While some want to dissect the Andre Smith pick -- as well as the other Bengal draftees -- by and large, Bengal fans couldn't be happier with their sixth overall selection. Oh, and the high grades Cincinnati is receiving for their entire draft don't hurt either.
Over at Darren Rovell's blog, the CNBC Sports Biz blogger has an interview with Smith's agent, who openly acknowledged the issues his client faced going into the Draft. During the brief talk, Rick Smith indicated the bigger Smith would thrive in a structured environment, which makes one wonder why the Bengals drafted him...
OK, that was a low blow, but even I couldn't resist jumping on the "Bengals with Character Issues" bandwagon. Smith -- the agent, not the player -- reveals it was Andre's successful weigh-in that salavaged him being a top-10 pick:
Darren: What did it for Cincinnati? Because we didn’t see anything that would have made it obvious.
Smith: It was really the surprise weigh-in that happened on Thursday. The Bengals put him on the scale and he came in at 337 pounds. (Smith weighed as high as 380 pounds, at one point.)
Darren: It was being said that his conduct at the Combine could have put him to the bottom of the first round. There’s a lot of misinformation. Was this information accurate?
Smith: It was absolutely accurate. He was definitely in jeopardy of losing a lot of money. Last year’s 28th pick overall was guaranteed $6,060,000 and got a max of $11.2 million. Last year’s No. 6 pick got a guaranteed $21 million and a maximum of $50 million. That would have been a lot of money to leave on the table.
It's rare when you can read about an agent giving such an honest appraisal of their client's potential issues. I'm just glad Agent Smith addressed them head-on, instead of talking for the sake of listening to himself talk, much like Ocho Cinco's representation.