sparky151

It's weird they only added 10 mil in cap space from Burrow's restructure. They could have added 20 mil from Burrow and can still add 10 mil each from Chase and Higgins. If the money isn't spent, it just goes on next year's cap but players can usually only be restructured once per year. Maybe they'll add more space from the receivers but it suggests they will extend one of Hill/Turner, maybe Chase Brown if he's not expensive and will let Battle go. Murphy is the wild card as they don't seem likely to extend him but might tag him next offseason if he plays really well.

I don't remember what their max weight is, I think it's around 250. They have a height limit of 6'6" but a % of each class can exceed those limits. I lived in Annapolis when David Robinson was there. He wore the same style uniform as the rest of the brigade but wasn't hard to spot in formation.

Go seems to care a lot. It's pretty obvious that MB is still making the major decisions but Go for some reason wants to pretend otherwise.

So they use Carter as the coverage LB and Knight sits? Would have been a lot simpler to draft Rodriguez or Hill in round 2 and replace Carter with a better player. You object to starting rookie LBs but that's a broad category which includes good players and bad. After last year's draft Golden said they had Carter graded as a 2nd round player and they were happy to get him in round 4. That's precisely the problem. He's not very good and neither he nor Knight would have been close to the 2nd round in this year's class. But the Bengals draft for need so they have to take what they can get, even if it's subpar.

He made the decisions on Taylor and Tobin, speaking with the media was the unnecessary part. Are you saying he's just a figurehead for Katie and Troy? Does anyone think the team traded for Lawrence without getting Mike's approval first? lol.

Lions certainly want to re-sign Campbell and may well tag him if they have to. But they'd prefer to negotiate an extension at a lower number than 22 mil. Commies should just send a 7th and get him in OTAs.

Yeah, the team signed him in 2024 when all our DTs were hurt. He was on the roster early in 2025 then was cut at his request so he could go back to KC.

Howell isn't a good run defender, he's a designated pass rusher. One would think the team's first choice DEs on 3rd and 8 would be Mafe and Murphy. Maybe Howell beats one of them out or one of them gets hurt. But Howell doesn't have an immediate route to lots of snaps. Stewart may play inside some but none of Murphy, Mafe, or Howell have the size or power for that.

I don't like the pick, Keith Abney was still available at the time and is a much better player who would also fit better into the Bengals scheme. Davis can cover WRs on sideline routes but will get lost on crossing routes. He can match up with TEs if they don't run a rub route with another receiver. He can't cover short, quick slot guys very well. And 4.41 is average speed for a CB. Riq Woolen is taller and ran a 4.26 at his combine.

The Bengals seem to have drafted backup caliber players, even on day two. If we had a great roster with no holes going into the draft, that would be ok. As it is, we limited ourselves in free agency so we had needs for starters going into the draft and didn't get any.

IMO it wasn't a very good draft. Howell might become a good NFL player but he'll be DE4 at best this year unless they are throwing in the towel on Stewart already (which I'm sure they aren't). That's a need that could have been filled by one of the veteran DEs who are still unsigned. Bosa, Clowney, Fowler, or Jordan would give us a season to see if Murphy or Stewart can become good players. So taking Howell came with the opportunity cost of not getting a starter at another position. Ponds or Rodriguez would have walked in as immediate starters and upgrades over J Davis or Carter. T Davis is an outside CB who I guess they plan to use vs TEs in the Tre Flowers role. He isn't good in man coverage which Golden supposedly prefers. They could have had Abney instead who is a better player. Lew seems like another version of Matt Lee. He's an experienced, athletic center with questions about his strength. And is coming back from a major injury. Young in round 4 seems like a reach. Why not wait and take Caldwell instead? Endries seems pretty meh but he's a 7th rounder. I like the Parker and Robinson picks.

Parker is a good pick, especially in the 6th round.

I'll guess he was picked to cover TEs on passing downs. He's lanky but not very nimble.

At The Athletic, Brugler rated our class 24th overall, behind the other AFCN teams.

Woods was still a reach at 29th. He had a whopping 2 sacks last season and didn't test very well. Combine low production with poor measurables and he didn't belong in round 1.

Good lord, are you still riding that hobby horse where the games don't matter until we're eliminated? Bengals won their last 5 games in the 2024 season, which had exactly zero predictive value for 2025.

Wouldn't the Jets be the obvious choice? If Burrow wanted out, the Jets could offer as much as 5 first round picks in the next 2 drafts so they can pay more than anyone else. They also play in a big market and have cap space.

Alexander? I assume you mean Lawrence. He can push the pocket but also isn't going to give you 60 snaps a game. If he's still getting doubleteamed instead of Hendrickson, that's a poor commentary on Murphy, Mafe, et al.

With NIL, most FCS players, at least in the big conferences have an agent. Maybe not Mulugheta but someone to negotiate appearances at the local car dealership, etc.

I'm fine with replacing this season's second year LBs with better players, even if rookies. I haven't heard anything to the effect the team is interested in Bobby Wagner and he's probably the only current free agent LB who would be an immediate starter. So I'd be fine with picking Rodriguez or Hill in round 2 and coming back for a CB in round 3. Because of a poor free agency period tied to not tagging Hendrickson, the team didn't fill enough needs with veterans so here we are. Cook and Lawrence are huge upgrades over Stone and Slaton. Mafe is an upgrade over Ossai but a downgrade from Hendrickson. It's not clear the defense will be better in 2026 than it was in 2025 when it allowed the most points in team history. There are reasons to hope for improvement but what if it only gets us to the 2023 or 2024 defensive level?

Lawrence is a huge upgrade from Slaton and the contract is reasonable. But the Bengals overpaid by a lot and should have gotten a pick back from the Giants. Something like pick 10 plus Slaton for pick 37. It's true we don't know who will be on the board at 10 and how the Bengals ranked the possible options. But it would have been a pretty good player at some position. Slaton was bad last year, which means there were lots of options for upgrades in free agency. Heck, DJ Reader is still available. The Bengals seem determined not to sign more free agents to upgrade the defense lest it cost them the comp pick for Hendrickson. That just compounds the blunder of not tagging and trading Hendrickson in the first place. The team could have massively upgraded the defense before adding Lawrence as the final piece of the puzzle. Instead we have some pretty obvious gaps after free agency and go into the draft with holes to fill but without pick 10.

Yeah, especially with Graham and Porter (former 5 star recruits) transferring out.

That would be a pretty stupid pick which means it's not impossible for Duke. What would be the rationale for it? Nobody thinks Proctor is a better guard prospect than Iovane. They can't trade Mims or Brown for anything near a high first round pick. Mims is working out fine so far and they just gave Brown an extension. So some NFL insider allegedly says the Bengals will use the 10th pick on a backup O-lineman? Methinks the writer doesn't know when his leg is being pulled.

Drafting Simpson early would just be a wasted pick. If he's a first rounder, fans will expect him to become a franchise QB and the team will feel pressured to get him on the field. He has average physical tools and 1 year of starting experience (but several years of backup experience). He's certainly not as good a prospect as Mac Jones and nobody thinks Mac should be their franchise's long term starting QB. QB is the most important position in the NFL but throwing early picks at guys with no chance is just wasteful. Call it the Hackenburg rule.

And yet Jenkins graded about as well last year as Jonathan Allen, who the team gave a 2/25 contract too.