Bengals In Trouble at #6

After spending a lot of time looking at the draft board and where most experts thing the prospects will land at picks 1-5, the Bengals have a huge decision staring them in the face at number six.

If we go on the assumption that the Bengals do not move up or down in the first round of the draft, these five are fairly certain to be off the board by the time Cincinnati is on the clock:

Matt Stafford, QB, Georgia

Jason Smith, OT, Baylor

Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia

Aaron Curry, OLB, Wake Forest

Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech

The Bengals then stare a mountain of a man, Andre Smith, in the face at #6.  Previously a #1 overall projection, Smith had a horrible combine and pro day...essentially blowing the two biggest job interviews of his life to this point.  Not exactly someone that you want to invest over $20 million guaranteed.  Last year, Vernon Gholston of the NY Jets received a contract of five years, $32 million, with $21 million guaranteed and a max value of $50 million.

As Mel Kiper says (about Andre Smith):

Smith has to manage his weight in order to remain on the left side. If he doesn't, he's a mauler at right tackle who could really assist the running game and do the job at that spot in pass protection. Hopefully, he'll maximize his skills in the NFL by paying more attention to detail. If he doesn't, you're looking at a major bust.

Smith did get through a grueling Alabama program with Nick Saban at the helm, and he had zero problems while actually on the team, save for his 2009 Sugar Bowl suspension for dealings with an agent.

While this team desperately needs offensive line help, do we really want to spend a top-10 draft pick and over eight figures on a guy who showed up out of shape and MIA for the only two important days of his life since leaving Tuscaloosa?

After Smith, you have guys like Brian Orakpo (workout freak, but is viewed possibly as a bust...plus he was mostly shut down against OSU in the Fiesta Bowl), Jeremy Maclin (does another high priced receiver really solve our problems?), BJ Raji (maybe DT is less of a priority to the Bengals now that Tank Johnson has been signed), Aaron Maybin (DE out of Penn State), Beanie Wells (Ohio State RB)...etc.

I still think the best option for the Bengals if guys like Jason Smith, Eugene Monroe, and Aaron Curry are gone by pick #6 is to trade down.  If you can find someone who wants to trade up that sits currently in picks #12-17...take the trade, pick up some selections later in the draft.  The Bengals need a drastic re-design on the offensive and defensive lines...and you need to draft to make that happen.  The quick fix through free agency won't work when the problems are this vast.

The Bengals need to protect the passer and rush the passer, period.  But, maybe the answer is trading down in the first round, taking a guy like Brian Cushing out of USC...someone who is a versatile LB that can play multiple positions...and is known to absolutely love the game of football.  Then, take the additional picks to continue rebuilding the offensive and defensive lines. 

In the comments, leave two picks:

Who the Bengals should take, and who the Bengals will take in the first round of the 2009 draft.

Comments

[Sly Vramavomovich]

Should take a trade...
Will take Beanie.

[Matt]

I feel like the draft is being over analyzed. People are drinking too much Kool Aid. Orakpo had a sack in that game he was shut down in. If he had a sack for the Bengals every game he was shut down in, We would all be wearing his jersey. Hell if some one came in here and had 8 sacks next year, we would all be in love. Also Oher was the #1 tackle when the season ended, now all these talking heads are saying he is a 20ish player and everyone is calling him a reach. If Sanchez makes it in that top five one of those guys drops. Monroe, who truly is the best OT, has had injury problems 2 of 4 college seasons. I want Oher or Andre Smith, no one in their right mind is going to trade up. Lets go ahead and "reach" and get mocked by major news outlets, like we will anyway. Lat year we had a solid mock (-Simpson) and it was still called a crappy draft.

[Leeroy Jenkins]

I have no idea who to draft.

The problem is, I know the Bengals also have no idea. Who knows if they know anything about Andre Smith. Maybe he really does care about football, maybe he just wants to cash in and eat Taco Bell. I don't know. Mike Brown does not know either.

[Bill]

"Should take a trade" is easy to say, but who out there is looking to move UP to #6?

OL has to be the first-day priority... should take Andre Smith.
But MikeyBoy can't help himself and will take Jeremy Maclin.

[Andy]

should take: raji
will take: wells

if they take maclin, I'm actually not going to be that upset. That kid obviously has skills and his interviews leading up to the draft demonstrate that he has a really good head on his shoulders. IMO he has a low chance of busting and seems to have no character issues. Plus, I'm not sold on our receiver situation. I'm actually okay if we just admit last year's 3 WR draft may have been a disaster and move forward.

[Robinsgr]

Should take Oher, who has less issues and addresses the O-line need.
Will probably take Andre Smith because MB likes to give people a second chance at the expense of the team, and because Smith is projected higher by most evaluators. But all this means MB will probably take Beanie Wells or Macklin, ignoring the real needs of the team, and shock everyone the same way he did when he drafted Klingler.
Trading down is not an option. No one really wants to trade up, the price to trade up is too high, and the whole process is too fancy for MB to understand.

