Now that Shaun Alexander has been released by the Seahawks, his agent says that the Bengals will be one of the teams they check with. The question is, should the Bengals be interested?

It wasn’t that long ago that Alexander was the star of the league, setting records and looking unstoppable. Then he got injured and just never looked the same. It’s been quite a fall for him and the Bengals would have to figure out how much he has left to give.

Rudi Johnson and Chris Perry should be healthy. Kenny Watson and DeDe Dorsey played well at times and Kenny Irons was drafted last year. Irons is still recovering from a torn ACL. If all of those guys stay healthy, there are a lot of options for the Bengals to throw at opponents. But as we saw last year, injuries can quickly destroy any depth that you have.

I wouldn’t mind having Alexander on the team but only if he doesn’t cost a ton of money. If he would sign a short deal that is full of incentives, that might work out for both sides. But if the Bengals invest big money on him and he gets hurt again or just doesn’t show that he can play, that would hurt the team’s options for the future.

The Bengals did not pick a running back in the recent draft. I’ve heard some people say that must mean they are interested in Alexander but I don’t think that is definite. If the team is confidant that the running backs they already have will be healthy, they just might not want to add another player at that position.

I’m sure other teams will be interested in Alexander and there is probably a team that is willing to throw some money his way. Unless Alexander just really wants to play for his home team and takes a big paycut, it might not work out. But at the right price, I’m sure most people would welcome the addition.

Most of the articles I’ve seen have given the Bengals somewhere around a C grade. I’d say C- to C if you’re being generous. This is a team with problems but they’ve started to rid themselves of that. Chris Henry is gone, a few other troublesome players are gone.  Sure, there are still problems: Chad Johnson wants out, Levi Jones wants out (although he won’t make it the drama that the Johnson situation is).

The draft started out ok. They didn’t get Sedrick Ellis but I’m fine with Keith Rivers. He seems to be a talented guy who plays hard. I have no problem with having a guy on my team that people describe as “solid”. Then we get to round 2. They probably reached for Jerome Simpson but from what I understand, they really like him. If there is a guy you rate higher than everyone else, then you take him even if other players are there. With the other receivers falling, I have to imagine the Bengals thought they might still have a chance at one of them later (and they almost did).

They were able to grab guys at a few positions, although a few of the later picks will likely be helping on special teams. But that shouldn’t be looked at too badly. The Bengals were horrible on special teams last year. If any of these guys can come in and make a tackle or a big block on a return, all the better.

What I don’t understand at all are the picks of bad character players. How many times do the Bengals have to draft someone and then have to deal with their problems off the field? Maybe these guys have learned their lesson and we won’t be reading about them later. But I think I’ve hoped this before. Heck, I may have said that a time or ten about Chris Henry. I just don’t think the team needed this. After doing some good and getting rid of a few players, they go and bring in a couple of players with some of the same problems? I don’t get it.

I do think the team could have done more to maybe move up a time or two and get better quality players. I won’t get all down about reaching for Jerome Simpson, I will wait and see what he can do. I don’t know much about him so it’s just too early to say it was a bad choice. There were just several questionable choices here and if these guys don’t work out, something needs to be looked at and maybe they need to change how they scout and draft. The worst part about watching the draft was seeing other teams (like the Steelers) make good moves and get several players that could really help their teams.

I had seen the Bengals taking a RB in most of the mock drafts I saw. I think they would have been interested in Kevin Smith but he was snatched up in the third round.

I’m not sure if he would be a good fit or not but Mike Hart is still out there. He’s a tough runner for his small size. Probably not an every-down back but he could come in for a few runs now and then. And he’ll play hurt. Considering the Bengals already have some injuries at running back, that’s not a bad thing.

Hart surely thought he would be picked higher than this so he’s going to play hard to prove that he should have. There’s nothing wrong with having a player that will work hard and has something to prove on your team.

