Cincinnati Bengals

[ATENEARS]

CINCINNATI BENGALS

 

They had a very underrated draft. Oklahoma's Jermaine Gresham is the blue-chip tight end the Bengals have never had. Third-round pick Jordan Shipley of Texas should give them immediately what they expected -- but never got -- from Laveranues Coles. Then you add free agent receiver Antonio Bryant and you might conclude if Palmer can't revert to his past productive self, then he must be truly on the down side.

 

Second-round pick Carlos Dunlap, the defensive end from Florida, is the kind of pass rusher they missed when Antwan Odom was lost to injury last year. Fourth-round pick Geno Atkins of Georgia can help the inside rush, too, as a role player. Also, Wake Forest cornerback Brandon Ghee was a good pick in the third round. He'll add depth to a position manned by two No. 1s.

 

Grade: B.

 

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis (right) hopes to take advantage of first-round choice Jermaine Gresham to boost Cincinnati's offense.

[ATENEARS]

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Consensus ranking on Maurkice Pouncey of Florida was much higher than Alex Mack a year ago. That's not a knock on Mack, who will be good. It's a statement on how good Pouncey is. He'll play guard as a rookie and have an impact and then will be the Steelers' anchor at center for 10 years.

 

Linebackers Jason Worilds of Virginia Tech and Thaddeus Gibson of Ohio State will be eased into limited roles as rookies and then can compete for a starting job in 2011. Nobody in the NFL does a better job than the Steelers of consistently filling certain positions in their system with players after the first round. These two are typical examples. Georgia Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer was good value in the sixth round.

 

Grade: B.

 

Florida's Maurkice Pouncey was a fast-rising talent on draft boards who should have an immediate starting role on the Steelers' offensive line.

[beilei0807]

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