Bengals coach Dick LeBeau didn't want to get specific Monday when discussing the positional needs of his team. But he did indicate what the team is looking at when asked about drafting in the second five instead of the top four. Their 6-10 record leaves the Bengals picking between seventh and 11th, depending on the result of Monday night's game and league analysis of schedule strength.

        “I understand there are some very good tackles and cornerbacks in the draft,” he said. “I think there are some very good tight ends available this year.”

        Cornerback, offensive tackle, tight end and quarterback are areas of the team that are most likely to receive talent infusions before next season.

        Several assistant coaches — all of whom were re-hired except safeties coach Ray Horton, who resigned — were already en route to San Francisco to scout college players in the East-West Shrine Game.

        In two weeks they'll be at the Senior Bowl in Alabama.

        Among the coaches not going are wide receivers coach Steve Mooshagian and running backs coach Jim Anderson, who is interviewing for the head coaching job at Stanford. The Bengals are not expected to draft receivers or running backs.

        LeBeau also indicated that more quarterbacks could be brought in.

        “I think we are going to have to take a good look at quarterback, just because of the situation with Akili,” LeBeau said of third-year quarterback Akili Smith, who had surgery to re-attach his hamstring and will miss six months. There is a concern Smith might not be 100 percent when training camp opens in July.

        “Scott (Mitchell) is no spring chicken,” LeBeau said of the 34-year-old veteran. “The other quarterbacks that we have are Jon (Kitna) and Scott Covington. You want to have four or five for training camp, so we'll be looking at that position.”

        The Bengals were last in the NFL in scoring with a 14.1 average. The inconsistent pass offense was a big reason. The team's young wide receivers — three second-year players and two rookies, along with veteran Darnay Scott — struggled to get in rhythm with Kitna. Kitna threw 22 interceptions and 12 touchdowns and had an NFL-low passer rating of 61.1,

        “We have to have more production from the offense,” LeBeau said. “We have to score more points. That's not always the quarterback position. We're going to look at anything we can do to get our point total up there.”

        The Bengals scored more than 20 points six times and won each game.

        Even with drafting lower than they have the past three seasons, the Bengals should be able to acquire an impact player.

        The top-rated cornerbacks in the draft are Quentin Jammer of Texas, Keyuo Craver of Nebraska, Mike Rumph of Miami (Fla.) and Mike Echols of Wisconsin.

        The top-rated offensive tackles are Bryant McKinnie of Miami (Fla.), Mike Williams of Texas, Marc Colombo of Boston College and Jermese Jones of Virginia.

        The top-rated tight ends are Dan Graham of Colorado, Chris Baker of Michigan State, Robert Royal of LSU and Tracey Winstrom of Nebraska.

        Quarterback Joey Harrington of Oregon appears to be the favorite of the expansion Houston Texans as the No.1 overall pick. Other highly rated quarterbacks are David Carr of Fresno State, Kurt Kittner of Illinois, David Garrard of East Carolina and Rohan Davey of LSU. Depending on where the Bengals draft or where they might chose to take a quarterback, the Bengals could also get Randy Fasani of Stanford or George Godsey of Georgia Tech.

        The Bengals put four tight ends on the Injured Reserve list this past season: Tony McGee, Brad St. Louis, rookie Sean Brewer and Marco Battaglia, who's no longer with the team.

        Three cornerbacks — Mark Roman, Rodney Heath and Tom Carter, who's no longer with the club — suffered season-ending injuries. Artrell Hawkins emerged as the leader, but Robert Bean looked bad Sunday at Tennessee. Still, partly because of a franchise-record 48 sacks, the Bengals were ranked 12th in pass defense and ninth in overall defense.

        The Bengals had an impressive showing by veteran left tackle Richmond Webb, who signed as an unrestricted free agent in April. He was backed up by veteran John Jackson, and the experienced duo appears it has at least one more solid year left. The Bengals could groom a tackle under their tutelage.

        The first offseason move is to designate five players for the expansion eligible list for the Texans. The expansion draft will be Feb. 18.

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