I really like the strategy used by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2010 draft. They had a pretty quiet weekend, and it appeared that they had their guys targeted, and as they fell to them drafted the guys they wanted at their positions of need. Of course that gets easier to do the further down that we get in the first round, where the more complete team be gin to draft. They are one or two pieces away from making a lot of noise, and they can afford to draft the guys they want and the positions they need to upgrade.
With their first pick, they addressed their void at TE. Jermaine Gresham steps in to be a big over the middle target for QB Carson Palmer. In the second round, they took Carlos Dunlap to help bolster their pass rush. In fact it seems the only thing that they failed to do was find some depth at the safety position. They used their later round picks to further beef up the pass rush, potential offensive weapons, and a few Offensive Lineman as well. All in all it looks like a pretty solid draft class.
With that being said let us look at the initial grades for the 2010 Bengals draft class:
• Round One – A, Gresham is a talented player, and this was their biggest need • Round Two – B+, Dunlap is a fine player with some issues joining a clubhouse with a lot of players like that •Talent- A, two very good prospects, and depth drafted in later rounds •Need- A, they filled their holes as best they could •Average- A-
Related Links:
• Cincinnati Bengals news and notes • 2010 NFL Draft initial team grades • The Business of the NFL •MTR Football.com
