QB

The idea of retaining Andy Dalton and using the first overall pick on something else doesn’t seem to have a big groundswell of support amongst fans — for good reason. Dalton got himself benched for his horrendous play before getting back in the starting lineup and doing much of the same. He’s 32, eyeing an extension after next season and finished this year with a 59.5 completion percentage with 16 touchdowns and 14 picks. He suffered 37 sacks while throwing more than one score ina game just four times. One of those was the fluky four-touchdown performance in the overtime loss to Miami. Overall, while he suffered from a 5.4 drop percentage, Dalton had an 18.3 bad-throw percentage with 14 balls batted down and 17 throw-aways. His surroundings weren’t always great, but it’s clear today’s NFL requires a player who can improv on the fly and Dalton remains too consistently rattled in the face of pressure or otherwise to get it done. A rookie at first overall is the best chance at fixing this, which would in turn uplift everything else. Don’t forget potentially fixing the waning fan support, which is a big motivator for the front office, too.

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