Reading on Scouts, and they flag Marcus Harrison as a character problem. His weakness:

Lacks ideal lower body strength. Is not a good fit for a two-gap system. Struggles to take shed blocks at times and does not show the base to anchor in a phone booth. Despite great quickness and mobility for his position, his sack production has never been good. He needs to be more consistent anticipating the snap. Also must improve his array of pass rush moves. Durability and character issues are major concerns

Pat Sims seems like another Domata Peko.

Has a tendency to stand up when he gets tired, lacks elite lower body strength and has problems holding ground against double teams.

He’s listed as the third best player available on the Scouts “best available” board.

Conner is still available. Take him and really solidify our LBs? I know, I know. We need a DT.

If the Bengals go running back first, Charles is still there.

Reads blocks well and shows adequate patience. Explosive, turns corner quickly and turns on the jets when gets into space. Moves well laterally and is capable of exploiting cutback lanes. Shows good balance, flashes a strong stiff arm and can pick up yards after contact. Changes directions well, can quickly change gears and makes defenders miss in the open field. Has adequate experience catching the ball out of the backfield and isn’t going to drop many passes should catch. Fast enough to go the distance when gets a seam and is a dangerous open field runner after the catch. Doesn’t shy away from contact and shows adequate awareness when asked to help out in pass protection.

I’m going to put my money on Sims at this point.

...the Bengals coaches were high on Jerome Simpson because of his production and sustaining his “measurable” whereas the more established players didn’t show the measurable or the production - it was either one or the other. Granted, Simpson played against smaller schools, but he dominated. Depending on what happens with Chad Johnson the rest of the off-season - my guess is nothing—then I’d project Simpson to replace the recently departed, Chris Henry. But I imagine the team will have him, Antonio Chatman and Glenn Holt to compete for that spot. And the fact we’re able to draft Sims, makes this pick more accepting anyway.

...drafting Pat Sims gives the Bengals four defensive tackles. With Thornton playing on the final year of his contract and Michael Myers basically playing the role of depth/rotation guy, I wouldn’t be surprised if the team goes after another defensive tackle relatively soon to give the position a complete youth overhaul.

...I know I’m in the minority, but I do like this draft overall. We got our three biggest need positions addressed with seven picks left in the draft.

Alright fellas. Where do you think we’ll go? DT Marcus Harrison is available, but he’s not a “character guy”—I hate that term. I wouldn’t mind having a second DT though, however, do we risk character guy Harrison or get a guy of lesser value?

Also, we should start thinking secondary. At safety Arizona State’s Joshua Barrett and Cal’s Thomas DeCoud is still available.

Perhaps we should go with CB Justin King (Penn State):

Possesses adequate height, good bulk and outstanding straight-line speed. He shows a second gear when tracking the ball downfield. Has quick feet, explodes out of backpedal when coming forward and breaks on the ball well. Flashes the ability to make plays in coverage and is a dangerous open field runner. Fills hard in run support and is an adequate open field tackler. Has experience returning punts as well as kickoffs, has lined up on both sides of the ball and is versatile.

Smooth opening hips when forced to turn and run, generally reacts well to double moves and fast enough to run with NFL receivers. Changes directions well and shows adequate short-area man-to-man cover skills. Reads quarterback’s eyes and isn’t afraid to come off assignment to make a play on the ball. Shows excellent range in zone coverage and can cover a deep half of the field.

On the front page, down the right hand side, is a thing called FanShots. This is where we can just throw a bunch of multimedia in one spot—like pictures, interviews, chats, videos, etc… post there if you see anything neat. I’ve got a couple of draft videos up.

Maybe the team should go after guard here. Though he’s projected as a fifth-rounder.

Marcus Howard!

Anthony Collins, OT, Kansas, is still available and the Bengals had spoken about taking an offensive tackle. This last line of his scouting jumped out.

If developed properly, Collins can emerge as a solid starting tackle (probably better suited at ROT in the NFL) a year or two from now.

Hummm… Andrews playing one-year contract, Levi Jones totally not happy, Willie Anderson getting closer towards retirement?

Shawn Murphy?

I have emails to all the college bloggers of the players we drafted to get their impression. Well everyone except Jerome Simpson. It would seem that we don’t have a Coast Carolina blog.

That’s a good pick. IMHO.

We have a while before our next pick. I don’t suspect that they’ll go RB anymore simply because we have that late round talent already on roster and, in an optimistic world, the RBs we have already should do the job.

We might be thinking secondary (both S and CB), another o-line (guard, center), at least one defensive tackle and defensive end. I’d be surprised if the remaining five picks aren’t dominated by defense.

