Props for two free agents

[|High School Harry|]

Pro Football Focus praises two CFAs signed by Bengals

By Josh Kirkendall  @Josh_Kirkendall on May 6, 2015, 10:29

Glenn Andrews-USA TODAY Sports

 

The Cincinnati Bengals will release their college free agent list soon enough; two players who reportedly signed are generating some praise from PFF. 

  

The Cincinnati Bengals have signed a number of college free agents since the conclusion of the 2015 NFL draft. They've yet to release their official list (it'll come out soon enough), but there are a handful of players who we know about.

Two have drawn praise from Pro Football Focus on offense and defense:

Chris Jasperse, C, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals have a habit of finding good lineman. Whether drafted or not, Jasperse has some potential to latch on long-term on the inside after man handling the competition for Marshall. There is one alarming concern with him and that’s his ridiculous tendency to draw penalty flags (13 of them last year and mostly false starts) but even with those issues he still had the second-highest grade of all draft eligible centers. Didn’t let himself down in the Senior Bowl at all.

Troy Hill, CB, Oregon, Cincinnati Bengals
With the way this cornerback class was bunched together, both myself and Sam Monson actually saw Hill as one of the five best available. Our sixth-highest graded player at the position, Hill allowed just 435 yards and a quarterback rating of 63.9 on passes thrown into his coverage. His 11 pass breakups were tied for second in the class, and he added an interception for good measure.

http://www.cincyjungle.com/2015/5/6/8559299/pro-football-focus-praises-two-cfas-signed-by-bengals

[happyrid]

I mentioned this before, but I think Center is the one position where an undrafted FA would have a real shot of making the 53 man roster with a strong training camp. With Pollak gone, I think it's just Bodine and TJ Johnson who have experience at Center. All things being equal, I'd think the Bengals want one guy with real center experience as a backup.

 

Johnson is a former 7th rounder who has spent time on the practice squad, so he should have the advantage in the competition. But it's not like beating out TJ Johnson is impossible and Jasperse will have his shot to try to outplay him this summer. 

 

Assuming Ogbuehi ends up on PUP, I could see the 4 backups being Fisher, Winston, Hopkins and Johnson/Jasperse.

[ThurmanMunster]

I mentioned this before, but I think Center is the one position where an undrafted FA would have a real shot of making the 53 man roster with a strong training camp. With Pollak gone, I think it's just Bodine and TJ Johnson who have experience at Center. All things being equal, I'd think the Bengals want one guy with real center experience as a backup.

 

Johnson is a former 7th rounder who has spent time on the practice squad, so he should have the advantage in the competition. But it's not like beating out TJ Johnson is impossible and Jasperse will have his shot to try to outplay him this summer. 

 

Assuming Ogbuehi ends up on PUP, I could see the 4 backups being Fisher, Winston, Hopkins and Johnson/Jasperse.

 

Completely agree and I don't think TJ Johnson would be too difficult for a young guy flashing potential to replace.