Thoughts on Draft

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We are two days away from the NFL Draft, Lockout version 2011. Cincy Sports just put out the final edition of the Big Board and there are some differences in the status quo of other sites player rankings that seem to follow suit with Todd McShay and Mel Kiper of ESPN. For one Cam Newton is rated 33rd on the board. I just do not think he has the tools to be an elite NFL QB. Bill Parcells gave the numbers of QB's that are taken in the first round and their success rate and the results are staggering. Only about 5 percent become Super Bowl caliber QB's. More than half are busts. When you watch Newton on Gruden's QB Camp on ESPN you could just tell he doesn't have the same intelligence as the other QB's on that show.

The QB I have rated the highest isn't Newton or Gabbert, it's Jake Locker. Last year Locker may have been the number one overall pick. He went back to Washington for his Senior season and the critics picked apart his game. Locker still has all the tools, has the intelligence, and took a Washington team that wasn't nearly as talented as the teams they played to a winning record and a bowl game in which they beat Nebraska. I'm going out on a limb and guaranteeing that Locker will be the best QB in this draft class. If he somehow slides into the twenties I would love to see the Bengals trade back up into the first round and grab him to be the QB of the future.

Winning football starts up front at the line of scrimmage. For some reason the Bengals can't seem to understand this, at least Mike Brown can't. He wants the flashy skill player with a name because he thinks it will sell tickets. If he only would realize that a winner would sell tickets faster and better. Now that's not saying I would be opposed to an AJ Green pick, I think he's a special talent. What I do want to see out of the Bengals is for them to land at least one, if not more, of the talented defensive lineman in this draft class. This class is absolutely loaded on the defensive line and some quality players will likely be able to be had into the third round. I want to see them get someone to help Peko stuff the run inside and someone to help Carlos Dunlap get after the QB.

Another thing with the Bengals draft strategy is they need to adapt the approach of teams the consistently draft well and win consistently. That is to take the best player on their board not the biggest need of the team. When you draft a player you are drafting him for several years, if not an entire career. Team needs change from year to year, but the players you draft stay on your team year after year. You want the best players you can possibly get, especially in the first round. Now this year the best player available and team need are probably going to coincide. The Bengals need a legit WR 1 and AJ Green will likely be one of the best players available. But I wouldn't be opposed to the Patrick Peterson pick either. He is the top player on my board and J Jo's contract is up and he has been often injured lately. Also Peterson is going to be a lock down CB with rare speed and size for a CB. Plus he is a dangerous return man that would give the Bengals a returner of the caliber of Cribbs and Hester, that's a huge weapon. If I'm making the call that would be one I would agonize over because I believe both players will be elite. That being said I think it would be easier to fill a WR of Green's caliber than it would be to find a CB that's on the same level as Peterson and would take the CB and try to turn this defense into a dominant defense like the 2000 Ravens in which Marvin Lewis was the coordinator and won a Super Bowl.