Tuesday Trenches: Draft grade and best guess at the 53-man roster

Seven rounds, and 10 picks later, how are you feeling about the 2024 NFL Draft?

That was a fun one. The Cincinnati Bengals walked away from the 2024 NFL Draft with 10 fresh faces, eager to attempt to make their mark on what is hopefully a Super Bowl-winning season.

I’ve seen a lot of grades, and most of them are positive. They’ve ranged from A- to B-, and I’ve seen a few C’s sprinkled in there as well. Grades are largely pointless. We have no clue which teams hit a home run and which ones didn’t. If Michael Penix Jr. wins a Super Bowl for the Falcons when he gets his first chance to start in 2028, I’m sure their 2024 draft grade will rise.

Having said that, I liked what the Bengals did. I don’t think they “reached” for anyone. I think they saw guys they liked that fit into what they wanted to do. Amarius Mims fits the mold at offensive tackle. He’s massive, like Trent Brown and Orlando Brown Jr., and he’s an athlete. He doesn’t have a lot of tape, but the tape he does have is incredible. They don’t need him right away, which makes him a ball of clay for Frank Pollack to mold into a grizzly bear of a lineman.

Then, they waited to get Kris Jenkins, who Who Dey Nation is going to love. He’s a natural leader and has one of those charismatic personalities that just attracts people. On top of that, he played several different spots along the defensive line and was an incredible run defender at Michigan.

The Jermaine Burton pick in the third surprised me a little. Zac Taylor hasn’t taken a big swing on a guy who has questions about his personality in the draft yet, so it was against his type of pick. The team says they’ve done their due diligence, and I believe them. If Burton keeps his head on his shoulders, I think he’ll be one of the steals of the draft. He’ll fit in right away at WR3, and he could be a long-term replacement for Tee Higgins, if he’s the player the Bengals hope he is.

McKinnley Jackson was the second third-round pick, and a lot of people thought this was a reach again. I don’t really see it that way. Jackson has a typical nose tackle body, he’s incredibly strong, and he flashes some bull-rush potential at times as well. He won’t replace DJ Reader, but I’m not sure he’ll need to. He’ll join what is now a deep rotation, including BJ Hill and Sheldon Rankins, as well as Jenkins, which hopefully keeps everyone healthy and productive deep in the season.

The Bengals used their first selection on Saturday to grab Iowa tight end Erick All, a Cincinnati kid who played at Fairfield High School. He has some injury history, but, again, the Bengals said they’ve done their diligence, and All says he’s good to go. Some analysts say he has the potential to be George Kittle. I’d be totally fine with C.J. Uzomah.

Josh Newton, the team’s fifth-round pick, is a cornerback out of TCU, and some analysts considered him to be an average athlete, but he has a lot of experience. He started 59 career games and has experience on the outside and inside. Dane Brugler’s The Beast said his coaches consider him “the least entitled player” and an “ultimate competitor.” He kinda gives me Jordan Battle vibes, if Battle was a cornerback.

The Bengals double-dipped at tight end on Day 3 when they selected Arizona tight end Tanner McLachlan. He’s an in-line tight end who broke Rob Gronkowski’s record for receptions for a TE while at Arizona in his single season. He’s big and deceptively fast, and could be another big steal.

Their next two picks, Ole Miss defensive teammates Cedric Johnson and Daijahn Anthony, will hopefully add some depth. Johnson is an athletic edge rusher who needs some development but can contribute on special teams. Anthony is a defensive back who walked on at two different schools before becoming a starting safety at Ole Miss. He’s aggressive and has some experience at corner as well. Again, hopefully, he’s able to contribute right away on special teams.

Finally, the Bengals used their 10th and final pick on Miami (FL) center Matt Lee. I’m personally excited for this pick. He’s a little undersized. His playing weight is under 300 pounds, but he’s an athlete. He’s a technician when it comes to pass protection and barely allowed any pressure up the middle, even to guys much bigger than him. I don’t think he’s ever going to overpower any huge nose tackles as a run blocker, but I think he has a ton of potential as Ted Karras’ future replacement.

All in all, there’s a lot to like. The Bengals are in win-now mode, and they showed it. They took guys with a lot of upside, but some bust potential. Mims was a risk because there was not a lot of tape, and there’s some injury history there. Burton is a risk because there were other wide receivers available, maybe not with Burton’s physical abilities, but also without his off-field issues that could follow him to the NFL. They drafted a tight end with some injury concerns. They waited on cornerback. They waited on interior offensive line.

But, if things work out the way they could, this could be a home run draft for the Bengals.

I give them a solid B. They don’t get an A because there were some risks taken, but they deserve better than a C because they took some really talented players and showed some patience in getting the guys they wanted.

So yeah. They get a B from me.

So what does the 53-man depth chart look like? Here’s my way too early guess.

QB:

1. Joe Burrow
2. Jake Browning

RB:

1. Chase Brown
2. Zack Moss
3. Trayveon Williams

WR:

1. Ja’Marr Chase
2. Tee Higgins
3. Jermaine Burton
4. Trenton Irwin
5. Andrei Iosivas
6. Charlie Jones

TE:

1. Mike Gesicki
2. Drew Sample
3. Erick All
4. Tanner McLachlan

OL:

1. Orlando Brown Jr.
2. Cordell Volson
3. Ted Karras
4. Alex Cappa
5. Trent Brown
6. Amarius Mims
7. Jackson Carman
8. Cody Ford
9. Matt Lee

DL:

1. Trey Hendrickson
2. Sheldon Rankins
3. BJ Hill
4. Sam Hubbard
5. Kris Jenkins
6. McKinnley Jackson
7. Myles Murphy
8. Joseph Ossai
9. Jay Tufele
10. Cedrick Johnson

LB:

1. Logan Wilson
2. Germaine Pratt
3. Akeem Davis-Gaither
4. Joe Bachie
5. Devin Harper

CB:

1. Cam Taylor-Britt
2. Mike Hilton
3. DJ Turner
4. Jalen Davis
5. Dax Hill
6. Josh Newton
7. DJ Ivey

S:

1. Geno Stone
2. Vonn Bell
3. Jordan Battle
4. Tycen Anderson

ST:

1. Evan McPherson
2. Brad Robbins (though the Bengals did sign Texas Tech punter Austin McNamara as an undrafted free agent)
3. Cal Adomitis

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What do you think? Obviously, they’ve already signed some undrafted free agents, and they’ll probably sign a free agent or two to fill out camp. One of the guys above could get hurt, or traded, or cut, or whatever.

I think this is accurate, though, plus or minus three or four guys.

Who Dey!

Relevant Song Lyrics:

Everyone around, love them, love them
Put in your hands, take it, take it
There’s no time to cry, happy, happy
Put it in your heart where tomorrow shines
Gold and silver shine