Bengals Bytes: Day Two Reaction

Bengals don't flinch with Fisher
"In my mind there were 40 top players in this draft and the rest is a crapshoot,’ said Bengals radio analyst Dave Lapham. "These two guys are way up there in the 40s. "(The critics) don’t want to hear about setting the board. I thought 21 was a little too rich for (Fisher), but this is not too rich for him. He’s a good player."

Bengals surprise by picking OT Jake Fisher
For the second straight day, the Bengals selected an offensive tackle by picking Oregon's Jake Fisher. He'll join first-round pick and Texas A&M tackle Cedric Ogbuehi this year - playing behind starters Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith. Fisher was in the conversation for the No. 21 overall pick, and the fact he was still available one round later made him easily the highest rated player on the board. The Bengals opted for the player they believed to be the best talent, and will find a way to make the crowded room work going forward.

Bengals pick tight end Tyler Kroft in third round
NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock called him "one of the really solid guys" and a willing blocker that has more upside in the passing game than people think.

Tez II?
“Tackles go both ways,” Guenther said with a smile because he just might have stolen another one with the defense’s only pick in the Bengals first four of the nine they get in the draft that concludes Saturday with a noon start. Three years after plucking Pro Bowl WILL linebacker Vontaze Burfict from the scrap heap of college free agency, the Bengals took Texas Christian linebacker Paul Dawson with the 99th and last pick of the third round, the Big 12 Player of the Year who ran a slow (4.93 seconds) in the 40-yard dash and saw his stock plummet with the added knock a lack of comportment.

Bengals take TE Kroft, LB Dawson in third
NFL Network's Mike Mayock called Dawson the most instinctive linebacker he saw on tape all year. After leading the Big 12 in tackles this season, one of Mayock's colleagues tweeted he was a clone of Bengals Pro Bowl WILL backer Vontaze Burfict. "I know me, Rey (Maualuga) and Vontaze will be a great, awesome linebacker corps," Dawson said. "Probably one of the best in the NFL."

Bengals pick TCU linebacker Dawson at end of third round
Call it an edge. Call it confidence. Call it nastiness. Whatever you want to call it, Paul Dawson has it. "There's no other Paul Dawson, for sure," he said with a laugh on a conference call with local media late Friday night. "But other players that play like me, I would say Lavonte David from the Buccaneers, Sean Lee and Luke Kuechly - he's an awesome playmaker. And so is Vontaze (Burfict) - he's a great playmaker."

The Skinny: Bengals staying true to the board works
It may not be the way Bengals' fans want the team to run its draft, but the Bengals continued to, "stay true to the board," in making their three selections on Friday, which allowed them to address the future in one key area and add needed depth in two others.