Chad Johnson yells after catching a pass at minicamp. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        When the Bengals drafted Oregon State wide receiver Chad Johnson, team officials said they got a first-round player in the second round. Watching Johnson at minicamp reinforced their belief.

        Johnson thinks he understands why he fell to Round 2.

        “I had some problems I hadn't taken care of, and they caught up with me the day before the draft,” he said.

        Johnson failed to complete 30 days of community service cleaning up graffiti in Los Angeles, stemming from an altercation with a girlfriend while he attended Santa Monica Junior College.

        “It's almost done,” Johnson said by phone Tuesday from Los Angeles. He has assured the Bengals he will finish before training camp opens July 20.

        Johnson's situation is similar to that of wide receiver Peter Warrick, whom the Bengals drafted in the first round last season before he'd finished completing his community service.

        Warrick had been sentenced to 300 hours — 30 10-hour days — of picking up litter along Tallahassee, Fla., roadways for his part in the petty theft of clothing from a department store when he was a Florida State senior. Warrick completed his community service in September.

        Johnson had 37 receptions for 806 yards and eight touchdowns in his only season at Oregon State.

        “The football is the easy part for me. On the field is the easy part,” he said during minicamp over the weekend. “I'm just looking to do everything right off the field, just being in my playbook, getting the plays down, learn the system.”

        The sense in the Bengals' front office is that Johnson's drop from the first round had more to do with playing only one season of Division I football. Some scouts labeled Johnson a one-year wonder, a similar knock that might have prevented Akili Smith from being the first choice in the 1999 draft. The Bengals took him third overall.

        Johnson played the 1999 season at Santa Monica, where the Miami native had 63 receptions for 862 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games.

        At 6-foot-1, feet 1, 189 pounds, Johnson has 4.33-second speed in the 40-yard dash. He flashed it over the weekend.

        “I'm glad he's playing on our team,” cornerback Rodney Heath said. “He's got some good height, but he's real quick and fast. And he can run some good routes. He looks like he's running real fast. Then he's got some burst.”

        Playing alongside Warrick and Scott, Johnson can provide another strong target for new offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski's three-receiver sets.

        The Bengals' lack of deep speed grounded the NFL's worst pass offense in 2000.

        “Chad can stretch the field,” wide receivers coach Steve Mooshagian said. “When he comes off the ball, it's like lightning out there.”

        Asked about his take on Johnson's minicamp performance, coach Dick LeBeau said, “He did everything that I had hoped for and maybe a little bit more.”

        Even with 12 receivers rotating in minicamp, Johnson wanted the ball every time he lined up.

        “I had to remind him to relax a little,” quarterback Jon Kitna said. “He can fly.”

        After practice, Johnson said he understands his role.

        “I don't need to touch the ball that much,” he said. “I can play decoy a little bit, stretch the defense, scare them a little bit. Once or twice, maybe three times, I'll be OK.”

        Johnson and his former Oregon State teammate, seventh-round draft choice T.J. Houshmandzedah, looked relatively comfortable in Bratkowski's offense. They played college ball for Dennis Erickson, the former Seattle Seahawks coach. Bratkowski was Erickson's offensive coordinator for four years in Seattle.

        “T.J. and I ran this exact offense,” Johnson said. “It's going to be a new year for the Bengals. ... I'm going to let you know right now, it's not the same old Cincinnati.”

Is Bengals' Johnson great catch? Bengals to talk with Dillon's agent New fullback begins workouts

D'Backs 4, Reds 3: Johnson gets 20 Ks
Johnson doesn't get record, though
Rx for Larkin: Ice and more ice
Reds box, runs
Report: Cyclones, IHL to fold
Hometown driver in ARCA race
Cincinnati high school highlights
Cincinnati baseball results
Cincinnati tennis results
Other Cincinnati results
Tennis honor roll
Ohio softball polls
N.Ky. high school highlights
N.Ky. baseball results

• Return to Bengals front page...