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With the new kickoff rules in place, LBs for special team units will likely be a focus in rounds 6-7. I wouldn't mind another late round punter to challenge Robbins either. Should also take a stab at a nose tackle or two late, even if they might be available after the draft as an UDFA. Last year the Bengals got outbid on most of their priority free agents. Unless they plan to spend more money this year, they will have to draft them late or risk being outbid.

A Frog..

What do you mean by “IF”??? 😎

Agree 100%. That 3rd round comp pick seems like the perfect opportunity.

Pretty easy to tell what the Bengals are most focused on with this draft. A whopping 15 of their 19 listed top 30 visits were with offensive/defensive linemen. DT Evan Anderson, FIU DT Johnny Newton, Illinois DT Justin Rogers, Auburn DT Maason Smith, LSU DT McKinnley Jackson, Texas A&M DT T'Vondre Sweat, Texas ED Chop Robinson, Penn State ED Gabriel Murphy, UCLA ED Xavier Thomas, Clemson OT Amarius Mims, Georgia OT Bayron Matos, South Florida OT Giovanni Manu, British Columbia OT Javon Foster, Missouri OT Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State OT Troy Fautanu, Washington S Daijahn Anthony, Ole Miss TE Erick All, Iowa WR Jalen McMillan, Washington WR Joshua Cephus, UTSA

I would love to get Fuaga to screw them but they'll get a good lineman regardless.

There was some recent talk about Fashanu sliding down some, but I don't believe it. Alt and Fashunu are the two top pure left tackles, no projection necessary there, I think Fashanu goes no later than pick 14 to New Orleans.

https://sports.yahoo.com/2024-nfl-draft-top-10-offensive-line-prospects-anchored-by-stars-from-penn-state-notre-dame-154407744.html Top Ten Offensive Linemen ... interesting take, Cheat sheet: 1. Fashanu 2. Alt 3. Latham 4. Fautanu 5. Mims 6. Barton 7. Fuaga 8.Suamataia 9. Morgan 10. Powers-Johnson I would love to get Powers-Johnson if for no other reason than to screw over the Stealers

McKinnley Jackson could be a factor.

JC Lathem on the clock!..,😎

I'm adding Mims to the "I don't think he will be there" list with Bowers (of course) and Murphy.

Nailed it. Don’t have to be big to play the run. Just have to have gap control and enough low center of gravity + lower body strength to hold your ground. Jarrett is a really good comp. Not a big guy but great gap control. Doesn’t seem like he’s going to make it to us though. If he does - I think it’s a slam dunk.

Not a fan of that mock. Starting with Mims is fine. Pick 49 seems a bit early for Pearsall though he probably won't make it to 80. He'd be a replacement for Boyd but not really a potential replacement for Tee. No thanks to Carter at 80. He's a tweener who is average vs the run at the college level but will be overwhelmed in the NFL. Sinnott at 97 is good value but I'll guess he doesn't make it there in the real thing. Bortolini is a great athlete and good pass protector but not a good run blocker. We could do worse but maybe do better later. We don't need a safety at all in this draft. Then a couple more DTs and a pair of marginal CBs. How about a LB in there, or a RB, maybe a punter too?

So.... If Patrick Paul tested in the top 25 over the last 20 years or whatever and by all accounts had a good collegiate career, what exactly makes him a 2nd round pick other than the massive amount of group think done by the draftnik community. I seriously hate the shit that most of these guys peddle to fans as actual analysis but I guess the fans gobble it up.

A big part of the appeal of Murphy to me is how effective he is at defending against the run at his less than ideal size and length. Obviously Murphy isn't the immovable object that Sweat is, but it still amazes me that Murphy got about 70 more snaps in the A gap than Sweat did, even with fewer overall defensive snaps than Sweat. Murphy handled double teams well at the college level, as he is incredibly strong physically. Here is part of what Dane Brugler's The Beast said about Murphy (and how he might be used gap-wise): Overall, Murphy doesn’t have ideal length, but his rare combination of lower-body twitch, natural leverage and power throughout his frame sets his apart. With his disruptive energy, both as a pass rusher and versus the run, he projects as an impact starter who can play shaded nose or three -technique, similar to Grady Jarrett.

Newton weighed in at 304 pro day.

