Ben Bojicic, OL, Bowling Green
Derrius Brooks, CB, Western Kentucky
Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State
Tony Dye, S, UCLA
Tyler Hanson, QB, Colorado
Justin Hilton, WR, Indiana State
Brandon Joiner, DE, Arkansas State
Emmanuel Lamur, DB, Kansas State
Julian Miller, DE, West Virginia
Kashif Moore, WR, Connecticut
Taveon Rogers, WR, New Mexico State
Rodney Stewart, RB, Colorado
Landon Walker, OL, Clemson
Burfict could become the inside presence the Bengals have lacked for years.
As undrafted free agents began to be announced Saturday night, one Bengals signing stood out above most.
The Bengals picked up Vontaze Burfict, the much-maligned middle linebacker out of Arizona State.
Once thought to be an early first-round prospect, Burfict’s slide down teams’ boards had quietly begun during his senior season but really picked up after disasterous showings at the NFL Combine and his pro day. Combine those concerns with what NFL Gridiron Gab’s Chris Bach describes as “discipline and anger issues” at Arizona State, and Burfict’s fall out of the entire draft seem far less surprising.
Burfict surely fits the mold of talented but troubled players the Bengals tend to collect. He had a down junior season that saw him amass only 69 tackles and five sacks following an All-America sophomore year where he racked up 89 tackles. That production comes at a price as Burfict has a reputation for not being a team player — freelancing and leaving his responsibilities behind — and only looking for the big hit.
ANALYSIS: I despise the way people throw around the phrase “low risk, high reward” any time someone signs a free agent for cheap or drafts a red-flagged player lower than he was projected to go, but I’m close to using it here. Odell Thurman is the only difference maker the Bengals have had in the MLB position since Marvin Lewis came to Cincinnati in 2003. Burfict has that type of ceiling — big, athletic, hard-hitting linebackers with a mean streak tend to do well — but he’s a long road to travel before seeing the field, let alone reaching that potential.
What Cincinnati has in Burfict is a name familiar to many more fans than your average undrafted free agent, a player who could stand to learn a lot from some of the veterans in the Bengals’ locker room and someone who has shown the ability to be a top-notch linebacker at a high level of competition.
Hopefully he’s been humbled by the things that have been said about him in the media and the slide out of the draft. There’s still plenty of time for the kid to turn things around and becomes an all-pro, but it’s still far more likely that he fails to make the opening day roster.
Devon Still fell to the Bengals at pick No. 21 in Round 2 (No. 53 overall).
Here they are all in one place. The 2012 Bengals draft class complete with each player’s pre-draft grade from ESPN and NFL.com.
1-17 Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama — 87.2 NFL, 92 ESPN
No surprise here. He wasn’t the higest-ranked player on our board, but he’s the player Cincinnati needed to take.
1-27 Kevin Zeitler, G, Wisconsin — 85.0, 88
Will Zeitler and third-round pick Brandon Thompson be more valuable than David DeCastro? That’s the big question from this draft. No complaints after the move about getting the best run-blocking guard in this draft.
2-53 Devon Still, DT, Penn State — 84.2, 89
Still can be a disruptive force at times. Hopefully he grows in Cincinnati’s rotation and becomes a strong contributor.
3-83 Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers — 80.5, 68
A feel-good story after Thursday night’s prank. Sanu draws comparisons to T.J. Houshmandzadeh. He’s a better athlete, but not as savvy … at least not yet.
3-93 Brandon Thompson, DT, Clemson — 84.5, 87
Quick first step and high motor are what Thompson brings to the middle. You can never have enough good defensive linemen.
4-116 Orson Charles, TE, Georgia — 79.0, 73
A capable blocker with reliable hands. Becomes the sixth Bulldog on the Bengals roster and will compete with Donald Lee for the No. 2 tight end spot.
5-156 Shaun Prater, CB, Iowa — 66.0, 65
First pick of the draft that will excite special teams coach Darrin Simmons. Prater has the cover skills to develop into a solid NFL corner down the road.
5-166 Marvin Jones, WR, California — 74.0, 67
A versatile receiver who could line up outside or in the slot, Jones gives the Bengals 4.46-40 speed and a combine-best 6.81 trip through the three cone drill.
5-167 George Iloka, FS, Boise State — 73.0, 66
The knock on Iloka is similar to the one against Reggie Nelson before he came to Cincinnati. They say he doesn’t hit. He has the build and ball skills to be a free safety in this league, though.
6-191 Dan Herron, RB, Ohio State — 54.0, 42
Herron, with his power-running style, could contribute immediately to a team boasting mostly finesse backs. BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who has never carried the ball more than 200 times in a season, is the starter so it’s good to have as many backs as possible behind him.
Love it? Hate it? We’d love to know your thoughts. Leave a comment in our comments section below, post on our Facebook page or Tweet us @BengalsGab and share your thoughts!
