Rookie Report Card (so far)

[Jamie_B]

Saw this and thought it was interesting.

 

https://lastwordonsports.com/nfl/2023/11/21/cincinnati-bengals-2023-rookie-report-card/

 

Cincinnati Bengals 2023 Rookie Report Card

Myles Murphy – EDGE / Grade: C

The Bengals first overall pick of their 2023 draft class was supposed to be eased into his role along the defensive line. These plans were foiled when Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard suffered injuries midway through the season. Murphy started slowly and was getting displaced consistently by almost anyone trying to block him. He’s picking up steam over his last three games and has six solo tackles with one sack in 10 games played. It must be noted that Murphy is only 21 years old and has plenty of time to blossom into the player the Bengals hope.

DJ Turner II – CB / Grade: A

Turner has been fantastic for the Bengals since his playing time gradually increased as Chidobe Awuzie was slowly brought back from his ACL tear suffered last year. Turner is lightning-fast and excels at tracking the ball in the air when he’s initially beaten.

 

 

The Bengals love to draft defensive backs early in the draft, and it seems they hit another home run with the pick of Turner.

Jordan Battle – S / Grade: B

Another player whose playing time has increased over the last several games has been safety, Jordan Battle. He has seemingly replaced the original starter, Nick Scott and the results have been encouraging thus far. Battle has excellent closing speed and the ability to quickly process plays at the line of scrimmage. Sophomore Dax Hill and Battle are the future in protecting the backend of the defense for Cincinnati.

 

Charlie Jones – WR/PR / Grade: B

The Bengals drafted Jones for his prowess as a wide receiver and punt returner. Jones has had a bigger role in the latter and just returned from IR after suffering a broken thumb in Week 4. When the ball is in his hands in the open field, he’s electric and has the chance to take any punt the distance as evident in Week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens.

Jones should get more snaps as a wideout to help give Jake Browning ample options in the passing game.

Chase Brown – RB / Grade: C+

The former Illinois product was drafted to compete for the third-down running back spot with incumbent Trayveon Williams. Brown has shown some positive signs in both the run game and pass-blocking aspects but like Jones, has been hampered by injury. The share of snaps the rest of the way may go his way over Williams, and the Bengals activated him off of IR which is a positive sign.

 

Andrei Iosivas – WR / Grade: B

The Bengals only Ivy League player, and he’s been as impressive as his education at wide receiver. When Joe Burrow was healthy and rolling, he raved about the knack Iosivas has with subtle movements to get open. He also has great feel when plays break down. This has shown with two touchdowns on scramble drills. Iosivas may be the replacement for Tee Higgins if Cincinnati loses him this offseason.

Brad Robbins – P / Grade: D

Robbins bested Drue Chrisman in training camp and started slowly to begin his career. He’s struggling with punting distance average and pinning teams deep when the opportunity arises. Simply put, the Bengals need more, and they might be in the market for a punter again next season.

DJ Ivey – CB / Grade: Incomplete

Ivey impressed the Bengals in the draft process with his length and physicality at the cornerback position. Ivey has been on the game-day inactive list for every contest this season in what seems to be a redshirt year. Look for him to earn a high grade in 2024.

[claptonrocks]

Love to see more of Ivey to see how he responds .

Hes intriguing..

 

[|High School Harry|]

Ain't gonna happen but I would still trade Murphy for a second if we could get it or a third and use it to trade up.

Not impressed.

Don't like the using the year to learn stuff.

Should be closer to plug in and play.

Trade him and get better this year.

[claptonrocks]

4 minutes ago, High School Harry said:

Ain't gonna happen but I would still trade Murphy for a second if we could get it or a third and use it to trade up.

Not impressed.

Don't like the using the year to learn stuff.

Should be closer to plug in and play.

Trade him and get better this year.

I see a young kid (21) that has the physical attributes to become a solid DE..

Cant condem him for his little usage up to now.

Let him grow into his role.

 

 

[Jamie_B]

I've been frustrated with Murphy's lack of contribution so far too, but trading him this quickly is insane. 

[Le Tigre]

Trying to force the idea of Andrei Whatzit into a Tee replacement, is a fool’s game. He isn’t in Tee’s area code 

[spicoli]

1 minute ago, Le Tigre said:

Trying to force the idea of Andrei Whatzit into a Tee replacement, is a fool’s game. He isn’t in Tee’s area code 

Who says that’s gonna be an actual thing? 

[Le Tigre]

55 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

Iosivas may be the replacement for Tee Higgins if Cincinnati loses him this offseason

[claptonrocks]

34 minutes ago, spicoli said:

Who says that’s gonna be an actual thing? 

Who else would it be...Irwin?

[spicoli]

24 minutes ago, claptonrocks said:

Who else would it be...Irwin?

Most likely another 2nd round WR will be added to the mix if I had to bet on it. Yoshi and Irwin are complementary players, I don’t see that changing. 
 

[spicoli]

38 minutes ago, Le Tigre said:

1 hour ago, Jamie_B said:

Iosivas may be the replacement for Tee Higgins if Cincinnati loses him this offseason

Well if Will Koshover says it, then it must surely be true 👍

[|High School Harry|]

2 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

I've been frustrated with Murphy's lack of contribution so far too, but trading him this quickly is insane. 

