“I’ll say top 15 and he’s still growing,” said Reggie Nelson.  “A.J. is doing a tremendous job of leading by example and just going out there and practicing hard.  There’s not a day where he doesn’t run his routes at full speed.”

“It’s an honor just to be on there because the players vote,” said Green.  “It’s all about respect.”

The Top 100 is selected by active players; although according to NFL Network only 481 of them (28.3%) took part in the voting process.

“I’ve always wondered about that,” said Leon Hall.  “I’ve never voted and I don’t know when that voting happens.”

Green will become the second Cincinnati player to appear on this year’s list, joining Geno Atkins who was ranked number 36.

“He came in 36^th?” said Hall.  “That’s kind of weird and unexpected considering how dominant he’s been.  I don’t know how many players I would put in front of him.  I’d put a few – Calvin Johnson, Adrian Peterson, those kinds of guys.  But I think Geno got ripped off – I’m not going to lie.”

“I thought that he could have been higher because he’s probably one of the best d-tackles in the league,” said Green.

“I’m pretty sure that my teammates believe that I should be number one or whatever,” said Atkins with a laugh.  “I’m just happy to be on the list.”

While the Top 100 is hardly scientific (Tim Tebow made it last year at #95), the fact that two Bengals cracked the top 40 is a sign of the team’s growing notoriety around the NFL.  Two years ago when the series started, the only Cincinnati player on the list was Terrell Owens (#91) and he did not play for the Bengals in the season that followed.  Last year, Green was the only Cincinnati player to make it at #77.

“All we do is go out and play football – that stuff is just somebody’s opinion,” said Nelson.  “But it’s nice to be in the Top 100 – it’s certainly better than not making it.”

Green and Atkins have more in common than making this year’s list.  In addition to being former Georgia Bulldogs, the Bengals standouts let their play speak for itself.

“They’re old school and that’s the way I like it,” said Hall.  “They just work hard and produce on the field.  They both have confidence and that’s a key, but they don’t express it to everybody.”

“We’re both Georgia boys so we’re used to winning and hard work,” said Green.  “That’s been instilled in us since we’ve been there.  We just come to work every day.  We really don’t talk that much – we just go play football.”

And the Bengals duo isn’t satisfied to simply make the list.

“It’s great that some guys think so highly of me, but I feel like I still have a long way to go to be the receiver that I want to be,” said Green.

“I’ve got to do it again this year,” said Atkins.  “That list was for last year, and I’m focused on the 2013 season.”

The fact that the Bengals top two players are both no-nonsense, hard-working pros has a huge impact on the team’s locker room culture.

“Say you have a young receiver coming in here and he thinks that A.J. Green is the best in the NFL,” said Hall.  “Then he sees A.J. at work and he thinks, ‘He’s already the best and he’s still working hard.’  That makes him say, ‘I’m going to work hard because I want to be where he’s at.’  The same is true for any young defensive player watching Geno practice or work in the weight room – which is pretty impressive.  And it’s not just the rookies – it goes upwards too.  There are plenty of old guys that look up to A.J. and Geno for the way that they work.”

“If other guys see the best working hard, putting in the extra time, and listening to the coaches, they’re going to want to do that,” said Atkins.  “It becomes contagious and that’s how you create the best team out there on the field.”

“That’s the thing about this team – a lot of guys lead by example,” said Nelson.  “You’re not going to hear us talking about ourselves.  As long as we keep that ‘I’ out of the locker room, we’ll be just fine.”

That isn’t likely to be an issue with Green.  In fact, the two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver doesn’t even plan to watch Thursday’s episode to see where he’s ranked.

“I’ll probably just read about it on Twitter,” said Green.

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As a rookie in 2010, Ghee suffered a concussion in a preseason game and then spent the last six games of the year on injured reserve due to a groin injury.

In 2011, a hamstring injury caused Brandon to miss much of training camp and he wasn’t added to the active roster until the 10^th game of the season.

Then last year after earning rave reviews during May and June mini-camps, Ghee broke his wrist in early August, one week into training camp.

“It was a freak accident,” said Ghee.  “I jumped up for a ball and fell on it wrong and it took me out for an entire season.

“My wrist is 100 percent now.  I tape it as a precaution but I’m feeling really good right now and I’m just trying to get better.”

His coaches and teammates have noticed.  Minor injuries to Leon Hall (thumb) and Adam Jones (calf) meant additional reps for the Bengals younger cornerbacks during the recent OTA period, and Ghee took advantage of the opportunity.

“He always looks good, honestly, when he’s able to be out there,” said Hall.  “He’s one of those guys that definitely looks the part.  He does well in almost everything that he does – the deal with him is just trying to stay healthy and get in the games.”

“He’s really instinctive,” said Andy Dalton.  “He gets good jumps on the routes and he plays the ball well too.  I thought he had a good camp.”

“I think Brandon has done a good job of picking up where he left off when he got injured last year – knowing what to do and being somebody that hopefully will compete to stay on the football team, compete to play, and give us great snaps if he does,” said Marvin Lewis.

“Everybody learns differently, but for me, I get better by playing,” Ghee told me.  “The more reps I get, the better I’m going to be.  I’m glad that I’m getting a lot of reps in this OTA period.”

The Bengals drafted Ghee in the third round of the 2010 draft out of Wake Forest after he was clocked at a sizzling 4.39 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine.  After being sidelined last season, he took advantage of the opportunity to add strength.

“The first thing I had to do was get healthy,” said Ghee.  “Once I was healthy, I hit the weight room hard and did a lot of upper body and lower body.  Now I’m back to being 100 percent and feel better than ever.

“I’ve gained about six or seven pounds and kept my speed.  I just wanted to get a little bigger for playing inside in the nickel and trying to fit on the run (defense).  I don’t like tight ends grabbing me, so that’s why I gained a little weight.”

The top three cornerbacks on Cincinnati’s depth chart are obvious:  Hall, Jones, and Terence Newman.  For Ghee, this is a crucial year to prove that he can provide quality depth at the position.

“Every year is important – I don’t care who you are,” Brandon told me.  “But this is my fourth year here and it’s my contract year so I’m trying to do well and earn another contract.

“Last year was very disappointing and I had a whole year to think about it.  I’m back now and I’m trying to bounce back and show my character.  Everybody goes down, but how you come back is all that matters.”

“He has all of the physical abilities and tools, he’s smart enough, he understands what to do, and he just has to go out and do it, time in and time out,” said Coach Lewis.

“The potential is there, but in the league that only gets you so far,” said Hall.  “Ghee has been in the NFL for a while, he kind of knows the ropes, and he knows that he has what it takes to be a good NFL player.  He just has to stay healthy and transfer it to the field.”

“If he stays healthy, I think he’s going to help this team,” said Dalton.

