Edwards signed a one-year deal with the 49ers last August, but was released before the final week of the regular season after he earned honors for one of the biggest busts for the 2011 season after recording just 15 receptions for 181 yards and zero touchdowns. While the argument can be made that Edwards has proven to be an effective wide receiver in the right offense (he caught 88 passes for 1,445 yards and 11 touchdowns with the New York Jets from 2009-10), it’s difficult to determine whether or not he would be a good fit for the Bengals.

A.J. Green is obviously the team’s option at wideout and while Cincinnati is still in the process of figuring out which player should be Dalton’s No. 2 man, Edwards certainly doesn’t seem to be the man for the job. Not only should Jordan Shipley bounce back after missing most of the 2011 season due to a torn ACL, but the team has high expectations for rookie Mohamad Sanu and Marvin Jones.

In other words–there’s no reason for the Bengals to waste their money on a washed-up player like Edwards for the 2012 season. Dalton has enough options in the passing game and if last season is any indication of what to expect–Edwards would only cause frustration within the organization and fan base for lack of production.

Dan Parzych is the Director of Content for RantSports.com

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Biggest winner – Cincinnati Bengals : Going into the draft, the biggest area of need for the AFC wildcard Bengals was defensive back.

Thanks in part to the departure of former first round pick, Jonathan Joseph leaving for Houston after the 2010 season, and 2007 first round pick in Leon Hall tearing an Achilles tendon in 2011, Cincinnati had a dire need to address the secondary, in a division that features Baltimore’s Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith and Pittsburgh’s Mike Wallace.

Cincinnati would select 6’1 185-pound Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick with the 17th overall pick, which came courtesy of the Oakland Raiders, as part of the deal for former Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer.

The Bengals would trade their own pick at No. 21 to the New England Patriots at No. 27 and select versatile guard Kevin Zeitler from Wisconsin.

Cincinnati would lose starting left guard Nate Livings to the Dallas Cowboys in free agency and right guard Bobbie Williams would break his right ankle in December.

After addressing the defensive line in selecting defensive tackle Devon Still out of Penn State in the second round with the No. 53 overall pick, Cincinnati would land multi-talented wideout Mohamed Sanu out of Rutgers in the third round with the No. 83 pick.

Sanu, who would catch 115 passes for 1,206 yards for seven touchdowns, replaces former Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson, who would sign with the Minnesota Vikings, should emerge as Cincinnati’s new No.2 receiver opposite A.J. Green.

Cincinnati would also add some depth on offense in the later rounds in selecting former Georgia tight end Orson Charles at No.116, wide receiver Marvin Jones out of Cal at No.166 and running back Dan Herron out of Ohio State at No. 191.

Conclusion - The Bengals draft provided depth at secondary in Kirkpatrick, added a versatile offensive lineman in Zeitler and added a legitimate No.2 wideout in Sanu.

With Cincinnati expected to contend—with a much tougher schedule—the Bengals may no longer be able to sneak up on teams, but should now be able to go head-to-head with the big boys—such as Pittsburgh, Baltimore, New York Giants and Dallas—in 2012-13.

Grade : A+

Biggest loser – Cleveland Browns : Going into the 2012 NFL Draft, the Browns had multiple needs, the biggest areas of concern for Cleveland was right tackle, running back, quarterback and wide receiver.

Thanks to the free-agent departure of running back Peyton Hillis for Kansas City Chiefs, lackluster play of quarterback Colt McCoy, shaky play on the right side of the offensive line and suspect play from a wide receiver corps that would lead the NFL in drops with 43, the Browns had major holes to fill.

The Browns would send a fourth, fifth and seventh round pick to the Minnesota Vikings to move up one slot from No.4 to No.3.

Cleveland would use the No.3 pick to select Alabama running back Trent Richardson.

In selecting Richardson, the Browns land a legitimate home-run threat who will cause opposing defenses to honor the Browns running game.

Richardson’s presence will also open up the passing game off of play-action and on screen plays out of the backfield.

While it has been the subject of much national debate, the selection of Richardson was the biggest and best pick of the Browns since they returned to the NFL in 1999.

Much like the Browns selection of Richardson, Cleveland would select 28-year old quarterback Brandon Weeden out of Oklahoma State at No.22 would also be the subject of much national media scrutiny.

