The Bengals were once again bounced out of the playoffs in round one by the Houston Texans. As promised, I have a mock draft. I have been tinkering with our picks and looking at a wide range of prospects at various positions. I have also been scrutinizing our team to find weaknesses. What follows is how I would like the off-season to go. I will only write about free agency losses and gains worth the time. Guys that started last year that are unlikely to return or a major addition to the team will make into the post.

FA Losses

Robert Geathers

He simply is not worth the money and we have three talented DEs otherwise. I would rather draft a low round DE with upside than this veteran.

Terrence Newman

Newman is getting older. Unless he is willing to come back cheap and battle for a starting position, he should not be coming back to Cincinatti. I like him, but he isn't worth starting money at his age.

Manny Lawson

Lawson was awful as a read and react linebacker. He didn't have a chance to show off his blitzing skills under Zimmer, so he was under-utilized to boot. He should go to some 3-4 team or a 4-3 team that likes to blitz as a situational pass rusher.

Nate Clements

Age has simply caught up to the former star and hopefully he bows out gracefully. He should retire and let fans remember his best days.

Rey Maualuga

I originally had him returning to us for little to be a situational guy at OLB. After his playoff performance, I would rather forget his time here.

I don't have us picking up any free agents of note.

2013 NFL Draft

With the 21st pick of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Xavier Rhodes, CB out of Florida State University!

Xavier Rhodes vs WF and Clemson 2012 (via JmpasqDraftjedi)

I would love Rhodes to fall to us and there is a chance that he does. His COD ability and short area acceleration are superb, especially for a guy this size. He is a strong, physical defender that can matchup against any receiver a team can throw at him. He has speed to make up for mistakes in coverage and tracks the ball well. He played a mix of man and zone in college, but should be able to contribute immediately to our D. This would give us two young, talented corners going forward.

With the 37th pick of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Matt Elam, Safety out of Florida

Matt Elam vs Florida State (2012) (via Eric Stoner)

Elam is a rangy, hard-hitting safety many want for obvious reasons. His performance on the field should win him the starting job immediately. Hopefully Burfict or Nelson can step up and be a field general like Crocker was.

With the 52nd pick of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Khaled Holmes, Center out of Southern California.

Khaled is strong C with great pop at the point of attack. This pop comes from a great punch. He gets out of his stance quickly and gets good position. He is mobile and can get to the second level. He struggles to effectively pull, though. Khaled is a fantastic athlete and would complete our OL for years to come.

With the 84th pick of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Gerald Hodges, Linebacker out of Pennsylvania State University

Gerald Hodges vs Illinois 2011 (via JmpasqDraftjedi)

Hodges is a great outside linebacker with great instincts. I like his ability to shed blocks and make the tackle in traffic. This is something that some of the smaller linebackers can't do well, but he can. He is good in coverage, but is not polished. He has the athleticism to be better, though.

With the 116th pick of the NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Dennis Johnson, Running Back out of Arkansas

Dennis Johnson vs Tulsa (2012) (via Aaron Aloysius)

I love Johnson as our HB. He is a true power back that the AFCN loves. In the video above #20 of the D tries to take him out at the knees and just bounces off. That is true power. I love his vision and his ability to cut back. He is also a successful return man. He runs with a low pad level, which keeps his center of gravity low and allows him to fall forward often.

Like many successful kick returners, Johnson's success in this realm has more to do with his vision, lateral agility and burst than pure straight-line speed. Whether as a running back or returner, he is quick to and through the hole...

With the 148th pick of the 2013 NFL draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Devin Taylor, Defensive End out of South Carolina.

Devin Taylor has a lot of upside. He should prove to be a physical DE with fantastic athleticism, much like Michael Johnson. He also has the athleticism to drop back into coverage, if Zimmer ever wanted to run an over load blitz.

With their first 6th round pick of the 2013 NFL draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Jonathan Cyprien, Safety out of Florida International University.

This guy is a great project in the backfield and should turn into fantastic depth, where we don't have any. He has all the tangibles one would look for in a safety and has played well in FIU's big games. I love small school guys and Cyprien is no exception. Let's see how he does in the NFL.

With the 180th pick of the 2013 NFL draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select George Winn, Running Back out of the University of Cincinnati

The Cincinatti Bearcats standout remains in Cincinnati for the start of his pro career. I like this kid's explosiveness and strength. He should be great depth at half back and a relief back for Johnson.

Favorite UDFA pickups

Jordan Rodgers, QB, Vanderbilt

D. J. Harper, HB, Boise State

Matt Summers-Gavin, OT, California

Craig Roh, DE, Ohio State

Wes Horton, DE, Southern California

Depth Chart

Offense:

QB) Andy Dalton, Bruce Gradkowski

HB) Dennis Johnson, Gorge Winn, Daniel Herron (I personally don't like injury prone HBs)

FB) John Conner, Brian Leonard

TE) Jermaine Gresham, Orson Charles, Richard Quinn

WR) A.J. Green, Mohammed Sanu, Marvin Jones,Andrew Hawkins, (insert favorite UDFA)

OT) Andrew Whitworth, Andre Smith, Anthony Collins,

OG) Kevin Zeitler, Clint Boling, Travelle Wharton

C) Khaled Holmes, Trevor Robinson

Total: 24

Defence:

DT) Geno Atkins, Devon Still, Pat Sims, Brandon Thompson, Demato Peko

DE) Carlos Dunlap, Michael Johnson, Wallace Gilberry, Devin Taylor

WOLB) Emmanuel Lamur/Thomas Howard

MLB) Vontaze Burfict, Dan Stuka

SOLB) Gerald Hodges

CB) Leon Hall, Adam Jones, Xavier Rhodes, Dre KirkPatrick,

Chris Lewis-Harris, Shaun Prater

S) Reggie Nelson, Matt Elam, Chris Crocker, Jonathan Cyprien, Taylor Mays

Total: 25

Tell me what you think in the comments below :)

Special Teams:

K) Josh Brown

P) Kevin Huber

LS) Clark Harris

Team Total: 53