That doesn’t seem like too much to wish for.

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There’s the uniform number, the position, the size…

“…the skin color?” said Sanzenbacher.  “I know where you’re going with this.”

It’s true, like former Bengals receiver Jordan Shipley, Sanzenbacher is Caucasian.  But that’s not why the team’s current #11 bares resemblance to the previous one.

“He’s a tough kid, he’s got great quickness in space, and he’s got a good feel for the game,” said offensive coordinator Jay Gruden of Sanzenbacher.  “Everything that he displayed at Ohio State you can see on the field.  And the one thing obviously that you can’t see is his toughness.  He’ll catch it in a crowd – we know that.  He’s got really good hands and runs very good routes.”

Except for the reference to Ohio State, Gruden could have been describing Shipley in 2010 when he led AFC rookies in receiving yards with 600.

“It’s the style of play – I get it,” said Sanzenbacher.  “I think he was a great player when he was here.  I wouldn’t say that I modeled my game or anything after him, but I can see the similarities and it’s a compliment.”

But Bengals receivers coach James Urban would rather not compare Sanzenbacher to Shipley.

“I try to avoid that,” Urban told me.  “They’re different and Dane is his own player.  He has a tremendous feel for the game, understands how to get open, and as important as anything playing the slot, he knows when he is open.  Sometimes when you play inside where the windows are tighter and shorter, if you don’t know that you’re open you can run right through it.  You’ve got to be available for the quarterback and he knows those things.

Sanzenbacher finished his career at Ohio State with an outstanding senior season in 2010, earning team MVP honors by catching 55 passes for 948 yards, including 11 touchdown grabs.  He was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent and had a solid rookie year, finishing with 27 receptions for 276 yards and 3 TDs.

But after Chicago traded for Brandon Marshall and drafted Alshon Jeffery in the second round last year, Sanzenbacher received limited playing time before being waived on Christmas Eve.  The Bengals claimed him the following day.

“It was a different kind of Christmas,” said Sanzenbacher.  “My family was with me in Chicago at the time.  The phone rings and life changes quickly.  I hopped in the car, packed all the stuff that I figured I would need, and I’ve been here ever since.

“At the time, you go from being ticked off while leaving the city to being excited about your new opportunity.  I think it’s been a really good move for me.”

On Monday when I asked a member of the Bengals front office what players were standing out during the current OTA period, Sanzenbacher was one of the first names mentioned.

“I feel pretty comfortable,” Dane told me.  “As little time as it was, it was nice to have those two weeks at the end of last year to be here get acclimated with everything.  It’s not all brand-new.  Obviously through the OTAs and everything, we’ll re-install the offense and start from scratch for the rookies, but I feel comfortable and I think that helps you to play fast.

“He’s been making plays (at practice) since we got him in here late last year,” said Urban.  “We liked him a lot coming out of Ohio State and we’re glad to have him.”

Sanzenbacher will be battling to earn a roster spot as part of a deep receiving corps.  A.J. Green, Andrew Hawkins, Marvin Jones, and Mohamed Sanu are virtual locks to stick, leaving (in alphabetical order) Tyrone Goard, Cobi Hamilton, Taveon Rogers, Roy Roundtree, Sanzenbacher, Brandon Tate, and Ryan Whalen fighting for the final two (or possibly three) spots.

“You can’t really think about the numbers,” said Sanzenbacher.  “We’re in OTAs right now for one, so it would be dumb to play the numbers game at this point.  As cliché as it sounds, you just have to take advantage of your opportunities.”

“I showed them a quote today that said, ‘You have to take advantage of your opportunity when it comes because you don’t know when your next chance is going to be.’” said Urban.  “I keep emphasizing that.  I can’t promise them X-number of balls.  They’re all going to get their reps but depending on how the reps fall, they may not get many balls that day.  When the ball comes they’ve got to make the play and do the right thing.  That’s what we’re trying to encourage.”

“You can’t complain about how often your opportunities are coming if you don’t take advantage of the ones that come,” Dane told me.  “I think you have to go out there and try to do things that people are going to remember.  It only takes one play to turn heads.”

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Here’s our recent Q & A (Eifert’s answers are in bold):

Aside from football, what do you do well?

Golf.  I’m about a 2 or 3 handicap.  I like to play a lot.

That’s pretty impressive.  Do you bomb it off the tee?

I do – about 340 yards on average.

Seriously?

For real.

Aside from professional athlete, have you had any other jobs?

Nope.  I took the trash out and did some chores around the house, but that was about it.  I played sports year-round.

Who was your favorite athlete as a kid and why?

It was Michael Jordan because he was just the best and dominated.

What do you spend your money on as a guilty pleasure?

I really don’t spend money on a whole lot. 

Electronics, clothes, movies, anything?

I don’t like to go to the movies – I’d rather wait for them to come out (on TV or DVD).  With clothes, at Notre Dame I would just wear issued gear because that’s what they gave us.  I like cars.  It would be fun to spend money on cars someday.

Do you have a dream car?

For something somewhat reasonable, I guess it would be the S65 AMG Mercedes.  I think that would be pretty sweet. 

So you go for classy instead of something fast and sexy?

Right.  It’s classy but it still has some juice.

You’re from Ft. Wayne, IN.  What would you say your hometown is best-known for?

I guess cornfields, playing basketball, shooting hoops at a barn.

What was the name of your high school including team nickname?

Bishop Dwenger and our nickname was the Saints.

Any famous grads?

Jason Fabini who played in the NFL as an offensive lineman for a long time.

And at the University of Cincinnati.

That’s right.

What was your favorite thing about Notre Dame?

Probably just the guys in the locker room.  Everything we got to go through as a team and getting to be a part of that.

When Brian Kelly wanted to motivate you, what buttons did he push?

He would just coach me and tell me what I needed to do.  He wasn’t big on yelling at me or things like that – not that he wouldn’t.  All you have to do is tell me what to do and I’ll try to do it.

What gifts did the Notre Dame players get for playing in the BCS Championship game?

We got a gift card from the university with some money on it and then we got to go to a gift suite.  But they didn’t send us the gifts that we picked out which was a little surprising.  They sent us like a cheaper version of them.  I wonder if the winners got them?  I guess that’s what you get when you lose.  It’s all good though.  I’ll take what they gave me.

This might be tough since you’re a rookie, but do have any idea what you would like to do after football?

I’m not sure, but I think it would be fun to coach high school or grade school.  I’d also like to work on my golf game when this is all said and done.

You’re a 2-handicap.  It’s doesn’t sound like there’s much work needed.

Oh there is.  You can always get better.

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“I just want to do things the right way and be the best player that I can be, and the only place that I can get that is with him,” said Newman.

Zimmer is delighted that Newman elected to stay in Cincinnati.

