Cincinnati Bengals: Coaching Staff High on Two Former Cincinnati Bearcats

As the Cincinnati Bengals work to piece together their 2012-13 roster, Marvin Lewis and the rest of the coaching staff are taking a serious look at two local prospects: University of Cincinnati running back Isaiah Pead and former Bearcat wideout Armon Binns.

Pead, who is projected to be a mid-round selection in the upcoming NFL draft, impressed scouts everywhere with his MVP performance in January's Senior Bowl. He could potentially fill a major hole in the Bengals' ground attack should Cedric Benson's time in Cincy come to an end.

According to reports, Lewis and the staff have yet to sit down with Pead, but have plans to do so in the near future.

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"I have not even met him and he’s not on our interview list here because we’ll be able to spend enough time with him back at home," said Lewis in a report published by Bengals.com.

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Binns, a second-year player who signed on with the Bengals mid-season last year, did not see any playing time in 2011-12, but impressed the coaching staff nonetheless.

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“I think Armon made great strides,” said Lewis. “Our offensive coaches at the end of the year wanted me to put him in the game. They wanted to not only dress him but, ‘Can we start him?’ There’s another player that we identified last year as a good prospect. We’re not afraid to play young players if the guy can do it.”

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Binns, like Pead, could potentially play a major role in the offense next season, given the fact that both Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell are unlikely to return.