I'm neither a fan nor a hater of Zac Tayler, I just thought about the roster management since he arrived in Cincy after these 4 games and wanted to share it. I didn' t take into account the free agency management because my post would have been twice as long but I tried to grade the 3 drafts since ZT arrived. It is still early to put a final grade even on the 2019 draft but we already have a good idea for this one, and we only saw glimpses of the 2021 draft so this one still has a lot of variables. Anyway, let's recap the list of players:
2019:
- J. Williams - solid starting LT
- D. Sample - 2nd TE
- G. Pratt - starting LB
- R. Finley - W against Pittsburgh, traded
- R. Wren - DL with Practice Squad
- M. Jordan - G cut
- T. Williams - RB with practice squad
- D. Davis - cut
- R. Anderson - cut
- J. Brown - cut
Grade: C-. Only 3 players are still with the active roster and even if we found a starting LT, I'm not sure Sample brings the value of a 2nd round pick. Pratt looks like a good value pick and for the rest, they will not contribute anymore. I don't think Wren will be able to overtake anyone from the active roster beside injuries
2020:
- J. Burrow - Franchise QB
- T. Higgins - elite WR2
- L. Wilson - elite LB
- ADG - 3rd LB
- K. Kareem - Rotational DE, injured
- H. Adeniji - OLine depth, injured
- M. Bailey - ST, back of LB rotation
Grade: A. The top of this draft is crazy, having 3 big hits on the first 3 picks including your franchise QB can only be concidered as a succesful draft. But even the latter picks are decent to good. ADG could at some point become a starter, Kareem would probably have been in the rotation at DE and Adeniji fighting for a spot. Then Bailey is contributing for ST and I don't rule out some contribution at LB in a near future
2021:
- J. Chase - soon to be elite WR1
- J. Carman - starting RG
- J. Ossai - injured but damn he looked good
- C. Sample - Rotational DE
- T. Shelvin - DT depth
- D. Smith - OL depth and future LG? RT ?
- E. McPherson - game-winner K
- T. Hill - back-up C
- C. Evans - 3rd RB
- W. Hubbert - roster bubble at DE, injured
Grade: B. Here the grade doesn't mean much but I am very optimistic about this draft. Chase is making the Bengals right in picking him and not OL, Carman seems to have won the RG job and could become a solid element for the OL, Ossai... man that DL would have looked scary with him as the 3rd DE, Sample is already bringing some reps at DE. Smith could become a second solid addition to the OL puzzle in a year or two. Nobody is angry about the McPherson pick anymore. Hill is still a mystery. Evans can become the 2nd RB. I don' t expect much from Hubbert. Overall, Chase, McPherson, Evans are hits, Carman and Ossai are the one that can make this grade become A and Smith would be the A+.
I think everyone can agree that 2019 was decepointing (due to lack of preparation time?) but not a failure. However, 2020 and 2021 were drafts that you can build on and strive for greatness. Another good draft and we would be a play-off team (maybe we already are, who knows! 3-1 after all).
What are your thoughts on the draft and the roster overall?
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