The Cincinnati Bengals took 23-year old OLB Dontay Moch out of Nevada with the 66th overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Moch is 6’1″, 238 pounds and he can run like the wind (4.39 40)!  Moch played in 14 games (all starts) at Nevada last year and he had 64 tackles, 22 tackles for a loss, 8.5 sacks and he broke up 2 passes.  Moch played in 53 games (40 starts) in his four years with Nevada and he had 188 tackles, 63 tackles for a loss, 30 sacks and he broke up 10 passes.  The Bengals will be sending Moch after the talented QBs that litter the AFC North.  I like this pick for them.

The Cincinnati Bengals took 23-year old QB Andy Dalton out of  TCU with the 35th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Dalton is 6’2″, 213 pounds and he runs a 4.96 40.  Dalton doesn’t have a strong enough arm to pound the ball down the field, but he’s a winner.  Dalton played in 13 games (all starts) for TCU last year and he completed 209 of 316 passes (66.1%) for 2,857 yards with 27 TD passes and only 6 interceptions.  Dalton played in 50 games (49 starts) in his four years at TCU and he completed 812 of 1,317 passes (61.7%) for 10,314 yards with 71 TD passes and 30 INTs.  Dalton is likely going to be thrown to the wolves right away if Carson Palmer does indeed retire,  and I think he will do a decent job.  I think Dalton was a safe pick for the Bengals as he was a four year starter with TCU and he was a big time winner there.

The Cincinnati Bengals drafted 23-year old WR A.J. Green with the 4th overall pick in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Green is a big guy at 6’4″, 205 pounds and he runs  a 4.4 40.  Green catches the ball away from his body with his hands as he rarely drops a pass that hits any of his fingers.  Green played in 9 games (8 starts) for Georgia last year and he caught 57 passes for 848 yards (14.9 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  Green played in 32 games (27 starts) in his three years with the Bulldogs and he caught 166 passes for 2,619 yards (15.8 avg) with 23 TD grabs.  Green is by far the best WR in this draft which will allow the Bengals to cut ties with Chad Ocho Cinco soon.

Rebuilding is often an ugly word but that’s where the Bengals are right now.  Carson Palmer has vowed to retire if the Bengals don’t trade him, so they need to find a QB to replace him and the first round is likely where they will find that guy.  Here is a look at how I saw the Bengals doing in my mock draft:

1st round (#4 overall) – Cameron Newton, QB, Auburn

2nd round (#35 overall) – Leonard Hankerson, WR, Miami (FL)

3rd round (#66 overall) – James Brewer, OT, Indiana

4th round (#101 overall) – Joseph Barksdale, OT, LSU

5th round (#134 overall) – Jaiquawn Jarrett, S, Temple

6th round (#167 overall) – Jordan Cameron, TE, USC

7th round (#207 overall) – Maurice Hurt, OG, Florida

7th round (#246 overall) – Cameron Graham, TE, Louisville

In going with Newton, the Bengals are likely to have some growing pains.  That means they will likely want to run the ball more in 2011 which is why I have them loading up on the O-Line.  The extra TEs came as a result of them being the best player available instead of filling a team need.