2. John Ross, wide receiver, Cincinnati Bengals
There are two main reasons why Ross landing in Cincinnati rubs us the wrong way.
First off, Ross has a history of being banged up. He was reportedly being seen as a guy who might end up falling into Round 2 because of his medicals, yet Cincinnati took a flying leap with the Washington product at No. 9 overall. It’s worth pointing out that we boldly predicted Ross would be taken high in the draft, but not to the Bengals, who play in the brutal AFC North.
So, you take a small receiver (Ross is 5-foot-11, 188 pounds) who has a history of getting injured and throw him into one of the most physical divisions in the league. It could be a recipe for disaster.
On top of that, Ross will be playing second fiddle to the best receiver in the NFL today, A.J. Green. And he’ll be trying to make hay with Andy Dalton as his quarterback. Dalton has a decent arm, but by no means is he a gunslinger. He’s better throwing short and mid-range passes, and it’s hard to imagine he’ll be hitting Ross deep on a consistent basis.
We’re skeptical that Ross (who says he’d beat Usain Bolt in a footrace) will have the kind of impact for the Bengals that the franchise envisioned when it took him so high in the draft.