.

Wynn was asked to do a lot of things besides run the ball, which he was definitely capable of doing if given the opportunity. As a high school senior, Wynn got more yards than a lawncare service rushing for 2,283 yards and 30 touchdowns.

Wynn has a good frame for running in between the tackles and can take a lot of hits. He has a good burst and is a big back who can do some of the things as a smaller back. He can be a workhorse and is most effective in the I-formation.

The wrong idea

There were a lot of misconceptions about Wynn coming into the draft process. One was his speed and the other was a couple of little run-ins with the coaching staff while at Florida. Wynn addressed both misconceptions.

Coming into the combine, scouts had some preconceived notion that Wynn was tortoise slow, but he quickly proved them wrong when he ran a 4.45 in the 40-yard dash last month.

As for the run-ins with the coaching staff, Wynn takes full responsibility.

"The biggest misconception out there is that I'm not a hard worker, which probably was the case early in my career at UF and has followed me until now," he said. "I definitely don't think you can say I'm not a hard worker if I can play for Urban Meyer for two years and be the starting tailback.

" I led the team in rushing and put in a lot of work for coach Meyer to prove that I can handle it. That's something I improved on throughout my career. I definitely had some immaturity problems early in my career, but that's part of growing up and it helped me to grow a lot and look at things from a different perspective," Wynn said.

Wynn never had any off-the-field problems and changed his ways when coach Meyer called him out in front of the entire team.

"I wasn't down with the coach call out at first. I thought coach was picking on me. Then I started to do the things he told me to do and started to see a difference in myself on and off the field. Coach definitely influenced me and I had no choice but to do the right things. The change really helped me," he said.

It's true, change is good.

Wynn has flown under the radar up until now and the sudden gain of interest has teams like the Bengals, who are looking to add depth to the backfield, are taking a hard look at the one time high school phenom.

More NFL draft coverage: Catch the latest NFL news, subscribe to the RSS feed, or get automatic e-mail notification of the latest news for your teams at BigCProFootball.com and DaytonDailyNews.com/bigc.[/quote]



[url="http://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/content/oh/story/sports/pro/bengals/2007/03/19/ddn031907bigconweb.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=25"]Dayton Daily News.com[/url]

[bengalsfan850]

i think my draft guide put it best "looks like tarzan but plays like jane" he runs to soft for a 232 lb back and too slow for a 4.45 forty time

[Guest OzBengal]

Rudi is signed long term. Kenny Watson was just signed long term. We only carry 3 RBs. Chris Perry...

[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/39.gif[/img]

[|Tigers Johnson|]

My guess is it's one of those if he is available a round later than we had him graded...then maybe...

[Guest TheBeaverHunter]

I would punch myself in the face if we draft this guy.

[Guest schotzee]

If we use a pick on a RB ,I hope it is for a home run hitting type of back.Maybe I'm wrong,but I don't think Wynn is that man.

[Stevie Richards]

[quote name='TheBeaverHunter' post='458595' date='Mar 19 2007, 07:12 AM']I would punch myself in the face if we draft this guy.[/quote]

I'd have you punch me in the face if we used a draft pick on this guy.

[Guest A-Men-HouseofPain]

if it happend round 4 or we picked up a 3rd rounder, then hell yeah!

[TDB]

As our draft stands now, I think it'd take the 2nd rounder to get him. I wouldn't even want to spend a hypothetical 3rd rounder on offense unless it's O-line depth.

[Guest Bengals1181]

[quote name='TDB' post='458704' date='Mar 19 2007, 11:47 AM']As our draft stands now, I think it'd take the 2nd rounder to get him. I wouldn't even want to spend a hypothetical 3rd rounder on offense unless it's O-line depth.[/quote]


I do'nt see us drafting any o-lineman now that they've signed stepanovich. We already have one more lineman then we will likely keep as it is.

[Jamie_B]

[quote name='Bengals1181' post='458710' date='Mar 19 2007, 11:55 AM']I do'nt see us drafting any o-lineman now that they've signed stepanovich. We already have one more lineman then we will likely keep as it is.[/quote]


Agreed, i think stepanovich will be a one year bandaid that will allow us to focus almost entirely on defence, with the exception of a TE and MAYBEE QB that could go get Carson his gator-aid when he comes off the field.

