1. Cincinnati. Now this is really saying something. The impression league-wide is that Marvin Lewis rode in on his white horse four years ago and saved this team from eternal damnation. Judging by the way Jim Lippincott and Mike Brown and then-coach Dick LeBeau ran this draft, I'd say that's only about 70 percent right. The Bengals are the only team, by my calculation, that got four of its current top 10 players from this draft. Starting defensive end Justin Smith was the first pick, fourth overall, and he's been a steady starter since he held out as a rookie. Smith has contributed a good but not Freeney-like 34 sacks in five years. I can still hear the screaming for how they reached for Chad Johnson at number 36 overall; he's averaged 94 catches a year, loudly, the last three years. And they got two direct hits on Day 2: Running back Rudi Johnson (Round 4), who has rushed for 3,869 yards the last three years, and in Round 7 one of the best No. 2 receivers in football, T.J. Houshmandzadeh. How many second receivers have averaged 75.5 catches over the last two years? A great, great job by the Bengals.(Sports Illustrated) Who would have thought at the time the Bengals would pick up their two starting receivers and starting running back in the same draft; all after #4 pick, Justin Smith. That ain't bad at all.
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