The Cincinnati Bengals selected John Ross with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, but how does the pick grade out?
Based on how things turned out for the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, fans should be ecstatic. With their selection at No. 9, they picked up wide receiver John Ross of Washington, and it portends to great things for the team.
As had been discerned often since the 2016 season ended, the Bengals spent last year with a glaring deficit in skill position talent. In the few years prior, that had actually been quite a strength for them. A.J. Green led the way as the top-end receiver, Tyler Eifert acted as a terrifying matchup over the middle, and guys like Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones Jr gave dynamic presences to pair alongside them.
With Eifert missing a large portion of the year to an injury (something which seems to happen pretty often with him), the Sanu/Jones combination leaving for greener ($) pastures in free agency, and the architect of their excellent 2015 offense (Hue Jackson) heading to Cleveland, the unit took a big step down.
The raw yardage didn't dip, but the team saw stark changes in completion percentage (66.1 percent to 64.7 percent), yards per attempt (8.1 to 7.5), touchdown passes (31 to 18), sacks (32 to 41), and passer rating (104.1 to 91.8).
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The Eifert injury issues have to be lived with at this point, and there was nothing which could be done about Jackson leaving for a head coaching gig, but improving the wide receiver position was a clear way to get this offense to a better place. The pick of Ross does that to an excellent degree.
Last year, Green had to try carrying a unit which relied heavily on Brandon LaFell as their second option for a good portion of the year (while Eifert recovered), and had reservations with thrusting rookie Tyler Boyd into a major role too quickly. Boyd should have a bigger role this time around, but Ross gives them a dynamic they wouldn't have had otherwise.
His speed is incredible. The former combine record for a 40-yard dash had been set at 4.24 by Chris Johnson years ago and few had really gotten close since — until Ross that is, who blew past it with a 4.22 effort. That sort of explosive talent was sorely missing in the Bengals offense last year, but it shouldn't be a worry any longer.
Placing that speed opposite of the dominance which A.J. Green provides? The AFC North is gonna have their hands full. The grouping of Green/Ross/Boyd has the ability to challenge any wideout trio over the next few seasons; add in Eifert, and defensive coordinators are already losing sleep.
This pick may not have been what I was predicting (either Soloman Thomas or Jonathan Allen to boost their defensive line), but it has the potential to be a much more transformative selection for the team than either of those two would have been.
I'm not quite ready to say this outcome changes the future for the Bengals, but it does push me a lot closer to that line of thinking.
Maybe 2016 will prove to be an aberration after all.
