Bengals Bites (5/4) - Draft Overload

NFL Draft 2015: How much will Cincinnati Bengals third-round pick Tyler Kroft earn? | NJ.com
I wrote last night that former Rutgers tight end Tyler Kroft gambled on himself and won. But just how much money will Kroft make after being picked by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the NFL Draft on Friday night?

2015 NFL draft: Bengals draft CB Josh Shaw in fourth round - Cincinnati Bengals Blog - ESPN
A few quick thoughts on the Cincinnati Bengals' first fourth-round draft pick: The pick: Josh Shaw, cornerback, USC

2015 NFL draft: Cincinnati Bengals looking down the road - NFL Nation - ESPN
Best move: OLB Paul Dawson. With uncertainty lingering over the status of Vontaze Burfict's surgically repaired left knee, the Bengals went out and got an outside linebacker. But they didn't draft just anybody. They selected a player who they felt could not only fill Burfict's shoes if necessary, but who could also play like him. According to defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, Dawson has a bit of the same tenacity and intensity that a healthy Burfict showed his first three seasons. In just two years, Burfict went from undrafted free agent to the Pro Bowl. If the Bengals believe Dawson possesses similar potential, they just got a great pick. Originally projected as a second-rounder, Dawson's surprising fall to the very last pick of the third round meant the Bengals committed virtual highway robbery. The selection of the former TCU star was a quite strong pick.

In C.J. Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals get big-game 'anti-villain' - Cincinnati Bengals Blog - ESPN
It was the day of the biggest game of the year in Alabama: the Iron Bowl. Down in those parts the mere mention of the words "Iron Bowl" conjures wellsprings of pride that can only truly be articulated by those who have experienced it.

Bengals get Mo from Rutgers with Kroft

2015 NFL Draft: Final quick-snap grades for AFC North teams - NFL.com
NFL.com gives Bengals draft an overall A+. There are some in the draft community who think Ogbuehi might turn out to be the best tackle in this year's class, and he was billed as such before his senior season. He's got great feet and fits scheme-wise with the Bengals. The team presumably was comfortable with Ogbuehi's medical issues after an ACL tear, and he could be a nice long-term fit. Fisher is super athletic and will solidify the other side of the offensive line. Kroft is a fantastic value, given his skills as a pass-catching tight end. Dawson might be the Bengals' biggest steal, though. He has the best tape of any linebacker and should have a tremendous career in the league if he learns from the other reclamation projects the Bengals have turned around. Shaw is great value in the fourth round, and his versatility will allow him to be a special teams maven in addition to playing corner and safety.

Best and most worrisome picks of the 2015 NFL Draft - NFL.com
Elliot Harrison likes some picks a lot in the aftermath of the 2015 NFL Draft -- but others have him concerned. Which category do the selections of Marcus Mariota and Shane Ray fall into?

Best and most worrisome picks of the 2015 NFL Draft - NFL.com
Elliot Harrison likes some picks a lot in the aftermath of the 2015 NFL Draft -- but others have him concerned. Which category do the selections of Marcus Mariota and Shane Ray fall into?

2015 NFL Draft: Quick-snap grades for AFC teams - NFL.com
The 2015 NFL Draft was filled with twists and turns few could have seen coming. Who landed the missing piece and who missed the boat?

Winners from the 2015 NFL Draft - NFL.com
Somewhere Darren McFadden is smiling after the Cowboys passed on drafting a running back. Marcus Mariota and the Titans are also feeling like winners. See who else came out on top during the draft.

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.

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."

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.

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 instincitve 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 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.”

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.

2015 NFL draft: What Cincinnati Bengals Cedric Ogbuehi does well - Cincinnati Bengals Blog - ESPN

Cincinnati Bengals draft pick Cedric Ogbuehi is versatile, athletic, nimble and quite good at opening running lanes.

49ers Unveil Black Uniforms That Have No Reason To Exist

The 49ers unveiled their new alternate uniforms last night, via the launch of their team Snapchat account, smack dab in the middle of the NFL Draft. It’s almost as if they wanted to make sure no one noticed, because the uniforms are junk.

Five Worst Value Picks of Day 1 | ProFootballFocus.com

And now for the five Day-1 picks that are most cause for concern that their value doesn't match up.

Who Hugged Roger Goodell Longest At Last Night's NFL Draft?

Once again, last night’s first round of the NFL draft featured a number of large men embracing an obscenely rich one. As we do every year, we’ve measured each draftee’s hug time and measured it against his fellow rookies. This year, new Chargers running back Melvin Gordon took home the trophy with a time of 11.094 seconds in the hug; Cowboys draftee Byron Jones proved most PDA-adverse with a time of just over half a second.

Draft News Conference Round 1: Alexander

Paul Alexander NFL Draft news conference for Round 1

Draft Day Call: Cedric Ogbuehi

ith the 21st pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Coach Marvin Lewis calls Cedric Ogbuehi to let him know he's the newest addition to the Bengals.

Draft News Conference Round 1: Lewis

Marvin Lewis Draft news conference for Round 1

Lewis, Alexander, Ogbuehi, Draft News Conference Transcript

“We are very pleased to be able to draft Cedric Ogbuehi. He has great upside in his play. Obviously we’ve got to get him healthy from the (knee) injury, but we really felt was a guy with tremendous potential and a tremendous future, and an opportunity to be very, very good. Being there at Texas A&M, he’s played both sides of the line — both tackles and guard — so there’s a lot of flexibility in his play in the past. He’s just a huge man, with big, long length and a huge (wing) span. You watch how he protects all the time, and he’s violent as a run-blocker. So we’re very, very pleased that he was there when we picked.”

Bengals tackle the future

The Bengals must have had Texas A&M left tackle Cedric Ogbuehi graded quite high Thursday night before the NFL Draft began. We know that because three top 10-type pass rushers were on the board when the Bengals went to pick at No. 21, including Kentucky defensive end Bud Dupree, nabbed by the Steelers at No. 22. “We were going to pick the next-best player, the next highest player we had graded in our order,” said head coach Marvin Lewis.

Hobson's Choice: cashing house money

They were playing with house money in the first round. The tough rounds are going to be 2-4 as they try to find a regular tight end, a situational linebacker, and fast wide receiver.  But in the first round they could take what fell to them and the offensive tackles were the safest picks at the position with the most value. The Bengals simply gave the tackles the higher grades than the pass rushers.

Bengals select Ogbuehi after lack of action in draft

Here's what led to the Bengals' selection of Texas A&M offensive lineman Cedric Ogbuehi.