That is great news for the Cincinnati Bengals, who also had the incredible fortune of having the No. 1 pick in a year that was great to need a quarterback.
Many sports teams seem to approach many aspects of team-building in suboptimal ways, and quarterback might be at the top of the list.
In a day and age when most people seem to agree quarterbacks have never been less ready to play, more of them are thrust into the limelight immediately and expected to produce immediately lest they be labeled a failure and the people who drafted them get fired five minutes later.
What’s weird about this dynamic is that this approach neither seems like it should work nor does actually work most of the time, yet that is still what teams do — often bad teams who don’t support their young quarterback very well, either, increasing the likelihood of failure.
Joe Burrow was no sure thing because that does not exist, but the Bengals got lucky in so many ways because not only can he play but he was the even more rare prospect who was actually ready to play right away.
So the Bengals don’t need a quarterback this year, and six teams deciding they do (some even correctly) helped them by making sure they could take one of the elite offensive tackle prospects in the first round.
With that box checked off and Amarius Mims of Georgia in the fold, is the rest of the draft gravy?
Absolutely not, but it’s a good start.
(Of course Mims is no sure thing, either, with his injury history, but they are in position to give him a soft landing with starters already in place at both tackle spots.)
In 2021, the Bengals got their elite receiver and seemed primed to fortify the offensive line in the second round but blew it, so there is no taking anything for granted.
They don’t need all nine picks they have left, so I will be interested to see if they do a little wheeling and dealing to make sure they fill their needs with THEIR GUY rather than wait around and see what falls to them.
To me, they could still use a long-term option at tight end and a starting cornerback.
The top priority would be finding a stud defensive tackle — if there are any left when they pick.
Jer’Zhan Newton was a great player at Illinois, but I would expect him to come off the board early tonight unless there is some underlying issue teams know about the public does not. Also worth considering would be Braden Fiske of Florida State, Kris Jenkins of Michigan or Ruke Orhorhoro of Clemson.
Some thunder to share the backfield with lightning Chase Brown would be nice, too, and you can never have too many edge rushers.
Maybe they draft a receiver Friday night, but to me there is no urgency there because assuming Tee Higgins leaves as a free agent after this season, they should be able to bank on having multiple enticing options in the first round next year.
Last year, the tight end class was deep, but the board didn’t shake out right for them to take one. This year is light on elite prospects, but there are a few good ones who should be there in the middle rounds so the opposite could be true.
Circling back, I would say cornerback is an underrated need that has gotten obscured by the long shadow of the ever-present offensive line issues and the fact that finding stud defensive tackles is nearly impossible outside the first round.
Elite corners are great, but that is a spot where you can get a pretty good starter Friday night or even early Saturday.
Overall, seeing what they do with the defense will be interesting because for all the draft capital they have used there the last two years, the unit stunk last year and now two of its more important players (D.J. Reader and Chidobe Awuzie) are gone (and were missed badly when injured).
I am very bearish on the defense at this point because I’m still not sure about the personnel or the coordinator.
Lou Anarumo was the toast of the league for a while there, but is he a one-trick pony? His units have given pass-happy offenses fits but been close to helpless against teams that actually want to run the ball and be balanced.
Of course, the right personnel will make any coach look smarter!
“Marcus Musings” is a semi-regular feature here at the blog. While most of our other coverage is concentrated on news and analysis, this is a place to share opinions on various stories permeating the sports world and (hopefully) have some fun. Have your own thoughts? Send them along to marcus.hartman@coxin.com or find us on Twitter (now known as X for some reason) or Facebook.
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