Most of the Bengals offensive line is good. But overall its only as good as its weakest link. Here we see how each player rates, and there is one glaring weakness.
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Now here are the players the Bengals were most likely to draft according to experts a week ago.
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One of them was avaible last night, and looked to be a perfect fit to fix that hole in our offensive. A guard/tackle who ESPN and other sites rated as a top 10 pick and a steal at 18. ESPN said "Fautanu is a readymade starter at left tackle." He is a player who can start and make an impact day one. Look again at the ranking of our line and replace that 34 with 75+. THIS YEAR and next year we might have had one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.
Instead we went with a tackle who everyone calls a "developmental player". A guy with only 8 starts in college, and who many say has numerous issues he needs to fix. He is not going to start this year, and probably won't start next year. He may eventually be a pro bowler. The goal is in a couple years to replace one of our newer tackles who are already good, a replacement that will keep the line at the level it is today, but who will probably not improve it.
So again, the Bengals had a choice.
- Draft the 15th rated prospect according to PFF. Improve the offensive line this year and better protect Burrow. All while building NFL experience for someone who may take over as starting tackle someday.
- Draft the 20th rated prospect according to PFF. Leave the offensive line as is for at least the next year. Try to develop un unpolished "work in progress", and hope someday he can replace one of our other tackles.
We passed on the first option and went with the 2nd.
Brown, Brown and Mims are not going to play at the same time. This was a gamble for the future. But it does nothing to help this year except possibly add depth.
Mims could someday be a pro bowler. He also could be Carman 2.0. He won't help much this year. And we still have a glaring weakness in the line. think of it this way...our offensive line is not much better than the one that let Jake get sacked on almost every pass play in the 4th quarter against KC. Mims won't help with that his year. Fautanu might have been a major improvement though.
EDIT: every site I've checked rank the Steelers pick of Fautanu higher than or pick of Mims, Mims is a B- and Fautanu is an A or B at worst.
This sums it up: "Fautanu is about as pro-ready as it gets, blending quickness, power and technique to consistently win at the line of scrimmage as well as while on the move. While Washington was beaten up front in the national title game loss to Michigan, Fautanu quietly was the most impressive lineman for either team"
27 comments
You definitely put alot of thought into this, until you brought up grades comparing ours and the Steelers pick. A: Draft grades are dumb (yahoo gave our pick and A+). B: Mims is a much better tackle suited for the NFL than Fautanu.
Absolutely nothing about Mims indicates to me that he could be “Carman 2.0”
>*”Look again at the ranking of our line and replace that 34 with 75+”*
Fautanu could turn out to better than Mims. But the source of your “75+” is the PFF Draft Simulator that is based in knuckleheads like you and me that are cosplaying as GM’s.
I trust the Bengals staff to have selected the right player. And actually, thats all we can do. I will complain when there is real word data showing Mims has failed.
I think this is solely a floor vs ceiling talent debate.
Option #1 higher floor
Option #2 higher ceiling
I’m not bothered by either option.
Fautanu doesn’t have better technique. He’s also 2 years older than mims. Compare Fautanus junior year to mims sophomore year. please educate yourself before posting this shit. Watch goodberrys film breakdown of both and you will change your mind. The fact you just compared mims to carman says it all
> But it does nothing to help this year except possibly add depth.
Which is what we need, because we also signed PFF’s 7th best RT (for one year), and statistically you’re much more likely to find great IOL players on Day 2 than great tackles.
It’s a risk, sure. But reminder that Jonah Williams was #4 on PFF’s Big Board. Not OT4, *number four total*. There are no guarantees even with players that feel sure-fire.
Why is there always a small contingent of people who bitch and complain every single year after the draft before the players have even hit the field? What’s the point? What do you get out of it?
To be fair Fautanu would be a development as well. Either we try to fit him in at RT or LG. He played LT at Washington. I liked that dude not gonna lie and thought it would be the safer pick but I can understand why they went with the upside Mims offers.
Carman was a little reach (maybe 10-15 picks too high but we see that often with Oline) and couldn’t transition to LG (played LT at Clemson).
