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Chat live with Bengals Bloggers and Fans during the 2008 NFL draft starting at 245 pm EST Sat !

Chad Johnson to be traded June 1st

This final Mock Draft from Bengals Bloggers at www.stripehype.com accounts for the signing of #1 pick Jake Long, rumors, trades, free agent signings and other info!

Mock Draft updated 3/31. The most current Mock Draft on the Internet!

The Draft Niks are comprised of Dave from Bengals Blog stripehype.com and Dan from the Cowboys Blog thelandryhat.com, hosted by John White of the Carolina Panthers Cat Crave Radio (www.catcrave.com).

We'll be podcasting all the way until the draft, while also jabbing on the Cowboy's and Bengal's arrest records!

Wonderlic test scores for the upcoming draft, and some interesting facts about previous test takers.

Restricted free agent TE Ben Utecht is still awaiting word on whether or not Indy is going to match his offer from Cincinnati. Well, Bengals fan blog site stripehype.com didn't wait for the announcement. We decided to go get Ben and do an interview to introduce him to his new Cincinnati fans.

The Internet-only series called "The Rookie" (modeled after Fox's hit show 24) features Cincinnati WR Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson. He plays the role of "Agent Ocho". Check it out!

Darryl Blackstock has been a role player for his 3 NFL years, and special teams contributor. In his first game last year, first play, he recorded his first sack.

In his first year, Coach Lewis was open, and gregarious with the media and public when doing interviews and meeting him in public. Now, his interviews are often double speak, and alot of questions simply not answered. In the past, he's made statements about how a player is important to the team, everything is fine, etc., only to find the player cut during the offseason. Is that what's coming this year?

Coach Lewis has said "Chad is not going to be traded" many times. He has said " Cincinnati has not talked to any other team about trading Chad Johnson", but is this really true? Can a reporter from Washington, who cites sources, really be lying to drum up business for his paper? Has reporters from Baltimore gotten it wrong when they suggest they know Washington Redskin owner Dan Snyder is proactively going after Chad? Would Chad's agent really let another team violate the rules by interfering with a player under contract, unless he really did have permission by the Bengals through backdoor channels to seek a trade, do the dirty work for them?

I don't think Marvin Lewis is as forthcoming as he appears. Maybe, the Brown family has kept him in the dark, we all know their penchant for doing things their way, and wanting to have full control over the team. I'm trying to find reasons to keep the faith in Marvin, but after this past year, it has been tough. Too many interviews with nothing to say, other than some insulting remarks, and his way to talk around the question at hand, or simply state he isn't going to answer it. I guess that's his right to do, I may even do the same thing in his position.

I guess the only thing that continues to miff me is this: Why do Bengal fans continue to go to the games, buy the gear, and now sell out every game? I'm not calling for a boycott of the team, I'd like to know what keeps Cincinnati fans coming back. Was is the teasing season when they won the division? Is it that they are on the edge of the playoffs every year (on paper)?

Well, for the last five years, we've heard about taking the best athelete on the board, versus taking a position of need. So far, that hasn't seemed to really pan out much for the Bengals. I believe that to be the case because the Bengals don't have the scouting department to be able to definitively cast who the best athelete available is. This year, with Cincinnati picking at number nine, we have several need positions, and several players available in or around that pick that could be no brainers when the time comes. Let's take a look at a couple of these players, and the position in which Mel Kiper Jr. has them projected in the first round.

5. Chris Long Sr. DE Virginia

7. Aqib Talib Jr. CB Kansas

8. Vernon Gholston Jr. DE Ohio State

9. Ryan Clady Jr. OT Boise St.

11. Phillip Merling Jr. DE Clemson

13. Leodis McKelvin Sr. CB Troy

16. Calais Campbell Jr. DE Miami

Any one of these defensive lineman could probably compete for a spot on the d-line rotation. However, do we let some of our third or fourth year players who so far hasn't shown much as a backup get more playing time and see how they perform? Talib in the backfield could make for a strong tandem with Leon Hall. Having a rookie and second year guy on the corners though could spell disaster. At some point, Cincinnati needs to have leadership there, not some veteran who's playing out his contract looking to leave the team in hopes of finding another starting job (remind you of anyone?).