If you want to call the Bengals anything, call them consistent. Here are the Bengals draft rules:

1. First Round pick is usually a solid all round person; high energy, team captain type of player.
2. After the first round, all standards are off allowing the team to draft any bad character, low motivation player.
3. However, for every “bad apple” the Bengals need to compensate with a high character player.
4. The Bengals must draft at least one player that causes everyone watching the draft to collectively say, “WHO? Wait, who was that, again?”

The rules held true to form in the 2008 draft. Keith Rivers is a solid first round pick that was team captain at USC. He falls right in line with past 1st rounders, Leon Hall, David Pollack, Chris Perry, Carson Palmer, Levi Jones, Justin Smith, Takeo Spikes, Brian Simmons, etc. Hopefully he can emerge as the leader this defense has been lacking for years. For some reason, the Bengals steer clear of character issues in the first round, but it has hurt them as they passed on Randy Moss and Warren Sapp. Perhaps this is because Mike Brown does not want to risk losing the money on a large first round investment. By drafting troubled players in later rounds, he can call it “Finding value” instead of saying, “I don’t care how big of an f--- up this guy is as long as he comes cheap.” That brings us to rule #2.
The Bengals drafted 4 players with character and effort questions, Pat Sims, Anthony Collins, Jason Shirley, and Mario Urrutia. Some have minor issues that could be resolved now that football is an all day occupation, but that is to be seen. The biggest offender, literally, is the 6-5, 340 pound Jason Shirley. He played in only 3 games this past season as he was suspended and then kicked off the team due to off field activity. He also has a court date pending for DUI and hit-and-run. Since the case will be resolved after the draft, Shirley could face discipline from the league. Pat Sims had family issues while in college, including the sudden death of his sister. He left the team for a year and struggled most of his time at Auburn. However, he showed flashes of dominance this past season when he could put it together. Anthony Collins and Mario Urrutia have smaller issues as they are raw talents who left college early for the draft. Scouts question their maturity and effort as Collins was suspended due to discipline, and Urrutia had to be benched because he could not control himself at times. Hopefully a few of these guys can put it together for the Bengals and capitalize on their talent before it is too late.
Let’s go through the players the Bengals drafted late because the player slipped due to character issues, and check the Bengals success rate:
Frostee Rucker, AJ Nicholson, Reggie McNeal, Ahmad Brooks, Odell Thurman, Chris Henry, Matthias Askew, Dennis Weathersby, Chad Johnson, TJ Houshmandzadeh, Corey Dillon, Tremain Mack. To be fair, TJ did not have a bad reputation, but his draft stock was probably hurt due to being associated with Dennis Erickson and the collection of morons he had at Oregon State. Looking at Bengals history, the hit rate looks to be 1 in 4 for troubled players. If only one of the current crop pans out, let’s hope one of the DTs can help the Bengals stop the run.
The “WHO?” pick this year is obvious as very few people were ready to hear Jerome Simpson called in the 2nd round. Time will tell if the Bengals made a smart move or not, but one skill the Bengals lack is gauging the interest of other teams. While Simpson excited the Bengals staff, did they really have to take him in the 2nd round? Were other teams waiting to jump on the chance to pick him? I doubt it, I think the Bengals could have picked Simpson in the 3rd or maybe even 4th round.
Overall here are quick reactions to all of the picks:
Round 1 LB Keith Rivers -- Consensus solid pick. Team Captain started 36 games at USC.
Round 2 WR Jerome Simpson -- Jury is out on the Bengals. Limas Sweed was taken 7 picks later by the Steelers, so we will be able to judge this pick twice a season for years to come.
Round 3 DT Pat Sims -- One year college starter. Great athlete for his size if he finds the motivation.
Round 3 WR Andre Caldwell -- Outstanding value in round 3. School record for receptions at Florida.
Round 4 OT Anthony Collins -- All American Tackle. Still considered raw after only 1 year of tackle. Will have time to develop behind Willie, Levi, Andrews and Kooistra.
Round 5 DT Jason Shirley -- Huge and athletic. Many issues and question marks. Total wild card.
Round 6 S Corey Lynch -- Great athlete and aggressive player. Should add immediate help to special teams.
Round 6 TE Matt Sherry -- Team Captain, showed speed during his workouts. Can develop behind Bengals current TEs.
Round 7 DE Angelo Craig -- If he can run, could turn into to Andre Frazier, another UC standout. Special teams ace that could add pass rush help.
Round 7 WR Mario Urritia -- Huge receiver with focus issues. Could become 3rd down and goal line threat if he can put it together.

The Bengal that had the worst weekend is Chad Johnson as the team drafted 4 pass catchers to prepare for the upcoming season. But even worse for CJ85, the team most interested in his services, the Redskins, drafted pass catchers with their first 3 picks. Chad and Drew can say “Bye-bye” to any leverage they had leading into the draft. It will be interesting to see the media spin put to this one now that Chad does not have an easy option. Hopefully Drew bought Chad a beer and said, “Lo Siento, Ocho. Hemos perdido mucho dinero. Mi error, perro”