I've got to give Odell props. Two years out of football, for a guy with his substance and/or behavioral issues, is just asking for more trouble. That he has apparently toed the line, gone to meetings, undergone counseling, and worked out like a fiend is a testament to his desire to return and play some ball. All I can think of is 148 tackles, 9 passes defended, four fumbles forced, and five INTs- as a rookie. If, and it's a big if, he can return to '05 form and Brooks' groin is solid, if Jeanty continues to improve, if the wildcard that is Eric Henderson turns out to be only halfway decent, and if we snag, say, a Marcus Howard(6-2, 245, 4.4 40, imagine that speed on the outside of a 3-4...) in the third. My God, man, we might end up with one of the premiere linebacking corps in the league.

Let's see;

Odell
Ahmad
Rashad
Dhani
Eric
Anthony
Caleb
Blackstock
Johnson
Marshall

Do we really need Rivers if Ellis isn't available?
Also, don't discount DeSean Jackson at 9, again assuming Ellis is off the board. Dude's insanely fast, has great hands, and is a sensational kick returner. More versatile than Kelly, Hardy, Thomas, or Sweed- though I do like Sweed's size.

For Odell's personal sake, I am glad for him and I hope that he has genuinely turned things around and begins a new chapter of his life.

As far as the Bengals go--I would rather be deep at linebacker than thin--and therefore I still look to see the Bengals pick up two lbs in the draft. Honestly, Dhani Jones is a second tier player as is the rest of the Bengals LB corps except Brooks and Thurman. We may get lucky with Henderson, we may still get unlucky with Thurman.  

We still need Lbs.

I STILL see the Bengals going after a linebacker in the first three rounds. Now, it's less of a need, and my point is completely dictating of the team's base formation.

But Odell plays MLB that Brooks accounts for. IMHO, we still need to get a better, more talented, quicker pass covering outside linebacker. Dhani Jones did well for us in need. Rashad Jeanty has been, well, I won't see good, but I won't say bad either.

If the team goes 3-4, then Odell and Brooks over the middle. It still leaves an upgrade at OLB much desired. If the team goes 4-3, then would the team work on getting either Brooks or Odell outside?

Furthermore, have we seen anything that makes us think that Brooks will be all that good?

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS.

At least we're not talking Chad -- oh, wait. New post coming... ;-)

I agree we could flesh out the backers with some new blood but maybe not at 9. In rounds 2-4, we should be able to land one or more of the following;

Xavier Adibi
Erin Henderson
Curtis Lofton
Tavares Gooden
Cliff Avril
Marcus Howard
Beau Bell
Jordon Dizon
Shawn Crable
Phillip Wheeler
Ali Highsmith
Geno Hayes
Jonathan Goff
Bryan Kehl
Bruce Davis
Jo-Lonn Dunbar...

Okay, so some of those are a stretch but you get my point.

Absolutely. In fact, with Odell's return, while we expected it but we just didn't know Chancellor's master plan, I don't see the Bengals going after linebacker on Saturday. But we'll see...