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The
Bengals did what contenders do this weekend in head
coach Marvin Lewis's 11th NFL Draft. While knocking
out their two
biggest needs—running back and safety—they filled in the rest with big.
Photo courtesy of
bengals.com
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Bengals beef up depth
bengals.com
CINCINNATI- The Bengals did what contenders do this weekend in head
coach Marvin Lewis's 11th NFL Draft. While knocking out their two
biggest needs—running back and safety—they filled in the rest with big.
As in five of their 10 picks put their hand in the AFC North dirt. Some
of them may be asked to do more, but the first thing they have to do is
line up on the line. Throw in the signing of right tackle Andre Smith ,
and the Bengals did what contenders do.
"They are some big guys, big guys and that’s good. We need big guys,"
Lewis said Saturday, shortly after the last belch of the seventh round
coughed up Mr. Irrelevant.
"We signed a big guy yesterday. We’ve got to keep our big guys going.
The big guys have been the spirit of this football team and they’ve
made a huge difference. We’ve got to keep replenishing that. These guys
get to come in here, these young linemen, with a great group of
mentors, both the offensive line group and the defensive line group.
There’s great mentorship in that. That’s outstanding.”
The Bengals had a good enough weekend that they are being called the
AFC North favorites after getting quarterback Andy Dalton two
promising potent weapons. It didn't take long, since the Bengals took
the draft's first tight end in Notre Dame's Tyler Eifert and the
first running back in North Carolina's Giovani Bernard 16 picks
apart in the first and second rounds.
Lewis said the two priority positions were running back and safety. So
when Georgia's Shawn Williams was sitting where the Bengals
thought they could get a safety in the third round if Eric Reid and
Kenny Vaccaro were gone at No. 21, the draft board that has made the
Bengals the toast of the recent Aprils was at it again.
"We’ve got some big, good-looking kids and that’s a good thing. You’ve
got to have big physical people up front, and we got that," Lewis said.
"We got guys with great-looking legs and things like that; good
developmental guys, as far as they can develop physically. That’s
important for us to keep on those guys because this is a game for big,
strong, tough guys. You’ve got to have that and we got some more of
those.”
Before Saturday's fourth round began, ESPN's Ron Jaworski was voting
for the Bengals for the best draft, and CBSSports.com and Foxsports.com
had them as winners.
Lewis again praised how director of player personnel Duke Tobin has
integrated the scouting side with the coaching side.
"We've become a much more efficient team in selections," Lewis said.
"The process has been good. It's been tight. I think everybody
understands it's not an emotional thing and I think that’s been
helpful."
By the time the Bengals took a 6-8 defensive end that runs a 4.6
40-yard dash while repping a 38 bench press in SMU's Margus Hunt
with the 53rd pick, they had three of the top 21 players on their board
in the fold.
Never mind that the Bengals just re-signed ends Robert Geathers
and Wallace Gilberry for multiple years and ends Carlos
Dunlap and Michael Johnson are coming off good and great
years, respectively.
It's nothing personal, that's just what the board said.
And the beat went on right down to their last, lonely compensatory pick
in the seventh round at No. 251 when the Bengals drafted South Carolina
center T.J. Johnson .
For this the rest of this story and more, click here
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