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Passing on deal meant no defensive tackle On the first day of veteran free agency, the Bengals were willing to trade their third- and fifth-round draft picks to Detroit for defensive tackle Shaun Rogers. That third-round pick would have been the 77th overall. On Saturday, logic says, the Bengals could have packaged that same No. 77 pick with their ninth choice to trade with New England and get in position to take a defensive tackle.
Instead, New Orleans sent its 10th overall pick and the 78th choice to the Patriots for the seventh slot, where the Saints grabbed defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis. The Bengals have an acute need at defensive tackle - perhaps the greatest of any position on the roster. And some draft experts rated Ellis as the top tackle available, ahead of even Glenn Dorsey, the former LSU star who went with the fifth pick to Kansas City. The Bengals stood still at No. 9. Not only did the Saints jump ahead of them, so did Jacksonville, moving all the way up from No. 26 to No. 8 in a trade with Baltimore to get Florida defensive end Derrick Harvey. The Bengals selected a fine player at No. 9 in Southern Cal linebacker Keith Rivers, a sure-handed tackler who should help upgrade the run defense. But the Bengals ignored defense again in the second round, giving in to the temptation to add a wide receiver from a small school who played against sub-par competition and doesn't even return kicks. Still, the team crowed over Coastal Carolina wide receiver Jerome Simpson, who was a projected fifth- or sixth-round pick by Pro Football Weekly and other draft publications. Last year, the Bengals used their second-round pick on tailback Kenny Irons, who blew out his anterior cruciate ligament in the first preseason game and probably won't be available for the start of training camp this season. Using the second pick on Simpson - or any offensive player, for that matter, and ignoring the need at defensive tackle - looks like another draft-day mistake. Several solid defensive tackles were there for the taking in the second round, including highly regarded Trevor Laws of Notre Dame, who was snatched up by Philadelphia with the next pick. Of course, the Bengals have only six wide receivers under contract, including the disgruntled Chad Johnson, who is threatening to sit out if not traded. The Bengals also bypassed several other receivers who played in conferences significantly stronger than the Big South Conference. Cal's DeSean Jackson, who returned six punts for touchdowns in college, went No. 49 to the Eagles. Oklahoma's Malcolm Kelly, a big, strong receiver, went No. 51 to Washington. Texas' Limas Sweed, who has an excellent work ethic, went to the Steelers at No. 53. Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis defended the decisions to stay put at No. 9 in the first round and to pick Simpson in the second. "When picking a receiver this early, he needs to come in and fill a void," said Lewis, who explained that he personally scouted Simpson. "This has been a pretty in-depth process." The Bengals, having just waived wide receiver Chris Henry after his latest arrest, appear to have gone heavily in favor of people who won't embarrass the organization with their off-field behavior. "What we have here is a guy who's a top-notch young man," Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said of Simpson, who had 44 career touchdowns catches at Coastal Carolina. "He's healthy, and he has a very big upside to him." NFLDraftScout.com said the pro player Simpson most resembles is T.J. Houshmandzadeh. But it took Houshmandzadeh, a seventh-round pick, until his fourth season to produce at a high level
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