Bengals' 1st Round: John Ross, WR, Washington

With their first round pick at No. 9 overall, the Cincinnati Bengals selected University of Washington wide receiver John Ross.

ENQUIRER ANALYSIS

John Ross may be somewhat of a surprise pick at No. 9 overall, but the University of Washington receiver fills an immediate need for over-the-top speed across from A.J. Green. It was an element to the Bengals offense that was sorely lacking in 2016, and Ross brings that ability. He doesn’t fit the physical profile of most recent Bengals draft picks in terms of his size, but his deep ball ability, his route-running and surprising effectiveness in the red zone make him an attractive target.

There are medical concerns with Ross, who suffered multiple knee injuries and a shoulder injury while in college, though he recovered from all of them and played through the shoulder (labrum) before getting it fixed after the college season.

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Aside from durability, big question now is where he fits in with the recently re-signed Brandon LaFell. It seems that 2016 second-round pick Tyler Boyd has found his niche in the slot and as one of Andy Dalton’s top third down targets, so will the Bengals use four wide receiver sets more often, work Ross in slowly or in specialty packages, or have LaFell be the primary backup across several positions?

MEASURABLES

Height: 5-10

Weight: 188

40-yard dash: 4.22

Vertical: 37 inches

KEY STAT

20.9

Percentage of the time he took a reception to the end zone in 2016 (17 touchdowns on 81 receptions)

STATS/AWARDS

• Second team All-American
• First team All-Pac 12
• 81 catches
• 1,150 yards
• 17 touchdowns (tied for second in the country)
• 17 kick returns for 411 yards and a TD.

ROLE EXPECTATION

With Green on one side and Boyd having proven himself in the slot, it makes sense that Ross would begin his Bengals career on the outside in order to have opposing defensive coordinators make a decision with where to roll their safety help. Ross could also challenge Alex Erickson on kick returns, and can line up in the slot in four-wide situations if LaFell is deployed as well.

HE SAID

On the selection at No. 9

"My head almost came off my shoulders. I was very excited. I definitely expected (it). Me believing in myself I expected to go in the top 10. I felt like I have top 10 talent. I think the only thing I felt like was holding me back was the speculations about my injuries."

On his last-minute decision to visit the Bengals -- his last with NFL teams.

"For me to leave like the way I did, I called my agent immediately and told him how great I felt about basically that job interview. I told him don't be surprised if the phone rings on draft day and I'll be a Cincinnati Bengal."

On fighting the label of just being a "speed guy."

"You definitely do and I still feel like I fight that every single day, just because people don't believe in me that way. But you just revert back to the film. A lot of my touchdowns were in the red zone. A lot of teams took away the deep ball with the Cover 2 coverage and versus our offense, that made us convert a lot of our routes. It kind took me out the game when it came to the deep ball, so it made me have to hone in more on the intermediate routes and work harder in that aspect of the game."

COACH SPEAK

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis

"Obviously his ability is dynamic, of his speed and the playmaking ability that he showed over his career there at Washington. In '14 he was playing on defense and playing cornerback and making tackles, so he's shown his toughness all the way through. Obviously, his dynamic speed shows up on tape. You feel this guy playing. So it really gives us another option offensively and kind of balances the field some."

Bengals offensive coordinator Ken Zampese

"This guy's role kind of jumps out at you with his speed. The thing that jumps out at you as well when you watch some more is he's a technician as well. He takes great pride in his craft, getting in and out of breaks, not a lot of wasted motion. He transitions very well."

Bengals wide receivers coach James Urban

"On the speed note, one thing is: it's impossible not to talk about his speed when he ran the fastest 40 time ever, right? But he can stop. That's equally as important. So if you can go that fast and stop and transition that coach (Marvin) Lewis was talking about, like 'Zamp' was talking about, then you have the ability to not just go over the top, but separate underneath and that's where he jumps out on film."

DRAFTNIKS SAY

NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock:

“If you take the medical away from John Ross, he's going to make plays for you immediately, both in the kick game and the pass game. I don't think there is any doubt about that.”

CBS draft analyst Dane Brugler:

“Ross is an elite athlete and shows impressive polish for a player who switched between offense and defense his first two seasons and then missed all of the 2015 campaign due to knee injuries – his experience on defense helped advance his development reading coverages and understanding route depth as a receiver. He lined up all over the formation for the Huskies in 2016 and was a nightmare for defensive backs due to his vertical speed, sudden footwork and ability to manipulate coverages as a route technician. Ross doesn’t have ideal thickness on his frame and will struggle at times against physical press corners, but his combination of athleticism, tempo and ball skills makes him a home run threat as a receiver, ballcarrier and kick returner – one of the top-20 talents in the 2017 draft class, but his medical information will determine whether he is drafted that high.”

NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein:

“He should be able to step right in as a kick returner and a slot receiver, but teams with speed at tight end might utilize him outside to create extreme vertical stress on opposing safeties. If his knees check out as healthy, Ross is a likely first-round pick with the rare ability to become a high-volume slot receiver or a lesser-targeted, high-yield deep-ball threat.”

LINKS

Bengals draft strategy: Wide receiver

Snoop Dogg was an important figure in John Ross’ early development as a football player.

In college, Ross said that returning kicks helped shape him into a playmaking receiver.

HIGHLIGHT VIDEO