Cincinnati Bengals Offseason (1 Viewer)

[bengalbuck]

The Bengals should be a really interesting team to follow this offseason for fantasy owners. They have glaring holes at RB and WR. They also have 60 million in cap space and 2 first rounders to possibly address those positions.

As a Bengals fan, here are some tidbits I've gleaned from recent interviews with the coaches and reports from the Bengals beat writers, etc.:

1. The OC Jay Gruden implied that getting a very good 2nd WR was a big priority. He mentioned that the RB position was being de-emphasized a bit and that you can be successful with a committee approach at that position. He mentioned Darren Sproles and implied that he'd like the Bengals to get that type of guy (I'd look for a scat back type as a strong possibility in the 3rd or later).

2. Geoff Hobson, the Bengals.com writer, said he doesn't foresee the Bengals pursuing Mike Wallace or any other high priced WRs in free agency. This conflicts a bit with what the beat writer Joe Reedy has been saying (he thinks Bengals go hard after a #2 WR in FA). Hobson said there was a strong chance the Bengals would look to draft a WR in the 1st round and mentioned guys like Kendall Wright and Alshon Jeffery as possibilities.

3. It seems to be the consensus among the local writers that the Bengals would jump all over Trent Richardson if he falls into their laps. However, it also seems to be a pretty strong consensus that he's the only RB that the Bengals would consider in the 1st round. Based on Gruden's comments and everything else coming from those close to the team, it seems like they are much more likely to address the position in the 2nd-4th rounds. I'd be pretty shocked if they took a guy like Doug Martin, Lamar Miller or David Wilson in the 1st. More likely, they would cross their fingers and hope one of those 4 makes it to their pick in the middle of round 2.

4. There appears to be just one opening on the O Line, the LG position. I think that is a leading contender as far as position likely to be addressed in the 1st round, so guys like David Decastro, Cordy Glenn, etc. make a lot of sense if available at 17 or 21.

 

[yellowdog]

The Bengals need a CB and S as well. I would like to see them active in free agency, then fill in the remaining needs in the draft.

CB - Draft

G - Steal Grubbs from Baltimore?

S - Branch from Oakland?

RB - Draft

WR - Draft

I can dream, can't I?

 

[Hoosier16]

The Bengals should be a really interesting team to follow this offseason for fantasy owners. They have glaring holes at RB and WR. They also have 60 million in cap space and 2 first rounders to possibly address those positions. As a Bengals fan, here are some tidbits I've gleaned from recent interviews with the coaches and reports from the Bengals beat writers, etc.:1. The OC Jay Gruden implied that getting a very good 2nd WR was a big priority. He mentioned that the RB position was being de-emphasized a bit and that you can be successful with a committee approach at that position. He mentioned Darren Sproles and implied that he'd like the Bengals to get that type of guy (I'd look for a scat back type as a strong possibility in the 3rd or later).

I think they'll go with a big RB with receiving skills. Polk makes sense.

2. Geoff Hobson, the Bengals.com writer, said he doesn't foresee the Bengals pursuing Mike Wallace or any other high priced WRs in free agency. This conflicts a bit with what the beat writer Joe Reedy has been saying (he thinks Bengals go hard after a #2 WR in FA). Hobson said there was a strong chance the Bengals would look to draft a WR in the 1st round and mentioned guys like Kendall Wright and Alshon Jeffery as possibilities.

That doesn't really make sense. If you're going to spend a 1st on a WR, get a proven one like Wallace. They have the cap room, so the size of the contract isn't an issue. Plus, you hurt Pittsburgh a little.

3. It seems to be the consensus among the local writers that the Bengals would jump all over Trent Richardson if he falls into their laps. However, it also seems to be a pretty strong consensus that he's the only RB that the Bengals would consider in the 1st round. Based on Gruden's comments and everything else coming from those close to the team, it seems like they are much more likely to address the position in the 2nd-4th rounds. I'd be pretty shocked if they took a guy like Doug Martin, Lamar Miller or David Wilson in the 1st. More likely, they would cross their fingers and hope one of those 4 makes it to their pick in the middle of round 2.

I agree that they won't use one of their 1sts on a RB.

4. There appears to be just one opening on the O Line, the LG position. I think that is a leading contender as far as position likely to be addressed in the 1st round, so guys like David Decastro, Cordy Glenn, etc. make a lot of sense if available at 17 or 21.

Agree here also. I think pick 17 for a guard.

 

[bengalbuck]

The Bengals need a CB and S as well. I would like to see them active in free agency, then fill in the remaining needs in the draft.CB - DraftG - Steal Grubbs from Baltimore?S - Banks from Oakland?RB - DraftWR - DraftI can dream, can't I?