[YES]

Should Take - A trade to move down and pick up more picks
Will Take - Andre Smith

[PAl]

I say we trade all our draft picks, Chad Johnson and Shayne Grahm's Lamborghini to Miami for Bill Parcells.

[Ben]

Should take Orakpo- The guy is a beast and is the best pass rusher in the draft. A great pass rusher is harder to find than a serviceable lineman. If not Orakpo, take Oher. I don't understand all the concerns about Oher. Just cause the guy is quite and grew up in the hood there are character concerns? The Bengals could use some quite guys on the team.

Will take- Andre Smith. - Last year, Mike Brown feel in love with Jerome Simpson because he had the biggest hands in the draft. This year, he falls in love with Smith because Smith has the biggest man boobs in the history the earth.

[Ickey30]

Taking guys like Andre Smith is the kind of inattention to detail and character flaws that seperates the Bengals from the pack. As usual, they have painted themselves into a corner as to their draft needs and will end up reaching for an OT at #6 b/c Curry/Crabtree/J. Smith/Monroe will all be gone.

Should Take - Pass a couple times and then get Raji
Will Take - Andre Smith (a-holes)

[Delta5243]

should take : anybody other than Wells

will take : Wells

[CinciSnurbin]

should take orakpo but they will take andre smith

Watch Smith's videos, he may be an immature dude, but he is a hell of a run blocker and would fill the void left by the departed Big Willie at RT. Hopefully Anthony Collins will anchor the left side this year.

[Brian]

In the deal of the century, Brown will trade Carson Palmer to Detroit for the number one pick and select Bernie Madoff. Madoff will then lead a resurgent Bengals' passing attack to the high school state semi-finals only to get crushed by St. Xavier.

[Capt. Steve-O]

Steve Specht would then be offered the Bengals' head coaching position, only to decline and return to St. X

[can't care anymore]

I have been out of the loop for awhile, what about the dude (o-lineman) from Louisville everyone is crapping their pants about. I can't remember his name so everyone has probably already talked about him. Reds World Series 2K9..think about it.

[Jeff]

"should take : anybody other than Wells

will take : Wells"

Thats exactly what I was going to type. Without the sarcasm though, I think we should take either Orakpo or Oher.

[WhoDeyinthemembrane]

if they can't trade down then take Andre Smith.

1) Andre Smith, OT
2) Mack/Wood, C
3) Rashard Jennings, RB
3 Comp) Jasper Brinkley, MLB

[Paul S.]

Should take : trade (and Oher)
Will take : Wells of Andre Smith.

The Sanchez sweepstakes (Denver, San Francisco, Cleveland, cuz Mangini doesn't like Quinn) will be on now that Jake Cutler has a new home and only one of either Crabtree and Maclin (Jacksonville, Chicago, Seattle, Philly, washington) will be left. The Bengals should easily be able to trade down and pick up picks.

Avoid Andre Smith like the plague.

[SM]

This post has it correct: we are screwed. There is no one in this draft that is a great fit for us at #6, either due to character concerns or lack of need. Honestly, Andre Smith would easily be the best pick for us if not for all his baggage. He is like a stronger version Willie Anderson. We CAN'T draft Orakpo considering how much money we have tied up in Geathers and Odom. Not an option. Maclin could be awesome (check out his punt/kick returns on Youtube), but we don't need another WR.

Now, if we trade Chad to Phily and get their #21 pick, take Crabtree or Maclin at #6 and get Oher or Rey Maualuga at #21. I'm most concerned with our 2nd round pick--we NEED to get a top Center like Alex Mack or Max Unger at that spot.

We should pick: ??? (trade down)
We will pick: Andre Smith (only time will tell if he works out, so I won't be upset on draft day)

[BengalAnthony13]

Should take: Rey Maualuga if the top two OT's are gone.

Will take: fat-assed and waste of breathable oxygen Andre Smith. If we take Beanie Wells I'm going to throw my cat at the TV. Archie Griffin, anyone?

[Andy]

you mean if archie griffin hadn't won 2 heismans and if he had a history of injuries, right? chris wells has no business being a top 10 draft pick, much less on a team that has such obvious other needs.

take a tackle or a run stopper, Bengals. take a center or a run stopper in the second round, Bengals.

[Sleeping With Bieniemy]

Should have done: let Willie go earlier and signed Steinbach, made a play for one of the two major centers in free agency, had more professional treatment of Levi Jones, traded Chad away immediately when he became a problem causing us to have a better team this year and not have an ugly position in this year's draft where we may have to pay a lot of money to a risky high draft pick.

Did do: the opposite of everything i just wrote

Will do: mess up this year's first pick as well.