I just hope Mims is and stays healthy.
Fautanu is undersized at tackle in the NFL and has never played Guard. Youd be hoping a 24 year old can develop on the inside for us. He would’ve been better than Volson though so you have that going for ya, but i think JPJ, and BeeBee and Haynes are all better than Volson too.
I think a lot of people are missing the boat on Mims. He is not a raw developmental player. His technique is there. He is an inexperienced developmental player. He dominated in the games he played against elite talent and all the reports were that he looked really good in practice when he was healthy again against elite talent.
This distinction is important because we are not banking on Mims to learn how to play the position. He knows how to play the position. We just need time to get him more reps to get used to taking advantage of his tools.
Also I think Jay Morrison tweeted it out, a list of first round tackles based on snaps played in college. There was no trend that playing less snaps made you less successful or vise versa. A big one, Ryan Ramczyk only played like 2-3 more games worth of snaps than Mims in college.
I would have been fine with Fautanu, but I prefer the Mims pick. The difference in potential is really important to me when this tackle is going to go up against Watt and Garrett 4 times a year. They make even above average tackles look like shit. We need someone with the potential to be a game changer in this division and if he doesn’t work out we do not need him this year.
Also worth noting that both Billy Price and Jonah Williams were considered the safe picks at their position in the draft. Safe isn’t a guarantee and there is no guarantee Fautanu is any good at the next level.
Edit: I also meant to throw in here, I get Mims doesn’t start right away, but Trent Brown doesn’t play full seasons. We need someone to play RT at some point this season. I also think we still see another IOL picked to compete with Volson today. Guards and Centers that start day one are consistently found on day 2.
This is so annoying. Do some of you not understand that players get injured in the NFL and it is highly unlikely that Trent Brown will play an entire season or even the playoffs? I feel like I’m in a twilight zone or something. I would say Mims is much more likely to play than not play this year and honestly him not having to start right away is fantastic. Absolutely nothing is more important than protecting Joe Burrow and he has the potential to do that at a high level for a long time. We literally just lost a SB a an AfC Championship game because of our lack of depth on the offensive line and some of have the nerve to bitch about finally addressing it properly. Let’s not forget that they have 9 more picks with very few real holes on the roster. As far as Fautanu goes who cares? We need a RT and Mims is possible one of the purist RT in this class.
Every1 wants to forget that Trent Brown hasn’t played a full season of snaps in forever if Mims can be ready and good by week 10 I’m confident going into playoffs even if he gets injured the line won’t be the reason we lose games like before
I feel like we as fans want to draft an impact player in the 1st round that will contribute immediately, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out like that. Considering Tee and Hendrickson might be gone after this year, it’s normal to want to push the chips all in this year and get immediate contribution from your day 1 pick. Time will tell. I trust the process.
I hate the pick
Still got brutal Carmen-burns (and all these other OL draft picks because Pollak sucks azz developing talent….)
Also him playing great on the snaps he did receive in college. The dude could explode and get really good quick with more reps against nfl talent. Plus the teams he played against were the best in college. I really wanted Murphy but this was a great pick based on who was there.
Fontanu is a guard and if he ends up playing tackle, he’s much closer to Jonah Williams at best, because he’s small for a tackle and not near as athletic.
Mims was the steelers first choice.
And for God’s sake, I don’t know where half of you guys are reading it but Mims is NOT a developmental he’s inexperienced. Developmental wouldn’t have 8 starts on a national championship team with zero sacks. And he practiced for 3 years against multiple first round defensive linemen. He’s already a top shelf pass blocker.
Fautanu is a lesser prospect and is more of an interior lineman.
And I think it’s hilarious part of your reason was “one was the 15th ranked and one was the 20th ranked.”
A few issues with this post. First off, just using PFF’s model and saying that’s who experts think we will draft is very disingenuous. That is one model, and they don’t give us any background on the mechanics of that model. I can create a model for you that has us drafting Mims 100% of the time, I’ve got spare time today.
