2008 NFL Mock Draft: Cincinnati Bengals

Previous Five Picks

4) NFL-Oakland_Raiders-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_Oakland_Raiders-040208">Oakland Raiders: DeSean Jackson, WR, California

5) Chiefs-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_Kansas_City_Chiefs-050208">Kansas City Chiefs: Chris Long, DE, Virginia

6) Jets-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_New_York_Jets-060208">New York Jets: Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas

7) Patriots-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_New_England_Patriots-100208">New England Patriots: Vernon Gholston, DE/OLB, Ohio State

8) Ravens-2008_NFL_Mock_Draft_Baltimore_Ravens-120208">Baltimore Ravens: Ryan Clady, OT, Boise State 

Click here to see the entire Mock Draft. 

The Longest Mock Draft in NFL History Continues...

Something I failed to take into consideration when planning this 230,000-word mock draft was the fact that if I write about the same players 15 times I’m guaranteed to start repeating myself.

I may like listening to myself say the same thing over and over again, but I’m not sure anyone else does (my wife tells me nobody does).

This thing is a work-in-progress—I’m not sure a 31-part column has ever been attempted before.  If it has, I guarantee that I didn’t have the attention span to read it all the way through.

So I’ve decided to make a few changes to the format of the Mock Draft entries:

1) I’m only going to write a blurb about the actual pick, not the potential picks.  This should limit my ridiculous habit of repeating myself over and over again.

2) Instead of posting all of the previous picks at the top of the column, I’m just going to list the last five.

3) I’ll keep a running tally of the entire mock draft on my blog, here.

Hopefully these changes will keep things running smoothly the rest of the way...

Pick No. 9: The Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals were a huge disappointment last year.

Before the start of the 2007 season, I had the Bengals as a team on the rise.  Their season was derailed by a tremendous amount of off-field issues and a serious lack of on-field performance. 

I don’t buy the blaming of Chad Johnson, and frankly I don’t understand it.  

Chad Johnson may be flamboyant and he may take his celebrations a little too far sometimes, but I would counter with the following:

1) It should be noted that you can’t have an excessive touchdown celebration unless you’re scoring touchdowns.

2) The “No Fun League” needs guys like Chad Johnson.

3) Shouldn’t the Bengals clean up their off-field issues before addressing something minor like a wide receiver who celebrates a little too much?

The fact that an offense with Chad Johnson, TJ “Championship” Houshmandzadeh, and Carson Palmer isn't scoring points in bunches is insane. 

The Bengals should be winning games like the 2003 and 2004 Colts—by outscoring everyone and playing very little defense.

Instead, they're playing very little defense and sputtering on offense.  It's hard to understand. 

We should be talking about a team in need of nothing more than a few defensive additions.  A team that’s one or two defensive players away from the elite teams in the AFC. 

Instead I’m talking about a team that struggled everywhere last season.

Which leads to the question everyone should be asking: How the heck is Marvin Lewis sliding through this offseason while retaining his employment?

His team lacks discipline both on and off the field. 

His team has underperformed two years in a row.

He’s Brian Billick—except he’s never won a Super Bowl as a head coach.

If the Bengals don’t turn things around next year I can’t envision any scenario where Lewis keeps his job. 

Of course, after this season I couldn’t envision a scenario where he kept his job either.  So what do I know?

The Bengals need better coaching on the offensive side of the ball. 

They need better players on the defensive side of the ball. 

I expect them to address defense early and often in the draft.  The coaching may end up waiting until the next head coach.

The Pick:  Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC

Sedrick Ellis is the best defensive player left on the board in the mock draft. 

Ellis is a defensive force.  He’s strong, athletic, can push offensive linemen around, is great against the run (which is something the Bengals need), and can get after the quarterback with the best of them.

Ellis goes nonstop right through the whistle and knows how to make plays in the offensive backfield.

Most importantly for the Bengals, he’s a solid character guy.  He’s a leader with great intangibles.  He’s the type of player the Bengals need. 

If he’s available at the ninth pick, the Bengals won't walk, they'll run up to the podium to announce their selection of the big man from USC.

I’m SeanMC.

SeanMC is a Columnist at Bleacher Report. His archive can be found here. You can find everything he writes, including articles for other publications, here.