The Bengals probably made Carson Palmer smile with their first round selection of offensive tackle Andre Smith.  Smith is a big guy at 6’3″, 340 pounds but he’s on the slow side running a 5.3 40.  Still, Smith is a masher in the running game which the Bengals definately will try to take advantage of in 2009 and beyond.  The Bengals will have to monitor his weight and he might eventually move inside to guard where he won’t have such a speed disadvantage.  Smith played in 38 games (38 starts) in his three years at Alabama.  This was a need pick for the Bengals…but a good one.

The Bengals have claimed 22-year old running back Gary Russell off waivers from the rival Pittsburgh Steelers.  Russell played in 12 games for the Steelers last season and he carried the ball 28 times for 77 yards (2.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 1 pass for -2 yards.  Russell also helped out on special teams for the Steelers last season as he returned 16 kickoffs for 371 yards (23.2 avg) and he made 9 tackles.  Russell might work his way into the backup job behind Cedric Benson as the Bengals want to have more of a power running game in 2009.  Russell has now played in 15 games in his two year NFL career and he has carried the ball 35 times for 98 yards (2.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  This was a good gamble for the Bengals.

UPDATE:  The Bengals have released Gary Russell.

The Bengals have again solid their soul for another player who breaks the law quite often.  Tank Johnson missed half of the 2007 season due to an NFL suspension and he has quite a long arrest record.  Johnson played in all 16 games for the Cowboys last season and he made 22 tackles, had 1 sack and he forced 1 fumble.  He has now played in 70 games in his NFL career to date and he has made 96 tackles, defensed 5 passes, has 12 sacks and he has forced 2 fumbles.  Johnson will help the Bengals’ run defense as long as he can keep out of jail.