Yeah, there is a ton of cap space, but who knows how much of it they will use...I suspect that they will re-sign a good number of their own FAs on defense. Guys like FS Reggie Nelson, DE Frostee Rucker, DT/DE Jonathan Fanene seem to be the first priorities and most likely. Then there are also guys like DT Pat Sims, LB Manny Lawson, CBs Pacman Jones and Kelly Jennings who I think they would like to re-sign but probably won't be real aggressive about.I'd love to see them get guys like Grubbs and Tyvon Branch from Oakland. Or an upgrade at CB like Cortland Finnegan, Brandon Carr, Tracy Porter, etc.Overall, I think it would make sense to try to get 1 "big-time" FA (most likely an OG or CB) and then just fill in with some relatively inexpensive guys at most of the other spots. From a fantasy perspective, if they can fill OG and CB in FA, it really opens up the possibility of RB and WR early in the draft.

 

[bengalbuck]

The Bengals should be a really interesting team to follow this offseason for fantasy owners. They have glaring holes at RB and WR. They also have 60 million in cap space and 2 first rounders to possibly address those positions. As a Bengals fan, here are some tidbits I've gleaned from recent interviews with the coaches and reports from the Bengals beat writers, etc.:1. The OC Jay Gruden implied that getting a very good 2nd WR was a big priority. He mentioned that the RB position was being de-emphasized a bit and that you can be successful with a committee approach at that position. He mentioned Darren Sproles and implied that he'd like the Bengals to get that type of guy (I'd look for a scat back type as a strong possibility in the 3rd or later).

I think they'll go with a big RB with receiving skills. Polk makes sense.

2. Geoff Hobson, the Bengals.com writer, said he doesn't foresee the Bengals pursuing Mike Wallace or any other high priced WRs in free agency. This conflicts a bit with what the beat writer Joe Reedy has been saying (he thinks Bengals go hard after a #2 WR in FA). Hobson said there was a strong chance the Bengals would look to draft a WR in the 1st round and mentioned guys like Kendall Wright and Alshon Jeffery as possibilities.

That doesn't really make sense. If you're going to spend a 1st on a WR, get a proven one like Wallace. They have the cap room, so the size of the contract isn't an issue. Plus, you hurt Pittsburgh a little.

3. It seems to be the consensus among the local writers that the Bengals would jump all over Trent Richardson if he falls into their laps. However, it also seems to be a pretty strong consensus that he's the only RB that the Bengals would consider in the 1st round. Based on Gruden's comments and everything else coming from those close to the team, it seems like they are much more likely to address the position in the 2nd-4th rounds. I'd be pretty shocked if they took a guy like Doug Martin, Lamar Miller or David Wilson in the 1st. More likely, they would cross their fingers and hope one of those 4 makes it to their pick in the middle of round 2.

I agree that they won't use one of their 1sts on a RB.

4. There appears to be just one opening on the O Line, the LG position. I think that is a leading contender as far as position likely to be addressed in the 1st round, so guys like David Decastro, Cordy Glenn, etc. make a lot of sense if available at 17 or 21.

Agree here also. I think pick 17 for a guard.

With regard to Mike Wallace, its way too simplistic to simply say, "they have the cap room, so size of the contract isn't an issue." Whether they spend all the way to the cap or not, they likely have a specific budget in mind for FA and the draft. If they spend $10 million per year on Mike Wallace as opposed to the $2 million per year that pick #21 would cost, that $8 million per year has to come from somewhere. I think you absolutely have to take that $8 million per year difference into account and assume that it would give the franchise $8 million less to spend on another position. For example, sticking with just WR, they could spend $8 million per on Pierre Garcon, plus draft a guy like Michael Floyd at 21 for the same cost as signing Wallace. To me Garcon and Floyd combined is easily more valuable than just Mike Wallace.

 

[cvnpoka]

$8 million per on Pierre Garcon, plus draft a guy like Michael Floyd at 21 for the same cost as signing Wallace. To me Garcon and Floyd combined is easily more valuable than just Mike Wallace.

8m on garcon seems horrid esp since his skillset is a bit redundant to aj green. hes a deep ball guy. id rather get an underneath and intermediate type like stevie johnson. his skillset is a very nice complement to green's imo.

 

[QuizGuy66]

There's already an offseason thread - mods please merge

Link to Official Thread

-QG

 

[bengalbuck]

$8 million per on Pierre Garcon, plus draft a guy like Michael Floyd at 21 for the same cost as signing Wallace. To me Garcon and Floyd combined is easily more valuable than just Mike Wallace.

8m on garcon seems horrid esp since his skillset is a bit redundant to aj green. hes a deep ball guy. id rather get an underneath and intermediate type like stevie johnson. his skillset is a very nice complement to green's imo.

