The Cincinnati Bengals homed in on the four sure-fire first-round offensive tackles at the combine yesterday. They weren’t the only ones. Listening to Lions coach Jim Schwartz, Don Banks predicts Detroit will take an OT, not a quarterback, with the first overall selection.
Schwartz cites many of the same reasons that I did about a month ago, namely that teams can’t afford a big offensive skill position bust at the top of the draft and OT is generally seen as the “safe” pick.
If the Lions do go OT, that muddles the picture for the Bengals. Between the Rams at two and the Seahawks at four, it’s likely another OT comes off the board, meaning that Cincinnati could be faced with a choice between the third- or fourth-best offensive tackle, or the top defensive end, defensive tackle, linebacker and/or possibly the best wide receiver, Michael Crabtree.
A few weeks back, head coach Marvin Lewis talked about his philosophy in the first round of the draft, and came out very strongly for best player available. He said that reaching for someone to fill a need is how teams get themselves in trouble, and I agree. For proof, look no further than their last top-ten OT selection, Levi Jones. Bengals line coach Paul Alexander may be “extremely proud” of that pick, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that by “stunning the world” they left Dwight Freeny (who was taken by Indy with the next pick) and Albert Haynesworth (who went 15th) on the board.
I’d rather not see that happen again, especially in a deep year at OT. If the guy on top of the Bengals board isn’t a tackle when the sixth pick comes around, follow the board.
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