Weeden, who would pass for 9,004 yards, throw 71 touchdowns, 26 interceptions and go 23-3 as a starter down in Stillwater, may provide a much needed upgrade at the quarterback spot in Cleveland, but the main subject of his selection—besides his age—is where he was selected.

With former Iowa offensive lineman Riley Reiff on the board, Cleveland would choose to pass on Reiff—who would be selected by the Detroit Lions at No.23—for Weeden, who will turn 29 in October.

According to Rotoworld.com, the Browns were actually targeting former Baylor wideout Kendall Wright with the No.22 pick, once Wright went to the Tennessee Titans at No.20, Cleveland, the Browns decided to target Weeden, who would impress them during a recent private workout.

Many Browns fans—including myself—expected a wide receiver to be selected in either the first or second round, and while Justin Blackmon, Michael Floyd and Wright were off the board, the decision by Cleveland to pass on playmakers such as Stephen Hill, Alshon Jeffery and Rueben Randle in the second round for Cal offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz—who may be a solid right tackle in the NFL—justifies the angst of many die-hards.

The Browns draft would go south when wide receiver Mohamed Sanu would go to the Bengals at No.83, Cleveland would then reach for former Cincinnati Bearcat defensive tackle John Hughes at No.87 in the third round.

While many can see the need to add quality depth behind starters Phil Taylor and Ahtyba Rubin, the 6’2 309-pound run stopper in Hughes was not projected to be selected until the sixth or seventh round.

The Browns would finally address the wide receiver position in selection 5’10, 175-pound speedster, Travis Benjamin out of Miami.

Benjamin, who would catch 41 passes for 609 yards and three touchdowns, would also average 14.9 yards per catch, gives the Browns a much needed vertical threat and a playmaker who can stretch the field with his 4.36 speed.

Benjamin, would be suspended one game at the start of the Miami Hurricanes 2011-12 season for being one of the eight Hurricane players involved in receiving impermissible benefits from former Miami booster Nevin Shapiro, was projected to be a undrafted free agent.

Cleveland may have salvaged a otherwise questionable draft in finding value in linebackers James-Michael Johnson of Nevada (No.120), guard Ryan Miller of Colorado (No.160), linebacker Emmanuel Acho (No. 204) and defensive tackle Billy Winn (No.205) out of Boise State.

With Browns linebacker Scott Fujita suspended the first three games due to his involvement with the New Orleans Saints pay-for-performance “Bountygate” program, the picks of Acho and Johnson begin to make more sense.

Conclusion : While the Browns were able to add a top-tier talent in Richardson, passing over a player at a critical position of need in right tackle such as Reiff in the first round for Weeden at No.22 and selecting Schwartz in the second is a big gamble for the Browns.

Cleveland would pass on wide receivers such as Hill, Jeffery and Randle for Schwartz and reach for Hughes in the third.

In conclusion, the head scratching decision to wait until the fourth round to address the wide receiver position in a player such as Benjamin who maybe too small to play in the rugged and physical AFC North, when other prospects such as Greg Childs, Joe Adams, Jarius Wright of Arkansas and Nick Toon of Wisconsin were still on the board, may come back to haunt Cleveland in the long run.

Grade : C+

Honorable Mention – Pittsburgh Steelers : Always known to have solid and consistent drafts, the Steelers would once again live up to their reputation in addressing the key area of offensive line in drafting former Stanford guard David DeCastro in the first round and offensive tackle Mike Adams in the second round out of Ohio State.

Pittsburgh would also land outside linebacker Sean Spence out of Miami and 6’2 348-pound defensive tackle Alameda Ta’amu out of Washington as a possible heir apparent to nose tackle Casey Hampton.

The Steelers would also land a late-round steal in former Florida running back Chris Rainey, who would most likely see a lot of action in place of injured starter Rashard Mendenhall, who will miss the 2012-13 season with a torn ACL.

Conclusion : With a revamped offensive line that features Maurkice Pouncey, Adams and DeCastro, the Steelers were able to rebuild a otherwise shaky offensive line and give franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger some much needed protection up front.

Grade : A

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Losing Johnathan Joseph to the Houston Texans through free agency prior to the 2011 season was a huge blow for Cincinnati’s defense considering there were times when Joseph and Leon Hall gave the team one of the best cornerback duos in the NFL. Re-signing Adam Jones and bringing Jason Allen on board were both great moves by the Bengals, but there’s always room for improvement–which is why using a first-round pick on a cornerback like Dennard would be wise.

The argument can be made that Dennard could end up being one of the top players at his position from this year’s class and would make a great addition to Mike Zimmer’s defense. Here’s a guy that is great when it comes to man coverage and is phenomenal when it comes to breaking up passes–so why wouldn’t the Bengals go for a player like Dennard?

This year’s draft contains plenty of talented cornerbacks that will most likely be selected in the first round and with two first-round picks–there’s no reason why Cincinnati shouldn’t be able to land at least one of them. Expectations will be high for the Bengals in 2012 with the way things went last season and one of the main reasons why they were so successful was because of their defense.

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Cedric Benson had a great career with the Bengals over the last four seasons (4,176 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns), but the signing of former New England Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis was a strong indication that Benson’s time in Cincinnati was over. While Green-Ellis–who rushed for 1,675 yards and 24 touchdowns over the last two seasons–is a great addition for Cincinnati in the ground game, they could still use another strong player in the backfield to take the pressure off Green-Ellis.

Miller showed last season that he has potential to be an effective running back in the NFL after rushing for 1,272 yards and nine touchdowns as a sophomore for the Hurricanes. As one of the top running backs in this year’s draft class, there’s a good chance Miller will be selected in the first round considering there are numerous teams in need of help at the running back position.

Green-Ellis is a great addition for the Bengals, but he comes from a system in New England where he was used to splitting time in the backfield and only received 20 or more carries twice in 2011. There are plenty of teams in the NFL that prefer the one-two punch system when it comes to running backs and with a player like Miller accompanying Green-Ellis–the Bengals ground game may return to it’s dominant form from a few years ago.

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According to Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Bengals have placed the $2.6 million tag on Nugent to bring him back for a third season with the team. Nugent converted nearly 87 percent of his field goal attempts in 2011 along with reaching the end zone on 67 of 80 kickoffs–so it’s no surprise the team would want to bring him back in 2012.

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Thanks to one of the new provisions in the NFL collective bargaining agreement, teams now have the ability to roll over remaining cap room into the following season.

Cincinnati will have the third most amount of cap space in the NFL at $60 million after moving over $15 million dollars from the 2011 season.

Only the Kansas City Chiefs ($62.995 million, after rolling over $24.014 million from the 2011 season) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($60.496 million, after rolling over $23.519 million) have more money than the traditionally conservative and penny-pinching Bengals.

After coming of a 9-7 AFC Wild Card campaign—that would end with a 31-10 loss to the Houston Texans—the Bengals with their promising duo on offense of Pro Bowl quarterback Andy Dalton, tight end Jermaine Gresham and wide receiver A.J. Green, stout defense and some money to spend, Cincinnati could be the team to watch in the rugged AFC North.

With the possibility of losing acrobatic wideout Jerome Simpson and linebacker Manny Lawson via free agency, big names such as Dwayne Bowe, Vincent Jackson and Mario Williams are a real possibility for Cincinnati

One name in particular that may interest the Bengals is free agent wide receiver—and former Pittsburgh Steeler—Mike Wallace.

Wallace, the explosive and speedy four-year veteran out of Ole Miss, is widely considered one of the most dangerous deep threats in the NFL.

Wallace would have 72 receptions for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns in 2011-12. Wallace would see his production from his breakout 2010-11 slip due to the breakout of fellow Steelers wide outs in Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders.

With the likelihood of Green being double-teamed more in 2012-13, and the need of a speedy downfield threat for Dalton in the passing game, the addition of Wallace opposite Green would be a perfect fit.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter would state that Wallace would be a realistic target for the Bengals due to the Steelers being constrained by the salary cap—and in theory—If the Bengals were to sign Wallace to a offer sheet with a pro-rated signing bonus, Pittsburgh would then have to either match it, or risk seeing Wallace defect to a division rival.

Is Wallace worth a possible first round pick for the Bengals? Or does Cincinnati go in a different direction and look for a speedy wide out in the likes of Baylor’s Kendall Wright or Rutger’s Mohamed Sanu in the 2012 NFL Draft in April?

That is the question surely on the mind of Bengals owner and president, Mike Brown.

And only Brown can answer it, but the thought of seeing the explosive tandem of Wallace and Green is sure to be tantalizing none the less.

If the Bengals display the “eye of the tiger” in free agency, then the AFC North will soon become their proverbial jungle to rule in 2012.

