| 25 April 2010
The third day of the NFL Draft started out well enough for the Bengals on Saturday. With a pair of fourth-round picks, Cincinnati landed defensive tackle Geno Atkins from Georgia and linebacker Rodderick Muckelroy from Texas. Both of these players were extremely productive in good college programs and I thought they were solid picks. They weren't tremendous values - but they weren't reaches either - and they have a chance to play as rookies.
The Bengals need a legit fourth defensive tackle behind Domata Peko, Tank Johnson and Pat Sims and it looks like Atkins will fill that void. He's undersized at 6-foot-1, 295 pounds, but he is very powerful and quick.
The Bengals also have Jonathan Fanene who can play defensive tackle, but the team prefers to use him at his best position of strong-side defensive end. So, it looks like Atkins will fill out the two deep at defensive tackle. Fourth-round picks almost-always make the active roster.
Muckelroy (6-1, 240) isn't extremely athletic, but he was Texas' leading tackler the last two seasons and adds quality depth to what is already a very good group of linebackers. Muckelroy might not be needed very much this season, but with so many of the Bengals' linebackers in the final years of their contracts, some depth for the future was needed and Muckelroy was a solid pick.
And just when you thought the Bengals were going to have a great final day of the draft, they reverted back to their old selves in the fifth round and took a player that was projected an undrafted free agent by every draft service I can think of. He is none other than offensive lineman Otis Hudson (6-5, 312) from Eastern Illinois.
Hudson couldn't crack the starting lineup at the college football juggernaut Minnesota his first two years and then transferred to Eastern Illinois where he started at right tackle for two years. He will be used at right guard by the Bengals. And then after he doesn't make the team and is released in early September, he will be signed to the practice squad.
And then we will continue to wonder why the hell Cincinnati didn't take one of the safeties that were still on the board like Larry Asante from Nebraska or Reshad Jones from Georgia. Safety was thought to be the Bengals' biggest need entering the second day. I was glad they didn't reach for one in the fourth round - I have already made my feelings clear on reaching based on need in the draft. That's what bad teams do.
However, Asante or Jones wouldn't have been reaches in the fifth round AND they would have filled a need. Each of them were projected to be fourth-or fifth-round picks by most scouting services, so they actually would have been good value there. Instead, the Bengals dislocated their shoulder reaching for Hudson ... and then Asante and Jones went off the board 8 and 11 picks later, respectively.
This has Paul Alexander and his poor eye for OL scouting written all over it. Bengals.com printed a couple of hilarious comments (well, they were being serious, but I found it highly amusing) regarding Alexander and the Hudson pick.
Here is one:
"Hudson wasn't a scouting service darling - he wasn't even listed in Jerry Jones' The DrugStore List - but that has never been the M.O. of offensive line coach Paul Alexander. Hudson is far from a polished prospect but Alexander likes the possibilities."
Yeah, the "M.O." of Alexander is more like taking guys like Eric Ghiaciuc in the fourth round in 2005 and then selecting Adam Kieft a round later. Alexander was talking those guys up after that particular draft like they were future Pro Bowlers. He sounded like he graduated from the same college that they did or something. Oh yeah, he did. Central Michigan. I remember thinking, "OK, no more allowing Alexander to pick scrubs from his alma mater, or from any college program really." (In Kieft's defense, injuries prevented him from really getting a chance, but Ghiaciuc fully lived up to bust status.)
Alexander also likes to roll with picks like Levi Jones, who was projected to go late in the first round in the 2001 draft. However, based on Alexander's glowing recommendation, they reached for him with the No. 10 overall pick. And then even re-signed him to a ridiculous contract a few years later. Ouch.
Here is another gem from Bengals.com which apparently wants its readers to believe Alexander is some type of O-line guru, despite his history of questionable picks:
"Alexander isn't one to look at scouting services for his recommendations," the website wrote.
Yep, he would rather screw it up all by himself.
And don't forget, the Bengals didn't even want Andrew Whitworth in the second round in 2006. They wanted a TE and only took Whitworth when Anthony Fasano - who would have been a horrible pick - was taken two picks ahead of them by the Cowboys. So, the Bengals were like, "What the hell, we'll take Whitworth" and it ended up being the best OL pick of the Marvin Lewis era. They backed into that one my friends. But credit them for at least getting one right.
Anyway, as for that head-scratcher of a fifth-round pick, excuse me if I don't buy the "trust Paul Alexander" line. If he had proven he has a good eye for talent, I'd feel different. But it's been the exact opposite.
The Bengals needed a safety in this draft. Their starters -- FS Chris Crocker (30) and SS Roy Williams (29) -- are getting up there in age. The backups are young in FS Tom Nelson (23) and SS Chinedum Ndukwe (25) but the Bengals could have used a safety in the fifth round to push those guys for a spot. Instead, they reached for an offensive lineman that likely won't make the team unless every scouting service was wrong and Paul Alexander was right.
In the sixth round, I liked the Bengals' pick of Kansas wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe (6-2, 207) who has good size and speed, and was highly productive in college. There are some minor off-the-field issues, but there is no risk with a sixth-rounder. The signing bonus is so small that if he acts up, they can cut his ass no questions asked. But for a sixth-round pick, that was pretty solid. That makes two straight years where the Bengals landed good value in the sixth round. They struck gold with running back Bernard Scott last year and also landed cornerback Morgan Trent (who I think will get beaten out by 2010 third-round pick Brandon Ghee for the No. 3 cornerback role this year, but did have a somewhat solid rookie year).
In the seventh round, the Bengals took C/G Reggie Stevens (6-3, 333) from Iowa State.
Overall, I think it was a good not great draft for the Bengals and I'd give them a B. They had extra picks in the third and fourth round, so that automatically gave them an advantage heading into this draft. I thought they did a solid job for the most part and it will be interesting to see how many of these guys play as rookies.
The way I look at it, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is a very happy man because he landed four players in the first four rounds that could all potentially help right away. Carlos Dunlap is going to be in the rotation at DE and Ghee is likely to see the field as the No. 3 or No. 4 corner. Then Atkins will likely be the No. 4 DT and Muckelroy can step in if there are any injuries at linebacker.
Offensively, the Bengals landed two players that will need to help right away: tight end Jermaine Gresham and wide receiver Jordan Shipley. Gresham needs to be the starting TE. If he's not, that pick will already look bad. However, given the fact that he will have to beat out Dan Coats and Chase Coffman, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Then the next question will be just how productive can Gresham be right away? Can he really be the threat over the middle in short and intermediate routes that Carson Palmer has been hoping for? The Bengals are banking on it.
Then Shipley will likely have a shot at winning the No. 3 wide receiver job over Andre Caldwell, who seems to be running in slow motion at times on the football field. Then again, Caldwell made several clutch grabs last year and has to be considered the favorite to be the No. 3. But Shipley will push him for the job and Shipley might end up as the No. 4. Shipley will also compete with his former Texas teammate Quan Cosby, 2008 second-round bust Jerome Simpson and free agent signee Matt Jones for playing time at WR.
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