Bengals Draft and Other Interesting Stories

[BengalHawk62]

(04-26-2017, 04:06 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: NOTEBOOK; The Bengals Are Willing to Trade Places

By TIMOTHY W. SMITH  

Published: April 21, 1995

Last year, the Cincinnati Bengals were sitting in the driver's seat of the National Football League college draft with the No. 1 pick over all. They kept the pick and selected defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson of Ohio State.

This year, the Bengals have the No. 5 pick in the first round, but they're still in a good position.

"We will listen to any deal, whether it means moving up or down," said Bengals General Manager Mike Brown. "We have had talks with teams around the league about going either way. There are several possibilities that appeal to us. If it's right, we'll do it."

Cincinnati could keep the pick and get a very good player. Or the Bengals could trade down in the draft, say four, five or six spots and still get the help they need. The Bengals would like to pick running back Tyrone Wheatley of Michigan, and chances are they could still get him if they dropped in the draft order.

The Bengals have had talks with the Jets, who have the No. 9 pick, Minnesota, which picks No. 11, and Philadelphia at No. 12, about trading places. The Jets, Vikings and Eagles want a shot at Warren Sapp, the Miami defensive end. The talks have centered around the Bengals switching positions in the first round, picking up a second-round pick and giving away a fifth-round choice. Chances are Wheatley would still be available at either of those spots. They also like Reuben Brown, the guard from Pittsburgh.

They have also had talks with Carolina about moving up to the top spot for a chance at Ki-Jana Carter, the Penn State running back.

"We're interested in a lot of players, but I'm not going to list them A, B, C," Brown said. "We'd like to move up and take Ki-Jana Carter or Tony Boselli, but I don't think that's going to be possible."

If they keep the pick, and for some reason quarterback Steve McNair of Alcorn State slips to No. 5, will the Bengals select him?

"Yeah," Brown said. "I'm not going to say we would pass over a quarterback lightly."

Brown said he expected things to heat up today and a few deals that have been brewing all week to be consummated before the draft begins tomorrow.

"That's the way it always happens," Brown said. "Teams have been talking about the same deals all week, but teams always want to wait until the last minute, because they think they'll get a better offer." And Now, the Cyberdraft

Draft fans worldwide will be able to stay on top of the proceedings this weekend via the Internet on a site the league set up on April 10. The location on the World Wide Web is http://nflhome.com.

Fans using the Internet will be able to converse with Gil Brandt, former Cowboy scout, and several of the top players scheduled to attend the draft, according to Mary Griswold, a spokeswoman with the N.F.L. Paul Tagliabue, the league's commissioner, might even sit down at the keyboard to take a few questions.

Since the Internet site was set up on April 10, "hundreds of thousands of people" have signed on to get pre-draft information, Griswold said.

"A lot of people watch the draft on ESPN, but so many people use the Internet. This is a way to get them involved," Griswold said of why the N.F.L. decided take the draft into cyberspace.

Also, the N.F.L. moved the location of the draft from the Marriott Marquis to the Paramount in Madison Square Garden to accommodate more fans. There are 3,500 seats available at the Paramount compared with the 600 at the Marriott. Tickets will be distributed starting at 9 A.M. On the Town

Ten of the top college players are expected to attend the draft at the Paramount this year -- the most ever. That's because the N.F.L. has provided the players with a free weekend in Manhattan.

The league is picking up round-trip air fare and hotel accommodations, has arranged for a boat trip around Manhattan, theater tickets and dinner. Players can pick between two Broadway shows, "Tommy" and "Kiss of the Spider Woman."

The players expected to attend the draft this year are Warren Sapp, Luther Elliss, Ki-Jana Carter, Reuben Brown, Kerry Collins, Tony Boselli, Steve McNair, Tyrone Wheatley, Kevin Carter and Kyle Brady.


http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/21/sports/notebook-the-bengals-are-willing-to-trade-places.html

I just got the shivers and chicken skin thinking back to those days......

Ahh, I need a drink.