2009 NFL Draft two years out: Cincinnati Bengals
Since the Cincinnati Bengals picked 6th in the 2009 NFL draft, and are picking 4th in the 2011 draft something has clearly gone wrong. The Bengals had 11 picks two years ago and they turned them in to just three starters. Quite simply that is not good enough, and their 6th pick in 2009 may be the first miss of that draft.
Before we get much farther let have a look at teh relevant Bengals picks:
1.Round One (6)- Andre Smith OT
2.Round Two (38)- Rey Maualaga LB
3.Round Three (70)- Michael Johnson DE
4.Round Three (98)- Chase Coffman TE
5.Round Four (106)- Jonathan Luigs C
6.Round Five (142)- Kevin Huber P
7.Round Six (179)- Morgan Trent DB
8.Round Six (209)- Bernard Scott RB
9.Round Seven (215)- Fui Vakapuna RB
10.Round Seven (249)- Clinton McDonald DT
11.Round Seven (252)- Freddie Brown WR
Andre Smith has been nagged by a foot injury after holding out and the mess he caused during his draft year. He may not be a negative yet, but he is a big question mark and for the sixth overall pick that is not a good thing. Rey Maualuga has a lot of quantity in the tackle department, but not much quality. He often finds himself out of position on pass plays to the TE, but he has improved against the run. He is still highly though of, and could still be a super star for this team.
DE Michael Johnson may be the best pick out of these eleven. He has played every game since being drafted and he has been effective. However he needs help as he was only able to rack up 3 sacks while Rookie Carlos Dunlap racked up 9.5 sacks down the stretch for this team. The rest of the picks are backups or have already washed off this roster. Not good, and it would seem the Bengals should have worked to use those multiple late round picks to try and move up and draft more high impact players.
Related Links:
- Cincinnati Bengals news and notes
- Bengals War Room
- Joshua Lobdell.com