“I love the kid,” Zimmer told me.  “He does what he’s asked to do, he’s a good athlete, he’s quicker than a cat, and he’s got some toughness about him.  I think he’s a heck of a football player.”

But wait a second – did Zimmer really refer to Newman as a kid?  The 11-year veteran will turn 35-years-old just a few days before the Bengals season opener in Chicago.

“To me he’s a kid,” said Zimmer with a grin.  “He’s no different than when we drafted him in (Dallas) whatever year it was.  He said to me one day last year, ‘Somebody asked me why I’m in such a good mood.  It’s because I love doing this and love being out here every single day.’  I’m sure when that changes he’ll retire.  But I don’t see it.”

Ironically, a year ago when the Bengals signed Newman following his release by the Cowboys, there was plenty of talk that he was too old.  Terence responded by starting 16 of 17 games, led the team in passes defensed, and Pro Football Focus ranked him as the 19^th best cornerback in the NFL.

“I don’t think I played as well as I’m getting credit for,” Newman told me.  “I thought that I made strides for sure – getting back to having proper technique and things like that.  I thought I had an OK season to be honest with you.  As players we want to be as perfect as possible so I don’t know if I’ll ever have a season that I’m completely happy with.

“I got a lot of slack my last year in Dallas.  To come here and quiet the critics a little bit provides some satisfaction.  But I don’t think that anybody is really satisfied until they make it pretty deep in the playoffs and go to the Super Bowl and win it.”

With Newman and Leon Hall starting at cornerback and Adam Jones joining them in the Bengals’ nickel defense, Zimmer has a veteran trio that can handle his demands on the position.

“We ask our corners to do a lot of things,” said Zimmer.  “We’re not a Cover 2 team – we’re a team that’s going to get up there and try to press receivers.  It allows us to do so much more.  It allows us to blitz more, it allows us to pressure people, and it allows the front four to get sacks because we can make them hold the ball just a little bit longer.  When you have guys that you can line up at corner and say, ‘You’ve got that guy,’ it allows you to do so many more things.”

“He puts pressure on us, but if somebody believes that much in you, that goes a long way,” said Newman.  “If your coach says, ‘Hey, you can go out and cover that guy,’ that bumps up your confidence.  That’s what players want to hear.  If your coach says, ‘You’re terrible,’ how do you think you’re going to play?  Zim’s good at that.”

In addition to his value on defense, Newman is helpful to the Bengals skill position players on offense since the two-time Pro Bowler has seen it all in more than 150 NFL games.

“He’s been around for a long time and he understands route combinations, when to sit (on a route), and when to do different things,” said Andy Dalton.  “There will be times when I go up to him at practice and say, ‘What did you see there?  Why were you able to get such a good jump on that route?’  It helps to know what he was thinking.”

“We’ll be out there and run a play and all of the receivers will immediately go to him and say, ‘What did you see?’” said Andrew Hawkins.  “He tutors us on what a defensive back is thinking and it has made a big difference in all of our games as receivers because he studies so much film and understands the game so well.”

“He’s been a great guy to have on this team – not only as a player but as one of the leaders in the locker room,” said Dalton.

Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie undoubtedly wanted Newman for his veteran leadership as well as his playing ability, but Terence ultimately chose to stay with a team that’s been to the playoffs in three of the last four seasons.

“I’m in a position in my career where a Super Bowl ring is important,” Newman told me.  “I knew that my role out there would have been helping players develop.  I don’t know if the Raiders are going to be able to contend for a playoff berth this year.

“I was pretty close to leaving to be honest with you.  It took me going out there to kind of jump-start things.  I didn’t know how much I was wanted here.  I knew that the coaches enjoyed having me around, but it’s a business.”

It’s been Newman’s line of work since 2003 when his coach was Bill Parcells and the number one pick in the NFL draft was Carson Palmer.  Eleven years later, Terence earned a 2-year/$5 million contract extension from the Bengals.

“Some of us are like fine wine,” said Newman.  “When you get older you understand a little bit more – not only about your body, but the importance of technique and things like that.  Sometimes I still fight demons, but I try to go out every day and try to get better at something.”

“He keeps himself young,” said Hawkins.  “He’s a jokester, he has a lot of energy, and guys feed off of that.  I’ve looked up to him since I was young, so it’s pretty cool to be on the same team as him.”

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“Haitian food,” said Lamur when I asked how he added weight in the off-season.  “My mom has been cooking rice, beans, jerk chicken, and a lot of pasta.  I love to eat.  I try to eat at least six times a day.  And I’ve been lifting weights and working hard – that’s pretty much it.”

Lamur was a 210 pound safety as a sophomore at Kansas State before shifting to linebacker for his final two college seasons.  Although he added some weight after switching positions, Emmanuel was still a spindly 6’4”, 232 pounds in his rookie season with Cincinnati.

But when the Bengals opened OTAs last week, Emmanuel said that he tipped the scales at 244 pounds.

“I’ve put on 12 pounds and I feel faster and stronger,” Lamur told me.  “That’s going to help me when I’m taking on and shedding blocks and it should help my blitzing ability.

“He realized that if he wants to be an every down player he has to be able to hit with some of the bigger players,” said linebackers coach Paul Guenther.  “That’s what he concentrated on this off-season.  He did exactly what we asked him to do and he’s in great shape.”

“Last year I used my speed, which was my bread and butter, to play the game,” said Lamur.  “But it takes more than that to play linebacker in this league.  You have to be able to take on blocks and be physical.  I had to gain weight and 12 pounds is going to help me a lot and I’m planning on gaining another five.”

Lamur signed with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent last year and was on the practice squad for the first seven games of the season.  But after being promoted to the active roster in early November, Emmanuel was used frequently in obvious passing situations and made his first NFL start in the playoff loss at Houston.

“He got better and better each week,” said Guenther.  “He started on the practice squad and continued to grow and as time went on, we realized that he should be in there playing for us – particularly on the passing downs.”

“He has a lot of athleticism and ability and he proved last year that the game wasn’t too big for him,” said Marvin Lewis.

The Bengals starting linebackers going into the season appear to be Vontaze Burfict (WILL), Rey Maualuga (MIKE), and James Harrison (SAM).  But Lamur is likely to get considerable playing time.

“Emmanuel is fighting for a starting job,” said Guenther.  “We have him with the first group in the nickel (defense) right now and he’ll be a swing guy in our base defense depending on the team that we play.  If we play a spread-out team, he might be on the field a little bit more in the base.  Right now he’s working at the two outside linebacker spots because he knows both of them.”

“Nothing is guaranteed – you’ve got to compete,” said Lamur.  “Coach is going to play the best guys.  This is a new year and I’ve got to improve and show the coaches what I’m capable of doing.”

At this point, there are 12 more pounds of him to like.

