| 23 April 2010
After sleeping on it, I've started to warm up to the Jermaine Gresham pick a bit. The problem I still have is the Bengals always claiming to take the best player available, when we know they almost-always draft based on need. I saw this one coming a mile away and I shouldn't have been upset when the Bengals decided to pass on Dez Bryant. I still think the Cowboys got the steal of the draft getting Bryant at pick No. 24. The guy is extremely talented and doesn't have as much baggage as some would lead you to believe. He's a bit of a diva, but that's usually the case with the top NFL wideouts. Larry Fitzgerald and Reggie Wayne are the exception to the rule. Most of the best wide receivers have some diva in them - as every Bengals fan knows from following Chad Ochocinco's career.
But I digress...
Gresham is a Bengal and the team clearly got the best tight end in the draft. It does mean something when you land the best player at a certain position in the draft, especially when it's your biggest position of need. (Again, I hate drafting based on need though. That's how teams get themselves into trouble.)
Furthermore, Gresham would have been taken higher in this draft if he wasn't coming off a season-ending injury to his right knee. He was considered by far the nation's best tight end following his excellent junior season at Oklahoma in 2008 when he racked up 66 receptions for 950 yards and 13 touchdowns (including the only two TDs the Sooners scored in the national championship game against Florida).
He also has great size at 6-5 ½, 258 pounds, catches the ball extremely well and runs well.
The downside is his blocking (not terrible, but not great) and his injury history. In addition to the right knee injury last year, he tore his left ACL in high school. Not exactly the medical history you want out of a first-round pick.
But again, I am slowly warming up to this pick because there is no question Gresham is very talented and the Bengals desperately needed a tight end. Carson Palmer is certainly happy about the decision to take Gresham.
It will be fun to see what the Bengals do tonight with their second-round selection and their two third-round picks. I absolutely love the new three-day draft format.
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