2014 NFL Draft Grades: Cincinnati Bengals

Jan 5, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals helmet on the field before the AFC wild card playoff football game at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports /

The NFL Draft has come and gone and it’s now time to reflect on how each team did despite the fact that we won’t really know until much further into the future. Still, we can get a fell of how players might do in their immediate careers based off of what they did in college and how well they fit into the systems they were drafted into.

Draft Picks

Pick	Player
1.24	Darqueze Dennard, CB , Michigan State
2.23	Jeremy Hill, RB, LSU
3.24	Will Clarke, DL , West Virginia
4.11	Russell Bodine, OG, North Carolina
5.24	A.J. McCarron, QB, Alabama
6.36	Marquis Flowers, LB , Arizona
7.24	James Wright, WR , LSU

Best Pick: Jeremy Hill/RB/LSU

Hill is a fast, tenacious downhill runner who will be able to complement Giovanni Bernard excellently. Hue Jackson’s offense is going to be fast and that’s what Hill will help maintain as he’ll be able to come in for Bernard and keep his legs fresh while also providing some speed of his own to keep the offense flowing.

Worst Pick: A.J. McCarron/QB/Alabama

Call me a hater if you’d like but A.J. McCarron isn’t king to transition well into the NFL. If Bengals fans really feel better with McCarron leading than Andy Dalton then clearly football isn’t understood there. It’s not that McCarron isn’t good, it’s just that he doesn’t have the skills at the moment to start or play well in the NFL. That can change though, so there’s hope, but the pick seemed to be forced and it’s not a good one in hindsight.

2014 Draft Grade: B+

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