Well, the Bengals have landed one major signing, Antonio Bryant. He will replace Lavereuous Coles, who the Bengals jettisoned after only one year. This isn't that big of a deal. Hopefully, he can be an upgrade over Coles, who was pretty dismal in his one season. He certainly didn't fill the void left by Tj Houshmanzadeh, which is why their passing game plummeted to the bottom third of the league.
If they seriously want to upgrade their passing attack, Bryant will help for now, but they have to think seriously about getting some young receivers in and developing them. In the late mid to late 80's they had tremendous luck with Eddie Brown and Tim McGhee. Then in the mid to late 90's they had tremendous luck with Carl Pickens and Darnay Scott. Now in the mid 00's they had tremendous luck with Ochocinco and Houshmandzadeh, but time is running out on Ocho. He's still a number one receiver, but he needs help.
They tried to do this three years ago when the spent a second round pick on Jerome Simpson out of tiny Coastal Carolina, but he has been slow to develop. They invested a third round pick in Andre Caldwell out of Florida, and he has been okay. But he is not ready to be a solid contributor.
I'm hoping this year in the draft the Bengals get serious about restocking the receivers. I don't see them giving up their first round pick this year for Denver's Brandon Marshall or bringing in TO (and he really would just be a one year stop-gap).
I doubt the top receiver this year, Dez Bryant, will fall to the Bengals at 21. There's no way they'll move up for him (and with good reason - for every Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson, there are five or six - Mike Williams, Roy Williams, Troy Williamson, Charles Rogers . . .).
But maybe they can choose a couple and hit on one of them (they selected four receivers in back-to-back drafts - and, oddly enough, from just two schools as they selected a pair of receivers from each school - Peter Warrick and Ron Dugans from FSU in '00 and then Chad Johnson/Ochocinco and TJ Houshmanzadeh in '01). Of those four, really only the latter pay worked out, proving to be Pro Bowlers.
They will likely have four picks in the first three rounds, so maybe they could load up on receivers there.
I like Golden Tate out of Notre Dame. He is a blazer and a run after the catch guy (a former high school running back) who can do damage once he's caught it. But he's under six feet tall, and, as of late, the Bengals like tall receivers.
Next, I like Demaryius Thomas out of Georgie Tech. He is tall (6'3'') and would be a nice replacement for Chris Henry. But Thomas played in the triple option offense where they ran the ball 90% of the time. How will he adjust to the pro passing game? Who knows? But there were some who knocked running backs Barry Sanders and LT for the run first systems they came out, and they didn't have much trouble adjusting to the NFL.
I also like Damien Williams out of USC. If Thomas is unfamiliar with a pro passing game, Williams is adept at it as USC runs a true NFL style offense. He has the size 6'1'' and speed (4.4) that the Bengals covet. Plus, he offers some return ability. He would be a nice pick in the second or third round.
And then another possible target in the third round is from the Bengals' home town, Bearcat Mardy Gilayrd. He doesn't have the size, just under 6'0'', nor the speed, a pedestrian 4.5, but he is a playmaker. He can return kicks and punts and really do some damage when the ball is in his hands. Plus, he wants to be a Bengal. How often do you hear that?
Beyond that, though, the receiver core is fussy. We all know there is never just four receivers in a draft, but it's just impossible to tell who will pan out. For every sure fire talent such as Charles Rogers (taken second in '00 by the Lions), there is a kid who slips through the cracks (Donald Driver or Maurice Colston take by the Packers and Saints, respectively, in the final round of the draft).
And then, of course, you have to wait for the receiver to develop since very few receivers are dominant right out of the draft, unlike running backs or offensive linemen. It seems to take a receiver three or four years to develop.
So even if they hit on a receiver in this draft, who knows if Carson will be around for him in four years. I don't even want to hear the name Tim Tebow mentioned in relation to the Bengals either.
I have a sinking feeling that he might end up in Cincy. Remember, our owner shocked the world when he draft David Klinger in the 1992 draft to replace Boomer Esiason. And that was just three years removed from when Boomer led the Bengals to the Super Bowl.
I'd like to think Mike Brown learned from that debacle, but one never knows . . .
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