Picking higher than fifth in the 2009 NFL draft is an ideal spot for two reasons: 1) you still have quality players to select from (and there's a class of really good tackles and 2) you don't have to break the bank on an unproven player coming out of college with guaranteed money that always runs the risk of dividing a locker room full of underpaid, non-guaranteed money veterans like the first five picks do (which obviously doesn't apply to quarterbacks). Oh, that pesky holdout that the Bengals are known for having a man-crush on, always exists too.
| Guaranteed | ||
| #1 | Jake Long | $30 million |
| #2 | Chris Long | $29 million |
| #3 | Matt Ryan | $34 million |
| #4 | Darren McFadden | $26 million |
| #5 | Glenn Dorsey | $23 million |
| #6 | Vernon Gholston | $21 million |
| #7 | Sedrick Ellis | $19.5 million |
| #8 | Derrick Harvey | $17.177 million |
| #9 | Keith Rivers | $15.6 million |
| #10 | Jerod Mayo | $13.8 million |
Selecting between the fifth and tenth presents even more opportunities; an area other teams look to trade up, knowing they're likely not having that $25-30 million guaranteed contract dollars to negotiate. Honestly, this team could stand to acquire more picks in the draft and it doesn't hurt so much when the Bengals pick up questionable high round picks -- though I suppose they've done alright with Carson Palmer, Johnathan Joseph, Leon Hall and Keith Rivers. Plus Andre Smith and Michael Oher are very appealing (perhaps too appealing, in that man loves football type of way).
The Bengals moved behind the Chiefs on the 2009 NFL Draft chart to #3 overall. Here's how. The winning percentage is typically figured with wins divided by games. So before Sunday's game the Bengals had a .111 winning percentage (1 win / 9 games). A tie figures into the winning record as a half-win, computing to .150 (1.5 wins / 10 games). The best part about having a tie is that we won't have a coin toss with another team to figure our draft position (talk about stupid blind luck).
That's not all. Look at the chart.
| Team | W/L | PCT | |
| 1 | Detroit Lions | 0-10 | .000 |
| 2 | Kansas City Chiefs | 1-9 | .100 |
| 3 | Cincinnati Bengals | 1-8-1 | .150 |
| 4 | Seattle Seahawks | 2-7 | .222 |
| 5 | San Francisco | 2-7 | .222 |
| 6 | St. Louis Rams | 2-7 | .222 |
A scenario exists in which the Bengals could leapfrog three spots to the sixth spot in the draft order by Sunday's end. The Seahawks play Washington. The 49ers play at Dallas. The Rams play the Chicago Bears; as if that matters. If all three teams lose, then they'll have a .200 winning percentage. With the possibility of improving to .227 with a win Thursday over the Steelers...
Nevermind.