The Open For Business Draft Thread 2025 Edition

[|SF2|]

18 hours ago, texbengal said:

Michigan has 2 DTs - Manson Graham and Kenneth Grant. Currently Graham is the better player, IMO Grant may have a higher ceiling, he’s a heckuva athlete for a 330 pound guy. Issue for me is, Bengals already swing for guys like CTB and Murphy as “traits” guys but I want guys with a history of productivity, so for me, that’s Graham. Another intriguing inside guy is at Texas - Vernon Broughton. Impressive get-off and he can collapse the pocket. 
 

They just need guys who can play. They don’t have nearly enough of those. 

Pick the first guy that is capable of pushing an offensive lineman back 5 yards.  That is all I am asking.  So tired of looking at our interior d lineman slow dancing with the o lineman. 

[I_C_Deadpeople]

If it was me, our first 4 picks would be DE, IOL, IOL, DT (no particular order). F*ck the "premier" positions for now. Protect Joe and build a DL that can pressure thier QB. And sign Chase and Trey. 

[KA14_HOF]

23 minutes ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

If it was me, our first 4 picks would be DE, IOL, IOL, DT (no particular order). F*ck the "premier" positions for now. Protect Joe and build a DL that can pressure thier QB. And sign Chase and Trey. 

 

Amen!

[|BlackJesus|]

Use every draft pick on defense (except 1 or 2 for G's)

 

[sparky151]

1 hour ago, BlackJesus said:

Use every draft pick on defense (except 1 or 2 for G's)

 

 

As Dehner points out, the Bengals have used 9 of their last 11 top 100 picks on defense (Mims and Burton were the 2 offensive players). None of the 9 players have become stars yet or even above average starters.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5961472/2024/12/01/bengals-loss-defense-Stealers/

 

 

[Jamie_B]

12 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

 

As Dehner points out, the Bengals have used 9 of their last 11 top 100 picks on defense (Mims and Burton were the 2 offensive players). None of the 9 players have become stars yet or even above average starters.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5961472/2024/12/01/bengals-loss-defense-Stealers/

 

 

 

 

This is my exact point.

 

The Taylor Regime had a defense that was good when it was FAs that we brought in or with Marvin's guys

 

The drafting at least on D, with these coaches HAS BEEN BAD

 

So when your Vets start getting old and washed or guys leave the guys that were supposed to step into their place are not good, you get what we are seeing now.

 

So if you want to tell me the coaching is the problem, I will disagree, if you want to tell me the coaching helping find the talent they need has been a big problem, I am 100% on board with that.

[sparky151]

The Bengals have bigger problems than the poor play of the defensive players.

 

But since that's the focus here, this would be my offseason plan:

 

On the offensive side, tag and trade Tee. Try to re-sign Gesicki. Look for a veteran RG to upgrade from Cappa. Use a 3rd to 5th round draft pick to reinforce the RB room, it's a good draft at that position. Notably, we don't use a high pick or big money free agent at WR. We'll have Volson and Karras for 2025 but they aren't signed beyond that so we should draft a guard early if possible. We should also find out this year what Matt Lee brings at center.

 

The defense is a mess. Beyond the necessary coaching changes, we have 1 high end D-lineman, a couple of decent starting LBs with no depth behind them, and not much in the secondary. I'd let Hill, Hilton, and Bell walk and cut Hubbard, Stone, and Rankins. Pray for some improvement from Jenkins, Jackson, Murphy, Newton, Battle, Dax, and Turner. They'll all be getting a fair amount of snaps next year. Maybe Anderson, Ivey, or CTB improve too. But hope is not a strategy. We have major needs at LDE, NT, CB, and FS. And that's assuming Jenkins and Dax are average starters at 3T and NCB. We'll have a top 10 or so pick in each round, probably an extra 2nd for Tee, and 60 mil or so to spend on defensive free agents. Trades should be considered but the Bengals probably aren't creative enough to find solutions there. We should be able to sign a couple of high end defenders plus add a first and second round player.

 

Maybe we end up with something like this.

 

Round 1 DE-FA DT-Jenkins-Hendrickson

 

Wilson-Pratt

 

FA CB - Dax- Turner/CTB

 Battle-Round 2 FS

 

The rookies might be Nick Scourton and Xavier Watts, the free agents could be lots of people. Or maybe we trade Tee plus Jake Browning for Dexter Lawrence or something like that. Etc. 

[|BlackJesus|]

While Mims was my first draft wish for pick 18, there is a reason DeJean was my 2nd option ... 

 

https://x.com/_MLFootball/status/1863374958258270292

(Won't embed, because GB is broken like the defense is)

[Jamie_B]

GB isnt broken, it's twitter from what I understand?

[Cricket]

On 12/1/2024 at 5:31 PM, KA14_HOF said:

 

At this point, we'd better.

 

We're now in competition with 17 other teams for draft position. Something tells me we will find a way screw even this up by winning our next 4 games.

 

 

For the Bengals it doesn’t matter if we draft 5th or 15th, as the player we would over-draft at 5 will still be available at 15.    1/2 🥷

 

 

[Griever]

[|High School Harry|]

I see them winning just enough games to screw up the draft choice

and taking the next Mild Murphy.

OR hot rat wide receiver and the next Jackson Carman in the second.