Here's hoping one of the players projected to go in the top 5 falls to us or someone offers us a reasonable trade and Mikey is smart enough to take it. Otherwise, make the best of a bad situation and draft for need at offensive line or defensive line/linebacker.

[Wyatt]

Should take: Oher (if he's available); Maybin
Will take: Andre Smith

I realize this might get me kicked off the site, but I bleed blue and white, having attended Penn State, and as such, I feel like Aaron Maybin is the type of player the Bengals need. And while it hurts me that he left PSU with two years of eligbility left, the dude is amazing. Maurice Evans was supposed to be the star of our defensive line last year, but he got into trouble with the pot bust and Maybin more than filled the gap, relegating Evans to the bench even after Paterno let him back on the team. Add in the fact that Evans improved his forty time almost 3/10ths of second between the Combine and PSU's pro day and he spent 8 hours a day working out and added almost 30 pounds of lean muscle in that time, and you'll see he's a guy committed to being the best.

[bengalssocal]

should take: OT Andre Smith

will take: QB Mark Sanchez (why? it just makes too much sense in bengalland)

[matt]

wow alot of you are just disgusting me with some of your picks. raji? maclin? OHER? if you would honestly take oher at 6 i dont think you deserve to make fun of the scouting because you have no idea wtf ur talkin about in this draft they will not reach for a player like beanie because he isnt even the running back they like in the first place moreno is, oher is a last resort and only if you trade back. At 6 that would just ruin the whole draft. think about lions take staff. rams take smith. chiefs take curry. seahawks take crabtree or munroe. browns might take raji over orakpo... they could get munroe orakpo hell crabtree wouldnt be that bad either if they traded chad and got another first rounder plus levi should go but dont even think about oher at six because andre smith is the worst guy they can get.and i cant believe i saw someone say maluaga at 6. some of you guyz are quite stupid i have to say

[Sleeping With Bieniemy]

"wow alot of you are just disgusting me with some of your picks. raji? maclin? OHER? if you would honestly take oher at 6 i dont think you deserve to make fun of the scouting because you have no idea wtf ur talkin about in this draft they will not reach for a player like beanie because he isnt even the running back they like in the first place moreno is, oher is a last resort and only if you trade back. At 6 that would just ruin the whole draft. think about lions take staff. rams take smith. chiefs take curry. seahawks take crabtree or munroe. browns might take raji over orakpo... they could get munroe orakpo hell crabtree wouldnt be that bad either if they traded chad and got another first rounder plus levi should go but dont even think about oher at six because andre smith is the worst guy they can get.and i cant believe i saw someone say maluaga at 6. some of you guyz are quite stupid i have to say"

Good point.

[bengalssocal]

1st round: Mark Sanchez, QB USC
2nd round: Josh Freeman, QB Kansas St.
3rd round: Shonn Greene, RB Iowa

You can never have too many quarterbacks. Plus, "inside sources" say Brat is installing the Wildcat this year for 5-10 plays a game. Sanchez and Freeman are agile enough to give Bratkowski what the Dolphin's Wildcat needed during 2008: a legit speed threat from a split out QB to keep the defense honest. A Shonn Greene/Ced Benson combo would fit into this perfectly. The Bengals can always get O-lineman on day two, and management has a great track record with undrafted free agents.

[Brian]

bengalssocal,

sweet chocolate christ i hope you're kidding.

[matt]

see what i mean ya lets draft 2 quarterbacks..... man i am ashamed of not only the team but alot of these fans

[matt]

Does anyone else get the feeling that mike brown is not going to trade chad away because hes bringing in extra money on jerseys and all of his outragous comments and his exciting play.

[bengalssocal]

matt,

I'm sorry about that. I didn't show my entire '09 Bengals Mock draft or "Operation: Cut Jordan Palmer Now". I hope this list is more helpful:

1st round: Mark Sanchez, QB USC
2nd round: Josh Freeman, QB Kansas St.
3rd round: Shonn Greene, RB Iowa
3rd round: Pat White, QB West Virginia
4th round: Rhett Bomar, QB Sam Houston St.
5th round: Nate Davis, QB Ball St.
6th round: Nathan Brown, QB Central Arkansas
6th round: David Johnson, QB Tulsa
7th round: Tom Brandstater, QB Fresno St.
7th round: Jason Boltus, QB Hartwick
7th round: Chris Null, QB West Texas A&M

"Nepotism - We promote family values here almost as often as we promote family members"
Larry Kersten

[Wyatt]

I like how the guy who can't even form a coherent sentence is basically calling others out on being stupid. There's no irony in that.

Nope.

None at all.

[matt]

Yep cant form a coherent sentance.. well i dont give a shit the fact is alot of you are fucking retards bottom line

[IgnatiusJReilly]

Andre Smith is a mauler. Unshirt any offensive lineman and you'll find manboobs. Kid got rid of the agent giving him the bad advice. Better pro prospect than Jason Smith, Monroe, or Oher.