FanPost

idk's 3 round mock

When I do these, I base my picks on who's available in the latest walterfootball.com mock. I do this to avoid any "he's not going to be there" talk. I'm picking from who they show available, without any bias on my part cluttering up the potential player pool.

With that out of the way, my selections from those potential picks are based on my opinion of team needs. I listed the weakest starters on the squad, the oldest starters on the squad, and the positions where we have the least depth. With that information I look at who's available with each of our four picks in rounds 1-3 and then make the selections.

Texas DT Malcolm Brown

ALL DAY!

1) DT Malcolm Brown, Texas

Nothing surprising here, lots of mocks have us taking him. I really like Domata Peko, but he's just not very good at DT. Brown could potentially step in and play very early. I avoided Dorial Green-Beckham because he's got serious off-field issues and, far more importantly, he only ran the 3 simplest routes in college and showed no interest in developing his skills beyond that. Yes he's a freak athletically, but in the pros you don't succeed on physical ability alone. I avoided OTs because I wanted our first pick to be someone who could make a difference this year, and not just in a worst-case injury scenario. We're too close, with too much change on the horizon at year end, for me to build for the future here. Besides, all the really promising ones are gone except Jake Fisher and La'el Collins. Fisher certainly has promise, but doesn't look worth a first round pick to me. He doesn't appear ready, and might not get strong enough even with time. Collins is too much of a question mark with his ex girlfriend recently being murdered. His agent is reportedly trying to get him pulled out of the draft so he has time to clear his name and go in the supplemental draft instead... Besides, I'm still hopeful we bring back Anthony Collins to back up Whit. He's not very bright, but in a familiar place/system he is a solid starter at either tackle position.

CSU QB Garrett Grayson

Four shall be the number. Not five, nor three. Seven is right out.

2) QB Garret Grayson, Colorado St

This one may seem weird after my reasoning behind the first round pick, but I don't expect to get immediate playmakers after round 1. Sure it's possible, but significantly less likely. Andy Dalton has been absolutely horrific in the playoffs and in prime time games. He has struggled in the majority of games to make even the simplest throws without the receiver having to stop and come back to the ball, or stop and leap, or twist around behind them, etc. With his contract's escape clause making him essentially a free cut after this year, we need someone who can challenge for the 2016 starter role if Dalton doesn't show significant improvement. Grayson has excellent deep ball accuracy (something the Bengals BADLY need) and is very smart. The knocks on him are a slightly clunky throwing motion, which can be corrected, and a tendency to lock onto his first target. That last one worries me, but we haven't had a QB that didn't do that in decades. With a year to speed up his throwing motion and learn the playbook, I think Grayson has a good chance to compete for a starting job. And I would love to see us finally have someone that can get the ball to AJ and Marvin when they take the top off the defense.

TCU LB Paul Dawson

pfft.. puny Cowboy

3a) LB Paul Dawson, TCU

After Peko and (arguably) Dalton, Emmanuel Lamur and Rey Maualuga are our weakest starters. We have questionable depth behind them, and AJ Hawk would be an age concern if he wasn't already a talent concern. We badly need a solid LB to step up and play along with Burfict. Dawson reminds me of Vontaze Burfict a lot. He has character concerns that drop his draft grade and are the reason he's still there in the 3rd. Taking him a round late, and surely 2 rounds later than he wants and expects to go, will make him hungry to take out his anger on all those that passed on him. I normally don't go for guys that don't put in the filmroom work, but his instincts are just phenomenal. I believe Guenther and Burke can get his head where it needs to be. Burfict is a good mentor for him, having a somewhat similar on-field and locker-room history. He's pretty solid in coverage (if he can be taught not to hold receivers so much), has good speed, great burst, and an incredible nose for the ball.

KSU WR Tyler Lockett

Just Tyler doing Tyler stuffs

3b) WR Tyler Lockett, Kansas St

While I feel very good about our top 3 receivers, they're all in contract years. We need someone better than Brandon Tate behind them. Lockett has been phenomenal at K-State. He runs very crisp routes, catches everything thrown his way, and is a great return man as well. I'm confident that he'd be an instant upgrade over Tate and could probably challenge Sanu (who I like) for the #3 spot this year.

After these I want us to grab a TE to back up Tyler Eifert, a Guard, and an OT. I wouldn't mind seeing another CB as well, if there's any potential sleepers left in the later rounds.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan, which is as important as the views of Cincy Jungle's writers or editors.