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Alabama cornerback
Dre Kirkpatrick celebrates with fans after being selected 17th overall
by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the NFL football. Photo
by yahoo sports
Bengals take CB
in first round, add guard also
yahoo sports
CINCINNATI-The Bengals love those first-round cornerbacks.
Cincinnati added to its already bursting collection of top cornerbacks
on Thursday night by taking Alabama’s Dre Kirkpatrick with the 17th
overall pick. This one will have a little time to work his way into the
starting lineup.
He’ll have to leapfrog a bunch of other first rounders to get there.
It marked the third time in the last seven years that Cincinnati chose
a cornerback with its top pick. The Bengals also took first rounders
Johnathan Joseph in 2006 and Leon Hall in 2007, giving themselves one
of the league’s best tandems. Joseph left for Houston as a free agent
after the 2010 season, and Hall tore an Achilles tendon last year.
It was time to draft another one.
This one came courtesy of the Oakland Raiders, who gave up the 17th
overall pick as part of the deal for quarterback Carson Palmer. So far,
the deal has worked out much better for the Bengals - Oakland failed to
make the playoffs, and Cincinnati was able to replenish its pass
coverage.
‘’He played a lot of bump-and-run, a lot of intricate schemes at
Alabama,’’ coach Marvin Lewis said. ‘’So, we really feel good about
him.’’
The Bengals also had their own pick at No. 21. They traded it to New
England and moved down to the 27th spot, where they got versatile guard
Kevin Zeitler from Wisconsin. Cincinnati also received the Patriots’
third-round pick to move down.
They needed an offensive lineman after Nate Livings, their starting
left guard each of the last two seasons, went to Dallas as a free
agent. Right guard Bobbie Williams broke his right ankle in December
and is an unrestricted free agent.
They also lack a backup center. Zeitler played the position when he got
to Wisconsin and could fill the role.
‘’We were hoping to cover a couple of needs for the future in the first
round, and we feel we were able to do that,’’ Lewis said.
At both spots, they have a bunch of 30-something players who can break
in the new guys.
Kirkpatrick joins Hall and other first-round cornerbacks Nate Clements
(Buffalo 2001), Adam ‘’Pacman’’ Jones (Tennessee 2005), Terence Newman
(Dallas 2003) and Jason Allen (Miami 2006). How it fits together is
unclear.
‘’You know what?’’ defensive backs coach Mark Carrier said. ‘’It all
remains to be seen.’’
The Bengals think Kirkpatrick can eventually move into a starting role
opposite Hall, who is expected to be ready to play next season. They’re
trying to get better pass coverage to help a defensive line that showed
it can pressure the passer.
‘’We’ve got a good rush group,’’ Carrier said. ‘’We want to give the
guys up-front more time to get to the quarterback.’’
Kirkpatrick was nicknamed ‘’Swagga’’ for the confidence he showed as a
young baseball player in Alabama. He liked it, and it stuck with him
through college.
‘’The fans gave it to me,’’ he said, on a conference call. ‘’I
mentioned it in a previous interview, and they ran with it. It was
something that the fans and I had going on.’’
Zeitler impressed offensive line coach Paul Alexander with his
consistent play, rarely making a mistake.
‘’He’s a very, very efficient blocker,’’ Alexander said. ‘’You don’t
realize he’s in there because you don’t see a lot of error.’’
The Bengals hadn’t picked a guard in either of the first two rounds
since they chose Eric Steinbach in the second round in 2003. They
signed free agent guards Travelle Wharton from Carolina and Jacob Bell
from St. Louis as stopgap measures.
When Alexander worked out Zeitler, he quickly became fond of his
personality.
‘’If you went fishing and you’re sitting on the lake all day, some guys
after a half-hour you want to throw them in the water,’’ Alexander
said. ‘’This guy, you could sit out there with him all day.
‘’He’s a wonderful guy. He’s as good a guy as there is, and a good
player. When you get a guy like that, it helps your whole team, not
only his spot.’’
Zeitler didn’t get much chance to fish while in college. He knew the
Bengals were interested after Alexander worked him out and passed along
praise to his agent. He’s going to a team that’s unfamiliar.
‘’I know they got to the playoffs last year,’’ Zeitler said on a
conference call. ‘’I know they have Andy Dalton at quarterback and A.J.
Green at receiver, and they were effective last year. That’s really all
I know. I have a lot to learn.’’
The Bengals still need to get help at receiver. Jerome Simpson and
Andre Caldwell - the second and third wide receivers last season - left
as free agents and haven’t been replaced. The extra pick in the second
round could help with that position
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