here is who im eyeing for the first round

[AGrizzlyBaer]

first off i believe the first pick is definetly going to be on defense and this is who i see in all the positions

for cb- gamble and hall, gamble because of his size and atheticism and hall because he is freakin fast, i honestly think strait is over rated, he got burned on several plays at the senior bowl, but i dont see us going to the draft when so many good ones are in FA

for dt- harris, starks, or wilkfork- all big guys that i believe could start up front

for s- not anyone that would be around then, i mean Taylor of course but he is not falling to the 17th pick

for lb- well i like d.j. and dansby either of them could start over ross and if we were going to move hardy to mlb why not take vilma sure he is a little small now but thats also what was said about ray lewis

for de- i would go with kenichi or will smith will justin on the other side that would be a killer threat

thats who i like out there

[chrishcovga]

who we get in free agency will determine who we draft in round 1. Odds i'm betting with are that we land a corner and draft a d-lineman.

Wilfork is falling on most boards,some drafts(mock) have him falling all the way to indianapolis which is probably just wrong, but the consensus is that he'll be there at 17 when we pick.

Not sold on Will Smith... already have a small( small) defensive end on the other side with our own smith.,but if Kenechi Udeze is there at 17 have to hire (michael johnson) to run that card up to Tagliabue.

I'm sold on D.J.Williams. best size to speed , and production of any linebacker in the draft. if the top 3 lineman are gone, and we do pick up a f/a corner.. have to think d.j. is our man.

......note....we could do a Tex Schram, and draft one of the top notch running backs at 17 to force a dillon trade and garner an extra pick.

[AGrizzlyBaer]

now think about that udeze and justin that would be a killer pass rush but i think we go after dj or one of the three dts

[AGrizzlyBaer]

whast about williams in the first and tubbs out of Texas thats cool

[smizzy]

DJ Williams might have the size but he sure doesn't have the brains...

17 is a perfect spot for you to grab Jonathon Vilma...little small(R.Lewis,D.Brooks) but he is a ballhawk and a smart football player.

3 year starter, 3 year signal caller and one of the smartest football players on the field.

Willimas dissapeared during alot of games this season.

Vince Wilfolk and Keneche Udeze will be gone by 17 and Udeze will be gone before the jets pick at 12.

[chrishcovga]

I'll take my shot with Williams. It's not even a better question of who's the better linebacker, because hands down Williams is the top linebacker in the draft.

But... D.J. is also the best player for our type of system...Size and speed and instincts to play the middle and could immediately step in on the strong side and be a force.

Plus have to love a linebacker that says he's going to be the next great "Ray Lewis, or Mike Singletary".. as he was quoted during the Orange Bowl practices.

Having good instincts and knowing what your job is as a linebacker is the easy stuff.. You can't coach passion.

[AGrizzlyBaer]

hell yeah, we go cb in fa and we take williams in the first and then we go dt in the second taking either tubbs or the guy from lsu or who ever

[richmond_mat]

Oh how I wish Bengal nation would realize that trading dillon for anything worth anything then he must be paired with our first round pick!

There are too many top ten picks on the roster to afford another.

I want many many fifth and sixth rounders!

[Harry J]

It is clear that we are going to draft on the defensive side of the ball, I believe at 17, the top three D linemen will be gone and it would a reach to go after one here when we can wait until the second round. A tackle there would be possable. I hope we have a chance to grab a not notch corner in free agency, that might depend on how well Willie and Chad did selling us at the Pro Bowl. If we can get that corner I agree that we should go Linebacker, If we do I would love to get Vilma a middle Linebacker that would allow our outside LBs to play outside. However there still is a good chance that we will not get a shut down corner and this years draft is the place to find one. I am most impressed with Hall, I believe that his rare speed will allow him to adjust quickly to play in NFL. When you have speed like that it gives you room for error while learning the ropes. Plus he could return punts right away something has already proven excel at.

[chrishcovga]

Harry J , we have got to work on your optimism buddy. With all of the running backs...: Jackson,Jones,Perry, and the wideouts....:Williams *(2), Woods, Clayton, Fitzgerald pushes those d-lineman towards us.

We know Udeze and Harris will go before 14, but with Tampa ,and the 49ers needing wide recievers and maybe running backs looks good for us to land Wilfork or Starks.

Come on now, We're Bengal fans, there is no religion on the earth that has as much faith as we have.

[kevnz]

Oh how I wish Bengal nation would realize that trading dillon for anything worth anything then he must be paired with our first round pick!

