On the Clock: Cincinnatti Bengals

For the next few weeks leading up to the draft, I am going to assume to roll of each NFL general manager and make draft picks based upon need, scheme, and in some cases wants.  I will not make any trades throughout this process but will chime in when I think one is needed.  Each day leading up to the draft I will make a pick and summarize my thought process of why certain teams will go a particular way.  So put this blog in your favorites section and check back daily to see who I will select for each team.  With the fourth pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select…

Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri (6’5” 234 LBS)



"Hot Sauce"



My current QB situation is not ideal. I have a disgruntled “franchise” QB (Carson Palmer) and no solid long term back up.  There are a few players  out on the market that I could get do fill in for a few seasons (McNabb, Young, Hasselbeck, Bulger), but word is spreading around the league that the Cincinnati organization is in disarray and now it is coming from a very well respected veteran in Palmer. So now the chances of our organization attracting one of these guys with value are evaporating.  Chad Ochocinco is being himself and I can deal with it another year. I am developing WRs behind him with Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson. My offensive line is very much offensive in quality to the fans but there isn’t a prospective lineman worth a top 5 pick.  My defense has shown improvement. They are young and aggressive. I would like to address my defensive backs with a draft pick or two but I can hold off on that.

“Hot Sauce” is a large quarterback with a cannon arm and underrated mobility.  I don’t see him as a franchise changing quarterback, but with time can develop into a reliable quarterback. His numbers at Missouri are not impressive. Only 16 TDs in a spread offensive is hard to overlook.  There is definitely a red flag there when Chase Daniel (the previous QB at Missouri who did not get drafted in 2009) averaged 33:13 TD to INT ratio in his 3 years as a starter and Blaine Gabbert averaged a 20:9 TD to INT ratio.  I think that as GM of the Bengals I can develop him even further.  Marvin Lewis has developed highly touted QBs before and will be smart about it.  We will need to run a lot and focus on our defense. Carlos Dunlap is coming into his own and our linebackers are dominant against the run. 

I will need to be careful with our 35^th overall pick.  There are going to be a lot of good players with value at this pick, but we need to be smart. I might be able to trade back a few spots with a team looking to move up to get a QB that falls. If I can move back 10 spots and pick up a fourth round pick, I will have to do it.  There is plenty of value deep into the second round so I’ll probably go with an offensive lineman that falls to whenever my second round pick ends up. There could be a lot of appealing running backs available at this spot too but I know that one of them will fall to the third round.

Carson has all the leverage.  He has money in the bank and can easily retire. I am not going to lose a QB of Palmer’s value to retirement. I’d rather trade him for a 3^rd or 4^th round pick than get nothing.  He is as good as gone but I really can’t do anything until after the CBA is complete.  He’ll get his wish but I will do my best to send him to the NFC so that we never have to face him. Or I can be a real jerk and send him to Oakland. Careful for what you wish for Carson.

Arizona is on the clock…