One year ago I praised the Cincinnati Bengals for having a quiet, uneventful 2010 draft. They calmly used their allotted picks and got the guys they were targeting. A year later, after suffering through a 10 game losing streak, it seems this class went out and produced for this team. The down side of that is of course is the losing, but the upside is they may have developed a lot of talent for the future of this team.
A quick look at the 2010 Bengals draft class:
- Round One- TE Jermaine Gresham
- Round Two- DE Carlos Dunlap
- Round Three- WR Jordan Shipley
- Round Three- DB Brandon Ghee
- Round Four- DT Geno Atkins
- Round Four- LB Roddrick Muckelroy
- Round Five- G Otis Hudson
- Round Six- WR Dezmon Briscoe
- Round Seven- C Reggie Stephens
So Gresham filled a big hole in the offense and caught 52 passes for 471 yards. Dunlap had 9.5 sacks and set a franchise record. Shipley led AFC rookie receivers with 52 catches and 600 yards. Ghee had some injuries but was a solid contributor on special teams. Atkins proved he had solid pass rush skills. Muckelroy was a reserve but when he got a chance he contributed. Hudson was signed to the practice squad. Briscoe is now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Stephens was an inactive reserve.
Even though the 2010 season will was a complete and miserable failure on the field for this team, I think the production they got out of their draft picks speaks highly for the future of this team. Granted they still have a few personnel issues to work out, but if they deliver another strong class in the 2011 NFL Draft this could be a very good, young team once again.
Related Links:
- Cincinnati Bengals War Room
- Joshua Lobdell.com
