Dec 01, 2012; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Tony Jefferson (1) reacts during the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Oklahoma won 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Bengals are in need of help at the safety position with the impending free agency of Chris Crocker and Nate Clements, and the draft could provide an answer, but there may be one prospect they’ll need to consider carefully .

Anonymous NFL scouts have been claiming Oklahoma coaches have been trashing their former safety, Tony Jefferson, who will be in this year’s NFL Draft, and is expected to fairly high:

Another safety prospect that is trending in the opposite direction is Oklahoma safety Tony Jefferson. Scouts are saying that Jefferson has been getting trashed by some of his former coaches for horrible practice habits and a lack of work ethic in the weight room. Jefferson has a lot of physical talent, but it is really going to hurt his draft stock to have former coaches telling NFL teams to pass on him. A couple sources said they wouldn’t be surprised if Jefferson has a free fall in the draft from a second-day pick to the third day. It will be really important for Jefferson to test well and interview well at the Combine.

Jefferson later appeared on a Tulsa radio show, and claimed his coaches called him to say the reports was false. Some would argue that the Bengals have moved past the “bad-boy” days of having players arrested on a regular basis (Andre Smith hurts that case), and the character and leader ship on this team now is strong enough to handle one head-case like Jefferson apparently is.

Still, would you want the Bengals to take a chance on a player like Jefferson?

More towards the intangibles, the Bengals had to call up practice squad cornerback Chris Lewis-Harris as the team’s third and final defensive back due to depletions in the secondary last week against Jacksonville. While Leon Hall and rookie Dre Kirkpatrick look to be on the mend for this week’s game against Miami, veteran Nate Clements remains questionable. His status serves as a reminder of not only why the Bengals currently have nine cornerbacks between the active and injured reserve rosters, but also how dubious the Bengals are at Clements acclimatizing role as strong safety.

At the moment, the Taylor Mays project seems to be falling short of expectations. While it’s clear he can hit, his ability to hit the correct players or hit them in a legal fashion has been called into question in nearly every game that he has played in. Jeromy Miles looked like he was going to snag the starting job late in the pre-season, but blown coverages and poor route reads have shown that he’s not ready for the consistency of the starting job. That has left the Bengals dependant on Clements sliding over from corner, until last week when the Bengals swallowed some pride, went out and signed strong safety and veteran leader Chris Crocker.

While Crocker and that huge chip on his shoulder may be exactly what the Bengals’ secondary need to get through the rest of this season, it’s not a long term solution. At 33 years of age, Crocker has no illusions that this is very likely his last year in the NFL, and the Bengals must address this position in the off-season. As last year’s free agency indicated, a serviceable strong safety is a precious commodity, and lucky for Cincinnati, this year’s NFL Draft looks to have a very deep crop compared to recent memory. How much Taylor Mays redeems or crucifies himself in what remains of the season will be a firm indicator of how high of a pick the Bengals are willing to use to fix the position.

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