The easiest thing to do here would have been to rip on Cincinnati for selecting Akili Smith in 1999. However, there is a case to be made that wasn’t even the franchise’s most egregious decision of the late 90s. The Bengals wasting three first round picks on linebackers in a two-year span was possibly worse.
It was really symbolic of a dysfunctional team led by perhaps the most hapless head coach in NFL history, Bruce Coslet. He landed the gig after taking over on an interim basis in 1996 and guiding Cincinnati to a 7-2 record. It must be noted, the AFC was comically mediocre that year with nine teams finishing either 9-7, 8-8 or 7-9.
Anyway, one of Coslet’s first moves was to hire Dick LeBeau as defensive coordinator. This was seen as a coup. LeBeau had been leading the rival Pittsburgh Steelers defense, who were among the league’s best in 1995 and 1996. However, he was an Ohio guy through and through and wanted to work for the Bengals.
LeBeau was bringing his 3-4, zone blitzing scheme with him to Riverfront Stadium which meant the Cincinnati Bengals needed linebackers. In Pittsburgh, he had Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene, a fifth-round draft pick and free agent, respectively. That is something to remember.
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The Bengals waste three first round picks on linebackers – 1997 NFL Draft
Cincinnati probably won a few too many games for their own good in 1996 which meant they held the 14th selection in the 1997 NFL Draft. Pick 12 was Warrick Dunn while Tony Gonzalez was taken after that. With those legends off the board, the Bengals were left to select Reinard Wilson, an outside linebacker from Florida State.
About that last bit. Wilson wasn’t really an outside linebacker. He was a defensive end who Cincinnati believed could be converted into one. In the history of the 3-4 defense, this conversion has universally failed. A 3-4 outside linebacker isn’t a 4-3 defensive end and vice versa.
Wilson struggled mightily to the surprise of no one and was moved between linebacker and defensive line throughout his first four seasons. It looked like he had a breakthrough in 2001 recording nine sacks. This prompted the Bengals to hand him a three-year contract extension. Unfortunately, the former All-American did next to nothing the following season, playing himself right out of the NFL.
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The Bengals waste three first round picks on linebackers – 1998 NFL Draft
When the Bengals took Dan Wilkinson with the first overall pick in 1994, they hoped he would anchor their defensive line for years to come. Four disappointing seasons later, they traded him to Washington after the man known as Big Daddy called Cincinnati a racist city.
It wasn’t ideal, but the team did score first- and third-round draft picks giving them the 13th and 17th selections in the opening stanza of the 1998 NFL Draft. As you may have already surmised, the Bengals used these to take linebackers.
They nabbed Takeo Spikes with their first pick. He was certainly a good inside linebacker, although Cincinnati was a horrible defensive team during his five-year stint. After that fifth season concluded, Spikes made it clear he was tired of playing for a loser and wanted out of town. He then signed for the Buffalo Bills who were in the midst of the longest playoff drought in professional American sports.
With the 17th selection, the Bengals went to the linebacking well once again taking Brian Simmons from North Carolina. Four picks later, the Minnesota Vikings would take Randy Moss. The next linebacker to be picked was Sam Cowart in the second round. He made the Pro Bowl in 2000 and was compared to Ray Lewis.
Simmons was no Lewis or Cowart. Now, he was a perfectly serviceable middle linebacker on a defense which was never better than average. That being said, at least Simmons appeared in a postseason game, something Spikes and Wilson never accomplished during their careers. He would leave Cincinnati after their loss in the 2005 playoffs.
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Lesson not learned
With Spikes gone and Simmons reaching the end of his career, the team felt it needed to reload at the linebacker position ahead of the 2005 season. The Bengals proceeded to draft David Pollack with their first-round pick and then Odell Thurman with the next selection in the second round.
This was somehow worse than their linebacker splurge in the late 1990s. Pollack would suffer an unfortunate injury in the second game of the 2006 season and wouldn’t play football again. Thurman had a promising rookie campaign but was suspended for the next three seasons because of various drug and alcohol infractions. He didn’t get a sniff of the NFL after that.
