NFL Draft: How Chad Johnson Changes the Cincinnati Bengals' Equation

With the NFL Draft a week away, every fan's thoughts are focused on the picks their favorite team will make. But weighing just as heavily on the minds of Bengals fans are the constant headlines coming out of Cincinnati regarding Chad Johnson's desire for a change of scenery.

When these stories started surfacing months ago, many of my friends asked me what I thought about the possibility that Chad might not be returning to Cincinnati next season. I always answered the same way: "Chad's not going anywhere."

At the end of the season, Chad was receiving a lot of the blame in the media for the Bengals' poor performance, and the perception was that he was receiving a lot of blame from within the organization as well and that's why he wanted a trade. He didn't want to be where he wasn't wanted. 

That was the perception, but every quote I saw from Bengals President Mike Brown and Head Coach Marvin Lewis said that they loved Chad, and his performance was not the reason for the disappointing season. In fact, there was no drop-off in Chad's production last year compared to past seasons. 

So, I thought that if the front office didn't want Chad to go anywhere, he would stop asking to be traded. I thought he only wanted to leave because he felt he wasn't wanted, so if he WAS wanted, then he wouldn't want out anymore. 

Well, it is now evident that he is just tired of losing, and he has given up on trying to win in Cincinnati. He has made it clear he is not going to participate in any mini-camps or training camp, which raises questions if he will even play once the regular season starts, if he is still a member of Bengals.

If he's that serious about being traded, then I wouldn't be too sad if the Bengals did negotiate a trade, which brings us to the upcoming draft.

In my opinion, the Bengals' biggest needs, in order, are defensive line, wide receiver, linebacker, defensive back, and offensive line. Of course, that's assuming No. 85 won't be playing for the Bengals next season. If he does suit up in the orange and black, then I would move receiver to fourth or fifth on that list.

With those needs in mind, my top choices for the Bengals first pick, in order, are Chris Long, Glenn Dorsey, Vernon Gohlston, and Sedrick Ellis. Obviously, most of those guys, if not all of them, will be gone by the time the Bengals pick ninth, which is why I would love to see the Bengals trade Johnson to move up high enough to take one of those first three names. 

If that doesn't happen and the Bengals stay in the ninth spot, which will most likely be the case, then I hope they are able to get Ellis there, and many draft analysts think they will.

If the worst happens and all four of those defensive linemen are gone when the Bengals pick, then I would like to see them either take Leodis McKelvin, the cornerback from Troy, or Keith Rivers, linebacker from USC. Or they could trade down to take either Derrick Harvey, defensive end from Florida, Philip Merling, defensive end from Clemson, or Branden Albert, offensive guard from Virginia. 

Then they can address the need for receiver help in the second round when they could have their pick from Early Doucet from LSU, Mario Manningham from Michigan, or Malcolm Kelly from Oklahoma.

Some mock drafts even have Aqib Talib, the cornerback from Kansas, falling into the early second round, and I think that would be a steal if the Bengals were able to get him there, assuming they didn't take McKelvin in the first round.

But all of this is just one fan's opinion from the outside looking in, and if history has taught us anything, it's that no one knows what will happen come draft day.