There are too many top ten picks on the roster to afford another.

I want many many fifth and sixth rounders!

Don't know about that. Especially with all this trade talk for a washed up QB like Mark Brunnell. The Jags getting a 1st for him? WTF? I just goes to show that if the money makes sense, teams are willing to part with a pick to get a player, especially if they think the player might go to somewhere else when he hits the open market...I actually think that this is the trend of the future with the cap and players that "need" to be cut. See with Dillon he has said he wants to go to Dallas...Say Dallas trades for Brunnell, the don't have a good enough pick to get Dillon, Dillon will flap his jaws about wantint to go somewhere like Dallas...Washington, already smarting for losing out on Brunell will jump all over Corey Dillon trade....But then....What the hell do I know?

But yeah, I think the key is getting a 2nd, 4th, and maybe a 6th for Dillon, or anybody else we can shuck off...No more 1sts...

[Harry J]

I would love to land Wilfork, he is a huge man with great playmaking ability. Just the type of player Marvin could mold into a great player. You can't teach size, but you can teach about everything else. That is why you get a coach that knows how to work with players. I will stay optimistic!!

[AGrizzlyBaer]

who ever it is it is going to be on the d

[Bobcat Bengal]

Uhm.....Marvin said that there were quite a few LB's that he liked @ the Senior Bowl....if he doesn't get DJ, look for him to try and scoop Don Thomas from Auburn.....you can't go wrong with a LB from Auburn....or a Running Back.....or a Right Tackle for that matter....get my drift?

[ntpou]

What if after we get a FA CB( A.Plummer )

Draft C.Gamble and put him at FS

2nd get the MLB we need D.Thomas

Secondary looks good

CB A.Plummer / T.James 3rd CB D.Weathersby

SS C.Gamble / R.Beckett

This creates depth and now our weakness becomes a strength.

D.Thomas will help against the run.

We are still going to get at least a 3rd rounder for Dillion that could help us on the DL.

[Kirkendall]

If we draft Gamble, I'd like to keep him at CB IF we don't pick up a FA CB. I think our safety position is in ok shape, Roman and Beckett had decent seasons; there was just too much on their shoulders cheating the run and protecting the deep ball.

I really think our desperation is DT, MLB and a DE opposite of Justin.

I like picking up Plummer, it's the most logical choice and I like picking up a MLB in the second round. This will solidify against the run defense when we draft a DT that's 397 pounds and with a burger stand on his front porch.

Becket is great against the run, he had some great games, but I still question his ability to read and cover streak passes. Also, it seemed he didn't have great acceleration or good angle of attacks tracking down one of those 70 yard passes against our D.

[chrishcovga]

Drafting Gamble and then moving him to a safety position would hamper his development.

His only season playing strictly as a corner was this year,and while he flashed signs of greatness, he is still raw and unsettled in that spot.

Moving him to safety means that he would have played 3 different positions in 3 years. Draft and groom him to be the shutdown corner he has the makings to be.

[Kirkendall]

Drafting Gamble and then moving him to a safety position would hamper his development.

His only season playing strictly as a corner was this year,and while he flashed signs of greatness, he is still raw and unsettled in that spot.

Moving him to safety means that he would have played 3 different positions in 3 years. Draft and groom him to be the shutdown corner he has the makings to be.

Personally, I think Gamble made a mistake by entering the draft. He had one year left and could have increased his value two fold if he stayed at the best college in all of the land.

[chrishcovga]

I could look at his early entry that way too, but what I think Chris Gamble and DeAngelo Hall bring to a defense is talent and a personality.

Both are playmakers at their position ,and most likely are at the cusp of better things in the NFL. One thing lacking from our defense is a playmaking/playmaker Identity. Every great defense, or even the really good ones, have numerous good players ,but all of them have that one guy that has to be accounted for at all times. The Ravens have Ray Lewis, The Bears defense had Mike Singletary, the great steeler defenses had Mean Joe Greene and Mel Blount, The patriots have Ty Law and Tedy Bruschii. These are players that consistently make plays or put others in position to make plays. The Bengals of the Late 80's had David Fulcher.We're gonna need someone like that to give our defense a rallying point. A leader to step up to and make them play with passion.

[Bobcat Bengal]

I like gamble a lot, but I don't think he's big enough to play safety....especially strong safety...those guys are counted on to stack the line and support the run, hes kinda too lanky to be doing that....but I think Frazier would turn Gamble into a superstar in no time....I mean, he was the CB coach over in Philly....look what he did with those guys, he was a CB himself too