“He’s built like a linebacker and can run like a defensive back,” said Guenther.  “I’m really happy with him.”

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One of them was undrafted free agent Larry Black, but it wasn’t the rookie’s idea to put in the extra time.

“I asked him (to stay) because I figured he was a young guy and wouldn’t say no,” said Kevin Zeitler.  “When you have a lot of young guys around, they’re willing to help, so I grabbed Larry Black and got some work in.  That’s what I feel you have to do because you have to outwork the competition.”

“Kevin’s always one of the last guys to leave because he’s always doing something extra and working on something that maybe he didn’t do as well,” said Marvin Lewis.  “He’s very conscientious that way.”

“He’s about as dedicated to that as anyone I’ve ever seen,” said my radio partner Dave Lapham of Zeitler.  “You’ll see skill position players out there after practice with the quarterbacks working on timing and that sort of thing, but very rarely do you see offensive or defensive lineman out there doing extra work – particularly a starter.  I think he’s going to have a banner year.”

Zeitler’s rookie year certainly lived up to expectations if not exceeded them.  The 27^th pick in last year’s draft started every game at right guard and was ranked by Pro Football Focus as the 12^th-best guard in the NFL.

“Very rarely does an offensive lineman start every snap for his team as a rookie and Kevin was able to do that,” said Lapham.  “Now I expect a major leap in his play from year one to year two.”

“I guess it wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be,” said Zeitler.  “I felt that as the season went along I got better.  Still, every time that I watch the film there are so many things that make my stomach cringe.  That’s another reason why I do the extra work – I don’t want those things to ever pop up again.”

One of those cringe-worthy moments occurred at practice on Tuesday.

“It was the first day – some things went well and some things were rough,” said Zeitler.  “On a reach block, Geno blew me back today.  Yeah it’s Geno, but who knows, there are no defensive tackles better than Geno but there could be somebody close.  So I have to make sure that it doesn’t happen in a game.”

As a result, he pulled aside an undrafted rookie and did additional drills.

“He wants to be great – not good – but great,” said Lapham.  “He wants to be a Hall of Fame type guy.  That’s a coach’s dream and I’m sure that (offensive line coach) Paul Alexander is thrilled to death to have a guy like that.  The longer he’s around, the more his work habits are going to spill off to the other guys too.  He’s a great example that there are no shortcuts to success.”

“You should want to be your best every day and try to be perfect,” said Zeitler.  “If you strive toward perfection you can hit excellence.”

“Football is an emotional roller coaster.  Sometimes you hate this game so much that you wish you never played it and other days like today, I was running around the field thinking, ‘finally…it’s time to get better!’”

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Hilton

Three players that came into the NFL last season as college free agents and spent some time on the Bengals practice squad were released Thursday as the Bengals make plans for next weekend’s rookie minicamp. Waived were Indiana State wide receiver Justin Hilton, Morgan State fullback Jourdan Brooks, and Arizona State tackle Dan Knapp.

“They practice not too far from my house,” Wallace told me.  “So I like to go over and get involved.”

As a result, when Cincinnati drafted DE Margus Hunt from SMU with the 21^st pick of the second round (#53 overall), Gilberry knew exactly who – and what – the Bengals were getting.

“I saw him down in Mobile and the kid is huge,” said Gilberry with a laugh.  “He looks like he is out of place he’s so big.  Once I saw that we had drafted him, I was excited to get the kid in here.  He probably doesn’t remember me, but I definitely remember him.”

Andy Dalton remembers Hunt too.  He faced the 6’8”, 277 pound lineman with 4.6 speed in the 40-yard dash in Dalton’s final two seasons at TCU.

“He’s a freak athletically,” said Dalton.  “To be so big, and so strong, and so fast – I think he is a great addition for us.”

But not exactly at a position of need.

“We knew that we didn’t have to push him in there right away,” said defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.  “We have a good group of defensive lineman and he can learn from them and we can look for ways to incorporate him into the defense as we get going.”

Hunt joins a position group that is arguably the most dominant in the NFL.  Last year, the Bengals defensive line accounted for 40 of a franchise-record 51 sacks and all seven lineman who accounted for that total are under contract for this season.

“Why not add more weapons?” said Carlos Dunlap.  “The defensive line is the strong point of our team right now and why not bring in a guy who you think can add another aspect to it.”

“You can never have too many big men,” said Domata Peko.  “It’s hard to find quality defensive linemen so we’re going to welcome him with open arms to our group.”

“We’ve got a lot of different guys that are big, high-motor guys and drafting Hunt just adds to that,” Dalton told me.  “I guess you can’t have too many defensive linemen in the rotation.”

Margus Hunt isn’t the only promising addition up front.  Keep in mind that last year’s second round pick – Devon Still – and one of the team’s third round picks – Brandon Thompson – barely played as rookies.

“I can’t wait to see these kids get on the field,” said Gilberry.  “I got to practice the whole year with Devon and Brandon and just look at them – they’re hungry, they understand the game, and they’re ready to play.  I can’t wait to see what happens when they take the leash off of them.”

Hunt, Still, and Thompson give the Bengals young depth behind Geno Atkins, Robert Geathers, Michael Johnson, Peko, Gilberry, and Dunlap.  The battle for playing time should be fierce.

“We’ve got a strong rotation,” Dunlap told me.  “Everybody plays and everybody gets to eat.

“This year we want to raise it up another level.  I don’t feel like I contributed as much as I could have last year (6 sacks), so I’m challenging myself to get up there with Mike (11.5 sacks) and Geno (12.5 sacks).”

Dunlap and Atkins are entering the final season of their four-year contracts, and the Bengals kept Johnson this year by using an $11.175 million franchise tag.  By continuing to spend high draft picks on defensive lineman, the Bengals protect themselves against the possibility of losing somebody in free agency.

“You’ve got to understand where the front office is coming from too,” said Gilberry.  “The only thing we can do down here is take care of ourselves and play football.”

“You can’t worry about who they are going to bring in.  Hell, I could be gone tomorrow.  It’s just that kind of business.”

Gilberry and Geathers don’t appear to be going anywhere after signing three-year extensions in March.  The only significant contributor on the defensive line who isn’t back is run-stopper Pat Sims who signed a one-year deal with Oakland.

“Defensive line is one of the strengths of the team, so we’re really excited that they were able to keep us together and add a little more firepower to it,” said Peko.

“When I first got here, guys wanted to get out of this locker room,” said Geathers.  “Now guys want to stick around and we like the direction of the team.  Guys want to be a Bengal and want to retire as a Bengal.”

Andy Dalton is a long way from retirement – and happy that the only time he has to face the Bengals defensive line is at practice.

“I get to wear a different colored jersey so I don’t have to worry about these guys coming after me,” he said.

