| 15 February 2010
"Reaching based on need" is a cardinal sin and there is not a single team out there that would admit to doing it publicly.
"Yeah, we know player A is better, but we took player B just because we're atrocious at tight end."
No, but you will hear them say things like, "He was the best player on our board. It wasn't just a need pick. We live by the ‘BPA' principle. We would use the franchise tag on a kicker before we'd ever reach for a player based on need." (Whoops, bad example if you're the Bengals. But who wouldn't rather have "Shank" Graham than T.J. Houshmandzadeh? Chalk up another wise move by Mike Brown.)
In other words, front office personnel will lie through their teeth when it comes to their draft strategy. Some teams really do stay true to the best player available formula, but the majority fall into the trap of drafting based on need.
For years, the Bengals have proclaimed a "best player available" battle plan when it comes to the draft. Marvin Lewis will tell any reporter that wants to listen that they want the best football player on the board regardless of position. And there are rare cases they make good on their word - like Rey Maualuga and Michael Johnson last year. They were not looking for a linebacker or defensive end that early, but they couldn't pass up their talent. In other words, they did what good teams do.
However, far too often the Bengals draft solely based on need - and it has burned them several times. They were set on drafting a non-smallish wide receiver in the second round of the 2008 draft and they held to their plan - even though it meant taking Jerome Simpson and passing on DeSean Jackson. There are numerous other examples during the Mike Brown era.
Entering the 2010 draft, fans can expect the Bengals to once again throw the BPA strategy out the window. They are hell-bent on finding a tight end and wide receiver early.
Geoff Hobson does a great job as the editor of Bengals.com and he will drop hints from time to time on what the team is thinking. He was recently asked via email by one of his readers if the Bengals would look for a safety or pass-rusher early in the draft if a good one fell in their lap. I don't necessarily agree with the positions that the reader mentioned, but basically he was asking if the Bengals would go "best player available" or draft "based on need." Here was Hobson's response:
"Can't agree with you on this one. Their franchise quarterback just turned 30 years old without a playoff victory and he's withering on the vine without weapons. All this ‘Carson Is Done' talk is absolutely ridiculous. They've got a top five quarterback when it comes to his arm, his physical tools, experience and his track record, but they've got to get him some help.
"They don't have a guy that can stretch the field, they don't have a consistent slot receiver, and their best receiver just turned 32. Plus, their only tight end under contract, Chase Coffman is a medical mystery. So if they don't take a receiver at No. 21, it has to be a tight end. They shouldn't think defense until Saturday and the fourth round.
"Sure, they could use a pass-rusher, no question. But these guys can't score. You've got to average 23 to 24 points a game to be a factor and getting them to 20 is like listening to fingernails drag across a chalkboard. You know they can play top five defense with what they've got, particularly if they add some offense and get some people healthy.
"They could ignore the tight end issue as long as they had wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the middle of the field gobbling up every third-down throw over the middle for an offense that lived on three-receiver sets. But those days are long gone and they desperately need a young tight end that can both catch and block. They may not be able to wait beyond No. 21 to get him.
"You can make an argument for safety, but not in the first round. And, yes, they need the pass rusher at end. But you've got to have priorities and their playoff run died because they couldn't throw it, not because they couldn't stop it."
OK, here are my thoughts: Hobson makes great (yet obvious) points that the Bengals and Palmer need a WR to stretch the field and they need a non-scrub tight end. However, he acts as if the only way to accomplish these things is through the draft.
Listen, Aaron Hernandez from Florida might be a great tight end and many are projecting that the Bengals will take him at pick No. 21. And if he's the best player available, that's great. What I don't want to happen is for the Bengals to go into the draft saying, "Alright, we need a TE and the WR in the first two rounds, period." But that sounds like exactly what they are doing. That's how you end up with players like Simpson and Coffman on your roster, mistakes that good front offices would learn from.
Hernandez seems like he might be a solid pick, but it would be foolish for the Bengals to reach on a wide receiver in the second round. If there is a good one there whose draft grade is the second round, take him. But Bengal fans are begging you to not reach for anyone - especially that early in the draft. There are always players that fall right into your lap that you are not expecting. The good teams are not afraid to draft them even if they are well-stocked at that particular position. The bad organizations draft based on need.
There are things called free agency and trades if you need to fill some holes. The draft is the best way to build a roster - no question about it - but that doesn't justify reaching for players based on need.
(Also, I have to say Hobson was being kind calling Coffman a "medical mystery." Others - like me - might just call him a bust and leave it at that.)
I want the Bengals to get a game-breaking wide receiver as much as anyone. I usually hate the idea of trading up in the draft, but I am endorsing that idea this year if it means landing Dez Bryant. He will be a great value for anyone if he slips past the first 10 picks. No way he slips to No. 21 though, so the Bengals would have to trade up to get him.
I also want a good tight end, but are you telling me if a stud defensive player falls into the Bengals lap in the first three rounds, they shouldn't even consider it? I strongly disagree. I am a BPA guy all the way and it's too bad the Bengals often stray from what they proclaim is their draft strategy. Of course they don't "need" a defensive player early. But if there is a future Pro Bowler there, you take him, or you live to regret it. When in doubt -- all things being equal -- draft based on need. All other occasions, draft the best player available.
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