[TDB]

[quote name='Bengals1181' post='458710' date='Mar 19 2007, 10:55 AM']I do'nt see us drafting any o-lineman now that they've signed stepanovich. We already have one more lineman then we will likely keep as it is.[/quote]

Yeah I agree. I wouldn't be too irked were the Bengals to take another guard, but the Step signing probably makes that very unlikely anyways. Gimme more defense!

[BengalBeotch]

[quote name='TheBeaverHunter' post='458595' date='Mar 19 2007, 12:12 PM']I would punch myself in the face if we draft this guy.[/quote]

I wanna see this.....

[Guest Bengals1181]

[quote name='Jamie_B' post='458716' date='Mar 19 2007, 12:02 PM']Agreed, i think stepanovich will be a one year bandaid that will allow us to focus almost entirely on defence, with the exception of a TE and MAYBEE QB that could go get Carson his gator-aid when he comes off the field.[/quote]


I don't know about a bandaid, I could see them extending stepanovich if they are pleased with him. Of course that will be dependent on if stepanovich insists on being a starter somewhere.

[Jamie_B]

[quote name='Bengals1181' post='458828' date='Mar 19 2007, 03:09 PM']I don't know about a bandaid, I could see them extending stepanovich if they are pleased with him. Of course that will be dependent on if stepanovich insists on being a starter somewhere.[/quote]


maybee, well see.

[bengaled]

[quote name='Bengals1181' post='458828' date='Mar 19 2007, 03:09 PM']I don't know about a bandaid, I could see them extending stepanovich if they are pleased with him. Of course that will be dependent on if stepanovich insists on being a starter somewhere.[/quote]


if stepanovich is that concerned with starter status, he needs to play his ass off and go win the job. IMO, it's obvious the starter's job is up for grabs and lewis feels we need to upgrade the level of play there. otherwise they'd have never gone after him. he's not spinning these wheels to get a better reserve. he's not satisfied with the play of the starter. he's hinted as much.

[akiliMVP]

We could probably get Wynn in the 5th round if we really wanted him. Here's his scouting report from NFLDC:

[quote][b]Strengths:[/b]
Has excellent size and bulk...A terrific athlete with nimble feet...Very good timed speed...Quick with a burst...Runs good routes and has decent hands...Solid vision and natural instincts...Outstanding balance...Adequate blocker...Still has upside.

[b]Weaknesses:[/b]
Is not as physical as you'd think and doesn't run inside well...His work ethic and conditioning have been issues...Durability is a concern...Doesn't break very many tackles...Is not a big play threat...He was not very productive...Lacks toughness.

[b]Notes:[/b]
Was a top recruit coming out of high school...A classic underachiever who seems to have all the physical tools but doesn't play up to them...Could surprise at the next level but at this point intangibles are holding him back...Boom or bust type.[/quote]

[url="http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingreports/rb/deshawnwynn.html"]http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingr...eshawnwynn.html[/url]

[Guest fredtoast]

I don't know what Wynn's deal is, but he never produced like everyone thought he should at Florida. In '05 Urban Meyer was constantly calling out his RBs for not producing. He tried a few different guys, but Wynn was the final choice. Wynn just didn't put up the kind of numbers he should have in Meyer's spread option system.

[Guest Patmo]

Glad you guys agree.I'll pass.Slow feet.

[|Lucid|]

[quote name='bengaled' post='458913' date='Mar 19 2007, 06:15 PM']if stepanovich is that concerned with starter status, he needs to play his ass off and go win the job. IMO, it's obvious the starter's job is up for grabs and [b]lewis feels we need to upgrade the level of play there.[/b] otherwise they'd have never gone after him. he's not spinning these wheels to get a better reserve. he's not satisfied with the play of the starter. he's hinted as much.[/quote]


I think it's mainly just that we needed another C. It's not a position that you can generally fill with any ol' lineman.. The fact that Steiny was able to move over there and play competently was probably his biggest asset (versatility in general). Right now at C, we have 1 guy who looks to have promise, and did pretty well in his first season of play, but has yet to prove he is the answer there long term. And Wilkerson, who although has "upside" and was highly valued prospect in college, has yet to show he has (or will ever) fully return from his inury, or that he can "take it to the next level" and perform in the NFL.

Stepanovich was brough in to compete and either start, back up, or get cut. Personally, I don't see him getting cut, and although I like Ben, I think he is on the bubble for us right now. But I don't think it's because ML was dissapointed in Ghiaciuc, but he has also stated that he doean't believe in bringin in people to be "back ups".. If you aren't starting, not filling a role, and aren't getting better, it's time to move on.