My off-season wishlist

After reading Davey's latest post on which free-agents he would like to see in South Beach, that got me thinking, which free-agents/draft picks would I like my Bengals to go after. Well here they are, the future members of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Free-Agents:

Adalius Thomas, OLB, BAL

He will surely be one of the most sought after free-agents this offseason. That is unless the Ravens are able to re-sign him. It's been no secret how bad Cincy's defense has been this year. It's very simple, if you can't stop the run, then you won't win. I actually like our line-backing core for the most part, with Landon Johnson, Caleb Miller and the possibility of the return of David Pollack. But Adailius Thomas would surely improve our defense, he could replace Brian Simmons who missed 6 games last year and only accumulated 61 tackles in the ten games he did play in and he will be 32 when the 2007 season starts.

Eric Johnson, TE, SF

Besides DT, this is one of our biggest needs this offseason. We don't have a good TE to take some pressure off of our big three(Chad, TJ, Booking #35-524-8634). I'd prefer looking at getting Zach Miller or Greg Olsen in the draft but if we can get Johnson, I wouldn't complain. Two years ago, Johnson had a 85 catch season and will definitely be leaving San Fran due to Vernon Davis. Chicago could show interest in him aswell.

Michael Lewis, S, PHI/Gibril Wilson, S, NYG/Tony Parrish, S, SF

We need saftey help. Plain and simple. Madieu Williams is very good, but he can't do it by himself. Kevin Kaesvirharn is good, but he's one of those off the bench/nickle type players, he gets alot of playing time, but i'm not sure if he's a starter and Dexter Jackson is a quick fix. Out of all of those guys, Michael Lewis is probably the best, but Gibril Wilson is younger and he looks like he's going to be a special player. I'd settle for either one.

Players we need to re-sign:

Justin Smith, DE

He has been one of the most consistent players on our defense, he puts up pro-bowl like numbers and he is a leader in the locker room. He could command big money on the market, that is why we must try and lock him up as soon as possible.

Eric Steinbach,OG

He is one of the best offensive guards in the AFC right now and he's only 26. When healthy he completes probably the best overall offensive lines in football. Hopefully we re-sign him with no trouble, i'm sure Carson Palmer will thank him.

Draft Needs:

DT, TE, S, RB

Defensive Tackle:

Alan Branch is someone I would love to get, but I am about 99% sure he will not last till #18. So he's out. Another person to look at is DeMarcus Tyler. He's part of that great defensive line of NC State that produced the #1 overall pick last year, Mario Williams and other 1st round picks, Manny Lawson and John McCargo. He's big, strong and can stop the run. I'm in love. One more guy to look at is Amobi Okoye of Louisville. He's actually bigger than Tyler but i'm not sure if he's quite the play maker that Tyler is, but he's alot younger and can also stuff the run.

Tight End:

Not alot to choose from but it's all about quality, not quantity. The two big names right now are Zach Miller of Arizona State and Greg Olsen of Miami(FL). Also a couple guys that are good but not as good as the others are Joe Newton of Oregon State and Matt Spaeth of Minnesota. I'd prefer the first two. I'd prefer to use our first round pick on a DT and our second round pick on say Olsen or Newton.

Saftey:

There are alot of good safeties to choose from but at best we're probably looking at using our third round pick or later on a saftey. Some guys to look at are Aaron Rouse of THE VIRGINIA TECH (wink, wink), Eric Weedle of Utah and Brandon Meriweather of The "U" and Josh Gattis of Wake Forest. As much as I hate to admit it, Eric Weedle is probably the best, right now and Brandon Meriweather has the most potential. But Weedle will probably be a 2nd round pick so it looks like our guy might be Meriweather or Rouse.(what do ya know, a Hokie and a Cane).

Runningback:

Now this is one of the those "would be nice to have another one, but not a necessity". Obviously we're not looking for a starter, Rudi has that title locked up pretty tight. But we could use a speed guy for a back up. Chris Perry would be great, if he could stay healthy(which he can't) and Kenny Watson is good for returns and third down type plays but I would just like to see an upgrade over him and if Perry can't stay healthy this year, than just cut/trade him. Some guys to look at for the later rounds are Garrett Wolfe and Lorenzo Booker. At a time Booker was one of the highest rated runnigbacks when he first went to Florida State but his stock has dropped drastically. I could see him being available around 5th-6th round and he is fast, can catch the ball. Garrett Wolfe could turn out to be kind of like a Brian Westbrook type player. After leading the nation in rushing this year he would fit in nicely in our system. He's probably a late first day or an early second day pick just because of his size. (5'7" 177 lbs)