This will be a very unusual draft. With no fewer than 10 quarterback-starved teams, desperation will rule the day. The Bengals are positioned to exploit it, even though they are probably the team in most need of a a signal-caller, and Marvin Lewis intends to do just that. The opportunity that presents itself is this. There are probably no quarterbacks in this draft that merit, in normal years, a top 5, or even a top 10, pick. Cam Newton might be the exception, but that’s based solely on his potential. He is certainly not a “lock” to be a franchise quarterback, no matter how much smoke Marvin Lewis blows to try and persuade teams that he’s taking a QB with the #4 pick.
But Newton won’t be a real concern for the Bengals, since the Carolina Panthers seem intent on taking him #1 overall. Lewis is hoping that a team, preferably the Cardinals or the 49ers, will want Blaine Gabbert enough to part with a second or third round pick. A trade with Arizona would be preferable, because the Bengals could still take A.J. Green without worrying about Cleveland snagging him. A trade with San Francisco would be more likely, and while it might cost the Bengals their shot at Green to replace Ochocinco, it would still leave them the option of drafting Julio Jones, Nick Fairley, or one of the two best DE’s in this draft: Robert Quinn or Cameron Jordan. It would also net them an additional pick or two in the first 4 rounds of the draft. Combine those extra picks with those the Bengals could get from the trades of Chad Ochocinco and, hopefully, Carson Palmer, and the Bengals could load up some serious talent in 2011.
David Gabbard is a Cincinnati native and dislocated Bengals fan. He now lives with his family in North Carolina.
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