2017 NFL Draft: Cincinnati Bengals Final 7-Round Mock Draft
By Kenn Korb
Round 4 Compensatory Pick: Jalen ‘Teez’ Tabor, CB – Florida
The Bengals have proven themselves to be a team where character concerns can be thrown out the window. That can be a pretty ugly sight if things go wrong. We saw that back in the days of Chris Henry and Odell Thurman, when the team was in the headlines for nine different players dealing with arrests in 2006.
Since those days however, the team hasn’t lost their penchant for bringing in troubled-yet-talented individuals, and has really been the sort of organization which acts as a positive influence and manages to help those players get past their previous discrepancies to showcase their talents at their highest levels.
Adam Jones got himself cut from Tennessee and Dallas due to his off-field problems. Until this past offseason, there were just about no off-field issue with him in Cincinnati while he cemented himself as a quality starting cornerback (and now, even with those problems rearing their head again, the team is sticking by him).
Vontaze Burfict couldn’t even get drafted, but Lewis took a chance on him; though he does have a disturbing propensity for “dirty” play at times, Burfict has been one of the league’s most impactful players at his position, and Marvin Lewis has helped him grow as a person in a way he may never have reached elsewhere.
Stuff like that makes Tabor an appealing pick at this spot.
If all we were considering was on-field ability, Tabor would easily be gone by this point. He has the size and athletic ability, which gave the expectation of him at worst landing somewhere towards the end of Day 1 in the draft. He does have problems on the speed front (an apparent fear of getting beat deep and poor tackling are chief among them), but his overall potential as a cover man outshines them.
The stuff beyond the field does matter though, and what comes in the package you get with selecting Tabor won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.
He was suspended at Florida last year for fighting with a teammate. He has failed (and refused to take) drug tests. He tested horribly at the combine (a 4.62-second 40-yard dash time for a cornerback is unsightly). He’s supremely confident, to the point where it can be a detriment to himself and his team. He’s considered high-maintenance, the sort of player that will be difficult for coaches to corral.
Add all that together and it’s no wonder many teams may not even want to bother with the idea of having him on their squad. Cincinnati, though, could be one of the few teams willing to look past his problems and take the risk on his talent.
They’ve already proven capable of successfully managing difficult characters and getting the best out of those players. With the Bengals, he also wouldn’t be thrust into a starting role immediately. Instead, he’ll be forced to work for his time on the field at a level he’s never truly had to as of yet. This is a team which drafts first-rounders at his position and makes them sit for years before they see significant snaps. You think they won’t do the same for a late fourth rounder?
Putting him in that sort of circumstance could hopefully humble him to a degree, and force him to improve upon areas of his game he’s been able to skate by without attempting to fix. He could learn to trust the defensive scheme around him better, leading to less internal worry of being beat deep. His reluctance to get physical and make tough tackles could improve, mitigating another significant advantage offenses may try to take advantage of on him.
Mainly though, this could all cause him to mature as a person, hopefully eradicating perhaps his biggest red flag as a draftee. Should he manage to do that, and become an even more dangerous threat in coverage, he could find himself in a starring role in as short as one year, replacing Jones whenever the Bengals decide it is time to move on from him.
Alternative Selection: Avery Moss, DE – Youngstown State
The bit about character concerns can essentially be revisited here with Moss. He doesn’t have quite as extended list of offenses as Tabor, but it is still notably concerning to find out that this man got himself banned from a campus for exposing himself. That shows an unfortunate lack of judgment which could be a problem for teams.
That incident did happen back in 2012, however, and with no other issues since then it would appear Moss has matured in the time since that occurred. With the punishment rendered and fulfilled, hopefully for him it won’t be held too heavily against him at this point.
On the field the concerns are far less, and specifically as a player he may be one of my favorite possible Day 3 selections. The main issues he has are ones which can be coached away (ex: hand placement when shedding blockers), and his positives are quite desirable.
Moss could quickly have himself a key role as the top backup pass rusher for the Bengals if they grab him, with a good shot of replacing Michael Johnson as the starter opposite Dunlap in the near future.