Bengals take CB Joseph at No. 24

By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

The Bengals selected cornerback Johnathan Joseph, from South Carolina, with the No. 24 overall pick today.

Coach Marvin Lewis said Joseph was the top player remaining on the Bengals' draft board.

"The guy can run and cover," Lewis said.

He was an early-entry junior and had four interceptions in 2005. Joseph is 5-feet-11, 193 pounds and had 55 tackles for the Gamecocks. A junior college transfer, Joseph missed all but two games in 2004 for South Carolina with a stress fracture in his foot.

"I'm going to a good team, a good organization," Joseph said from his family's home in Rock Hill, S.C., near Charlotte, N.C. "I'm a great teammate, a great guy in the locker room, a great guy in the community."

Joseph becomes the first true cornerback taken in the first round in the Bengals' 39 years. The team drafted Oklahoma's Rickey Dixon in 1988 -- fifth overall -- and converted him to safety.

The Bengals have the luxury of letting Joseph sit and come along slowly because Deltha O'Neal and Tory James figure to start again in 2006. Joseph was the sixth defensive back taken in the first 24 picks.

Bengals defensive backs coach Kevin Coyle said Joseph has natural speed and smoothness. Joseph ran a 4.31 40-yard dash at the scouting combine in February, second only to Clemson's Tye Hill.

"He can move his feet and flip his hips and run," Coyle said of Joseph. "He's very good at the line of scrimmage. He gets his hands on people. He reminds me of Deltha with his athletic ability."