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According to Fox 19 in Cincinnati via Josh Katzowitz of CBS Sports, Maualuga is being accused of punching and injuring a bar manager in downtown Cincinnati last weekend. While Maualuga hasn’t been officially charged with anything as of late Thursday, the report claims the incident took place at a bar called Luxe.

For those of you that remember, Maualuga was arrested and charged with driving under the influence two years ago in Covington, Kentucky–so this isn’t the first time the linebacker has been in trouble with the law.

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Through 12 games, Dalton has thrown for 2,644 yards to go along with 17 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions while completing nearly 60 percent of his passes. What’s even more impressive is Dalton has posted these type of numbers with a young receiving core consisting of rookie A.J. Green, Jerome Simpson, and Jermaine Gresham–which is good enough for Kubiak to compare Dalton to Favre.

Here’s what Kubiak had to say about the Bengals rookie courtesy of Kevin Goheen of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

“He obviously threw the ball a lot more than Brett did coming out but just the way you watched him play the games, the way you watched him find a way to win, find a way to make a play,” Kubiak said. “That’s what it’s all about in this league. You’ve got to be able to improvise and he can definitely do that. I don’t see any throws he hasn’t been able to make. I’ve got one in my mind down in Seattle where he moved to his left and hit (AJ) Green down the middle of the field. I see him making every throw you need to make and that’s all that matters.”

It’s one thing to be praised for your ability to win as a young rookie, but to be compared to a quarterback like Favre? No big deal for Dalton, right?

Heading into Week 14, the Bengals currently have the No. 6 seed in the AFC, but there are three other teams that have the same 7-5 record–which means every game from here on out is important. Luckily, Cincinnati’s two toughest remaining games against Houston and the Baltimore Ravens will be played at Paul Brown Stadium–so let’s hope Dalton can display some Favre-like performances in front of the home crowd and keep the team’s playoff hopes alive.

Dan Parzych is the Lead NFL Content Editor for RantSports.com/NFL,  where he writes and edits NFL content for RantSports.com.

Like Newton, Dalton has been nothing short of phenomenal over his first eight games in the NFL and has the Bengals tied with the Baltimore Ravens for best record in the AFC (6-2) at the halfway point of the 2011 season. Not only has Dalton already thrown for 1,696 yards to go along with 12 touchdowns, but the rookie’s latest win over the Tennessee Titans was the third time this season he’s helped Cincinnati rally from a second-half deficit to pick up a win.

Even if Newton ends up with one of the greatest statistical rookie seasons in NFL history, it doesn’t compare to what Dalton’s done so far for the Bengals. Here’s a player that was thrown into the mix right away when Carson Palmer refused to return for the 2011 season and was supposed to experience the typical growing pains in his first year as a starter–just like most rookies do.

Instead, Dalton has played like anything but a rookie so far and appears to have a bright future ahead of him as the franchise quarterback for the Bengals. The race for Rookie of the Year will be close between Dalton and Newton, but when the voters take wins into consideration instead of just statistics–there’s no question Dalton will come out on top to take home the honors.

Dan Parzych is the Lead NFL Content Editor for RantSports.com/NFL,  where he writes and edits NFL content for RantSports.com.

Les Carpenter of Yahoo! Sports discussed on Thursday how Andy Dalton has helped Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and company move on from Palmer after the former TCU standout has played a big role in the team’s surprise 4-2 start. However, it was Lewis’ comments towards Palmer about last season–mainly how he believes his quarterback “quit” in the middle of the season.

From Carpenter’s article:

“At what point did Carson quit?” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis asks, repeating a similar question. “At some point last year he decided he didn’t want to be here. This didn’t happen at the end of the season. There was a point earlier on when he said, ‘This isn’t the place for me.’ ”

There were high expectations for the Bengals in 2010 after winning the AFC North the previous year, but their season was nothing but frustrating as they finished with one of the worst records in football at 4-12.

Palmer did admit his decision to never set foot in Paul Brown Stadium again was selfish, but he strongly believes it was the right one after eight seasons. Mike Brown has been cricicized numerous times for his inability to run the organization and became the quickest owner to reach 200 losses–so it should be no surprise Palmer was feeling the frustration.

Still, there’s no reason for Lewis to be taking a shot at his former quarterback. In the end, the move needed to be done and Cincinnati received two high draft picks in the process–so there’s no reason for Lewis or the team to still be upset about everything.

Dan Parzych is the Lead NFL Content Editor for RantSports.com/NFL,  where he writes and edits NFL content for RantSports.com.