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Mainly because the team needs someone ready to start and be effective NOW, and I think Ratledge is more proven and more ready to fill that role in 2025. While Fairchild may eventually surpass him, he may need some time. That being said, my opinions are formed more by the consensus of what I read and less by my expertise, so there's that. 😀

I forget how weird it gets around here this time of year

Right on, bro

Okay?

Shit IDK why they paid both Chase and Higgins when they probably could've traded down for a couple of 5th round picks and got new WRs

Show me where I said that. I’ll wait.

Nah I want to hear more about how all these draft picks are instant upgrades, that seems sensible and well-grounded in reality.

Ditto.

There's a block function you're free to use at any time.

Ok. How about pot meets kettle? Talk about tiresome.

No reason, it works great and we should just plug in midround draft picks whenever there's a hole on the depth chart. With a genius like Duke Tobin in charge the sky's the limit. Fuck me are some of you people god damned tiresome. "Maybe we should slow down on calling every draft pick NFL ready" "NOOOOO WARGBARGL!!!!!1" Fuckin... christ. Forget I mentioned it.

Other teams count on and start rookies all the time…why are we not supposed to?

So they weren't counting on them, but when they got hurt there was nothing they could've done.. Got it. We shouldn't be counting on our draft picks as immediate starters. That was, and remains, the point. Let's see how it works out for them this year and revisit the topic.

That is not close to what happened. Injuries decimated the position. Both rookies were injured in training camp then Hill and Rankins were injured during the Chiefs game in Week 2. No team in the league could handle that happening.

RD1. Eastern Conference playoffs Pacers roll over Bucks 123-106.. Myles Turner 23 pts 4 bll shots Nemhard with 20.. Halibuton 17 4-15 Bench 17-27 shooting . Pacers lead series 3-1

Yeah you do. You’ve got it in your head that you know more than they do so you shit on every decision they make. Not mad about it, that’s just you. It is what it is.

Well, because they've got 50+ on the roster at any given time, only a handful that are difference-makers, and an opportunity every year to add potential talent there at a very low cost compared to FA. By drafting well they avoid holes in the roster and can keep the FA contracts to a minimum beyond extension for their own exceptional players. However.. failing that, with no clear starter at multiple positions, FA are what's left. They cost too much and most of them aren't much better than average, but the only alternative is hoping some rookie who hasn't even set foot in the building can start from day one and not cost you games. They did this last year with a couple of midround DT's, They both seem like they could develop into good players, maybe into full time starters. In the first weeks of their rookie season, they weren't ready to assume the roles they were forced into and we ended up needing to sign FA's anyway - only at that point the ones left on the street were practically worthless. I don't know how many other ways to say it? These rookies will be "NFL ready" when they're ready, regardless of the team's or fan's expectations.

1 game back And Marte has been scorching hot after starting off and hitting below .100 for a minute there

It's not doom and gloom to note the disappointing nature of the Bengals offseason. They failed by their own standards. That doesn't mean a losing record next year (assuming Burrow stays healthy). I expect the team to make the playoffs, we're just not Super Bowl contenders. With a better offseason, we could have been contenders. Cue Marlon Brando.

You always need the DT's to absorb blockers so that LB's can make the play behind them. It's as fundamental to defense as the O-Line blocking for the QB is on offense. And for as poorly as Pratt played last year, the fact that we were starting our 5th and 6th DT's was a contributing factor. No 250lb. guy is going to be able to handle a 300 lb. Guard all day. I'm not convinced that we've done enough to have that not be a problem. Sure, we're going to be able to get at the QB, but I'm not feeling as good in a Cover 6 shell defending drag routes. Dump passes all day with Knight trying to make tackles with a Guard in his face is going to be a huge loser. But that's true of Pratt or Knight. I mean, I get it, we're not used to rookies producing, but that's an us problem, not the trend around the league. We don't have rookies that produce.

Er, I don't hate all the picks. I think some of them may become good NFL players. But the group is poorly constructed and the team didn't get good value for the draft capital used. It's certainly not impossible that Stewart becomes a good player eventually. But will it be in 2025? Was he taken because the team thinks he's a great prospect or as a bargaining chip vs Hendrickson? I've seen a number of evaluators have the Bengals class in the bottom 5 of the league, haven't seen any with the group in the top 5. This offseason has featured so many missed opportunities. At this point we look further behind the Ravens, Bills, and Chiefs than at the end of last year. Teams like the Texans, Broncos, and Chargers are looking to pass us in 2025. All 6 of those teams have better defenses than the Bengals and 3 have comparable QBs.

One of the best points I heard about Fairchild was that he went up in practice every day for the last few years against an elite lineup of premier NFL Defensive Lineman and pass rushers. Many of these players established themselves real quick once in the league. If Fairchild got rave reviews at Georgia going up against those guys, and had the top pass blocking grade on the interior OL while also playing against the SEC, I don't see why it's a stretch to think that he could be an out-of-the-gate starter. Lots of less heralded rookie lineman start across the league every year. Why is there a Bengals penalty on this board? I had thought for a while that Joe Burrow single-handedly helped the fans of this team overcome their pessimism and doomsday approach to all things, but I guess a little bit of adversity has brought it all crashing back.

Look up "stunts" or "games" on google. Then go watch Al Golden's interviews again closely. Also go look at the coaches talking about treating the DL like NBA subs, talking about the wave concept, and then go watch the Eagles and tell me how they seem to have 8 stars on the same team and why they can make it work. We literally don't have anyone like Stewart on the team, so there's not repetition there. The closest would be Joseph Ossai, whose wingspan is 1/2 foot shorter than Stewart's and who had similar combine numbers at 10-15 lbs lighter. But I could see those two eventually assuming bookends if Trey leaves. At any rate, what we don't want is exactly the old system, which I think leads to a mentality that there is space for 4 starters and then 4 backups on a 4-3 DL. What we want is those waves of fresh guys who keep on coming. The only guy who admittedly might be redundant or without a true role is Myles Murphy. And while people always seem to focus on his size as prototypical, and yes he ran a nice 40, ironically 40 speed is not at all predictive for success at DE. What's predictive is either the vert if he's a power guy (and Murphy's was a pitiful 31") or the 3-cone if he's an agility guy (which predictively needs to be below 7.05 and Murphy was like 7.22). Where Murphy might find a home would be as a classic early down strong side DE, whose energy is used to stop the run, before coming out for the wave of true pass rushers who can pin their ears back and get home. Incidentally, that's not a useless role, and it's one that I think certainly Cam Sample and possibly even Cedric Johnson are also being eyed for.

It’s not controversial, but using that logic why would anyone ever opt for a rookie over a known quantity FA? Again, the free agents this year were mediocre and either overpriced or pretty similar to Patrick. They also brought back Ford as a free agent unless it’s only outside free agents who count. They have had their share of recent misses in free agency (Collins, Reiff, Brown) so nothing is guaranteed.