I think the Bengals should draft a OT with the sixth pick, however, if Bengals do choose to go in a different direction, the Sporting News lists the top 10 free agent offensive tackles. Guys of interest include Jordan Gross of the Panthers, Vernon Carey of the Dolphins, John Stinchcomb of the Saints and Donald Penn of the Bucs. They have Stacy Andrews ranked third. I like Gross because he has a mean streak. Gross may be tagged but the others are all unlikely to be tagged.
I hope the Bengals make a real effort to keep OT Stacy Andrews. He may be signable at a discount because of his knee injury. Apparently, his rehab is ahead of schedule. Several weeks ago, I wrote that I would like to see the Bengals snag someone nasty like John Runyon. Well, forget about that, the 35-year old Runyon wants to retire an Eagle and just had micro-fracture surgery on his knee.
Sporting News likes Fitzy. They have him ranked the 7th best free agent QB. They like his mobility, his intelligence and his age (26). Maybe I am wrong about him but Scouts, Inc. thinks the same thing - they have him ranked dead last (19th).
There are some good defensive free agents but they could cost big bucks. Karlos Dansby, Bart Scott, Channing Crowder, Mike Peterson or Eric Barton all would help strengthen the LB corps where the Bengals need more depth.
Bengal-killer Leigh Bodden was released by the Lions. Something must be wrong with that guy because every time he plays the Bengals he looks like an all-pro.
My favorite blogger (other than Kirkendall), Bengal John Thornton, thinks the Bengals should put the franchise tag on Shayne Graham. Not unheard of - the Falcons tagged their punter yesterday.
The Bengals have a lot of room under the cap to work with so let's hope they open the purse strings and try to fill some needs. Ask the Commish projects the Bengals to have $22 million to work with, which is the 12th-most cap room in the NFL. Perhaps an aggressive foray into free agency can compensate for the career-ending injuries to high draft picks Pollack and Irons in last several years. Not to cry over spilled milk, but those kinds of injuries to top picks have a long-lasting impact.