Paul Dawson to Cincinnati Bengals: Full Draft-Pick Breakdown

The Cincinnati Bengals closed the third round of the 2015 NFL draft with a bang, taking a gamble on TCU linebacker Paul Dawson.

Dawson's one of the draft's most polarizing players, but a gamble owner Mike Brown and coach Marvin Lewis seemed content to take at No. 99 with a compensatory selection.

Few linebackers receive as much praise as Dawson on film, but his personality and off-field concerns hurt his stock and dropped him down the board. The good news—Lewis and his staff know a thing or two about taking troubled, talented linebackers and making it work.

On the field, Dawson stands at 6'0" and 235 pounds. Last year alone he recorded 136 tackles and four interceptions en route to the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award, per NFL.com.

Take it a step further—according to Pro Football Focus' signature stats, Dawson led all linebackers in the class with 74 run stops, meaning he made a tackle that ended a play.

In other words, Dawson's an elite run-defending prospect. While he lacks the size some may want to see, height at linebacker is becoming less and less of a requirement if the on-field intelligence is there.

Even better, he's solid in pass coverage, with an immense football IQ making up for average athleticism. For Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, he's like Vontaze Burfict in a lot of ways, per ESPN.com's Coley Harvey:

The similarities don't end there.

As Lance Zierlein describes in the NFL.com link above, Dawson was a "handful" at TCU. An AFC West scout told him the following:

"He's an early round player without any question, but you don't have to dig around very deep or very long to realize that his personal character is going to be a major issue for some teams. My grade will be two rounds later than just the talent grade. It has to be factored in."

40-yard dash (sec.)	Bench Press (reps)	Vertical Jump (in.)	Broad Jump (in.)	20-yard shuttle (sec.)
4.93	21	28.0	109.0	4.49

Doing the math, the Bengals hit the round projection right on the head because Dawson's a first-round talent otherwise. It's why an NFC scout told Zierlein "I'll make sure he stays alive in our building because he's that good."

In the grand scheme of things, Dawson fits right in with the Bengals. The team added A.J. Hawk this past offseason and brought back Rey Maualuga, two great run defenders in their own right.

Injuries plagued the unit last year, though, with Emmanuel Lamur and Burfict suffering serious injuries, the latter still on the recovery trail. Dawson might not break the starting lineup a ton, but it shouldn't surprise if he puts up a serious fight over the summer.

As Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com captures, he already seems to have such a plan in mind:

It's hard to imagine Dawson doesn't produce at the next level, especially in such a sound unit with a potential opening for another high-IQ player who can fly all over the field.

The value is outstanding, too. After taking two offensive linemen and a tight end, Lewis gets a defender he surely had an eye on the entire time.

Dawson's the future next to Burfict in the unit, if not the present, especially if the re-tooled defensive line (Pat Sims and Michael Johnson returned this offseason) gives him room to work—and Lewis is sure to use Day 3 picks to address that area, too.

The risk with Dawson is obvious, but a borderline first-round talent at the end of Day 2 with an extra pick in a draft the team entered with no glaring needs is a major win. If it doesn't work out, it was just an extra pick. If it does, chalk the Dawson pick up as another outstanding move by the front office in a long line of them dating back a few years.

Reward outweighs risk with Dawson. It figures to show on the field right away, too.

Grade: A

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and accurate as of May 1. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.