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“We were looking for this kind of player in our offense at Cincinnati and it just worked out that when I took the job at Notre Dame, he and Kyle Rudolph fell in my lap,” Kelly told me.  “They made me look pretty good.”

Rudolph was named the MVP of the Pro Bowl this year following his second season with the Minnesota Vikings.  The former Elder High School star was one year ahead of Eifert at Notre Dame and a more obvious NFL prospect.

“He came in his freshman year ready to play,” said Eifert.  “I came in at 210 pounds just happy to have a scholarship.  I obviously knew that there was a lot of work that I had to do.”

But Kelly could see Eifert’s pro potential.

“Obviously some kids have to grow and mature and he certainly did,” said Kelly.  “You knew that Kyle was a sure-fire NFL player and then you saw Tyler Eifert and some of the things that he did – I knew immediately that he was going to be a special player.”

Despite not having a catch as a freshman, Eifert left Notre Dame with the school’s all-time record for receptions by a tight end with 140.  When the Bengals contacted Kelly to discuss his tight end before the draft, they received a rave review.

“We was kind of glowing in talking about Tyler and what Tyler meant to their football team,” said Marvin Lewis.  “He really felt like he was able to use him in a lot of ways in a mismatch against the defense and that he would give us a lot of flexibility.”

“I told the Bengals that Tyler is smart – he got his degree from Notre Dame in three-and-a-half years,” said Kelly.  “He’s physically and mentally tough.  And he’s the best pass catcher that I’ve coached – whether it be a wide receiver or a tight end.

“I would think that making the contested catch is probably his strength when you come to all of the intangibles at the tight end position.  He will take the ball away from you when the ball is in the air.  He turns field goals into touchdowns in the red zone.”

Adding a red zone weapon is obviously one of the reasons why the Bengals used their first round draft pick on a tight end despite already having two-time Pro Bowler Jermaine Gresham on the roster.

“I think the Bengals are going to have so many different opportunities with Gresham as the other tight end,” said Kelly.  “Now you force teams to drop down to single safety and single coverage because they have to defend the run.  I think that tight end package is something that a lot of NFL teams have looked at and found that they can get some favorable matchups.  At Notre Dame, we used that a lot last year and really think that it gave us some great opportunities.”

In addition to thinking that Eifert will be a good fit for the Bengals offense, the Notre Dame Coach says that the 22-year-old from Fort Wayne, IN will fit in nicely in Cincinnati.

“He loves country music and will golf every day if he can,” said Kelly with a laugh.  “I told him, ‘You’re a perfect fit for Cincinnati.  If those two things are on your wish list, you can’t get a better city than Cincinnati.’  He’s a pretty casual guy.  Flip-flops and shorts is generally how he is seen around campus.  He’s got a great personality, big smile, but he’s really a laid-back kind of guy.”

And while Eifert hasn’t spent much time talking about Cincinnati with his former college coach, he did discuss his new home with Kyle Rudolph.

“He said, ‘Welcome to the Nasty ‘Nati’ or something like that,” said Eifert.  “He was telling me about the hangouts and he said that his parents live here if I need anything.  I told him that I might just rent from his parents and stay in his room.”

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“ProFootballTalk.com,” said Gilberry with a laugh.  “That’s where I get my NFL news – that and Ian Rapoport who I follow on Twitter.  I was excited because at first, they were reporting that the talks weren’t going well and he wasn’t leaning towards here and then the next thing you know we had signed him.”

Andrew Whitworth was at a Reds game on Friday night when he got the news, and the Bengals left tackle said that he expected it.

“I was pretty confident that it was going to happen,” said Whitworth.  “It seemed like a good fit and one that made sense for us and for him.”

Harrison is likely to replace Manny Lawson as the “Sam” or strong side linebacker in the Cincinnati’s 4-3 defense.  It’s different from the role he played in Dick LeBeau’s 3-4 scheme in Pittsburgh, but Harrison’s new teammates are confident that Mike Zimmer will find a way to make good use the veteran’s skills.

“People keep coming up to me any saying, ‘Man, are you happy that you don’t have to play that guy in the division anymore?’” said Whitworth.  “And I tell them, ‘No, because now I’m going to have to deal with him every day at practice when Zimmer is coming up with some concoction in the way that they’re bringing him.’  I’m sure it’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m sure Zimmer is excited about having another little piece to add to the stuff that he does.”

Gilberry is a good example of Zimmer’s ability to maximize a player’s ability.  The six-year veteran joined the Bengals in week three last year after he was released by Tampa Bay and he had an immediate impact in Cincinnati.  Wallace finished third on the team with 6.5 sacks, forced a fumble, and recovered three fumbles including one that he returned for a touchdown against the Eagles.

“I think he’ll be fine because he has a lot of talent,” said Gilberry.  “If Coach Zimmer can get me to play at that level in a short period of time – James Harrison will have a full off-season so the sky is definitely the limit for what Coach Zimmer can do with him.”

At the age of 35, Harrison isn’t likely to be the dominant force that earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2008.  But ESPN’s AFC North blogger Jamison Hensley makes a compelling case that the former Steeler will add a mean streak to the Cincinnati defense.

“What the Bengals never had on defense was an edge, or at least I never sensed one,” wrote Hensley.  “That won’t be the case now with Harrison, who is carrying a chip on his shoulder as large as a Primanti Brothers sandwich (or whatever the Cincinnati equivalent would be).  Harrison carries grudges.  Just ask the Baltimore Ravens who once cut Harrison and got some of his best efforts each season.”

While the Bengals don’t necessarily agree they lacked “an edge” on defense, they welcome Harrison’s tough-guy persona.

“He has a little swagger to him,” said Robert Geathers.  “I think that will help us a lot.

“I think that everybody goes about their business in different ways.  With James, obviously some of the things over the years you can see with your own eyes.  We’ve been a top defense over the last few years, so I think we have nastiness in us.”

“We have a couple of guys in here that play that way and hopefully he can enhance it and bring it out of some other guys,” said Gilberry.  “I think he’s going to bring a lot of attitude – definitely a lot of veteran leadership.  I’m excited to get him in here and get to working with him.”

“I grew up a Steelers fan so I’ve watched him a lot,” said Devon Still.  “I think he’s a player that goes out there and gives it his all.  He’s definitely a big impact player.”

Harrison joins the Bengals with 64 sacks, 29 forced fumbles, and 5 INT on his resume – not to mention two Super Bowl rings.

“He’s been to the top and any time you can add a guy like that to a locker room that hasn’t – we’re young, we’re talented, but we haven’t been there,” said Whitworth.  “It’s a great leadership thing, it’s a great example thing, and it’s something that we can all learn from.”

“It will be good to have another veteran guy and a guy that’s been where we want to go,” said Geathers.  “He’s been to Super Bowls and he knows how to get there.

“He’s definitely one of the great defense players that I’m going to be fortunate enough to play with.”

