The bengals should trade down if a partner can be found. being at #6 tho could make that difficult. OT is a need but taking Andre Smith, per mock, would be a mistake. He is too slow to play the left side and spending a pick this high on a right tackle is not worth it one bit. Cincinnati has capable players that can be plugged into tackle with Collins and Whitworth and can pick up interior lineman later in this deep draft. If stuck with the pick it should end up being a d lineman or one of the wide outs with the impending departure of Houshmandzadeh via free agency and if Ocho gets his trade. As for linebackers it would be stellar to see Aaron Curry or Rey Maualuga paired next to Keith Rivers but dont see Mike Brown wanting that much money tied up into the linebacking corps.....
I don't think #6 is too high for Andre Smith if the Bengals think he is the real deal. Last year the Bengals franchised Stacy Andrews who was their right tackle. The 2nd best tackle in the Bengals' history was Willie Anderson played right tackle. I think the right tackle is valued by them. Coming back from an injury Palmer needs protection. My money is that Curry will be gone. Maualuga would be tempting to pair up with former teammate Rivers. Many experts project Smith as the #1 pick, if he falls to 6, I think he is too valuable to pass.
Note: whenever you are drafting in the top 10 it is ideal to trade down as your record showed you weren't that good of team and more picks would help you rebuild. But not too many teams want to give up so much to take a player who will get a high salary without playing a snap.
i am not sure that Mauluga has decent coverage skills. if not, he can rush the passer on third and long.
it seems like the Bengals have drafted more linebackers than the Lions have drafted wide receivers. i think OT is a safe pick. Whitworth can be tried at left tackle with Andrews on the right.
the Benglas need so much help it would be hard for them to go wrong. they really have to worry about getting value for the picks rather than a selection at a particular position.
Franchising Stacey Andrews was a mistake. He should never see close to that amount of money per year in his career. I felt ill watching him take over for big Willie.
Yes, the bengals have drafted quite a bit of linebackers the past few years. Cant help when runs of bad luck end David Pollack's career and Odell Thurman cant seem to get his life in order. Along with failed projects such as Ahmad Brooks. Leaving with a bow tie salesman sitting as your starting mike, even tho he has done fairly well.
Obviously the glaring need on this team is the offensive line, followed very closely by a pass rush. The offensive line has pieces capable of fixing it all, just plugged into the wrong positions. Biggest need on the line is not tackle, but center. Ghiaciuc has proven time and time again he can not handle big NTs. Weird, what does every opposing team in the AFC North have on defense.....
With the pass rush it would be nice to get Geathers some help. Antwan Odom, tho a decent pickup, was overpaid for playing on a line that had all the attention on Haynesworth and Vandebosch. Pat Sims stepped in nicely towards the end of the year, and hopefully can grow off of that. Jason Shirley is a mountain of a man that could become a terror in a rotation with Sims and Peko. Unfortunately being left as only time can tell.
The secondary is one of the most talent young corps in the league but get hung out to dry for far to long because of the lack of talent/production in the front seven.
Lastly it is left with what Cincinnati's strongest position has been prior to the last two years. The receiving corps is due for a major overall. Tj is most likely gone, wish him the best, and Chad is blocking the development of the 2nd round pick last year, Simpson. Troubling having two players that are typical X slots to fit in the one hole. Chad should be traded to Seattle for a 2nd and 5th imo. The Bengals can then only hope that Hakeem Nicks slips down that far to be put in as the Z receiver and leaving Caldwell in the slot.
With one of the best talents in the league at QB these simple fixes would leave Cincinnati soaring to the top of the Conference, such as Miami and Atlanta did this year.
The difference Miami and Atlanta did last offseason was hire great management to run the team. The Bengals are still run by Mike Brown, and as long as that is the case they are going to struggle.
And thus the reason one of the most innovating franchises in the NFL turned into one of the worst. All Mike Brown cares for is money and im sure if his father were alive today it would make him absolutely sick to his stomach
I would take the best ol available. Hope to trade ocho whineo for what ever. Then make wr, rb, center and dl a priority in free agency and the draft. They should get some compensation for losing hushman in free agency. What about jeff saturday and the wide out from the chargers in free agent market. They will have plenty of cap room.
The problem with free agency is every team with cap room thinks their team could get studs at the positions. If anyone knows the Bengals, they don't have a history of it. Ben Utecht and Antwan Odom are probably the biggest free agents the team has ever gotten. Kevin Hardy was huge, but he was at the end of his career, so was Sam Adams. Players don't want to go to Cincy, they don't have the management or the amenities that other teams have. Why go to Cincy when you can be treated like a king in Baltimore with the Castle and work with great management such as Ozzie Newsome. Who is more likely to get the prospect: Ozzie Newsome and his team or Mike Brown and Katie Blackburn. The Bengals didn't franchise TJ so the Bengals won't receive any compensation until next year's draft. The Bengals build from the draft as that is the only way they have been able to get solid players. If one of the solid tackles are there, I think they have to take him. They are too good to pass up.
"Which is one of the reasons Thornton's next prediction is the Bengals will draft Missouri wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. If it is an offensive tackle, he envisions a monstrous holdout because of the money at No. 6 and that would render the rookie year useless. He doesn't see a defensive player worthy at No. 6 because they aren't pass rushers, although he does like Raji's humility and eagerness to learn, and sees a bright future."
With the #6 pick, the Cincinnati Bengals draft...
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