Why The Bengals Drafted Gresham

Dez Bryant was still on the board. Why would we draft a TE when our "Ocho of the future" was right there? It would have been dumb, that's why. The Bengals WR's are in their 30's, but Dez was not starting for this team in 2010. Jermaine Gresham is going to. Not only is he better than any TE we had prior to drafting him, he is every bit the potential All Pro his press clippings suggest.

He was not interested in partying because he was drafted, he sat home alone to await news of his destination. He can't wait to get to work, apparently, he loves this game, not the money the game blesses him with. What a novel concept.

Some Bengal fans will have to be convinced however. No matter what happens, it was the right pick to make. Pay no mind to the draft snobs who over think such things and cry like fat kids denied a candy bar when their "mock" gets blown to bits. With Gresham there to be had, there was really no alternative that made much sense.

Ever since Antonio Gates took the league by storm as an undrafted FA, the TE position has been compared to a basketball Power Forward. I see our TE position as having been well manned by a "defensive" type in Reggie Kelly for the better part of this last decade. Kelly wasn't going to score you many points (catch a lot of passes) but on the "defensive end" (blocking wise), he was gonna hold his man to single digits. So in conjunction with three very productive scorers (Ocho, TJ, and Henry), Kelly sufficed. Especially when there were so many other positions in more dire need of a personnel upgrade.

As we stood entering this draft however, only one position could be accurately described as being in shambles. That position was Tight End. The only functional starter we had was Reggie Kelly and he is in his mid 30's and coming off an achilles tear. Unlike DE, where Odom is coming off the same injury but several years younger, the Bengals don't have any Micheal Johnson's or Jon Fanene's who, in Kelly's absence, stepped in and proved themselves as viable, productive options at the position. Foschi was serviceable, but he is a backup and we haven't even resigned him.

TE is the only position where there was a prospect that was not only available to us, but that you could also pencil in as our starter the minute we drafted him. His game tape shows he will in all probability be at least a functional blocker as well as an excellent receiver over the middle and in the red zone.

All indications from last season point towards the running game and defense that were the strength's of this team last season getting even better regardless of whatever additions are made via this draft. This team's number one issue is being able to pass the ball effectively because it was quite obvious that Ocho by himself is not going to get it done.

Call me crazy, but I'm not one of those people who think Carson forgot how to throw. I'm also not going to assume that our receiving corp. is automatically fixed due to the signings of Bryant and Jones. While I do believe that those two should definitely improve the pass game, there are still question marks about both players.

We have incredibly talented defensive units like the Ravens and Jets capable of shutting down even the best offenses, and offensive juggernauts like the Chargers and Colts capable of outscoring anybody to contend with in the AFC. It wouldn't have made sense to not simultaneously address our biggest need positionally as well as the team's weakest unit (receiving corp.). Not when a team is lucky enough to have a guy who addresses both of their biggest concerns fall in their lap.