Depends on what you’re looking for. IMO Murphy is far superior as an inside rusher but Sweat is better overall as strictly a run defender. Murphy is pretty good there, he’s just not a guy who can hold up consistently in the run game. But I’d argue that neither can BJ Hill. Re Outland, like a lot of those awards, it’s a popularity contest. Not saying Sweat didn’t deserve recognition, but Alex Leatherwood won it, too. Michael Oluwatimi last year. So it doesn’t mean much. If the Bengals want a run stuffer, then yeah, first round is not the place to find it. But looking at the roster, the DT cupboard is pretty bare everywhere, and BJ Hill is on the last year of his deal. Further, DT generally is a weak class this year, whereas supposedly you can still find good OL after the first round. So while I’d prefer a move to protect the franchise and grab an OL, I wouldn’t be shocked if they took Murphy at 18 if he’s there… or failing that, if they love Johnny Newton, maybe a trade back and get another (or a better) pick in round 2 or 3.

Johnny Newton highlights

I feel like Latham with his 30-plus starts in the SEC is far more likely to be taken before Mims with his paltry 8 starts. This would be a weird stat to look up, but I'd be willing to bet in the the history of the NFL there has never been an OL with less than double digit college starts taken with a top 20 overall pick.

If any receiver advances on that list it will be Garret Wilson and where is Chris Olave???

I don't think we should take a RB before the 5th round. We have 5 picks in the top 115 (our 4th rounder) and need to find a RT, NT, WR, IOL, and CB with them. Or maybe a TE too. There will be decent RB options on day 3. I'd be happy with Estime in round 5 but not in round 3 and probably not in round 4. If Murphy is off the board before 18, it's not the end of the world. Dehner had a piece hyping him up but our bigger need is at NT and we can get one of those in the mid-rounds.

2 teams that could take possibly Murphy - Minnesota at 11 and Denver at 12 - are also trying to move up to get a QB. Minnesota has 2 number ones as a starting point. Denver doesn't have a lot of draft capital, but there's been talk that Patrick Surtain could be available. Both Arizona and the Chargers could use an elite CB. I also wonder if Penix could be an option for one of these teams if they can't trade up into the top 5.

I wouldn't say 5 QBs is a lock. It would be nice if 5 or 6 were taken ahead of us but I'd put the over/under on that at 4 QBs. There will certainly be more than 1 O-lineman taken though your guess is as good as mine as to who they are.

^ Bengals should take Estime with one of their 3rd Rd picks. Can't risk waiting longer.

I would change it to Ja'Marr Chase and... some other jags.

No idea...this one REEKS of the awful "city connect" look MLB has been rolling out for every team.

Way down the road.

It’s some strange way of being “cool” with one’s locals I reckon. Cleveland has this annoying “The Land” going on with the Cavs and the GuarIndians. NY has a wide arrangement of things from Statue of Liberty heads to the new Mets ensemble simply saying “Queens”. The trend isn’t new really. An old one from long ago was this Alway thought this on was weird. They didn’t play in San Francisco, and the name “Golden State” had nothing to do with San Francisco either. The fixed that—even though they now do play in “the City”—by just making it a region

This is thinking ahead to an extension contract down the road.

All draft picks are slotted. There is little, if any room for negotiation. Even this dickbag can’t monkey with it

Too big of an "if". Does he have enough years to retire?

Yikes

If true, not bad. Nothing too flashy, classic looking. Still don't understand the black jersey though, doesn't seem Lions to me. Same story with the Jets

They look like they are also returning more to their “traditional” jerseys.

Whoops, you're right, I thought that was a picture of Kijana. Turning down the trade offer from the Saints and then taking Akili was indeed a terrible decision.

Say it ain’t so…

A Warning to Americans Who Are Complicit in Our Foreign Wars

Here is the 1964 model

It was 1963…and the AFL. Fun fact: the NY Titans were bought in 1963 for the stupendous sum of $1million dollars (cue Dr Evil). The name was changed to the “Jets”, because it rhymed with “Mets” and each were going to be playing in the then new Shea Stadium. The location was also near LaGuardia Airport, so that factored in also. Having seen some baseball back in the day at Shea, the flight patterns out and into LaGuardia basically were overhead. Lots of noise.

Ram curled horns were iconic. Bring em back if they haven't already.

Doesn't look like a jet. Looks like a dolphin..😎

Not gonna lie, I actually liked these lol. Sort of similar to the St Louis era rams look with the gold and dark blue

Not really sure what the point is of keeping a black for black's sake uniform, surprised they didn't throw in a Namath era throwback instead