Let's say drafting Murphy last year was a mistake.

We trade him and use the pick (if its a 3rd) to trade

up in the first round and get the OLman we should have

taken last year.

We're up a quality O Lineman only a year late and we

don't have to be waiting for Murphy to develop on the

remainder of his first round draft choice salary.

I mean, we're already paying a second round draft choice to

be inactive every week,.

Is a second year Murphy going to be better than a top 10 O lineman?

[Jamie_B]

6 minutes ago, High School Harry said:

Let's say drafting Murphy last year was a mistake.

We trade him and use the pick (if its a 3rd) to trade

up in the first round and get the OLman we should have

taken last year.

We're up a quality O Lineman only a year late and we

don't have to be waiting for Murphy to develop on the

remainder of his first round draft choice salary.

I mean, we're already paying a second round draft choice to

be inactive every week,.

Is a second year Murphy going to be better than a top 10 O lineman?

 

I think it's WAY too early to determine if it was a mistake.

 

Here are his stats so far

Regular Season

					Games		Def Interceptions					Fumbles						Tackles
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Int	Yds	IntTD	Lng	PD	FF	Fmb	FR	Yds	FRTD	Sk	Comb	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sfty	AV
2023	21	CIN	DE	99	10	0			0			0	0	0	0	0	1.0	8	6	2	1	1
Career					10				0							0	1.0	8	6	2	1	1

 

For reference is here Hendrickson's rookie numbers.

 

					Games		Def Interceptions					Fumbles						Tackles
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Int	Yds	IntTD	Lng	PD	FF	Fmb	FR	Yds	FRTD	Sk	Comb	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sfty	AV	Awards
2017	23	NOR	LB	91	12	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	2.0	13	7	6	2	5		1

 

 

 

And here is Hubbard

					Games		Def Interceptions					Fumbles						Tackles
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Int	Yds	IntTD	Lng	PD	FF	Fmb	FR	Yds	FRTD	Sk	Comb	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sfty	AV
2018	23	CIN	DE	94	16	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	19	1	6.0	39	27	12	7	9		2

[|High School Harry|]

4 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

 

I think it's WAY too early to determine if it was a mistake.

 

For reference is here Hendrickson's rookie numbers.

 

					Games		Def Interceptions					Fumbles						Tackles
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Int	Yds	IntTD	Lng	PD	FF	Fmb	FR	Yds	FRTD	Sk	Comb	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sfty	AV	Awards
2017	23	NOR	LB	91	12	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	2.0	13	7	6	2	5		1

 

 

 

And here is Hubbard

					Games		Def Interceptions					Fumbles						Tackles
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Int	Yds	IntTD	Lng	PD	FF	Fmb	FR	Yds	FRTD	Sk	Comb	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sfty	AV
2018	23	CIN	DE	94	16	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	19	1	6.0	39	27	12	7	9		2

With all due respect, and I truly mean that... I am so freakin' sick of stats.

"Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics" ~ Mark Twain

All I care about is W's and L's.

[Jamie_B]

3 minutes ago, High School Harry said:

With all due respect, and I truly mean that... I am so freakin' sick of stats.

"Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics" ~ Mark Twain

All I care about is W's and L's.

 

Ok but W's and L's are a team thing. 

[T-Dub]

Murphy's behind some very talented vets. Im sure he'd be starting on a shittier defense. He was a hedge against losing some of those in FA.

 

Whether he was the smart pick given team needs and the available draft pool is still an unanswered question. 

[gupps]

4 hours ago, spicoli said:

Most likely another 2nd round WR will be added to the mix if I had to bet on it. Yoshi and Irwin are complementary players, I don’t see that changing. 
 

 

With all our problems, if we draft a WR before the 4th round or so I'm going to blow a gasket. Take a waiver on a speedster in the later rounds, or better yet, get Jones and Yoshi involved.

[T-Dub]

13 minutes ago, gupps said:

 

With all our problems, if we draft a WR before the 4th round or so I'm going to blow a gasket. Take a waiver on a speedster in the later rounds, or better yet, get Jones and Yoshi involved.

 

Expect to see them franchise Higgins and then draft a WR in the top of the first round. 

[sparky151]

Tag Tee and extend him. His market value has certainly dropped this season. He won't be close to a thousand yards at the end of the year, a number he hit last year. 

 

Murphy was a poor pick at the time and became even worse when Hendrickson was extended for another year. We returned our top 10 defensive linemen so we should have made better use of the pick. But the Bengals somehow convinced themselves he was a steal and rushed the pick in without considering the offers from the teams trying to trade into the back end of round 1 for a QB. 

 

It's not about taking the best player available, it's about taking the player who improves the team the most. When you have the worst TE room in the league, Mayer was a much better choice than Murphy. Or they could have traded Jonah when he asked for it and picked Dawand Jones whose run blocking scores are worse but whose pass blocking scores are better than Jonah or OBjr's . 

