Draft outlook
When: April 19-20
Bengals First-Round Prospects
Pos Player School
LB James Farrior Virginia
LB Jamie Sharper Virginia
CB Tom Knight Iowa
CB Michael Booker Nebraska
CB Sam Madison Louisville
CB Chris Canty Kansas St.
Bengals picks:
Round 1: 14th
Round 2: 13th (43rd overall)
Round 3: 16th (76th)
Round 4: 15th (111th)
Round 5: 14th (144th)
Round 6: 13th (176th)
Round 7: 16th (217th)
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The Bengals are shifting their player-acquisition focus from free agency to the NFL draft, but they haven't changed their objectives.
Improving themselves at linebacker and cornerback remain paramount as they prepare to reach into the grab bag of collegians next Saturday and Sunday. The need to bolster those positions stems largely from the proposed switch to a 3-4 base defense and the excessive passing yards Cincinnati allowed last season.
Jamie Sharper and James Farrior, outside linebackers from the University of Virginia, and a host of cornerbacks are among the Bengals' possible first-round choices. Sharper appears to be the likeliest pick, since Farrior is expected to be drafted before Cincinnati's turn arrives.
The Bengals' 8-8 finish in 1996 gave them the 14th overall selection, marking the first time since they picked 18th in 1991 that they don't have a top-10 choice in the opening round.
Though anything's possible in the draft, Bengals President and General Manager Mike Brown doubted that he would engineer a trade for a higher first-round selection. ''We're not looking to move up unless somebody wants to pay us something,'' he said with a grin.
The draft's absence of talented quarterbacks or truly star-quality running backs contributes to the notion that only six or seven ''impact'' players exist. The Bengals have virtually no chance of selecting Ohio State offensive tackle Orlando Pace, Southern California defensive tackle Darrell Russell, Ohio State cornerback Shawn Springs, Texas cornerback Bryant Westbrook, Florida State defensive end Peter Boulware or Alabama linebacker Dwayne Rudd.
Nevertheless, Brown expressed confidence that the team's seven selections will yield some competent performers. He dismissed the suggestion that selecting from among the middle of the pack will hamper Cincinnati, pointing out that last year's most dynamic first-
rounder, Houston's Eddie George, was himself a 14th pick.
''First-round picks are over-ballyhooed,'' Brown said. ''I make this statement time and time again: 10 of them will prove to be as good as everyone thinks they are; 10 will be just average and 10 will be not very good. And they will be sprinkled all throughout the first round.''
Officially, the Bengals are being coy about whom they'll select first.
''I couldn't tell you for sure just how we could go,'' Brown said.
''There's going to be talented guys available at every position,'' said Jim Lippincott, the club's director of pro personnel and scouting. ''To pass up a great player at a position that might not be recognized as a need may be a dangerous thing.''
Nevertheless, draft experts and league sources universally link the Bengals to Farrior and Sharper.
''I don't see how the Bengals can turn those players down,'' draft analyst Jerry Jones said.
Both are said to have the combination of agility and strength necessary to handle the variety of tasks playing in the 3-4 would demand.
''It's hard to tell which is which,'' Jones said.
Indeed, they're nearly identical physically and statistically. Farrior (6-foot-2, 235 pounds) had 6 1/2 sacks and 13 tackles for loss last year; Sharper (6-3, 240) had 6 1/2 sacks and 17 tackles for loss. Farrior was clocked in the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds, Sharper in 4.67. Farrior's vertical jump was measured at 35 1/2
inches, one inch less than Sharper's.
If the first 13 selections consume both Farrior and Sharper, the Bengals almost surely will take a cornerback. This won't disappoint Cincinnati, since the list of promising cornerbacks is almost as long as Hale-Bopp's tail. As many as six have been projected as possible first-round choices.
Under certain scenarios, Cincinnati might take a cornerback even if Farrior or Sharper is still available:
- If Springs or Westbrook somehow lasts until the middle of the first round (they won't);
- If Iowa's Tom Knight, widely regarded as the third-best cornerback, remains on the board (this could happen);
- If Bengals management decides they'll be able to sign a decent free agent to fill a void at linebacker, rendering that spot less of a priority in the draft (the next few days might help determine that).
Nebraska's Michael Booker, Kansas State's Chris Canty and Louisville's Sam Madison are other cornerbacks who have displayed first-round potential.
Of course, the draft lasts for six more rounds after the first is complete. The Bengals also can be expected to try to select a defensive lineman to compete for the vacant nose tackle spot; an offensive lineman to provide depth; and a running back to push Ki-Jana Carter, who exasperated club officials by showing up at last week's offensive mini-camp in Orlando, Fla., in poor physical condition.
Cincinnati might try to find another speedy wide receiver, too, since Darnay Scott is the only veteran flanker who is exceptionally fast.
''We have any number of needs. I think there are at least a half-dozen,'' Brown said. ''We probably won't be able to fill all of them. We'll fill most of them.''
''We're pleased that we went 7-2 in the last nine games (of '96). But we were still 8-8,'' Lippincott said. ''We have a lot of needs.''
14TH PICK NOT TOO LATE TO GRAB GOOD PLAYER
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