The Bengals have typically drafted for the future, and this year was no different. The majority of their picks are spent setting up replacements for players who are potentially leaving for new and bigger contracts, or older players that they do not wish to re-sign. It gives a stingy Bengals ownership the ability to let free agents walk year by year, and still have the talent to replace them without taking any years of contending away from them.
1st round, 24th overall: William Jackson III, CB (Houston)
2nd round, 55th overall: Tyler Boyd, WR (Pitt)
3rd round, 87th overall: Nick Vigil, LB (Utah State)
4th round, 122nd overall: Andrew Billings, DT (Baylor)
5th round, 161st overall: Christain Westerman, G (Arizona State)
6th round, 199th overall: Cody Core, WR (Ole Miss)
7th round, 245th overall: Clayton Fejedlem, S (Illinois)
Bengals 2016 Draft Grade 9/10
Cincinnati Bengals 2016 NFL Draft Review
The Best Player: The Bengals always like to stick to their board, and while most did not see it as a need, they saw the best player available in round one to be cornerback William Jackson III. Jackson is a bit undisciplined right now, but has the combination of size, speed, and arm length to be a top tier corner. Jackson will be competing with three other first round picks for playing time in 2016 however. Adam Jones and Dre Kirkpatrick saw much more time than 2014 first round pick Darqueze Dennard, and Jackson should be in open combination with Dennard to get on the field in nickel formations.
Kirkpatrick is a free agent after this year, and he has been fine, but the Bengals may be looking to move on with a younger name coming in. Dennard has appeared to be a bit of a bust, and it would appear Jackson will have a decent shot at seeing some playing time this season, and may give them the faith to move on from Kirkpatrick, or to re-sign him knowing they can let Dennard walk, and still maintain three talented cornerbacks.
Head-Scatcher: The Bengals did this thing right, and it is tough to find much of a head scratcher. Jackson could be seen as a head scratcher, mainly just do to the fact that no mock drafts had the Bengals going corner early yet again. As mentioned, the Bengals went to this well in 2012, and again in 2014, so maybe it should not be a shock that they went right back there in 2016. However, when looking at the board you would assume that if specifically Jackson was gone by that point, that they probably would have gone to a different position.
It is pretty refreshing to see a team stick to their board and not force a pick by position, and all intentions are that the Bengals, with no pressing need for a corner, stuck to their guns, trusted their evaluations and went with their highest rated player, regardless of position.
The Surprise: No real surprises here, but the Bengals did not neccessarily need to draft Christain Westerman. Their guard play is as good as any in the league, and while Clint Boling is only signed on for 2016, many would assume that he could be retained on a decently team friendly deal. The surprise may be here in that the Bengals were surprised Westerman was on the board. Most draftniks pre-draft had a top tier of guards that featured Joshua Garnett, Cody Whitehair, and Westerman. The 49ers traded up for Garnett in the first round, Whitehair was gone by pick 56 and all the way down at pick 161 is Westerman. Westerman represented incredible value when considering where many thought his play suggested he would go, and the Bengals will take that all day.
The Steal: Andrew Billings is a major steal in round four. Like Westerman, many experts had him near the top of the group at his position. A lot of mocks had him in the first round, some having him as high as pick 14. Others even mocked Billings to the Bengals in the first round. To get him and add three players that they considered better has to have the Bengals doing backflips. Billings is going to replace the 31-year old Domata Peko who had held down the defensive tackle spot in Cincinnatti for ten years, but is a free agent after 2016. Billings, as a pure run stuffer is perfect for the role, and to groom and condition him for a season behind Peko gives them the perfect replacement.
Most likely to turn heads in training camp: Tyler Boyd should be the pick this year that sees the most playing time. He also could be the one that is shooting up fantasy boards in the weeks prior to the season. Boyd can and had done it all at Pitt. He went deep, he made possession plays, he ran the ball, he even blocked exceptionally well. The Bengals are moving on from Marvin Jones and Mohammed Sanu this season, and with that are losing 152 targets. Some will go to AJ Green, more will go tight end Tyler Eifert, a few will go to veteran journeyman Brandon Lafell, but the Bengals are going to give Tyler Boyd a ton of reps and a ton of targets in his rookie season. It will be on him to take advantage, but for a successful receiver who broke a good portion of Larry Fitzgerald’s records at Pitt, he appears ready to step in immediately and make noise for the Bengals.
The Rest: Nick Vigil was a typical Bengals pick. The Bengals just recently cut AJ Hawk. They also have Rey Maualuga who will turn 30 this year, and Karlos Dansby who will turn 35. Dansby is signed to a one-year deal, and Maualuga has two years left. The thought would be that neither will be retained, so to add Vigil this year, and coach him to slide into one of the roles as a linebacker in the 4-3 is being progressive. Cody Core, a sixth round pick is a Brandon Lafell injury away from having a big role in the offense this year. Core is a tough kid, and played special teams, defense, and wide receiver at Ole Miss, so the thought would be that the Bengals will ease him in as a special teamer, and if they can find a replacement for Lafell and a compliment to Green and Boyd in the meantime, it is only gravy. Lastly is Fejedlem who has played special teams in college and was basically drafted to fill a role as a gunner in special teams.
Bottom line: When dealing with the future of 20-24 year old men in a sport that injury can happen on any play, you never want to call a draft class a sure thing, or rate it a 10/10. However, on paper the Bengals knocked this thing out of the park. There is a good chance that by next year their first five picks are on the field as NFL starters. As mentioned, Core has the chance as a sixth rounder to contribute as well, and they may have just made seven picks that all will make the roster this year. They stuck to their board, continued to take the best player available and the reputation that the Bengals have been a premier drafting team in this league should stick around for at least one more year.
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