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“Shoot, he’s a monster,” Jones said with a laugh.  “Whenever you add a monster to your defense you can’t go anywhere but up.”

But even without Harrison, the Bengals defense was among the best in the NFL last season.  The Cincinnati offense, on the other hand, has considerable room for growth in 2013 and Jones hopes to have a significant impact.

After being drafted in the fifth round last year, the former Cal standout had a limited role in the first 11 games of the season – in part because of a knee injury that kept him out of three games.  But following a late-season injury to fellow rookie receiver Mohamed Sanu, Jones moved into the starting lineup and finished strong.  In the Bengals final three games against Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Houston, Marvin had 13 catches for 144 yards including his first NFL touchdown against the Ravens (see the highlight here).

“I felt good about my rookie season,” said Jones.  “I got some experience and was in on quite a few plays.  Obviously there are things that I can improve on and I think that will come with maturity and being comfortable out there.  But I think that I finished strong and I want to build upon that.

“Now there are no nerves where you’re like, ‘Oh man, what is going to happen?’  I have a year within this offense, I know all of the positions very well, and I’m familiar with Andy (Dalton).”

Following his first NFL season, Jones took three weeks off before beginning a Monday-through-Thursday training regimen.  The highlight of his off-season was a vacation to Central America.

“I went out to Belize,” said Jones.  “That’s where my fiancé’s grandparents are from, so we went out there for about 10 days and did everything – swim, blue hole, hiked the Mayan ruins, snorkeling, and zip lining.  It was a pretty full vacation and I proposed to her while we were there as well.  I couldn’t have asked for anything better than that.”

Now that he’s taken care of the engagement ring, Marvin has his sights set on a Super Bowl ring, and the 23-year-old was happy to be reunited with his teammates when the Bengals returned to town for off-season workouts this week.

“The first thing you do is smile and laugh when you see everybody again,” Marvin told me.  “It reminds me of the first day of school.

“In college you have like, a week-and-a-half or two weeks off and then you’re right back in the thick of things.  At this level, you can go on vacation and do other stuff and then you’re like, ‘Dang, now what do I do?’  It was fun but I was definitely ready to come back here and get back at it.”

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Due to a knee injury, last year’s top draft pick Dre Kirkpatrick – the 17^th overall selection – was limited to 43 defensive snaps at cornerback all season.

Second round pick Devon Still, the former Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year, was inactive for the last eight games of the regular season and the Wild Card playoff game after veteran defensive tackle Pat Sims returned from the injury list.  And third round pick Brandon Thompson, one of the most powerful defensive tackles in last year’s draft, only appeared in three games all year due to the team’s depth on the defensive line.

Additionally, fifth round pick Shaun Prater, who flashed NFL potential at cornerback before suffering an August knee injury, missed the entire season.

That means four of the Bengals top seven draft picks last year are almost like additional members of this year’s upcoming rookie crop.

“In a sense it was a redshirt year,” said Still.  “It definitely wasn’t what I expected.  It definitely humbled me and let me how hard I have to work to stay on the field.”

Still and Thompson will definitely be in the mix for more playing time this year following the departure of Sims as a free agent to the Oakland Raiders.

“Now that Pat is gone, it opens that door wide open for a third man in the rotation on the inside of the defensive line,” Still told me.  “I’m going to go as hard as I can to get that spot.”

“Even before Pat left, I came in thinking that I had an opportunity,” said Thompson.  “I want to come in, play hard, and work myself into a role.”

Both defensive linemen say their first year with the Bengals was beneficial even though much of it was spent on the sidelines.

“It was tough, but I had to do my role which was to watch and learn,” said Thompson.  “Hopefully I can use what I learned last year to have a great year.  Having a year under my belt to learn the system and find out where I fit in really helps me out.”

“When you’re going against eight and nine year veterans, they have their technique down pat,” said Still.  “You have to hurry up and learn as much as possible.  Now we have an understanding of how the season goes and what the coaches expect from us.”

Still spent five years at Penn State (including a redshirt season) and Thompson spent four at Clemson.  That meant their first off-seasons as professionals were a welcome break.

“I’ve never had this much time off before – especially coming from college where everything was such a routine,” said Still.  “It’s been quite an experience to be able to travel, spend time with family, and do things that I haven’t been able to do during the last five years when I was in school.”

“This has been the most time that I’ve had off in years,” said Thompson.  “I really enjoyed it.  I got to spend a lot of time with my family and friends and that’s what really matters.  I also had a lot of time to train and work on my craft.”

With the Bengals returning to town this week for off-season workouts, the bulk of their vacation time is history, but the second year defensive lineman say they are ready to get back to work.

“There’s a huge opportunity now that Pat left the team,” said Still.  “Me and Brandon want to work as hard as possible this off-season to prove to the coaches that we belong on the field and we can make an impact on the defensive line.”

“I’m very eager for my second season,” said Thompson.  “I get to show the coaches what I can do and I’m ready.”

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She was a local, born and bred in southern Maine before she headed to make a life in Massachusetts. I have no idea where she is now. But if I had a buck for every time I thought of Joanie Casey this Patriots Day, I’d be richer than Andre Smith and James Harrison combined.

Not just Joanie Casey. But anybody else who ever left their heart on Heartbreak Hill. Or got on their tiptoes to cheer and glimpse them down Boylston Street. Or put a notepad in front of a euphoric finisher still shivering in that aluminum foil shawl in the heart of Copley Square.

Like Boston Billy Rodgers and Joan Benoit Samuelson, who shocked the Boston course in a much different way only because they had the audacity to come out of anonymity and win it.

Or like Charles Pierce, the once and always great Boston sports columnist who wrote so beautifully and well Monday from a war zone in a dispatch that surfaced just after 5 p.m. that centered on his conversation with an EMT amid the devastation.  Which means from the time the bombs went off, incredibly, it took him about as long as a Boston Marathon winner to steady himself, reshuffle his thoughts, spill them into cyberspace, and post.

Just over two hours.

But mainly I thought of Nurse Casey.

That Patriots Day in the late ’80s, I called her the Hawkeye Pierce of the Boston Marathon. How could you know? How could you know that a generation later Copley Square would be turned into an honest to God MASH unit?

What was more horrific Monday? An ancient finish line sanctified as one of the most revered in sports with blood, sweat and tears, splattered with just blood? Or the agonizing words that crawled across the bottom of the killing zone?

Shrapnel. IEDs. Amputations.

Where did the runs, hits and errors go?

Joanie Casey’s medical tent brought limbs back to life. That’s what is supposed to happen at the end of marathons. Cramps not carnage. Blisters not bombs.

