David Wellman from Stripe Hype and Fan-Sided Blogs weighs in on who the Bengals should be looking at in the upcoming 2009 NFL Draft.

As one might expect of a team that finished last season 4-11-1, the Cincinnati Bengals are in need of upgrades pretty much across the board. The only exception is quarterback, where a healthy Carson Palmer is by all reports set to return next fall. Here’s a unit-by-unit look.

Offense: The Bengals’ weakest unit is the offensive line. Left tackle Levi Jones hasn’t been completely healthy since early in the 2006 season, right tackle Stacy Andrews tore his ACL in the second-to-last game of 2008 and is a free agent in March, and center Eric Ghiacuic, who consistently struggled against top-tier defensive linemen, isn’t expected to return. The Bengals do have tackle Anthony Collins, a highly regarded junior they stole in the fourth round of the ’08 draft, as well as tackle Andrew Whitworth, a second-round pick in 2006 who has been playing at left guard, so there are some tackle options in-house. Nonetheless, OT is a very strong possibility in the first, where the Bengals have the 6th overall selection. At center, Ghaicuic’s backup is converted guard Dan Santucci, a seventh-round pick in 2007, so a center in the second or third round is a strong possibility as well.

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Dustin Staggers from The Pewter Plank and Fan-Sided Blogs weighs in on who the Bucs should be looking at in the upcoming 2009 NFL Draft.

The 2009 NFL draft will be enormous for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their transition from the seven year regime of Bruce Allen and Jon Gruden to the new men in charge, Mark Dominik and Raheem Morris. For all of the criticism Jon and Bruce received because of the players they drafted, we have an awful lot of players who will be starters next year from their drafts. Barrett Ruud, Aqib Talib, Tanard Jackson, Gaines Adams (that’s 4 defenders), and Alex Smith, Aaron Sears, Davin Joseph, and Jeremy Trueblood (4 offensive players) will start next season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as well as at least 7 quality backups (Jeremy Zuttah, Quincy Black, Greg Peterson, Geno Hayes, Adam Heyward, Quincy Black, Sabby Piscatelli). Even with all these successful players taken in the draft, the amount of unrestricted FA’s we have this season (Michael Clayton, Antonio Bryant, Carmella Garcia, Luke McCown, Jovan Haye, Jermaine Phillips) just to name a few, make this draft a pivotal one for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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