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RD 1 - Bengals select BILLY PRICE, C


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Price is right

Posted 11 minutes ago

hobson60x60.jpgGeoff HobsonEditorBengals.comFollow Me Blog

The Bengals love their Buckeyes, but for the first time since they took Dan Wilkinson No. 1 overall 24 years ago they took one in the first round Thursday night when they snapped up Ohio State center Billy Price with the 21st pick.

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The Bengals love their Buckeyes, but for the first time since they took Dan Wilkinson No. 1 overall 24 years ago they took one in the first round Thursday night when they snapped up Ohio State center Billy Price with the 21st pick.

The 6-3, 305-pound Price also became the first center taken by Cincinnati No. 1 since Nebraska’s Dave Rimington in 1983, which works out just right since they’re look to spearhead the overhaul of their offensive line with the winner of the Rimington Award as the nation’s best center .

Price, out of Austintown, Ohio, is the first center taken in a draft filled with good ones. The Bengals’ long-shot at nabbing a tackle turned out to exactly that when Notre Dame tackle Mike McGlinchey went to San Francisco at No.  9, the impact defensive player never slid, and UCLA tackle Kolton Miller was nabbed earlier than expected. .

That presumably left Price and the draft’s other top center, Arkansas’ Frank Ragnow. There wasn’t much to choose between the two. When the Lions took Ragnow right in front of them at No. 20, it didn't matter. The Bengals moved smotrhly to Price’s impeccable resume that includes a Buckeye-record 55 straight starts and starts period, two captaincies, and the Ourlads Scouting Services observation, “Smart and instinctive who has good situational awareness … A mature and stable blocker who is productive and consistent. Will be a day one starter.”

They need an Opening Day starter with Russell Bodine in Buffalo as head coach Marvin Lewis gets a center drafted higher than the fourth round for his first time in 16 years. And Lewis anbd his coaches love Price's outsized personality.

New Bengals offensive line coach Frank Pollack has a glue guy to begin the re-build that began when they got Bills left tackle Cordy Glenn in the trade that gave them the Price pick. It’s believed Pollack is looking to tweak the way the Bengals execute their zone runs and in Price he’s got an athletic guy niftier in space than Ragnaw and a bright guy that made line calls.

The Bengals’ interior front was ripped for not being stout last year and Ourlads says Price “plays square with good knee bend and base to anchor a bull rush.”

Price suffered an incomplete tear of his pectoral muscle during the bench press at the NFL scouting combine early last month, but doctors earlier this week said he’s rehabbed from surgery well enough to be ready to go for training camp.
 
Who: Billy Price
What: Center, Ohio State
Where: First round, 21st pick
Hometown: Austintown, Ohio
Specs: 6-3, 305 pounds
Recent center draft history: 2017-J.J. Dielman, Utah, fifth round; 2014-Russell Bodine, North Carolina, fourth round; 2013-T.J. Johnson, South Carolina, seventh round  
Why: It’s believed he replaces four-year starter Russell Bodine in the wake of his departure to free agency with 64 starts.
Did you know? With 55 he passed University of Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell’s school record for starts and consecutive starts of 50, set between 1993-96. Price and Tyquan Lewis  tied center Pat Elflein’s school record for most games played by an Ohio State football player: 55.
What the experts are saying: “Price is an ultra-safe pick … He’s smart, powerful, and athletic enough to handle any of the three interior roles.” NFLDraftScout.com
 
 
 
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Why Billy Price is my NFL Draft crush for the Bengals

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The Bengals need a center they can rely on for many years to come. Billy Price can be their man.

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There is no question that center is the Bengals’ biggest need going into the draft, so their best move in Round 1 may be to simply take who they view as the best available center.

There’s a good chance that man is Ohio State’s Billy Price.

Price, who was once regarded as the top center in this draft, has seen his stock drop quite a bit in recent months after he suffered a partially torn pectoral muscle at the combine. There were concerns he could miss training camp and even open his rookie season on PUP, which would have nuked his chances of going in Round 1.

But prior to the draft, Price went to Indianpolis for medical rechecks on his injured pectoral. The recheck went very well, and now, Price’s doctors are saying he will be cleared for NFL training camps in July.

That’s great news for the Bengals, because a good argument can be made for Price being the best center in this draft and one of the best overall offensive lineman.

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With the No. 21 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the Bengals selected Billy Price, offensive lineman out of Ohio State.

Draft tracker: Get grades for every pick

CIN.pngGrade: C+

Pete Prisco: He's coming off a pec injury at the combine, but will be ready for camp. They needed a center so it makes sense.

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Scouting report

Chris Trapasso: Extremely experienced interior lineman who plays with a noticeable mean streak and power. Constantly battles. Somewhat limited lateral movement. Tremendous puller and rarely caught out of position while on the move. Susceptible to counter moves at times and can be late recognizing twists. Better as run-blocker than a pass-blocker now.

Fantasy impact

Jamey Eisenberg: TBD

NCAA recap

Dave Biddle, Bucknuts: A four-star recruit out of the Youngstown, Ohio, area, Price came to Ohio State as a defensive tackle. However, he was quickly converted to offensive line and redshirted in 2013. Then in 2014 as a redshirt freshman, he took over as the Buckeyes' starting left guard and helped OSU win the national championship that season. He remained Ohio State's starter at LG through the 2016 season, a year in which he was named first-team All-American.

In 2017, Price switched positions to center, and the transition was very smooth. He repeated as a first-team All-American and won the Rimington Award as the best center in college football. The two-time captain also set the Ohio State school record by starting a total of 55 games during his career.

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/2018-nfl-draft-grades-bengals-get-c-for-adding-billy-price-and-addressing-o-line-need/

 

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