With the 18th overall pick in the 2024 Bleeding Green Nation community mock draft, Cincinnati Bengals GM grantspectations selects ...

Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas

Hi folks,

I am back after a bit of a hiatus. As you recall, I made the brilliant pick of Joe Burrow and, despite the brilliance, not too much praise was awarded me. Likely because I failed to beef up his o-line fast enough. Though, I also didn’t catch too much negativity, either. But i did catch something else.

As you recall, I was formerly with Detroit and to get that exec position, well, that required me getting into some awkward positions. And don’t believe the wise tale about of shot of penicillin.

Well, after a long recovery, we’re here to crush the draft aided with 10 picks including 2 in the 3rd.

This is a roster with Super Bowl aspirations and as long as Joey B is healthy (guy I picked), this is a real possibility.

Only, his close friends get to call him Joey B.

So, Mr. Burrow, could use some help but Cincy had a pretty good offseason. The secondary was getting sliced up at times, so Vonn Bell returned along with Pro Bowl snub Geno Stone joining.

Sheldon Rankins was added to ease the loss of DJ Reader and we brought in Trent Brown at RT along with a slight upgrade at TE with Mike Gesicki.

These moves, along with others, put us in a position that we don’t have to reach in the draft but we have had some shakeup at WR. Tyler Boyd is still on the market and Tee Higgins, asked for a trade. Tee wasn’t a fan of not getting a long-term deal and we aren’t sure how much money we want tied up at WR with an impending deal looming with Ja’Marr Chase.

Luckily, WR is the strength of this class and we have 4 picks in the top 100. Tackle on both sides looks strong as does CB.

DE is weak this year but we like our rotation and our LBs. And although we have an average TE corps, we have signed 3. And Brock Bowers is already off the board.

Trent Brown might play at a Pro Bowl level but has a checkered injury past and is on a 1 year deal. The d-line could use more push particular in the interior. This could be the area needing the most help.

But we may soon go from having the best WR corps outside of Philly to 1 main guy that teams can focus on.

We invested heavily at CB already. So, we are hoping DJ Turner will step-up. So, the focus depth: yes, upgrades: sure & replacements: most likely needed.

There should be some real quality WRs around 50, DT is deep. Trading back isn’t possible.

With a bit of a run at WR, and the last OT we liked in this round came off the board, seeing possibly one of the top DT in the draft still available we decided to go with:

• Athletic, quick interior pass rusher
• Fast at the point of attack
• Instinctive
• Dangerous interior pass-rusher
• Closes on quarterbacks in a hurry
• Loose hips to change direction
• Heavy hands
• Disruptive
• Uses hands and feet at same time
• Quick feet
• Ability to shed blocks
• Agile
• Quality run defender

The only real weakness is lack of length. The rest might be nitpicking. But as he develops he should be able to develop more counter moves, some better hand and foot movement. Has played up and down the line, both effective in run game and especially has a lot of pass rush potential due to his impressive agility and quickness.

Daniel Jeremiah has him at 22 on his top 50 and other outlets, also have him as top 20-25 player.

Most have him ranked as 1st or 2nd best DT in the draft. The Athletic calls him a “freak.”

He posted a 4.87 40-time, the third-fastest time among defensive linemen, along with a 33-inch vertical. Murphy also showed off his upper-body strength with 28 reps on the bench press.

This is just the type of player Cincy needs to improve the defensive line and put more pressure on opposing QBs, something we had trouble with last season. While be slightly overshadowed by Sweat who was recently arrested, Murphy has also been able to shine looking like a 1st rounder.

On a little known side note, while traveling near DeSoto, a pregnant cow came dashing out last minute and only my swift and courageous action caused me to avoid taking out the lumbering mother to be but I went off the road into a ditch and was knocked unconscious temporarily and as I awoke a 300 lbs. angel had pulled me from the car and was about to perform CPR. To avoid any possible draft regulations issues we chose to keep this quiet, so I won’t mention the angel’s name. Nor how close he came to performing CPR.

Just to summarize, DT has been identified as one of Cincy’s main needs, specifically the interior rush needing an upgrade. SI and other outlets have linked BM number 2 :) as a potential target and viable long-term replacement for Reader.

He is listed as one of the best DT’s in the draft and we feel very fortunate to have him basically fall into our lap. Win-win, BPA that fills a need. We like our DL depth, much more now and hopefully our choice will help us slow down some of the opposing QB’s we’ll face. If he flames out, at least we made a potential strong addition to our medical staff.

Stats:

https://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/4570040/byron-murphy-ii

Highlights:

Draft profile:

Muscular ball of explosiveness with the tools and talent to become a productive three-down defender in the right scheme. Twitchy first-step quickness combined with flexion and power in his lower half create a recipe for disruption as a gap shooter or as a pass rusher. Murphy is powerful and well-schooled at taking on double-teams but lacks ideal mass and length for that role long-term. He’s successful at bypassing protection with sudden hands and quick feet, while his motor and passion create an activity level coaches will love. Forget the average physical traits and modest production and focus on his competitive spirit and disruptive qualities. Murphy is ascending and could become a successful nose tackle or 3-technique in an even front.

Spider chart:

2024 BGN Mock Draft Order

1) Bears (Draftjunky): Caleb Williams, QB, USC
2) Commanders (surefooted): Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
3) Patriots (niels.rosenquist): Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
4) Cardinals (eaglenomics): Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
5) Chargers (SeanEFootball): Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
6) Giants (89Tremaine) Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
7) Titans (Philly21): Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
8) Falcons (Eagles_Blitz80): Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama
9) Bears (pheebthegoose): Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
10) Jets (GreenGrampa): Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, Penn State
11) Vikings (The Player Formerly Known as Mousecop): J.J. McCarthy, QB, Michigan
12) Broncos (PBARB1978): Bo Nix, QB, Oregon
13) Raiders (iam4theBirdz): Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
14) Saints (Fly Like An Eagle): Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington
15) Colts (J. Wil): Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
16) Seahawks (Phreezy E): Jer’Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois
17) Jaguars (dredscottroberts): WR Brian Thomas Jr., WR, LSU
18) Bengals (grantspectations): Byron Murphy II, DT, Texas
19) Rams (Nolo0oo)
20) Steelers (Dr.MidnightGreen)
21) Dolphins (Neil Dutton)
22) Eagles (ablesser88)
23) Vikings (RabidPanda13)
24) Cowboys (Elliptical Man)
25) Packers (LeFire)
26) Buccaneers (FlJoe)
27) Cardinals (green1us)
28) Bills (Leo Bedio)
29) Lions (MrOilman)
30) Ravens (LancGuy)
31) 49ers (SakPrescott)
32) Chiefs (Hoosinole)

Now it’s time for you to vote for who YOU think should be selected in the 2024 BGN Community Consensus Mock Draft.

1) Bears: QB Caleb Williams
2) Commanders: QB Jayden Daniels
3) Patriots: QB Drake Maye
4) Cardinals: WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
5) Chargers: WR Malik Nabers
6) Giants: WR Rome Odunze
7) Titans: OT Joe Alt
8) Falcons: EDGE Dallas Turner
9) Bears: OT Olumuyiwa Fashanu
10) Jets: TE Brock Bowers
11) Vikings: QB J.J. McCarthy
12) Broncos: QB Bo Nix
13) Raiders: OT Taliese Fuaga
14) Saints: OT Troy Fautanu
15) Colts: CB Quinyon Mitchell
16) Seahawks: DT Byron Murphy
17) Jaguars: CB Terrion Arnold
18) Bengals: