Bengals will be the 28th worst team in the NFL?

[Adam-Whodey]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/ins...6lid%3dtab2pos1

The 2008 NFL draft is in the books, so now it's time to look ahead to 2009.

Another Early Look We're giving you the top pro prospects for next season, but which teams will be the best in college football in 2008? Glad you asked.

• Preseason top 25

Obviously, there are plenty of variables here, starting with the draft order. Scouts Inc.'s NFL team looked at 2008 schedules, draft order and personnel -- including 2008 draft classes and free-agent moves -- and put together its initial 2008 power rankings to determine the order of this mock draft.

As for the prospects, the talent pool includes every draft-eligible player. Yes, we know some of the top '08 juniors might not come out early, but if they're technically eligible for the draft, they're definitely eligible for the 2009 mock draft. An asterisk denotes draft-eligible underclassmen, including those who redshirted or spent a year in prep school.

So, with the first pick of the 2009 NFL Mock Draft, the Atlanta Falcons select …

1. Atlanta Falcons -- Fili Moala, DT, USC

Atlanta finally gets its playmaking interior defensive lineman. Moala has flown under the radar to this point but he should emerge from the shadow of 2008 No. 7 overall pick Sedrick Ellis and become one of the elite defenders in college football this fall.

2. Detroit Lions -- Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech

Coach Rod Marinelli's defense is predicated on speed up front, and Johnson is blessed with plenty of that. Johnson was overlooked while playing in a rotation last season, but it won't take long for the rangy edge-rusher to make his mark in 2008.

3. Kansas City Chiefs -- Matt Stafford*, QB, Georgia

Another injury-plagued and disappointing season out of fragile QB Brodie Croyle will force the Chiefs to address the position with this high draft pick in 2009. If the supremely talented Stafford continues to progress as he did last fall, he could easily emerge as a top-five pick next April.

4. Miami Dolphins -- Al Woods, DT, LSU

At 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds, Woods is a physically imposing defensive tackle with enough size and strength to anchor the middle of a 3-4 defense.

5. Cincinnati Bengals -- Sen'Derrick Marks*, DT, Auburn

The Bengals got shut out in their pursuit of an elite defensive tackle in this year's draft, but 2009 will be more kind. Marks is an undersized playmaker with the first-step quickness to disrupt as a 3-technique tackle, which is exactly what Marvin Lewis' defense needs along its front.

6. Oakland Raiders -- Andre Smith*, OT, Alabama

Smith stepped in immediately as the Tide's starting left tackle and continues to improve with more coaching and game experience. The Raiders could enlist a player with his kind of skills to take care of their most recent first-round investments in QB JaMarcus Russell and RB Darren McFadden.

7. Chicago Bears -- Tim Tebow*, QB, Florida

It's almost certain that the Bears will need a quarterback come next offseason. Unfortunately, next year's crop of signal-callers does not look promising at this point. Bears fans won't be thrilled if the team uses a high pick on another Gators quarterback following the failed Rex Grossman experiment, but Tebow's unique blend of skills and rare intangibles might be too good to pass up. Should Tebow elect to leave school early, however, his uncommon skill set could make him the most difficult prospect at any position to grade.

8. San Francisco 49ers -- Michael Oher, OT, Mississippi

Oher, who possesses the size and athletic ability to develop into an upper-echelon starting tackle in the NFL, would make an ideal bookend opposite 2007 first-rounder Joe Staley.

9. St. Louis Rams -- Rey Maualuga, ILB, USC

Maualuga is the top senior prospect on my 2009 draft board at this insanely early point in the process, although he wouldn't be the first senior off the board. I've never seen a defensive player take over a game the way Maualuga did versus Illinois in the Rose Bowl, and his recognition skills are clearly catching up with his rare physical tools.

10. New York Jets -- Knowshon Moreno*, RB, Georgia

Moreno burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman in 2007 and he should build on that momentum as a first-year starter behind a more mature offensive line during the upcoming season. The Jets were not able to land McFadden in this year's draft but Moreno would be worth the wait if he's available in 2009.

They project us to finish last in the division and finish with a better season than only 4 other teams? personally i think we are gonna shock some people this year and win the division as Carson has a historical year and our young defense plays with a lot of guts and energy, returning to form as the most opportunistic defense in the league. Any thoughts?

[Pidge]

I think we might have a decent season again, well not far off, around 8-8 give or take a game and end up picking top ten again.

Of course, as the season draws nearer my hopes of a 16-0 season will build accordingly.

[JoePong]

That's just stupid. Last year, everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong. We were absolutely decimated by injuries on both sides of the ball. Offensive line, running back, linebacker. Suspensions to key players, I could go on and on... And we still finished basically a .500 team.

[sparky151]

I'd expect Baltimore to finish last due to their rookie QB or Boller. The other 3 teams could finish in any order. The AFCN has a tough schedule this year so 10-6 will probably win the division or maybe even 9-7 if the Ravens win a few. My pre camp guess for the season is 8-8.

[duus]

4 of the first 6 are away ... that's tough, regardless of competition. I am hoping for a 3-3 start, and then followed by a 7-3 finish. This is the surprise season I have been waiting for. No one expects anything. The critics are everywhere. 10-6.

[redsbengalsbucks]

What strikes me as dumb about this article is he says we need an undersized DT, that is part of the problem with the DL right now, not enough beef. Next season I would think RB, OL or WR would be #1 priorty.

[Pidge]

I think we'll go O-line with our first pick, regardless of the number next season. I hope Willie lasts out the year.

[Pidge]

Oh I also hope Tim Tebow drops like a stone. I have an irrational hatred (besides him being the poster boy of Gator nation) towards the bastard. Much like I do with Brady Quinn, even before he got drafted by the Browns.

[fattyjay]

Yeah I don't see how the Bengals have a worse year than the Raiders, Jets, Bears, or Rams. Do any of these teams even have a QB?

[GregCook]

That's just stupid. Last year, everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong. We were absolutely decimated by injuries on both sides of the ball. Offensive line, running back, linebacker. Suspensions to key players, I could go on and on... And we still finished basically a .500 team.

I agree. Mock drafts 1 week before the draft are usually 90% wrong beyond the 10th pick. Mock drafts 1 year ahead of time are 100% wrong starting from the 1st pick.

For the Bengals it sure looks like RB will be a draft priority next season. They always pick Olinemen and secondary. I believe Thornton, Dexter and Deltha will be out with their contracts expired. TJ is possible but doubtful. Stacy will be a UFA. So doesn't take a genius to figure out their priorities for next season.

[Defender]

Everyone thought our 2005 schedule would be brutal, and it turned out not so much. I'm thinking it'll be along the same lines this year, the AFC South and NFC East won't be as good as everyone thinks they will. Good, yes. But there's no way there'll be three playoff teams from each of those divisions.

[kingwilly]

This is what I like to call "Diarreah Journalism".

It is what happens when a writer has totally run out of ideas but knows that fans will read just about anything about a current topic. This time it is the draft and there are draft articles, grade, takes, predictions, etc, everywhere...so he took all this and extended it into a form of rapid-fire, no-control, loss of draft-bowel-movements. what he wrote is digital diarreah...just spraying s**t all over his keyboard and, as a reault, our screen. This article makes so many patently worthless assumptions to get to the heart of the topic I can't even read it.

It assumes the results of the upcoming season, despite:

1. 08 draft picks

2. 08 cuts

3. 08 trades

4. 08 injuries, etc.

This makes the premise watery dung.

It further assumes post-08-season cuts, re-negotiated contracts and other movements that are entirely unpredeictable. more splatter.

Avert your eyes from this online form of Montezumas Revenge. You Bengalszoners are far smarter than this.

[Kazkal]

Hmm next Year I'd say could be Left tackle,Left Guard(kick Whit outside) or running back.

[bryce40]

Unfortunately I kinda agree with how they're saying we'll be. I think the team will either pull together and take an us against the world approach and be very, very good. Or they'll fall apart and be very, very bad. I don't think in these type of situations there's usually any in-between.