Archive for March, 2009

For those of you who have been stuck on a deserted island for the past few weeks, LB Dhani Jones’ TV show, Dhani Tackles the Globe, premieres tonight at 9 p.m. eastern on the Travel Channel. I wonder if Mike Brown gave Geoff Hobson a raise to add Twittering to his duties? Probably not. Draft prospects Jason Smith, Knowshon Moreno and Jeremy Maclin are all scheduled to visit Cincinnati in the next several weeks. John Thornton says Chad Johnson isn’t a problem in the locker room.

The Cincinnati Bengals have been looking to deal left tackle Levi Jones “for a couple weeks,” according to Chicago Sun-Times Bears beat writer Brad Biggs. “The belief is if the Bengals can’t find a taker, they will release him soon,” he adds. Jones, who has struggled with injury since 2006, has had several run-ins with the team over the last few years. After having knee surgery in early ’07, he accused the training staff of screwing up his rehab, and when his return to the starting lineup was delayed, engaged in a public spat with coaches over his readiness. Last [...]

The Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks are trying to work out a trade that would send Detroit DT Cory Redding to Seattle in exchange for LB Julian Peterson. If consummated, the deal would once again scramble the top of the draft. Peterson moving to Detroit would likely put an end to talk of Wake Forest LB Aaron Curry as the top overall pick. Meanwhile, mockers who moved off of WR Michael Crabtree to the Seahawks after they signed T.J. Houshmandzadeh and onto the B.J. Raji-to-Seattle bandwagon might have to make yet another switch. Stay tuned. UPDATE: Fox Sports says it’s [...]

A good interview with an NFL scout (h/t Draft Daddy) offers some insights into the top of the draft. The anonymous scout has this to say about OT Andre Smith (note this was prior to Smith’s so-so pro day): The kid is a monster on the field, just a beast. He’s probably the best run blocker I’ve ever seen coming out of college. But he has got to prove he learns from his mistakes. We worry about his weight too. He needs to show he is in top condition and is willing to work hard to stay there. Another name [...]

With this update of the Cincinnati Bengals Mock Draft Big Board, I’m eliminating mocks that haven’t been updated since the start of free agency. Fortunately, most mockers did at least one update in the wake of the Matt Cassel trade, so the impact on total mocks tracked is minor (106 this time around versus 113 in the last update). Offensive tackle Eugene Monroe continues to hold court as king of the Big Board. However, many mocks have him gone (usually to the Seahawks at four) before Cincinnati picks, and there’s no consensus on which direction the Bengals jump in that [...]

Adding yet another layer of uncertainty to the top of the draft, the Cleveland Browns are set to cut starting right tackle Kevin Shaffer after a failed attempt to restructure his contract. Scout.com also reports that the Browns are meeting with unrestricted free agent G/T Adam Goldberg tonight. A seven-year vet, Goldberg has just 28 career starts, so he looks more like depth than a candidate to replace Shaffer. In other words, come draft day the Browns could also be looking at offensive tackle in the first round. Cleveland picks at five, one spot ahead of Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Bengals running backs coach Jim Anderson was at BYU yesterday working out RB Fui Vakapuna. At just under 6′ and 244 lbs., Vakapuna could be more suited to a fullback role. The Bengals have been looking for a fullback to replace Jeremi Johnson, who was cut last season. NFLdraftscout.com ranks Vakapuna as the 19th-best FB in the draft. He apparently has something of a history of injury.

Andre Smith’s poor workout at Alabama’s Pro Day yesterday further muddied the picture for the Cincinnati Bengals’ selection at six in the upcoming NFL Draft. With Andre and Michael Oher now being deemed unworthy of a top pick (and in Andre’s case perhaps even a first-round selection), that leaves just two possibilities for the OT-hungry Bengals: Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe — and both could easily go in the top five. Of course, if Andre does slide as badly as some are now predicting, he will easily be there when the Bengals come up again at 38, and despite the [...]

After blowing his status as the No. 1 OT in the upcoming draft at the Combine, Andre Smith’s first shot at redemption comes as Alabama holds its Pro Day today. The early returns are not promising. Andre Smith, one of the top offensive tackle prospects in this year’s draft, said he was relying on Alabama’s pro day to make up for the disappearing act he put on at the combine. Well, the first returns are not overly impressive. He best 40-yard dash time was 5.28 seconds and he put up only 19 bench press lifts at 225 pounds. Neither number [...]

Comp pick guru AdamJT13 has posted his annual projection for compensatory draft picks to be awarded for the April draft. (h/t go-bengals) The Cincinnati Bengals look to pick up at least two selections for the losses of DE Justin Smith and LB Landon Johnson. Both are borderline cases: Smith may net a third-round pick (the highest round in which any comp picks are given out), but depending on how the NFL’s Rube Goldberg comp pick formula plays out this year, that could slip to a fourth. Similarly, Landon should bring at least a seventh, and possibly a sixth. The Bengals [...]