[|BlackJesus|]

Ok here is my second draft crush to go alongside RG Tate Ratledge, who is also from Georgia ...

 

DE Mykel Williams, 6'5, 265 lbs, other-worldly wingspan, cut like a DB, juice off the edge

[UncleEarl]

2 hours ago, BlackJesus said:

Ok here is my second draft crush to go alongside RG Tate Ratledge, who is also from Georgia ...

 

DE Mykel Williams, 6'5, 265 lbs, other-worldly wingspan, cut like a DB, juice off the edge

Smells a lot like another underwear olympics prospect.  Rather see a guy who actually produces, you know, a football player.

[|BlackJesus|]

6 minutes ago, UncleEarl said:

Smells a lot like another underwear olympics prospect.  Rather see a guy who actually produces, you know, a football player.

 

Don't you dare compare Mykel to that soft scrub Murphy. 

 

Mykel was the Maxwell Football National High School Defensive Player of the Year. A five star prospect, and #4 recruit in the entire 2022 recruiting class. He is a football player. He's also only 20 years old. 

[UncleEarl]

1 minute ago, BlackJesus said:

 

Don't you dare compare Mykel to that soft scrub Murphy. 

 

Mykel was the Maxwell Football National High School Defensive Player of the Year. A five star prospect, and #4 recruit in the entire 2022 recruiting class. He is a football player. He's also only 20 years old. 

Who cares.  Make plays.  The guy only has 4.5 sacks and two were in one game.  Not even in top 5 for sacks in SEC.  Pass.  This is exactly the kind of guys the Bengals keep drafting and they turn into Murphys.  Go get a guy that actually has a motor and is a force every single game.

[Dautcom08]

1 hour ago, BlackJesus said:

 

Don't you dare compare Mykel to that soft scrub Murphy. 

 

Mykel was the Maxwell Football National High School Defensive Player of the Year. A five star prospect, and #4 recruit in the entire 2022 recruiting class. He is a football player. He's also only 20 years old. 

 

The bolded above means nothing absolutely nothing:

 

[claptonrocks]

On 12/3/2024 at 12:50 AM, Cricket said:

 

 

For the Bengals it doesn’t matter if we draft 5th or 15th, as the player we would over-draft at 5 will still be available at 15.    1/2 🥷

 

 

Not really 

[claptonrocks]

On 11/25/2024 at 8:18 PM, claptonrocks said:

Your sure a 9-8 team won't make it?

I see them winning 5 of 6 on down the stretch run

 

Why?

Because not one of their future opponents are better than them

 

In JB I trust.

 

This aged badly ..😡

 

[claptonrocks]

4 hours ago, BlackJesus said:

Ok here is my second draft crush to go alongside RG Tate Ratledge, who is also from Georgia ...

 

DE Mykel Williams, 6'5, 265 lbs, other-worldly wingspan, cut like a DB, juice off the edge

Id go Mason Graham ,first to solidify the Dline along with Jenkins .

Tate Rutledge would be my 2nd pick to

take the place of Either guard going forward.

[sparky151]

Mason Graham is a better football player than Mykel Williams. But he also plays basically the same position as Jenkins. Neither is really a NT. Kenneth Grant plays that position for Michigan and will likely be a later first round pick himself. 

 

If we get a shot at Abdul Carter, we should grab him. He's a poor man's Micah Parsons. Ratledge would be ok in round 3 or later but he's probably not a 2nd rounder. 

[Jamie_B]

Here is Mel Kiper and Field Yates top 10

 

[I_C_Deadpeople]

I am pretty sure we will pick Carson Beck with our first pick. 

[Randle P McMurphy]

20 minutes ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

I am pretty sure we will pick Carson Beck with our first pick. 

 

I don't know.  There's a 6 '4" 145 lb. WR that plays at Yeehaw Junction University that runs a 4.1 40 yard dash!  

[texbengal]

On 12/5/2024 at 11:15 AM, sparky151 said:

Mason Graham is a better football player than Mykel Williams. But he also plays basically the same position as Jenkins. Neither is really a NT. Kenneth Grant plays that position for Michigan and will likely be a later first round pick himself. 

 

If we get a shot at Abdul Carter, we should grab him. He's a poor man's Micah Parsons. Ratledge would be ok in round 3 or later but he's probably not a 2nd rounder. 

Mason Graham isn't a huge guy, true - but I think Kenneth Grant is more of a projection - terrific athlete but not the instant impact guy that Graham could be, IMO. I think you want guys inside who can affect both the run and the pass, and Graham can do that more consistently than Grant. They do need more ballast inside, particularly if Jackson doesn't pan out, but at pick # ten or wherever they pick, I hope they take the best defensive guy. I like Vernon Broughton of U of Texas as an inside guy, too. And the guy from Oregon (brain cramp, forget his name) isn'r someone I've watched much, but he's highly regarded and I plan to watch the Penn St vs. Oregon game on Saturday. 

I've watched Penn St/Abdul Carter quite a bit and I think your description as a poor man's Parson is pretty accurate. He's a tremendous athlete who can can make game-affecting plays, and that's what the Bengals need. Never gonna be a great run defender necessarily, but I've still seen him affect the run game by getting to spots and affecting the RB's path (so others can make the tackle).

Bottom line, I'd prefer Graham, but Carter would be a nice add if Graham weren't the choice.