Well, the Saints did come marching in and stole Sedrick Ellis so the Bengals grabbed USC linebacker Keith Rivers at #9. The Bengals either didn’t like Ellis quite as much as everyone thought or they were fine with taking Rivers and hanging onto all of their picks. Since the Saints gave up the 10th and 78th picks for Ellis, the Bengals surely could have gotten him for the 9th and 77th picks. They didn’t make that deal and ended up with two good defensive players instead of one dominant one. Hopefully the two guys they got play well and we won’t have to watch Ellis play great all year for the Saints and wonder what could have been.

So at #9, Keith Rivers is the guy. He was the top rated linebacker in the draft and the Bengals desperately needed help there last year with injuries they suffered. Rivers is not a dominant player but he’s solid. I’m fine with the Bengals adding several solid guys over one dominant guy. If the team was just one player away from having a great defense, I’m sure they would have made whatever trade they needed to but they have holes and problems in several places.

Rivers can play all three linebacker positions so he brings versatility to the team. Last year, they were moving people all around and some were playing out of position. So getting a guy with a lot of versatility should really help.

Marvin Lewis commented on not making the trade for Ellis: “Later on we’re going to wish we had the later pick. We couldn’t move back. Some people wanted to come up to the pick and we felt if we moved back too far we’d move away from a guy who has a chance to be a first-year starter for us, and we think Keith can do that for us.”

He also had this to say about Rivers: “Great physical traits, great leadership, somebody to start and mold a group around.”

I love drafts in sports. I read all the mock drafts and look at all of the possibilities. Who needs what and who is looking to trade? It’s fun. Well, it’s fun reading about all of these great players your team is going to pick and then you watch the draft and they select……who’s that guy?

The Bengals have plenty of areas they need help. The defense was awful and several players have left the team already. Getting Odell Thurman back should bring help but they need more. Most mock drafts I read have the Bengals going with Sedrick Ellis, the DE from USC. He’s good and I think he would fit in great. But New Orleans seems to covet him too and they may look to trade up and steal him. If that happens, I’ve seen LB Keith Rivers from USC and a few offensive lineman.

That is, until today. On www.cnnsi.com, Don Banks gives his final mock draft.  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/don_banks/04/25/mock.draft7.page1/index.html?eref=T1

In this version, New Orleans again swoops in and trades with the Patriots and takes Ellis. So Banks has the Bengals taking Jonathan Stewart, the RB from Oregon. Stewart is good and is a hard runner. But he’s suffering from a turf toe injury and his draft stock had dropped. In the last week or so, I’ve seen him move up in mock drafts.

This pick would be a surprise as the Bengals really need to improve that defense. Plus, they took Kenny Irons last year. But maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. Rudi won’t play forever and had a down year last year with some injuries. Chris Perry is a sneeze away from another injury. I really hope not, I’m a Chris Perry fan and I’d love to see what he could do when healthy for a whole season. I don’t think I’m the only one.

But Stewart would add to the RB depth. Rudi wouldn’t have to play as much which hasn’t always made him better in the past. Rudi needs carries to do his damage. But it would add another playmaker to the offense. And with Chris Henry gone and Chad Johnson possibly sitting out, this team could use another playmaker. I hadn’t really thought about taking him this early but you never know what teams are thinking. It will be interesting to see what happens. I’ll be watching tomorrow and I hope the Bengals have done their research.

I’ve seen a few mock drafts already and I don’t think I’ve seen two where the Bengals were picking the same guy. I’ve seen safety Kenny Phillips from Miami (Fla), defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis from USC, defensive end Vernon Gholston from Ohio State, offensive tackle Jake Long from Michigan and now I hear that the Bengals would look at running back Darren McFadden should he fall to the ninth pick.

Madieu Williams could leave in free agency so Phillips might be able to fill that spot. Ellis or Gholston would surely help the defense. The Bengals just placed the franchise tag on offensive tackle Stacy Andrews but if Jake Long fell that far, he might be too hard to pass on.