Refreshing might be the best way to describe the Cincinnati Bengals coming out of the 2019 NFL draft, the first of the Zac Taylor era.
And this was on full display after each of the Bengals’ draft picks throughout the process. New Bengals coaches met with the media after the rounds and provided some interesting insight into the decision-making process and what the prospects bring to the table.
We’ve combed through every transcript and video for the most notable takeaways.
Round 1, No. 11: Alabama OL Jonah Williams
Taylor, on the versatility Williams brings and what it means:
Exactly. He’s played three years in the best conference in all of (college) football. He’s done a great job at left tackle for them. Certainly he can play guard. He has great flexibility here, so he enables us to get our five best linemen on the field. So we’re excited to get him into the mix.
Round 2, No. 52: Washington TE Drew Sample
Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan on where Sample fits in the tight end room:
I wouldn’t call it that. I think he’s a really good player. I view him as an addition that will help us. He’s a young player we feel really good about pairing with C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Eifert. He fits a different role than them. He isn’t a replacement or insurance, just an addition to a room that was solid to begin with. I think we improved it quite a bit by adding Drew.
Round 3, No. 72: NC State LB Germaine Pratt
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo on where Pratt fits and what role they envision for him:
Off-the-ball linebacker, inside. That’s the other thing we liked about him — he’s a multiple-position guy. We feel like he can play all three spots. He’s a guy that brings size, speed and very long arms, which is good for a linebacker to shed blocks. (He has) over 33-inch arms, if I’m not mistaken. That aids in allowing him to be a multiple-position guy. We’ll put him where he best fits, and where he best fits us as a defense.
Round 4, No. 104: NC State QB Ryan Finley
Callahan jumped at the opportunity right as the post-round presser began to stress what the Finley pick means for Andy Dalton:
We took Ryan Finley after moving up in the fourth round. He’s a quarterback, and we’re really excited about his potential and his tape that he put on at N.C. State. I do want to make something very clear before we start, maybe eat some potential questions before we get going: Andy Dalton is our starting quarterback. That has not changed; that will not change. We think very highly of Andy and what he’s going to do in our offense, so we’ll get that out of the way to start. We do think competition is good. It’ll be good for our position. It’ll be good for the backup job for sure. For those guys to compete, it’s going to bring out the best in our quarterbacks for sure. We’re excited to get Ryan in here and get him started, and I’ll let Lou take over from here.
Round 4, No. 125: Arizona State DL Renell Wren
Defensive line coach Nick Eason on the versatility Wren brings to the front four:
Like Lou already mentioned, I’m excited to have a guy with some size and some length that we don’t have. (He gives us) a big body, obviously — I call him ‘Mt. Wren.’ I’m just excited to have him. He was really excited in talking to him on the phone. With him being an interior guy (on the defensive line), he has enough athletic ability to play multiple positions, so I’m looking forward to having him. We’re excited about the pick, and I think he’s going to be a great player. He has a huge NFL upside.
Round 4, No. 136: Ohio State OL Michael Jordan
Offensive line coach Jim Turner on what Jordan’s game brings and how it fits:
If you’re a guard, you have to be able to run and get outside. They both have that. The size of Mike, he’s close to 6-6, 310 pounds. He’s a massive human being, but he has a 32’ vertical jump. Athletically, they’re explosive and can run. They can move big bodies. Those are critical pieces to our line. When you combine all of those things, they also have to be smart. You have to be smart to play and succeed in this offense.
Round 6, No. 182: Texas A&M RB Trayveon Williams
Taylor on whether he was surprised Williams was still on the board in the sixth round:
I was happy that he was there. It’s hard to be surprised because there’s a lot of players that you place a high value on that end up falling. So other teams sometimes just have other needs, but we’re very happy he was there, he’s an extremely productive back. Our offensive line coach has come from Texas A&M, so it’s always great when you have some familiarity with a player walking in the building, so there’s not many unknowns there.
Round 6, No. 210: Auburn LB Deshaun Davis
Taylor on Davis’ productivity in college:
Yeah. He’s a talented linebacker. Again we’re encouraged by all of these guys and are happy to get them in the building in the next couple of days.
Round 6, No. 211: Oklahoma RB Rodney Anderson
Taylor on where Anderson fits within the offense and why they doubled up at running back:
Then we got Rodney Anderson from Oklahoma, who’s coming off of an injury. During the times he’s played, he’s really been a difference-maker for Oklahoma. He’s a really talented back. He’ll be coming in off of an injury, so he might not be ready right away. We felt like it was important to add depth at that running back position. We lost one a couple weeks ago, so we needed some competition in that room.
Round 7, No. 223: South Dakota St. DB Jordan Brown
Taylor on Brown and how the South Dakota State product fits the theme of the class:
The last pick we took was Jordan Brown, the cornerback from South Dakota State. Again, adding some depth to that defensive backs room was important for us. We really feel like we got what we wanted out of this draft. We’re really encouraged by the guys we’re bringing into this building. There are a lot of leaders on the teams they played on. It was important to bring in guys who were ready to lead. We’re going to have the right mindset as they come in here and compete. We’re really excited about how it turned out for us. I’ll open it up for questions.
