Day 1 Draft Analysis

WARNING! FIRST POST EVER!

At the end of a long weekend of draft watching, now is the time to release my thoughts. I named my blog after a former Cincinnati Red, Sean Casey. He will always be one of my favorite ball players to ever don a Reds uniform.

Today I'd like to break down the Bengals draft and how it looks going forward. Bengals fans expected to see a Best Player Available strategy, and were rewarded with exactly that.

In the first round the Bengals selected Keith Rivers, a Linebacker from USC. It was an expected pick as Sedrick Ellis, the player most linked to the bengals in mock drafts, was picked 2 spots earlier by the New Orleans Saints. I was one of the many Bengals fans that wondered why they didn't attempt to trade up instead of the Saints. Anybody who has seen the Bengals play the last several years has noticed a particular weak spot on the defensive line, at Defensive Tackle. Ellis would have been a huge upgrade, but it was not the best situation for the Bengals to be in to use a 3rd round pick to trade up. Rivers was the best defensive player available, so the pick was definitely a solid one. Rivers himself was excited to be on his way to Cincy, apparent in his videos posted on his own blog

http://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/Im_a_Cincinnati_Bengal/259606

Being a longtime fan, it's nice to see a player excited to be a Bengal. His leadership and talent should provide a powerful presence on the Bengals defense for years to come. Picking him allowed fans to make a comparison against trading up to get Ellis and staying put. I'll discuss that on my Day 2 look at the draft.

The second round provided dramatics, for most Bengals fans. If you've followed the team in years past, you probably noticed that Marvin Lewis, the Bengals head coach and GM de facto, always seems to draft a player that you least expect, when you least expect it. Marvin selected Jerome Simpson, a Wide Receiver out of Division 2 Coastal Carolina. He's an underrated receiver with great athleticism who, after some research, seems worthy of a second round pick. I was definitely part of the group of fans that said "Who???", when the pick was announced. At the time, there were numerous receivers available that were consistently rated above Simpson. These included Limas Sweed, Desean Jackson, and Malcolm Kelly. But these ratings were all done by those outside of NFL war rooms and without the personal insight gained by NFL coaches and GMs. Jerome Simpson, apparently, was looked at as a playmaker who consistently amazed those who watched him, on film or in person. He made quite an impression on coaches at the Senior bowl and showed excellent character at the NFL combine.

He's probably most known as the guy who made an amazing one-handed catch that made top plays on ESPN's Sportscenter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B85po3KBdY

He has extremely large hands and great leaping ability. His hands were measured at the combine as the biggest for a reciever and he also had one the highest vertical jumps at over 40". The only stat you need to know about him is his production in four years of college.
44 career touchdowns and an average yards per catch at around 16 1/2.

With these two players selected so early, Marvin Lewis expects both of them to contribute from Day 1. Not many doubt that Rivers can, but an interesting thing to watch during the spring will be Simpson's development as he brings himself up to NFL speed.

Check in tomorrow for Day 2 of the draft.

Maltzy