I disagree somewhat as I think AJ Green has the tools to be a 100+ catch, do everything type guy. Thus, I think it would make sense to have a deep threat like Wallace or Garcon opposite of him. Plus, I think Stevie has too much nutty Ocho Cinco in him and I don't think Marvin wants to have to deal with that.However, that's sort of irrelevant to the point I was trying to make. Which was that you can't ignore the salary difference between Mike Wallace and who the Bengals could take at 21. You can't simply compare #21 pick vs. Mike Wallace (if it was that simple, Wallace is a no brainer).You would have to compare 21st pick(making 2m) + random FA (making 8m) vs. Mike Wallace (making 10m).If you start inserting actual names in for the 21st pick and the 8m a year FA, almost invariably they look more attractive than Mike Wallace does. For example, Michael Floyd + Ben Grubbs >Mike Wallace. Cordy Glenn + Cortland Finnegan > Mike Wallace....and on down the list...

 

[Hoosier16]

With regard to Mike Wallace, its way too simplistic to simply say, "they have the cap room, so size of the contract isn't an issue." Whether they spend all the way to the cap or not, they likely have a specific budget in mind for FA and the draft. If they spend $10 million per year on Mike Wallace as opposed to the $2 million per year that pick #21 would cost, that $8 million per year has to come from somewhere. I think you absolutely have to take that $8 million per year difference into account and assume that it would give the franchise $8 million less to spend on another position. For example, sticking with just WR, they could spend $8 million per on Pierre Garcon, plus draft a guy like Michael Floyd at 21 for the same cost as signing Wallace. To me Garcon and Floyd combined is easily more valuable than just Mike Wallace.

Well, they do need to spend a ton (50 mil?). I don't think a Wallace contract keeps them from doing other things.I also don't think Wallace costs quite that much, although he'll probably fall in the 8-10 range. He has no leverage to demand 10 million a year from anyone other than the Steelers. Once they tag him for 2.7, he doesn't have as much leverage with other teams. If nobody signs him, the Steelers get him for 2.7 this year and about 10 mil in each of the next 2 years (franchising him). I think that's what he has to work with. I think someone could sign him for about 20 million guaranteed and 8 a year.The 17 pick will likely cost 9-10 million over 4 years but it will most (if not all) of it will be guaranteed. So, looking at the guaranteed amount, do you want to spend 10 million on Floyd or 20 million on Wallace? I'd rather spend the extra 10 to be guaranteed the WR will be successful.

 

[Hoosier16]

If you start inserting actual names in for the 21st pick and the 8m a year FA, almost invariably they look more attractive than Mike Wallace does. For example, Michael Floyd + Ben Grubbs >Mike Wallace. Cordy Glenn + Cortland Finnegan > Mike Wallace....and on down the list...

The comparison is whether you take a WR at 21 or use the 21 for Wallace. The money issue always occurs with any big FA you sign. It really only comes down to deciding if spending 8-10 on Wallace is worth it. Those decisions occur any time you spend in FA. Do you want quality or quantity?

 

[cvnpoka]

$8 million per on Pierre Garcon, plus draft a guy like Michael Floyd at 21 for the same cost as signing Wallace. To me Garcon and Floyd combined is easily more valuable than just Mike Wallace.

8m on garcon seems horrid esp since his skillset is a bit redundant to aj green. hes a deep ball guy. id rather get an underneath and intermediate type like stevie johnson. his skillset is a very nice complement to green's imo.

I disagree somewhat as I think AJ Green has the tools to be a 100+ catch, do everything type guy. Thus, I think it would make sense to have a deep threat like Wallace or Garcon opposite of him. Plus, I think Stevie has too much nutty Ocho Cinco in him and I don't think Marvin wants to have to deal with that.However, that's sort of irrelevant to the point I was trying to make. Which was that you can't ignore the salary difference between Mike Wallace and who the Bengals could take at 21. You can't simply compare #21 pick vs. Mike Wallace (if it was that simple, Wallace is a no brainer).

You would have to compare 21st pick(making 2m) + random FA (making 8m) vs. Mike Wallace (making 10m).

If you start inserting actual names in for the 21st pick and the 8m a year FA, almost invariably they look more attractive than Mike Wallace does. For example, Michael Floyd + Ben Grubbs >Mike Wallace. Cordy Glenn + Cortland Finnegan > Mike Wallace....and on down the list...

at bolded, well cool? except i didnt say anything about going after mike wallace and paying the requisite costs. i mean, i didnt even mention mike wallace.

ok reading more, ya your whole post is pretty destructive to anyone advocating going after mike wallace. super cool. except i just checked and nope, mike wallace not even mentioned.

what else, oh ya, you want to ship 8m to garcon when the same amount would yield a far superior receiver in steve johnson. well mebbe not, bc hes like chad johnson amirite? a 7th round pick that has earned a main role and put up nice numbers in buffalo. no off field problems. not on the tweet radar afaik (could be wrong ofc.) has fantastic precision route running and seperation underneath skills.

but ya, bob costas #####ed about him for a celebration so hes untouchable.

and regardless, aj green should be a 100 catch underneath guy bc he has the skills to. and thats def moar important than being an elite deep threat that makes huge game winning plays.

ya, the more i read your post the moar mad i get.

btw google this "randy ratio."