On Friday afternoon, I listened to former Bengals beat writer Chick Ludwig for 3 hours on Cincinnati’s ESPN1530 discussing the possibility of the Bengals drafting Cam Newton or Ryan Mallett with the 4th pick of the draft. I wanted to bang my head on my desk, my steering wheel, and any other blunt object I could find. Here is why I think drafting a QB at #4 is a bad idea.
1. There is no clear top choice. Any QB taken that high had better demonstrate four qualities clearly: athleticism, accuracy, intelligence and leadership. They can’t get consideration for that high without the athleticism. But without accuracy, you end up with Derek Anderson. Without intelligence, you get Jamarcus Russell. Without leadership, you get Carson Palmer. The Bengals cannot afford to take a repeat of one of those guys at #4. And all of the top candidates have questions in one of those areas.
2. He would be under huge pressure to win NOW. Guys like Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford and Sam Bradford have proven that top rookie QBs can win right away. A QB taken at #4 would be under pressure to do the same for the Bengals, putting him in a prime position to fail. (No matter how good you consider Carson Palmer right now, would you rate his career as a good pick at #1 over all?) Keep the pressure to produce on offense where it should be this year… on Jay Gruden.
3. The Bengals’ track record with 1st round picks. I remember reading once that Mike Brown himself makes the pick in the first round. I don’t know if that is true or not, but given the number of busts the Bengals have had in the first round, I could believe it.
4. Jay Gruden’s system doesn’t demand a big arm. Accuracy and intelligence are premium over the big throw. You can get those guys in the second round as well, especially this year.
My opinion is this: fill another need in the first round, let other teams take the big chances on Newton and Mallett and Gabbert, and grab a guy like Ponder, Dalton or Kaepernick in the second. The Bengals’ best rounds have been 2-4 anyway. So get a guy that still fits Gruden’s system a round later and set him up to succeed.
Original Story:
http://stripehype.com/2011/03/06/no-q...
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