FSH: ON THE TICKER

April 5th, 2009 11:07pm PST

20 DAYS TO THE NFL DRAFT

NFL Draft Preview:
On The Ticker

On the Board: Cincinnati Bengals....
In the recent offseason the Bengals did not re-sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh and lost him to free-agency. There are talks of trading wide receiver Chad Johnson, and Chris Henry (suspended three times and cut by the team once) is always a crap-shoot. Even though the team did sign free agent Laveranues Coles, if the recent rumors are true and team does move Johnson, they will be left with a huge void at the receiver position to fill.

No different than many of the bottom-third teams in the league, the Bengals face many issues leading up to this year's NFL draft. The Bengals could also use a little help on the defensive side of things, but with the leagues 12th ranked squad, this is one of the team's least concerns. One of their biggest deficiencies aside from the lack of depth at the wideout spot is the lack of talent along their 'O' line. Over the past two seasons the Bengals have lost two starting offensive tackles and come draft day they will be looking hard to fill this void.

At number six on the "Big Board" the Bengals can count on grabbing either Eugene Monroe (University of Virginia) or possibly Andre Smith (University of Alabama). With a great frame, great feet, combined with his strength (lifted 225-lbs 23-times) Monroe would be the ideal choice at this spot for Cincinnati. The team is expecting a healthy Palmer back in 2009 and they're going to need to protect his blindside. With his size (6'4" and 325-lbs) Smith is a consideration, but his disappearance at the combine and less than spectacular Pro Day didn't do a whole lot to state his case.

If the Bengals look anywhere else on April 25th, they could take a run at one of the top wideout prospects if available (Crabtree or Maclin), that is if the team decides to part ways with "Ocho-Cinco." The team has not done particularly well in t recent drafts and if head coach Marvin Lewis is going to remain the man in charge, he may have to start taking a more sensible and safe approach. Look for Cincy to start rebuilding its’ offensive line with Monroe on draft day.


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