Looking to the Future for the Cincinnati Bengals

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Now that the 2011 NFL Draft is officially in the books it's time to look into the future for the Bengals. This year's draft was clearly a changing of the guard and it's time to usher in a new era here in Cincinnati. We now have a new franchise QB and a new stud WR in Andy Dalton and AJ Green. It's looking like Carson Palmer and Chad Ochocinco will no longer be here. Hopefully this new era is a winning era and not a circus act like the last ten years with Chad.

I for one am excited about the future. Most draft experts had the Bengals as one of the best, if not the best, drafts in the NFL. They did this without trading up and giving away future picks as well. They could have loaded up on picks if they had traded with Atlanta, but if AJ Green turns out to be a stud would it have been worth it to trade all the way down to 27. They basically would've traded Green for a bunch of role players. Green is going to be a difference maker so would it be worth it to trade him for players like Daniel Thomas, the RB from Kansas State. That's the type of players they would have gotten this year. True that they would've gotten Atlanta's first round pick next year, but that's likely going to be a pick near the end of the round. Green is being compared to Calvin Johnson and if he turns out anything close to Johnson the Bengals made the right move.

The Bengals now have the best young core of WR's/TE's in the NFL in my opinion. Simpson really came on strong and looked like he could be an elite number two WR in the NFL. Shipley led all rookies in 3rd down catches last season and looks like the 2nd coming of Wes Welker. Gresham contributed big time last year and looks like he'll be one of the best TE's in the NFL very soon. With Gresham and Green's size the Bengals have two very good Red Zone targets. This group could give the Bengals an explosive offense for years to come.

The one thing is they need to build up the offensive line. I love the Clint Boling pick, I thought they should take him in the 3rd round and when he was still sitting there and was the pick in the 4th I was very excited. There are peices in place on this line with Boling, Whitworth, and Cook. They are good from the Center to the left of that line. Bobbie Williams is decent, but he's getting long in the tooth and is on the decline. Andre Smith is looking like a bust and that's a shame with all of that talent. The warning signs were there, but Mike Brown ignored them and now he's paying the price. If he doesn't perform this year I think it's time to cut your losses and possibly look to get a RT in the draft very early next year or find a good free agent. If they can find Bobbie Williams replacement and either draft or sign someone if Smith doesn't work out the line should be in good shape.

If the offensive line is built and does a good job that should make things a lot easier on the new franchise QB Andy Dalton. I really like this kid in Jay Gruden's West Coast Offense. I think if the line does a good job for him that he will be a star and this offense will be explosive.

On defense the Bengals struggled last year against the run. Hopefully they can get the O line taken care of and spend a 1st round pick on a DT next year. This defense is a premier DT away from being very good up front. With the emergence of Carlos Dunlap and Micheal Johnson the pass rush should be decent, especially if Antwan Odom can return and stay healthy. An elite DT next to Peko should give the Bengals a very good front four.

In the secondary they need to get Jonathon Joseph and Leon Hall extended for another 4 or 5 years. If they do they'll have one of the best CB tandems in the NFL still. They still need Safety help, they did draft Sands out of West Virginia, but he's a project that will likely take a year or two to develop.

The pass rush should also get some help from Dontey Moch, the 3rd round pick out of Nevada. He has rediculous speed for a LB. If he can be developed and Rey moves inside the LB corps should be set for years to come. The defense has the peices in place to be a top 5 defense right now and over the next year or two could be developed into the top defense in the NFL.

After this year's draft the future is bright. I really believe Andy Dalton is the QB that can lead this team to a championship. He won't have to do it on his own. If the O line is built over the next couple years and the defense gets to where it should be this will be a complete team. They aren't going to be serious contenders this season, but within 2 or 3 years this team should be a legit Super Bowl contender. The reason is that this team has drafted well the past few years.