All in all I'm not to dissapointed in the Bengals draft. I'm still a bit miffed that they took Green over Peterson though I have to be honest, Peterson may be the best athlete in the draft but Green was probably the 2nd best athlete in the draft and they needed a reciever more then a CB. Dalton was a great pick. Obviously with Gruden as their new OC the Bengals, the team that originated the WC offense, is going back to it and Dalton is an excellent choice. I'm glad they took him over Mallet. He may not have Mallet's arm strength but it's hard to argue with Dalton's productivity, athleticism, intelligence, leadership and he's won more games then any of the top QB's in the draft. I'm pleased with his selection
Our third pick, Dantay Moch, is head scratcher. He's 6'1" and 248# DE from Nevada. He's far to small to play DE in the NFL and he doesnt' have much experience standing up. He has blazing speed for his size but it's pretty much the straight ahead kind bull rushing, which won't fly in the NFL. He should see time as a situational pass rusher and on special teams where he'd be a beast but a 3rd round pick for that? I dunno.
The Bengals next two picks were steals. Clint Boling from GA was projected as a late first round, early second round pick, to nab him in the 4th round was outstanding. He should be a reliable guard for years to come.
The Bengals definately needed depth at safety and they got it with Robert Sands. At 6'4", 220# and 4.5 40 speed, this guy can cover, is big enough to make receivers hear feed and should provide excellent run support. He should see time as a back up and in nickel formations but has the potential to develop into a starter. If he can add another 10 to 15# with out losing any speed he'd be a real beast.
I'm not going to grade their draft cause I think that's stupid. The leap from college to the NFL is just to great to determine how rookie draft picks are going to pan out, only time will tell but I'd say the Bengals did well. I'm very pleased with the selection of Dalton. All the Bengals best QB's (Anderson & Esiason) have been second round picks, so I hope Dalton turns out to be of their caliber (though hoping he's as good as Anderson might be hoping for a little to much).
