Of the picks the Cincinnati Bengals made in the 2019 NFL draft, Drew Sample in the second round registered as the most polarizing.
After trading down, Sample was still widely viewed as a reach. Zac Taylor and Co. obviously felt differently but the only thing that will silence detractors of the pick is Sample’s play on the field.
And according to MMQB’s Albert Breer, Sample already looked the part in rookie minicamp:
Speaking of tight ends, another guy who stood out at rookie minicamp was Cincinnati second-round pick Drew Sample. Tight end is an important position in the Bengals’ offense, so it would be huge in Zac Taylor’s first year if the team nailed that pick. The staff sees Sample, an outstanding blocker with good receiver skills, playing the role as the traditional ‘Y’ tight end, the same role that Tyler Higbee did in that offense for the Rams. If he’s healthy, Tyler Eifert would then slide into the ‘F’ role as the move tight end, to generate mismatches. And the good news here is that Sample has already shown a pretty good ability to pick up what’s being taught and apply it, which is obviously key to contributing as a rookie.
This is still extremely early and it was only rookie minicamp, but it is interesting to already hear Sample looked good in his planned role.
Hailed as a superb blocker and offering interesting upside as a weapon in the passing game, Sample is a relative unknown as far as instant impact in the offense next year goes. This is especially the case with Tyler Eifert and C.J. Uzomah already on the roster.
If Sample excels and Eifert can move all over the place and do his usual damage when healthy, the pick won’t be nearly as panned in hindsight. So far so good for the most eyebrow-raising pick in a mostly stellar class.