[Jamie_B]

19 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

Tag Tee and extend him. His market value has certainly dropped this season. He won't be close to a thousand yards at the end of the year, a number he hit last year. 

 

Murphy was a poor pick at the time and became even worse when Hendrickson was extended for another year. We returned our top 10 defensive linemen so we should have made better use of the pick. But the Bengals somehow convinced themselves he was a steal and rushed the pick in without considering the offers from the teams trying to trade into the back end of round 1 for a QB. 

 

It's not about taking the best player available, it's about taking the player who improves the team the most. When you have the worst TE room in the league, Mayer was a much better choice than Murphy. Or they could have traded Jonah when he asked for it and picked Dawand Jones whose run blocking scores are worse but whose pass blocking scores are better than Jonah or OBjr's . 

 

 

Tee isnt losing a dime. His year has been down because of an injury to himself and his QB, nobody in the league thinks he isn't getting paid.

 

In fact .... NFL Players Name Tee Higgins League's Most Underrated Player

 

 

[gupps]

13 hours ago, T-Dub said:

 

Expect to see them franchise Higgins and then draft a WR in the top of the first round. 

 

 Wouldn't surprise me a bit. 

 

Seriously, if they tag Tee I hope it's for a trade. As much as I'd like to keep him the money could be better spent elsewhere. How mush is a new OL coach running these days? Asking for a friend. 

[|High School Harry|]

14 hours ago, T-Dub said:

 

Expect to see them franchise Higgins and then draft a WR in the top of the first round. 

This is exactly what I see them doing.

Going all the way back the Bengals always fall in love with a flashy wide receiver.

And they'll dumpster dive free agency for the next O linemen.

[Le Tigre]

1 hour ago, gupps said:

As much as I'd like to keep him the money could be better spent elsewhere.

The Forever Statement. Never answered. The other is: “…at a reasonable price”.
 

Other than lining Uno’s pockets a bit deeper, I wonder just where this enormous sum of savings is going to be dumped? 
 

Asking rhetorically, Gupps, not directed at you. 

[I_C_Deadpeople]

14 hours ago, sparky151 said:

Tag Tee and extend him. His market value has certainly dropped this season. He won't be close to a thousand yards at the end of the year, a number he hit last year. 

 

Murphy was a poor pick at the time and became even worse when Hendrickson was extended for another year. We returned our top 10 defensive linemen so we should have made better use of the pick. But the Bengals somehow convinced themselves he was a steal and rushed the pick in without considering the offers from the teams trying to trade into the back end of round 1 for a QB. 

 

It's not about taking the best player available, it's about taking the player who improves the team the most. When you have the worst TE room in the league, Mayer was a much better choice than Murphy. Or they could have traded Jonah when he asked for it and picked Dawand Jones whose run blocking scores are worse but whose pass blocking scores are better than Jonah or OBjr's . 

With the exception of OL, our drafting over the last number of years has been very good. We all bashed the personnel staff but they have upped theoir game at the draft table and at picking up free agents. I think our past few drafts would rate in the top 10 in the league - you can't jsut pick at one specific drfated players and say we should have picked this guy or that guy instead. It's a muggs game and every team could do it with virtually every pick. Look at the defensive backfield over the past few years - we drafted Bates, Hill, Turner and CTB AND picked up Chido (sp) and Bell as free agents. That is good player selections. And Battle could be included. 

 

With the draft, every team could do the coulda, woulda, shoulda. I am fine with how we draft other then the fact we cant find a OL even though our QB's career depends on it. It is like how we could not find one decent LB for like 10 years even with Zimmer and Merv here. 

 

Just be glad we dont have a Mike Mayock here or anyone with the last name of Lippencott. 

 

 

[Jamie_B]

6 minutes ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

With the exception of OL, our drafting over the last number of years has been very good. We all bashed the personnel staff but they have upped theoir game at the draft table and at picking up free agents. I think our past few drafts would rate in the top 10 in the league - you can't jsut pick at one specific drfated players and say we should have picked this guy or that guy instead. It's a muggs game and every team could do it with virtually every pick. Look at the defensive backfield over the past few years - we drafted Bates, Hill, Turner and CTB AND picked up Chido (sp) and Bell as free agents. That is good player selections. And Battle could be included. 

 

With the draft, every team could do the coulda, woulda, shoulda. I am fine with how we draft other then the fact we cant find a OL even though our QB's career depends on it. It is like how we could not find one decent LB for like 10 years even with Zimmer and Merv here. 

 

Just be glad we dont have a Mike Mayock here or anyone with the last name of Lippencott. 

 

 

 

 

The question going forward, specifically with the relationship to FAs and the Draft, is now that Joe is paid and we are getting ready to pay Jamar, what do the finances around other FAs look like? Are we going to have to go cheaper and pick up the Nick Scotts of the world while relying on the draft more for the talent that we need to be starting? Or will they continue to be spenders in FA? That may require they get creative with contracts, and that is something the Bengals have not changed in how they do business. This means that we might be more reliant on the draft than FA for finding talent, and that means the smallest scouting department in the league might have to get bigger.