After the 2014 NFL Draft concluded, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis expressed his please with this year's haul of rookies, a class made possible by the long, tireless hours the coaches and scouts put into each player.
"So it was a great weekend, a great three days. All the effort that goes into this from the scouts going on the road for over two years and tracking these guys," Lewis said after the draft. "All the hotels, flights and trips they have to take to do this. All of the work, all of the inputting of the information.
"And then all of the involvement by the coaches once the football season is over and we get into February. All the work that goes in with the meeting and the time spent. So it was a very productive three days for us, three days that helped this football team get better."
Now it's time for these newly-drafted players to make the NFL-transition not long after hearing their names called on Draft Day.
"They have a difficult transition; it’s a four, five, six-week transition. It’s better to grow them from the ground up, and letting them mature and do their thing into your role."
Lewis also spoke to ESPN during the draft and talked about why he believes both LSU running back Jeremy Hill and Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard were the right picks for them: