Palmer shakes up the draft

I can see it now... Ryan Mallet in a Bengal uniform. He'll be the perfect guy to help ensure they lose their mandatory 10 games next season.

Last week, Carson Palmer predictably shocked the world by demanding a trade from the pathetic Cincinatti Bengals. He even went as far as saying that he would retire if his trade demand wasn't met. It doesn't surprise me at all really, Palmer is getting older and his window for playing on a winning team is getting smaller. The Bengals are just awful, and I can imagine that a player of his caliber would get extremely frustrated getting his ass handed to him week in and week out, year after year.

The demand has got to hurt though for team president Mike Brown and head coach Marvin Lewis. Here they thought they had a franchise quarterback to build around for at least a few more seasons... and then poof, he's gone. This definitely shakes up the Bengals' offseason plans.

As we've discussed, the Bengals own the #4 pick in the upcoming NFL draft and were thought to be focused on improving their defense with that pick. Da'Quan Bowers, the beastly defensive end from Clemson, was a player who it was speculated that they could be interested in with that pick, and they still may be. The possible loss of Palmer to trade or retirement could change their draft plans, however, as they may want to go after a quarterback at that pick instead now. Seeing as there are a bunch of high level prospects at the position this year, they may want to strike now. Who knows who'll be available in free agency this year, let alone in next year's draft. So grabbing a player like Blaine Gabbert, Cam Newton, Ryan Mallett or even Jake Locker could be the call.

I think Gabbert will be gone to the Panthers before the Bengals get their shot at him at #4, so to me, it will be a decision between Newton and Mallett most likely as I don't think Locker will go that high, unless he thoroughly impresses at the NFL combine. Drafting Newton seems like it could be a ticking time bomb for a bad Bengals team. I could envision a guy like Newton insta-demanding a trade if he ended up in Cinci, much like Eli Manning did when he was drafted by the San Diego Chargers. I think it would be a smart move for a team that wanted to draft Newton to groom him on the bench for a few years and then insert him into the games when he has a better chance of being successful than the Bengals do. His personality is just so volatile that I don't know if he'll handle adversity as well as a guy like Mallett. And the Bengals have tons of adversity.

Mallet is kind of like a Carson Palmer clone in a lot of ways. They're both big, tall guys with huge arms and not much mobility. The Bengals could get tricked into thinking that they could plug Mallett right in as the starter and be okay. It won't work though. If Palmer couldn't have success with this group, there's no way Mallett can. Terrell Owens certainly won't re-sign with the Bengals if Palmer, his biggest advocate, jumps ship and Chad Ochocinqo-Johnson is liable to demand a trade, retire to focus on his reality television career, or even fake his own death in order to somehow sign with another team at any moment. The Bengals may need to blow it up. They need a lot of help on both sides of the ball and, more dauntingly, on both the offensive and defensive lines. I doubt they'll do it, but it may benefit them in the long-term to trade Palmer for a 2nd or 3rd round pick now and maybe do the same with Ochocinqo. They really have a lack of young talent on their roster and could use some extra draft picks to address their many needs.

So, if I'm correct in my prediction of Mallett to the Bengals, then who will the Arizona Cardinals be left with at the #6 pick. I had originally slotted Mallett in that spot, going to the QB-needy Cardinals. Maybe the Cards take Newton there and leave the Redskins (also in dire need of a signal caller) high and dry. I suppose Newton's powerful running style could fit into Ken Whisenhunt's scheme. Whisenhunt, who came over from Pittsburgh's run-first offensive scheme, has been trying to get back to that style of play with the Cardinals. Having Kurt Warner, one of the best passers in NFL history as his quarterback has hindered that process a bit though as Whiz was smart enough to gameplan for Warner's skill set.

But now Warner is retired, Matt Leinart was traded to the Texans, Max Hall is inexperienced and Derek Anderson is a bum. Whisenhunt could be enamoured by Newton's ability to put his nose down and pick up tough yards on the ground, especially on 3rd down and short, which is an area of strength for Newton. The Heisman winner ran for 1,473 yards at Auburn this season and also scored 20 touchdowns on the ground while still throwing for 2,854 yards and 30 touchdowns. Newton's large frame and elusiveness remind me a lot of Whiz's old quarterback in Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger is 6-4, 240 pounds; Newton is 6-6, 250 pounds. Both are hard to bring down and know how to use their size and elusiveness to stay alive in the pocket. Whisenhunt and Roethlisberger had good success in Roethlisberger's rookie season, as the quarterback won rookie of the year honors as he went 13-0 in the regular season before bowing out against the Patriots in the conference championship. The next year, Whiz and Roethlisberger won a Super Bowl. Maybe Whiz will think he can recreate some of that rookie magic with Newton.

It's tough to say how it's all going to go, but what we do know is a lot of teams are in need of a quarterback and there is a bunch first round caliber quarterbacks in the draft. It's going to be fun to see who goes where and how successful they are in their rookie seasons.