The Bengals have signed first and second-round draft picks Jonah Williams and Drew Sample. They have now signed eight of their 10 draft picks this year, with only LB Germaine Pratt and QB Ryan Finley remaining unsigned.
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Backup QB Jeff Driskel's standing is shaky after the Bengals traded up six spots in the fourth round to get N.C. State's Ryan Finley.
Here are the Bengals 2019 draft picks: 1. Jonah Williams, OL, Alabama; 2. Drew Sample, TE, Washington; 3. Germaine Pratt, LB, NC State; 4. Ryan Finley, QB, NC State. 5. Renell Wren, DT, Arizona State; 6. Michael Jordan, C/G, Ohio State; 7. Traeveon Williams, RB, Texas A&M; 8. DeShaun Davis, LB, Auburn; 9. Rodney Anderson, RB, Oklahoma; Jordan Brown, CB, South Dakota State.
The Bengals needed a third running back after Mark Walton was released after several arrests this year. Walton, a 2018 fourth-round pick, struggled in his limited playing time last year. Williams can play a variety of roles and has experience at kick returner. His numbers are impressive against SEC competition. He rushed for 1,760 yards and 18 touchdowns last year in addition to catching 27 passes for 278 yards and a touchdown. At 5'8 and around 200 pounds, the main concern would be how his size translates to the NFL.
Bengals OC Brian Callahan made it clear at the start of the press conference today that Andy Dalton is their guy, even with the addition of Ryan Finley. But they've never tried to hide that. The Bengals said he wasn't available for trade and they passed on opportunities to take quarterbacks in Day 1 and Day 2. While they haven't committed to a new contract for him, that's not unusual, as they typically don't address contracts until the summer before the last year. So while 2020 might be a question mark, Andy Dalton is clearly going to be the starter in 2019.
Bengals take Arizona State DT Renell Wren with their second fourth-round pick. Wren didn't really emerge until his senior year in 2018, starting 13 games with 43 tackles (4.5 for loss), one sack and two PBUs. He's 6'5 and 318 pounds. He'll compete for time in the defensive line rotation.
The Bengals sent a fourth-round pick (No. 110) and two sixth-round picks (Nos. 183 and 198) to the 49ers to move up six spots to draft NC State QB Ryan Finley at No. 104.
Ryan Finley was the only known quarterback the Bengals brought in for a visit. Alex Van Pelt and Brian Callahan took him to dinner at Ruth's Chris and then he talked for 30 minutes with Zac Taylor the next day. They also had him go through plays and protections on the white board. He said his strengths are his decision making and accuracy. He played with the Bengals third round pick, linebacker Germaine Pratt.
The Bengals traded up at the beginning of the fourth round to select North Carolina State quarterback Ryan Finley. There were a lot of speculation that the Bengals would target a quarterback early, but a Day 3 selection was always more of a logical choice. Andy Dalton is their guy for now with two years left on his contract, but they can get out of that at any time without any dead money. Jeff Driskel isn't a sure thing at backup quarterback, so Finley can learn under Dalton. This will be a big year for Dalton, as the team believed he was playing very well in September before a rash of injuries decimated the team's chances.
Bengals badly needed a linebacker after releasing Vontaze Burfict. They waited until the third round to take North Carolina State LB Germaine Pratt. He's a guy who the Bengals think could play all three positions. He started as a safety, had shoulder surgery in 2016 and moved to linebacker after that. It's basically open competition at LB after the struggles they had there last year. Bengals were one of the worst defenses in the league last season.
The Bengals selected Washington TE Drew Sample with the 52nd overall pick after trading down 10 spots with the Broncos. With Tyler Eifert on a one year deal and Tyler Kroft leaving in free agency, it makes sense that the Bengals wanted to address this position. They didn't have a tight end in their top group of players, so a first-round tight end wasn't really an option. However, while Sample is known as a good blocker, it's unclear how he's going to translate as a pass catcher in the NFL.
Only two picks separated Irv Smith Jr. and Drew Sample in the draft, but there's a huge difference in their projections. Smith Jr. has a 23% chance to reach a Pro Bowl-caliber level in his first three seasons, per ESPN's NFL Draft Projections. Sample only has a 6% chance.
The Broncos paid a high price to move up for Drew Lock. The package Denver surrendered was worth about 78% more than the No. 42 pick is worth, per our draft pick valuations based on AV over replacement. However, the calculation really changes when one trades up for a QB: the upside is much higher for the position, so it's probably easier to justify giving up extra assets to do it (then again, Broncos had back-to-back picks).
| RD(PK) | PLAYER | POS | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(11) | Jonah Williams | OT | Alabama |
| 2(20) | Drew Sample | TE | Washington |
| 3(8) | Germaine Pratt | OLB | North Carolina State |
| 4(2) | Ryan Finley | QB | North Carolina State |
| 4(23) | Renell Wren | DT | Arizona State |
| 4(34) | Michael Jordan | OG | Ohio State |
| 6(9) | Trayveon Williams | RB | Texas A&M |
| 6(37) | Deshaun Davis | ILB | Auburn |
| 6(38) | Rodney Anderson | RB | Oklahoma |
| 7(9) | Jordan Brown | CB | South Dakota State |
| TEAM | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 389 | 287 |
| Pittsburgh | 9 | 6 | 1 | .594 | 428 | 360 |
| Cleveland | 7 | 8 | 1 | .469 | 359 | 392 |
| Cincinnati | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 368 | 455 |