Bryant’s gone now to Seattle. Ya know, with the receivers drafted and in place, I wonder whether they have some kind of plan to trade Chad for some interior D-Lineman and maybe a pick or two next year?

It’s the best kept secret in U.S. history—politics, CIA, etc… included.

What about Joshua Barrett?

Jacob Tamme and Keenan Burton to Indy and St. Louis respectively. Is Wesley Woodyard still on the board?

Woodyard was an LB at UK but probably translates to an in the box strong safety as a pro. 6-1 225, with 4.5 speed and hits like a linebacker? Might be an interesting project and the kid plays hungry. I mean he excelled in the SEC as an undersized middle linebacker. That’s the big leagues. Howard still there as well as Barrett.

We pick tenth in round five, fourteen picks away. Yee-hah!

Pizza Hut’s Meat Lover’s pizza is awesome. Just saying…

You may have already talked about this. Do you think the Chancellor’s idea of structured rookie contracts, like the NBA, is a good idea. It would keep these first round rookies from earning more than they are worth.

Howard, Barrett, Woodyard still available two picks before us…

Is also available and the team has scouted him.

Uh-oh, Shirley’s got some character issues but man what a beast.

Jason Shirley

I’m honestly surprised the Bengals haven’t taken a RB yet. I would have liked to see us pick up Mendenhall (and Sweed…guess who got ‘em BOTH!) since Rudi’s performance is slipping, Kenny Watson is good-but-not-the-answer, and Dorsey is a role-player in a pinch at best. Are there any other decent RBs to be had?

I tell you what I DREAM of…and what I hope the Bengals explore…If Levi Jones wants a trade…fine! Send him, Rucker (why not?) and a couple of picks to Oakland…for Michael Bush! C’mon…SOMEbody’s got to leave that crowded RB stable on the Barbary Coast, and it’d be a complete waste to have Michael Bush spend one more season on the bench!

Interesting idea. Oakland definitely wouldn’t miss a RB. Though I’m not sure if Jones’ demand for a trade is big, of if he’s just entertaining the idea.

Joshua Barrett is STILL available.

Don’t we already have him on our roster, only under the names John Busing and Ethan Kilmer?

Hey guys. While I’m still adding video and such on the posts of the players picked, I’m also putting them in the FanShots. I want you guys to get accustomed to that and use it when you can. It’s a good multi-media repository.

...then this appears to be a stupid pick. They didn’t need to pick a TE, no matter what all the experts said they needed. Jeez, for years I said they ought to pick up a pass-catching TE, but we seem to have taken care of that with Utecht (at least I hope so for that amount of cash!).

If you can’t run the ball, you don’t win. Right now, I’m not sure if the Bengals can run the ball.

John Clayton names the Bengals as the number 1 loser of the draft. While I don’t think we got the worst of it, it remains to be seen if we addressed the needs that have to be adressed to be a contender again. If Sims works out, I think we’re good; if not, this is going to be a bad draft year.

Hometown boy, Angelo Craig. Doesn’t even need to change his address. Congratulations, Angelo!

Mario Urrutia the wideout from Louisville is our last pick.

Let’s see.

A rock solid, athletic, high character linebacker in Keith Rivers that can play anywhere on the second level.

Jerome Simpson and Bubba Caldwell to replace Blocho Twinco.

A promising nose tackle, Pat Sims, that may, I repeat, may help us forget about Sedric Ellis. A steal in round three in any event.

A first team all-American and Outland Trophy nominee OT in Anthony Collins, that’s only been playing football since his junior year of high school, highway robbery in the fourth round.

A solid safety in Corey Lynch and pass receiving tight end in Villanova’s Sherry.

And a handful of projects; Jason Shirley with off-filed/alcohol issues, Mario Urrutia with injury/concentration issues, and Angelo Craig with unspecified team-rule breaking issues.

If one of those three projects pans out, particularly the behemoth- 6-6 330lb, Jason Shirley or the Calvin Johnson-physiqued- 6-6 235lb, Mario Urrutia, we’ll really be ahead of the game.

The receiver situation should be solid. The linebacking corps borderline fantastic. The secondary, just building on how they were playing towards the end of last season, should be a positive force. The D-Line, particularly if we move Eric Henderson into more of a rush end role should shape up well on the ends. And Peko, with Sims, and hopefully a better contribution from Rucker and a healthy Fanene, should at least stabilize the interior.

Hopefully, Willie is healthy, Levi is just blowing off steam, Ghiaciuc has got a better handle on getting some push into the center of the defensive front, Rudi has started eating meat again, TJ can get used to lower numbers as he gets doubled, and we can count on 30+ receptions from the tight end position.

Overall grade of this draft, just on paper: C+
10 picks; seven solid values, and three rolls of the dice.