She had gallons of Gatorade at fingertips and wasn’t pleading for plasma. Her army pumped IVs into the most spent finishers, not taking blood from runners who had been transformed into donors once they reached the line. Muscle pulls were carefully kneaded out of calves instead of ball bearings and nails feverishly picked out of feet and thighs.

A marathon is supposed to be about the best of us, not the worst. Courage and competition, not cowardice. The purity of the clock and not the treachery of politics. Majesty, not madness.

The Revolutionary War ended with the British surrendering to the tune called “The World Turned Upside Down.” But didn’t the world turn upside down on this Patriots Day, the day we celebrate the start of the revolution?

Wasn’t there a kid about 13 years old taken to Boston Children’s Hospital on Monday and in ’72 didn’t you slump out of Fenway Park on Patriots Day after watching Cleveland’s Milt Wilcox two-hit the Red Sox? Duane Josephson got them both. Two moon shots off The Monster with the Marathon winner pulling into the finish about an hour later.

Wasn’t there a kid about 17 years old taken to Children’s on Monday and didn’t you make two errors at first base in a  road game in the same inning when you couldn’t resist watching the hottest Marathon run by you on Route 9 in 1976 in Wellesley?

The medical tent this Patriots Day turned out to be the surprise winner of the Boston Marathon they’ll never forget. God knows how many more would have died if the doctors and nurses and their equipment hadn’t already been poised. Even if it was for cramps instead of carnage.

And as Monday bled into Tuesday and the news kept coming like the runners coming into Copley until the finish line clock read 4:09:43, I still hadn’t heard the name of the winner. If I did, I didn’t remember.

But I thought of Joanie Casey again and felt a little better.

The world may be terribly upside down this morning. But the medical tent has already begun the healing.

We’ll know the winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon.

In case you’re interested, we’re currently watching season three of Breaking Bad.  Wow!  It’s definitely on the short list of my all-time favorite shows.

Judging by his Twitter feed, Andy and Jordan Dalton are Homeland viewers in the off-season:

But Carrie Mathison and Nicolas Brody are not the only on-screen duo that the Bengals quarterback has been watching.  Dalton has spent much of his off-season studying fellow QBs Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees.

“I’ve watched a lot of Green Bay’s offense and I’ve watched a lot of the Saints’ offense because they have two of the best quarterbacks in the league,” said Dalton.  “To see what they’re doing – how they’re getting their completions and how they’re scoring their touchdowns, and what mistakes are they making.  Are they forcing the ball on their interceptions…are they taking chances…what are they doing?

“I’d love for my career to end up like their careers have ended up.  You want to study those guys and see what they’re doing right.  Not only mechanics-wise, footwork, whatever it is, but also offensively what are they doing.  Our offenses are similar – we’re doing a lot of the same stuff that they’re doing – it’s just how they’re putting points on the board.”

The Saints and Packers finished in the top five in the NFL in scoring last year (Cincinnati was 12^th), but Dalton says he didn’t spend much time studying the league’s top scoring team – New England.

“I would say that Tom Brady and I are a little bit different,” said Dalton.  “The way that I play I would consider it to be more like a Drew Brees or an Aaron Rodgers – whether it be body type because I’m not 6’5” – and (the Patriots) do different stuff offensively than we do.  Obviously they do a lot of good stuff, but I think the makeup of their team is a little bit different as well.”

Like Dalton, Aaron Rodgers is listed at 6’2”.  Brees, on the other hand, is generously listed at 6’0”.

“It’s funny, before the draft I visited the Saints and they had Drew Brees and Chase Daniel,” said Dalton with a grin.  “They said I might be too tall to play there at 6’2”.

It’s interesting to compare Dalton to Brees.  Andy’s statistics are far superior to the numbers that Drew posted in his first two years as a starter in the NFL.

Dalton:  629-for-1044 (60.2%), 7067 yards, 47 TD, 29 INT, 83.9 passer rating

Brees:  525-for-882 (59.5%), 5392 yards, 28 TD, 31 INT, 73.1 passer rating

Brees took a quantum leap in his third season as a starter in San Diego, leading the Chargers to an 11-4 record while posting a passer rating of 104.8 and going to his first Pro Bowl.  Dalton hopes to take similar strides in 2013 even though he isn’t ready to call himself an established veteran.

“I’ve played quite a bit so I don’t know what the term is that you use, but I’ve been around for a while and I think I’ve earned some respect,” said Dalton.  “I’m excited for this year.”

One reason for Andy’s excitement is his familiarity with his receiving corps.  He’ll enter his third season with A.J. Green, Jermaine Gresham, Andrew Hawkins, Brandon Tate, and Ryan Whalen and his second year with Marvin Jones, Mohamed Sanu, and Orson Charles.

“I know how guys run routes,” said Dalton.  “I know what to expect from them, what type of person they are, and what type of worker they are.  We’ve got a great group that works really hard and it’s going to be nice to have everybody healthy at the same time.”

“There’s a big difference in confidence level,” said Marvin Jones.  “We have all of these young receivers that have experience now.  We’re ready to be a great force in this league.”

“It’s huge that there’s not a whole lot of teaching now,” said Dalton.  “It’s perfecting what we were doing.”

That includes continuing to find ways to utilize A.J. Green’s unique gifts.  Dalton did not throw Green a pass in the first half of the playoff loss in Houston, and only connected with A.J. once in a home loss to Pittsburgh.

“A.J. got a lot of cover two to his side,” said Dalton.  “They tried to take away some of the vertical throws and things like that.  With the type of player that A.J. is, we’re going to see that a lot.  The big thing with him is moving him around and finding ways to get him the ball.

“With a guy like A.J., the term ‘open’ is a little bit different.  There are times going back and looking at the film where I still probably could have thrown it to him on certain routes and different things where I tried to work somewhere else.  It just comes down to being smart with the ball and knowing when you can take those chances and when to move on.”

Those are undoubtedly some of the lessons that Dalton was hoping to learn by watching Rodgers and Brees in the off-season.  I asked Andy if it was his idea to study those two quarterbacks or if it came from the coaching staff.

“They’ve suggested it, but I was going to watch regardless,” Dalton told me.  “Those are two of the best quarterbacks in the league and you try to take little things from what they’re doing.  I think it will help me out.

“I think I’ve figured things out a little more.  I’ve watched a lot of tape and I’m ready to get back playing again.”

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Monday is kicking off a big week at Paul Brown Stadium, the last full one before the April 25-27 draft.

The Bengals begin their offseason workouts Monday and the first bevy of locker-room quotes since the players bagged their disappointment and belongings in the Jan. 7 Cleanout should start hitting cyberspace around 9:45 a.m.

Among the things we’ll hear is that left tackle Andrew Whitworth is recovering well from his knee surgery and expects to be back for the first day of training camp in late July and the same with rookie cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick. They may not be seen on the field during the spring, which is why the Bengals are looking for some bodies, particularly on the offensive line.

