Bengals Draft Grade

First, let's get this out of the way. I was right about the Cincinnati Bengals first pick. Okay, I've just done my touchdown dance. The Bengals did pick TE Jermaine Gresham. By the way, if you look at the draft and my prior blog post, both the Bengals and I agreed on the needs. In fact, they even signed a kicker, Mike Nugent a few days before the draft. But overall how did the Bengals do?

This was a great draft for the Bengals. They addressed almost every need. I love the second round pick in defensive end, Carlos Dunlap. Yes, he's got red flags. DUI before SEC Championship game. It's reported that he lacks intensity. But look at his new coach, Mike Zimmer. Did you all see last year's Hard Knocks? There's no way Zimmer is going to let this kid take plays off. Dunlap is first round talent that the Bengals got in the second round. He will help put more pressure on the quarterback. In the third round, I would have taken Mardy Gilyard over Jordan Shipley. Gilyard makes violent cuts in the open field, but Shipley is a possession type receiver. This is kind of a strawberry ice cream versus chocolate argument. The best example of how well the Bengals did was their sixth round pick. The Bengals could have panicked and forced a safety. Instead, they picked the best available at an area of need. They picked wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe. He has excellent size and strength. Look for him pluck balls away from corners and run them over after the catch. While there are character red flags, I trust Marvin will read him and everyone else the riot act.

Here's the Bengals draft. 1. TE Jermaine Gresham, Oklahoma. 2. Carlos Dunlap, DE, Floria. 3. Jordan Shipley, WR, Texas. Brandon Ghee, CB Wake Forest. 4. Gino Atkins, DT, Georgia. Rodderick Muckelroy, LB, Texas. 5. Otis Hudson, OL, Eastern Illinois. 6. Dezmon Briscoe, WR, Kansas (See video below.) 7. Reggie Stephens, OL, Iowa State.

The grade for the Bengals draft is A.