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Tight end may fit 2nd-round plans
Bengals looking to fill vacancy
Arizona State tight end Zach Miller could be a viable candidate for selection by the Bengals this weekend.
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Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis likes to speak about making personnel decisions with a business frame of mind. Do what's best for the team in the given situation without getting entangled in emotions or personal feelings.
That's not always as easily done as said, like during last year's draft when the Bengals were seeking to add a tight end to their offensive arsenal. They came close in a couple of instances only to see the player targeted get picked just before the Bengals' turn.
If the Bengals get the opportunity to select a tight end in this year's draft, to be held Saturday and Sunday, they're hoping for some better luck.
"It's a possibility. I don't want to say it's a priority," Lewis said in a pre-draft press conference this week. "When you start prioritizing ... you could get your feelings hurt. If we don't even think about it this time, maybe we'll fall into one.
"Instead of keeping our fingers and toes crossed, we won't say a word."
Veteran Reggie Kelly returns for a fifth season with the Bengals, having signed a three-year contract in March to remain with the team. The Bengals did lose backup Tony Stewart to Oakland in free agency, leaving a vacancy to be filled. Lewis did say this week he feels good about the potential of Ronnie Ghent, Tim Day, Gregg Guenther and other tight ends on the offseason roster but Guenther is the only one has played in a regular-season game before. He had two catches for 13 yards in five games with Tennessee in 2005.
The Bengals had their eyes on Anthony Fasano last year but Dallas took the Notre Dame product at pick No. 53, two spots ahead of the Bengals. The Bengals still did OK in second round, selecting offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth at No. 55. Whitworth played in all 16 games last season and started 12 of them, including 10 games at left tackle when Levi Jones was out with a knee injury.
Greg Olsen is the top-ranked tight end in this draft and could be available when the Bengals' pick comes up at No. 18 in the first round. Given the Bengals' needs on defense and the number of quality prospects expected to be available to them, taking Olsen in the first round would seem to be more of luxury.
Arizona State's Zach Miller is a more viable candidate if he were still to be on the board when Cincinnati's second-round pick (No. 49) arrives. Miller, who like Olsen is an early entry junior, stands 6-feet-5 and weighs 256 pounds. He has been compared favorably to Baltimore's Todd Heap, another Arizona State product.
Miller caught 50 passes for 484 yards and four touchdowns for the Sun Devils last season. He caught at least one pass in 33 of his 35 games played at Arizona State.
"I think it motivates me to be a player like (Heap) is, a stand-up guy as well as an excellent player, a great receiver, that does a great job for the Ravens," Miller said at this year's NFL scouting combine. "To be compared to someone like that only motivates me and makes me want to achieve that kind of status."
The Bengals are well acquainted with Heap - the two-time Pro Bowl tight end has caught 39 passes for 522 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games against Cincinnati.
Cincinnati's offense doesn't call for the tight end to be a primary receiving target often, but he must be a primary element of the blocking scheme in the rushing attack. Kelly has excelled at that in his time with the Bengals.
Quality prospects will be available on Day 2 of the draft should the Bengals not take a tight end on Saturday. Minnesota's Matt Spaeth (6-7, 270) is one of the biggest tight ends in the draft. Bengals tight ends coach Jonathan Hayes helped run the Pro Day workout at the University of Cincinnati last month and worked individually with UC and La Salle High School product Brent Celek.
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