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Tick tock Bengals remain undecided about top draft choicePosted: Tuesday March 25, 2003 5:42 PM
PHOENIX -- With 32 days remaining till the NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals are in essence on the clock with their No. 1 overall pick. But the mystery of whom the Bengals will select with that choice will be revealed long before April 26, Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis said for the first time Tuesday. Speaking with reporters during the AFC coaches-media breakfast at the NFL's annual meeting, Lewis said the Bengals want to come to a decision on whom they intend to select in the next two weeks or so, giving themselves the final two weeks before the draft to get the player signed. Although Cincinnati is still willing to listen to trade offers for the No. 1 pick, and would prefer going that route, the Bengals haven't entertained any serious offers and don't expect to. "It's not going to be a surprise on draft day," Lewis said. "As quick as we can, we want to come to a consensus and a decision. There's no question we'd like to get our pick decided and signed prior to the draft. There's no secret there. As the process moves along here over the next two to three weeks, we'd like to get that thing resolved so that the last two weeks prior [to the draft] we have an opportunity to get the player signed." The key date in the Bengals' timetable is April 7, the day when Marshall quarterback Byron Leftwich will work out for NFL teams. Leftwich, who is among the draft's top-rated passers, has not been able to work out thus far due to his continued rehabilitation from a late-season shin injury. Lewis confirmed that the Bengals will bring at least three of their candidates for the No. 1 pick to Cincinnati for pre-draft visits: Leftwich, Southern Cal quarterback Carson Palmer and Kansas State cornerback Terence Newman. The Bengals' other possibility for the top spot is Michigan State receiver Charles Rogers. "We haven't made a decision," Lewis said. "We want obviously to have a chance for Byron Leftwich to work out and have the same forum that the other guys have had. [Then] we're going to bring a few of the guys through Cincinnati again, and spend some time with them again. So we're still going through the process." The team holding the draft's No. 1 pick is allowed to negotiate a contract before the draft, and it has become customary in recent years for an agreement to be in place by draft day. The Bengals are eager to get that part of the process under way, and believe that by successfully handling the negotiation they'll be continuing the positive momentum generated by Lewis' hiring and a strong showing in free agency. Cincinnati went 2-14 last season and its 12-year streak of missing the playoffs is the NFL's longest active slump. "We do want to get things settled and get an opportunity to get the guy signed," Lewis said. "I think it's important for us, for where our program is, our team, our city, that we don't have any problems with that and it's as smooth as we can make it." Asked about trade offers, Lewis said no team has stepped forth with any credible offer. "The phone's not ringing off the hook," he said. "[But] we're committed to keeping [the pick] as long as the value of the pick is more than the value of what somebody proposes to us. ... They've got to come to us. If we come to them we're not going to get a very good deal." Palmer remains the most likely candidate to go first overall to Cincinnati. Bengals owner/president Mike Brown is said to be very high on the 2002 Heisman Trophy winner, and Lewis and his coaches traveled to Southern California on Friday to meet privately with Palmer. The get-to-know-you session went well, and ran so long that Lewis said he and Palmer wound up eating "cold tacos" together in a conference room. Still, the Bengals are also enamored with Newman, who is by most accounts the player deemed best prepared to walk into somebody's starting lineup and make an impact. Only once in NFL draft history has a defensive back gone first overall, but when asked if it was too risky to select a cornerback, Lewis didn't waver. "It's important to pick the player you feel like is the best player at that point and who fits your football team," Lewis said. "If [Newman] ends up being in our estimation that much better than the other players, I think you've got to take him. Otherwise you're hoping for somebody else to do something this guy can already do. ... Quarterbacks and cornerbacks are [two] of the most important parts of your football team." But at other times Tuesday morning, Lewis sounded very much like he was talking about drafting a quarterback. He repeatedly pointed out that the Bengals feel they have the luxury of letting their No. 1 pick grow into his position rather than deal with the pressure of starting right away. Although he qualified that statement by saying it applied to any position, that's usually the language coaches use when they're discussing a young passer's development. "We're in a situation on our football team where no matter what position the guy plays, he doesn't necessarily have to come in right now and be the bell cow," Lewis said. "We don't have to put the pressure on that guy to do that, right or wrong. But when we pick that first pick, we want a guy that we feel can be a fine pro for a long time." Like most of the rest of the NFL's talent evaluators, Lewis on Wednesday will attend the Arizona State workout in nearby Tempe, which will feature Sun Devils defensive end Terrell Suggs. Considered a lock to be a top-five selection, Suggs is not thought to be among Cincinnati's top four candidates for the No. 1 pick, given that the Bengals drafted defensive end Justin Smith two years ago. Lewis admitted that he has yet to watch any video of Suggs, but has scoured tapes of the other four prospects.
Don Banks covers pro football for SI.com.
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