Our continuation of the series looking at the Bengals 10 worst draft picks when drafting from a top 10 position:

10. Greg Cook, QB, University of Cincinnati, 5th Overall Pick in 1969
9. Justin Smith, DE, University of Missouri, 4th Overall Pick in 2001
8. Dan Wilkinson, DT, The Ohio State University, 1st Overall Pick 1994
7. Ricky Hunley, LB, University of Arizona, 7th Overall Pick in 1984
6. Peter Warrick, WR, Florida State University, 4th Overall Pick in 2000
5. John Copeland, DE, University of Alabama, 5th Overall Pick in 1993

4. David Klingler, QB, University of Houston, 6th Overall Pick in 1992

With the 6th pick in the 1992 draft, the Bengals surprised everyone by drafting David Klingler out of Houston. Why was it a surprise? Because in the 4 seasons prior to the 1992 draft, the Bengals made the playoffs 2 times, appeared in the Super Bowl, and quarterback Boomer Esiason had 2 All-Pro seasons and an NFL MVP award. That is ALL-PRO, the best QB in the league, not just the Pro-Bowl. At the time of the pick, Esiason was 30 years old. Current franchise QB Carson Palmer has only one playoff appearance and 2 Pro-Bowls. Given Mike Brown’s track record, if the Bengals have a top ten pick next season, we can expect him to draft a QB to replace Palmer. Sound crazy? Maybe not when you consider the braintrust that made the Klingler decision were Brown and his first coaching hire, Dave Shula. Boomer started the first 12 games of Klingler’s rookie year before ending his stint with the Bengals. Boomer then moved on to the New York Jets where he started 3 seasons and made another Pro-Bowl. After that was one season in Arizona where he threw for 522 yards in a game before returning to the Bengals and leading the team to a 5-2 record in their last 7 games replacing Jeff Blake. Esiason threw for 12,250 yards after being replaced by Klinger, Klingler would start 20 games for the Bengals after his rookie year.
In college, Klingler played in the pass only run-and-shoot offense that produced ridiculous numbers for the University of Houston. The fad of the late 80s and early 90s produced outlandish numbers for a short period of time before defenses began to figure out how to stop it. In Klingler’s junior season, he replaced departing Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware in the pass crazy offense. Known for running up scores on inferior opponents, Klingler threw for 11 TDs in one game in an 84-21 win over powerhouse Eastern Washington. Houston finished 10-1 in Klingler’s junior year and Klingler would post the absurd numbers of:
GP--COM--ATT----PCT---YDS---TD--INT
11----374----643---58.2---5140---54----20
That is almost 60 passing attempts per game!!! One could maybe see why the Bengals valued Klingler based on these numbers, even though produced in a gimmick offense. However, that is not where the story ends, Klingler still had his senior season to play.
With Jack Pardee, one of the most successful run-and-shoot coaches, hired away by the Houston Oilers and now gone from the University of Houston for a second season, the scheme began to fail. College coaches realized that blitzing every down would limit the options in the run-and-shoot and greatly diminish its success. In his senior season, Klingler led Houston to a 4-7 record, but still was able to blow out inferior Louisiana Tech 73-3. His senior season stats were:
GP--COM--ATT----PCT---YDS---TD--INT
10----278----498---55.8---3388---29---17
Pretty good season, but not when you consider they were produced in a pass gimmick offense. Still, Mike Brown and Dave Shula felt the need to force out franchise QB Boomer Esiason for Klingler. Klingler could not even start 2 full seasons for the Bengals before being replaced by 1992 6th round draft pick Jeff Blake. After backing up Blake for a season, Klingler would spend 2 years as a backup in Oakland before being cut to end his career. Klingler’s NFL career amounted to 3,994 total passing yard, 16 TDs and 22 INTs. Colt Brennan with the 9th pick? Anyone?

Check in periodically as we count down to the worst Bengals draft pick in history leading up to the 2008 NFL draft.