With the 191st overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals selected … Dan “Boom” Herron, running back from Ohio State.
The team achieved balance — five defensive and five offensive players — in this draft when it made Herron its sixth-round selection. Herron is the type of back the Bengals were lacking on the roster: one who can carry 20 times a game between the tackles. He’s also fits the mold of local product the Bengals tend to take in the latter rounds.
Herron’s stock dropped when he was suspended for selling awards earned during his career at Ohio State. When he played, however, he was effective, averaging better than 4.8 yards per carry (593 attempts for 2,872 yards) in his Ohio State career. In 2010, his last full season, Herron lugged the ball 216 times for 1,155 yards and 16 scores. Herron found the end zone 32 times in four years with the Buckeyes.
The Bengals have no seventh-round selection this year. Their pick was traded to the Jaguars as the conditional pick in the Reggie Nelson for David Jones swap.
Bengals Gab will have more on each of the Bengals selections in the coming days. In the meantime, let us know on Facebook or Twitter how you think the team did in its draft.
With the 166th and 167th overall selections in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals selected … Marvin Jones, wide receiver from California and George Iloka, safety from Boise State.
Jones, at 6-foot-1, 199 pounds is touted as a good possession receiver who is able to get off the line and get open downfield. A three-year starter at California, Jones has amassed 155 receptions for 2,262 yards and 13 touchdowns since the start of the 2009 season. He had fewer than three receptions in just two games this season and had eight catches for 88 yards in a Holiday Bowl loss to Texas in December. I don’t like his chances to make the tail end of the roster over Ryan Whalen and Andrew Hawkins, but he could be a practice squad player this season and project for future years.
Iloka, like Orson Charles, was on the Bengals Gab radar at the end of Round 3. A prototypical NFL free safety at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, Iloka piled up 57 tackles a year ago and had more than 45 tackles in each season at Boise State. A four-year contributor on the Broncos defense, he had seven career interceptions though none came in his senior campaign. Iloka could step in instantly as a backup to Reggie Nelson at the free safety position, lining up next to Taylor Mays or 2011 draft pick Robert Sands at strong safety.
Cincinnati will have one sixth-round pick, likely its last pick in the draft. Stay with Bengals Gab (Twitter: @BengalsGab) for continued updates.
With the 156th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals selected … Shaun Prater, cornerback from Iowa.
The Bengals added more young depth to a position that has gone from strength to question mark in less than a year. Prater, a 2011 All-Big 10 Team selection, had 43 tackles and an interception last year after racking up 68 tackles and four interceptions as a junior. The three-year starter for the Hawkeyes will need to show some of the cover and ball skills from his junior year to see the field early for Cincinnati.
Cincinnati has two late picks still to come in Round 5. Stay with Bengals Gab (Twitter: @BengalsGab) for more.
With the 116th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals selected … Orson Charles, tight end from Georgia.
Someone we were looking at as an option at the tail end of Round 3 dropped to Cincinnati with its fourth-round selection Saturday. The Mackey Award finalist caught 45 passes for 574 yards and five touchdowns for the Bulldogs last season. He caught 93 balls and scored 10 touchdowns in three seasons. A very athletic player in the open field, Charles will likely compete with Donald Lee for the No. 2 tight end spot this season. He offers another option to Andy Dalton, who doesn’t have many behind Star receiver A.J. Green, tight end Jermaine Gresham and slot receiver Jordan Shipley, who is coming off an ACL injury that sidelined him for nearly all of 2011.
The Bengals have three fifth-round selections (Nos. 21, 31 and 32) between the 156th and 167th overall. Stay with Bengals Gab (Twitter: @BengalsGab) for continuing updates.
With the 93rd overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals selected … Brandon Thompson, defensive tackle from Clemson.
With this selection, the Bengals added interior finesse and quickness to go with the raw power of 53rd overall pick Devon Still. Thompson racked up 46 tackles and 2.5 sacks last year at Clemson. A versatile lineman, Thompson moved around the Clemson front line and caused havoc in the backfield from multiple spots. At 6-foot-2, 314 pounds, Thompson has the size to add another run-stopping presence to the inside of the interior line. It will be interesting to see who gets bumped with Still and Thompson both joining what was already a fairly deep rotation.
What determines this year’s draft grade will be the question of whether the Bengals get more value from first-rounder Kevin Zeitler and Thompson or guard David DeCastro, who the Bengals passed on when they traded the 21st pick to New England for the 27th and 93rd overall slections.
The Bengals are scheduled for five picks on Saturday:
Round 4, pick 21 (116 overall)
Round 5, pick 21 (156 overall)
Round 5, pick 31 (166 overall)
Round 5, pick 32 (167 overall)
Round 6, pick 21 (191 overall)
April 29th, 2012 
Matt Loede 
Posted in 
