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Is Akili worth it? Bengals get their QB but ignore offensive line again
Posted: Sunday April 18, 1999 09:26 PM
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Technically, Akili Smith is one of six Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks. Realistically, he's the only one that matters. Smith walked into the Bengals' practice complex Sunday feeling the expectations that will always accompany him. The Bengals passed on a tremendous offer from New Orleans so they could take him with the third overall pick in the NFL draft. General manager Mike Brown thinks Smith, who had only one full year as the starter at Oregon, could be the quarterback who leads his team out of a decade of decline. Brown passed up the Saints' offer of all of their draft picks this year plus No. 1 picks each of the next two years and a second-round pick in 2002 because he wanted Smith so badly. Does that put any added pressure on a rookie trying to break in at the most visible position on the field? "Yeah, it does a little bit," Smith admitted. "They gave up a lot for me. It means they're very high on me. I'm going to live up to those high expectations." If he does, then Brown won't have any second thoughts about passing up the draft-day deal that most fans think he should have taken. He turned down a chance to restock a team that has so many needs in order to take yet another quarterback. "That was the biggest deal I ever turned down," Brown said Sunday. "That should speak for itself. "Maybe next year or three years from now I'll say, 'If we'd have done that, golly, would we be in better shape?' I hope I don't have to think that. I hope three years from now I can say, 'Gee, I'm glad I turned that deal down.'" The Bengals also turned down chances to restock their offensive line in the draft. They filled trouble spots by taking cornerback Charles Fisher in the second round and safety Cory Hall in the third. They rounded out the draft Sunday by taking receiver Craig Yeast in the fourth round, fullback Nick Williams in the fifth, nose tackle Kelly Gregg in the sixth and offensive guard Tony Coats, quarterback Scott Covington and defensive tackle Donald Broomfield in the seventh. The surprising choice of Covington, a passer from Miami projected for the developmental squad, temporarily gave Cincinnati six quarterbacks. That will change when Neil O'Donnell is released this week. By taking only one offensive lineman, the Bengals continued their decade-long trend of ignoring the line. Of the Bengals' 94 draft picks in the '90s, only 17 were spent on linemen. Only four linemen were chosen in the first three rounds in the entire decade. Although all four quarterbacks got hurt last season behind a line that also was beat up, Brown defended the decision not to add to the line's depth. "I think they'll return to form and if they do, we'll be better off there than people might think," he said. "I don't think our line is as bad as you all think it is, which is why I don't read the papers because I'd get depressed," offensive line coach Paul Alexander said. Smith already had a good grasp of the offense when he showed up Sunday. He knew that top receiver Carl Pickens was threatening a holdout because the Bengals had designated him as their franchise player. He also knew the offensive line was beat up last season. "We need to get Carl Pickens signed," he said. "They have Darnay Scott, two great running backs and a nice tight end. The offensive line situation is a little banged up, but I feel they will come back around. "And I thought if they had a quarterback, they would be ready to roll."
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