NFL Draft--Day One
Brief notes on the Bengals Draft (day one):
1. Nice pick with Leon Hall (CB-Michigan), arguably the best in a weak class for corners (he is more polished that Darrelle Revis and he doesn't have any extraneous "e"s in his name). Also a solid character guy. The knock on Hall is that he can't cover elite speed receivers downfield (exhibit A--Ted Ginn Jr.), but I think that will be Jonathon Joseph's job, Hall will be asked to cover possession guys and play some zone.
2. On Revis, every mock draft I saw had Hall going first and Revis second, but most experts had the two closely ranked so I wasn't surprised that Revis went first. I was a little suprised that the Jets traded up and took Revis. Aren't they a Cover-2 team? Wouldn't Hall, who has been compared to Ronde Barber, have made more sense?
3. Mark Curnutte of the Cincinnati Enquirer blasted the Kenny Irons pick in the second round. Why? I would have liked a defender too, but what if Rudi Johnson gets hurt? Perry is a IR All-Star and Kenny Watson is a third-down back at best. Would I have preferred a linebacker or D-lineman? Sure, but who? The linebackers left on the board would have been a reach (the next linebacker taken was Quincy Black who went 68th overall--19 picks later--to Tampa).
Curnutte felt the Bengals should have grabbed a D-lineman:
"They passed on versatile defensive lineman Ray McDonald of Florida; he can play tackle and end. Georgia end Charles Johnson, at 270 pounds, could have added pass rush with an explosive first step. Turk McBride, a defensive tackle from Tennessee, went at No. 54 to Kansas City. Defensive end Tim Crowder of Nebraska went 56th to Denver."
Huh? McDonald wasn't selected until the end of the 3rd round (97th overall) after sixth other DEs that were also available when the Bengals selected. He missed much of the 2005 season with not one, but two injuries to his right knee. I think we can say he would have been a huge reach at pick 49. Ditto Charles Johnson who was drafted in the third round with the 83rd overall pick. Tim Crowder at least wound up being a second round pick (56th overall, to Denver)--so I can see arguing that he would have been a good value for the Bengals, but where will he play? Cincinnati has invested big money in Justin Smith and Robert Geathers. Smith can play all downs at one DE spot, and Geathers is an accomplished pass rusher on the other side. That means the Bengals need a run stuffer to spell Geathers and depth behind both. They just drafted Frostee Rucker last year in the third round and have Bryan Robinson as well. I think a DE in round 2 would have been a luxury pick.
A DT would have been good given the age of guys like Sam Adams and John Thornton. Curnutte suggested Turk McBride from Tennessee, but at 6' 2", 277 lbs. he is undersized and some consider him a better fit at DE. The other DTs on the board at the time slid into the third round, so they would have been reaches as well.
