Dave Clark

dclark@cincinnati.com

Reading this outstanding piece by SI.com's Don Banks about Booker Reese and "the most botched NFL Draft pick ever" (definitely worth a read, look for references to Moeller High School and former Bengals QB Jack Thompson, BTW) had us thinking about questionable Bengals draft picks, including "chain-smoking tight end" Sean Brewer in the third round of the 2001 draft.

At the time, suffice it to say it was a surprising pick by the Bengals, who took a beating from media and fans when Brewer's excessive smoking habit was discovered.

In this article from 2001, Tom Groeschen wrote the following:

Sean Brewer was a bit stunned, too. Apparently, few outside the Bengals' war room thought the San Jose State tight end would be Cincinnati's third-round draft choice. Or anybody's.

"I'm kind of surprised at how soon I went in the third round," Brewer said, in a teleconference Saturday night.

Third round? That Brewer was chosen at all surprised former Mariemont pharmacist Jerry Jones, who publishes The Drugstore List of prospects. Jones tabbed Brewer a likely free agent and rated him the 15th best tight end. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper was kinder, listing Brewer seventh among tight ends, but projecting him as a backup, not made of starting timber.

The Bengals disagreed, making Brewer the third tight end taken Saturday.

"He was a consensus top-three tight end," said Frank Verducci, the Bengals' tight ends coach.

More from the Groeschen article:

Brewer is regarded as an aggressive blocker and reportedly has the speed to get open quickly. But a pre-draft report by NFLmedia.com also said Brewer is "a poorly conditioned athlete" who has bad eating and training habits.

After Brewer's selection, the Bengals' media relations staff had difficulty finding background information on him. So they distributed a biography written by Dave-Te' Thomas, who writes scouting reports for the official NFL Web site.

Thomas also said Brewer "has a tough-guy attitude that has gotten him into confrontations with the coaching staff in the past."

Thomas went on to write that Brewer is a "spoiled kid with a "gangsta mentality' who has to give up his pack-a-day cigarette habit. ... Does not seem to have the crisp cutting ability when running pass patterns."

On the positive side, Thomas says Brewer is an "aggressive blocker" and is "effective turning upfield after the catch. Has a good understanding for the game and is quick to digest complicated plays."

In defense of the Bengals, Brewer WAS good enough to make two starts for the Bengals in 2002, and appeared in nine games for the Falcons in 2003. And even more in the Bengals' defense, the rest of their 2001 NFL draft was outstanding, including first-rounder Justin Smith (DE, Missouri), second-rounder Chad Johnson (WR, Oregon State), fourth-rounder Rudi Johnson (HB, Auburn) and seventh-rounder T.J. Houshmandzadeh (WR, Oregon State).