Saying that everybody calls Mims a developmental player is a huge stretch too. Why is Mims a developmental player when he’s been playing offensive line since he started playing football as a kid? Sorry he sat behind two OT’s at Georgia who were first team all SEC? I’m really not sure how he is a developmental player in any way, shape or form.
And lastly, thank you for quoting draft rankings. I got a good laugh out of that. I grade Mims as an A+ pick and Fautanu as an F.
>Now here are the players the Bengals were most likely to draft according to experts a week ago.
These are the most common fan picks on PFF’s simulator, not expert picks. Read your own link.
>This was a gamble for the future. But it does nothing to help this year except possibly add depth.
Depth the line desperately needs. We were an injury aware from watching Jackson Carmen rejoining the lineup.
> He also could be Carman 2.0
Carmen was unathletic, questionable motor, and projected to be converted to guard. He lacked length. Mims is one of the most athletic OT prospects of ever, projects purely as a tackle, and is immediately one of the largest, longest OTs in the league. There is no comparison to be made here.
Mims can still bust, don’t get me wrong, but these are qualitatively two wildly different prospects.
> Fautanu might have been a major improvement though.
Are you one of those people who would have wanted Fautanu to start at LG, convert to RT next season, and convert to LT the season after? No, thanks. I’ll take the bigger, stronger, longer, younger prospect. Mims’ tape is excellent, he just lacks the volume of it.
Fautanu would have been a disaster of a pick. I’m not interested in these older, tweener prospects with limited ceilings. We should be swinging for the fences going after athletes. The thinking you are coming in with is how you draft Billy Price and Jonah Williams.
Literally the only knock on mims is he doesn’t have much film and it’s due to being behind two studs who had seniority and an unfortunate injury.
The film we do have he looks elite. Gave up 6 pressures total and zero sacks in several hundred snaps. He has the ideal build, strength, length for an nfl tackle. No off field issues or work ethic concerns. And has the luxury of sitting and learning behind a proven vet who is built exactly like him.
Secondly Carman played LT in college and we immediately moved him to two positions he never played. Mims will be in his natural position.
Mims and Carman are nothing alike. I get that there’s an argument for Fautanu over Mims as an immediate impact player but we may need an RT sooner than a guard. There’s also the possibility Volson takes a big step this year. If he doesn’t, guard should definitely be addressed. I wouldn’t even mind them grabbing Powers-Johnson to fight for the LG spot this year.
Get a grip bud.
Are these people bots? Like this is three accounts who have been posting almost the exact same thing word for word for the past two days. Is it one guy who’s just a professional hater? A Bama fan? A Steelers fan? What the hell is even happening here
Seriously go outside, he was projected to go in this range , he’s got some issues but he is a position of need and he will play this year (TB literally ALWAYS gets hurt a few games). Potential to be an All-Pro, floor is an often injured decent starter with his size and skill.
Carman was a multi round reach, not even comparable. Fautanu is old and has his own issues. Would have still been a decent pick but Mims is a good one
IMO. There are no guarantees in the draft. From
what I have read Fautanu is ready and serviceable and could be a average at best. He was the “safe” pick. He will hold his own against average DLine players but could get smoked against upper end pass rushers. Mims is a, younger, one year backup with elite athletic ability and pro bowl potential. The SEC is not the PAC-12. The caliber of play is just a different level. More playing time in a less talented conference is not a good way compare players. As for injuries Fautanu has also had injuries including an ACL. The Bengals don’t need another average player for RT they already have one.
If experts were that knowledgeable they would work in a front office
I don’t see fautanu playing as a tackle I think he’s better suited to play guard. He will struggle at LT or atleast mims has more potential
How is it a knock on Mims that’s there no playing time with the Browns but Fauntanu would be an improvement? Huh?
Analysis is Mims measureables are the best in the class with missing experience. Mims was a Junior last year and skipped his Senior for the draft and is 2 years younger than Fauntanu.
You wanted the “safer” pick but I’m glad the Bengals went for the home run especially since it times up perfectly with Trent Browns one year contract.
Who’s starting next year if not mims. He will be the only RT on the roster