Also certain to be heard is that middle linebacker Rey Maualuga is in the best shape of his NFL career with the help of his MMA training in Los Angeles and that new SAM backer candidate Aaron Maybin is excited about the chance to join the lengthy list of players that have revived their careers under defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer: Safeties Chris Crocker and Reggie Nelson, cornerbacks Terence Newman and Adam Jones, and linebackers Dhani Jones and Thomas Howard to name a few.

And franchise player Michael Johnson won’t be on the premises since he’s finishing up his semester’s work at Georgia Tech and is expected when the Bengals go on the field the week of May 20.

Also Monday, the Bengals should have a pretty good idea where the James Harrison thing is going. It’s believed the Bengals gave Harrison an offer over the weekend and that the sides have decided to talk about it Monday. It sounds like Harrison wants to be here and that head coach Marvin Lewis has already struck up a good relationship with him, and that means a lot in these parts and could very well bode well for a deal fairly quickly.

It looks like Harrison is Lewis’s kind of guy, a throwback to Lewis’s Greg Lloyd days in Pittsburgh when he loved coaching a deadly serious pro who had no fear, backed down from no one, and was all football. And it looks like Lewis has what Harrison wants, a top 10 defense that can win the AFC North.

(A snapshot to just how Lewis relates to players could be seen last week when he saw middle backer Vontaze Burfict for the first time since Jan. 7 and they wrestled around in a playful greeting. Then he promptly shot down Burfict’s request for a locker change.)

On Monday the Bengals are also expected to announce they’ve re-signed running back Bernard Scott and signed former Browns tight end Alex Smith.

Then on Tuesday morning the Bengals are hosting 31 college prospects that played high school or college in the metro Cincinnati area. It’s also the first Tuesday the NFL schedule could be released.

During the rest of the week the Bengals figure to entertain the last of their 30 draft prospects that each team is allowed to bring to its facility.

The Bengals have terminated the contract of cornerback Jason Allen, releasing him to free agency.

Allen last season played his seventh NFL season and his first for the Bengals. He was limited by injuries and played in only four games for Cincinnati, with two tackles on defense and one on special teams.

The 6-1 Jordan, who has been listed anywhere from 225 to 230 pounds, would figure to be here what he was in Philadelphia the past six seasons, which was primarily a backup/special-teamer.

There’s not a lot of room left on the defense with head coach Marvin Lewis saying he’s going to stick with Rey Maualuga at middle linebacker while virtually all his starters and regulars are intact except for starting SAM backer Manny Lawson and safety Chris Crocker.

Lawson only played about a third of the snaps and this upcoming season Maualuga and starting WILL backer Vontaze Burfict figure to get the bulk of the plays again if the same alignment is used. Plus there is emerging WILL backer Emmanuel Lamur, who played well on nickel downs late in his rookie season.

But the Bengals look like they are kicking tires on veterans and college prospects to see if they can upgrade the SAM spot and maybe get a guy that can play more.

They have been looking at backers all offseason, starting when the Raiders were shopping 2010 first-rounder Rolando McClain before Oakland cut him. But the Bengals had no interest even before they re-signed Maualuga.

The one spot that is wide open is the safety opposite Reggie Nelson. With no plans as of yet to re-sign Crocker, the Bengals have dipped a toe into the veteran market but seem intent on getting younger there via the draft. They did visit with former Saint and Brown Usama Young last Friday, but word was Tuesday that Young opted to reunite with one of his New Orleans coaches and now the Oakland head coach, Dennis Allen.

The Bengals continue to kick the tires on veteran running backs. After entertaining Beanie Wells last month, they took a look at Felix Jones on Monday, according to dallascowboys.com.

But as happened with Wells, there were no signs the Bengals were making a deal late Monday and the move could be for later in the spring. They may want to see how the draft plays out before deciding to sign a veteran. Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden has said he wouldn’t mind finding a back to pair with BenJarvus Green-Ellis and the Bengals haven’t re-upped Brian Leonard or Bernard Scott with Cedric Peerman penciled in as the potential third-down back.

But the 5-10, 217-pound Jones, who turns 26 the week after the draft, fits the explosive speed trait the Bengals seek to team with Green-Ellis. Despite missing 16 games, he’s averaging 4.8 yards per career rush. He carried just 111 times last year in Dallas and had a career-low 3.6 yards per attempt.

There’s no question that the Bengals are going to scout the top quarterbacks in the April 25-27 draft.

The question is, are they going to draft him on April 26 or April 27?

They continue the process Friday, when Joe Reedy of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the Bengals will work out Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel in Tallahassee. And it would be no surprise if Manuel is one of the 30 prospects they’ve scheduled for a Paul Brown Stadium visit before the draft.

There isn’t anybody the Bengals are not checking out at this stage. At any position. Anybody, at least, that’s got a shot of being drafted and they’re also looking at guys they’ll end up signing after the draft in the mold of Vontaze Burfict, Emmanuel Lamur and Jeromy Miles.

The Bengals have somebody at every pro day. While head coach Marvin Lewis stalked the North Carolina sidelines with East Coast scout Greg Seamon this week, the same day new assistant secondary coach Adam Zimmer was at the University of Connecticut.

(Odds are the Bengals won’t draft a guy from either place, but here’s where we’ll make our pitch for Tar Heels running back Giovani Bernard.)

But the only way the Bengals would get Manuel is if he free-falls into the third round.

No one thinks the Bengals are going to take a quarterback with one of their first three picks in the first two rounds, knowing how they have felt about those picks in the past. They’re going to want those guys to come in and start. Or, at the very least, play regularly.

The third round figures to the first time the Bengals start even gazing at the QBs and given they are usually over-drafted, particularly in a lean year, it could be fairly picked over.

But the Bengals aren’t looking for a Manuel-type to come in and eventually be a starter. They’re looking to support Andy Dalton with better competition and a young guy talented enough that they can develop who can come in and win games off the bench if need be. A future Ryan Fitzpatrick, perhaps, a seventh-rounder in 2005.

If the Bengals draft a guy that’s not ready, then they could go back to keeping three QBs instead of two to develop him without fear of him getting plucked from the practice squad and keep up the hunt for a veteran that began with the Josh Johnson signing.

But Dalton himself is part of that influx the past two seasons that shows rookie QBs don’t have to be treated like some delicate experiment in a Petri dish that can’t be exposed to harsh light for a year. The Redskins got two wins off the bench from fourth-rounder Kirk Cousins just this past season.

Browns quarterback Colt McCoy is trade bait now, but it’s highly doubtful the Bengals would give up a draft pick for him. If he gets released it could be interesting, but they’ve also been cautious with players that have a history of concussions and he has a storied one.

So we know the Bengals will work them out, but when will they take him? April 26 ends with the third round, April 27 has all the rest.