What we learned at combine

The annual NFL scouting combine, bigger and more formal than ever, is closing down with final workouts today. Player availability to media has ended. Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said everything he has to say Friday.

A lot of NFL coverage this time of year involves the reading of tea leaves and connecting dots.

But here's what we know after five days in Indianapolis:

1. Bengals free agent defensive end Justin Smith is going to be a popular player when free agency opens Friday, with the 49ers and Browns reportedly the most recent teams to send signals that they are interested. Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, St. Louis and Minnesota are thought to be interested, too. Lewis said Smith, and Smith has agreed, to give the Bengals a chance to sign him. But efforts to reach a deal on a multi-year contract have not been successful over the past couple of years, and Smith will be very expensive. He has started 107 consecutive games and plays hard every down.

2. Speaking of Minnesota, the Vikings will aggressively pursue Bengals free agent safety Madieu Williams.

3. The draft is deep at defensive end, so if Smith does go, there are plenty of highly-regarded prospects available.

4. There also are a number of quality running backs, a class beefed-up by early-entry juniors, available should the Bengals be serious about spending another high-round pick on a ball carrier.

5. The decision to use their franchise tag to secure free agent offensive lineman Stacy Andrews was widely received as the right move by several Bengals assistant coaches. Andrews' reputation as a hard-worker and that his best years as a football player have yet to arrive are almost universally held inside the organization.

Here's what we think:

1. If I'm drafting for the Bengals, I draft the best defensive lineman available at No. 9 in the first round, tackle or end. And I stay on that side of the ball in Round 2.

2. The re-signings of unrestricted free agent wide receiver Antonio Chatman and restricted free agent defensive lineman Jonathan Fanene are solid moves. I'd like to see what both Chatman and Fanene could do with completely healthy seasons.

3. With a three-year deal, and what I hear is pretty good money, the Bengals are planning for Fanane to play. Now if 2006 third-round pick Frostee Rucker, another defensive end, could come to training camp healthy and ready to play. ...

4. Though linebacker Ahmad Brooks' rehab from groin surgery was shut-down for a couple of weeks -- he is expected to return this week -- his effort is a positive sign for Bengals fans. The light truly has gone on for Brooks. He understands the opportunity in place. He has the look of a stopper in the middle of the defense.

5. Commissioner Roger Goodell said a decision on linebacker Odell Thurman's application for reinstatement will be made before training camp. Goodell didn't necessarily say immediately right before camp in June or July. But the Bengals, and Thurman, would seem to deserve a decision before free agency gets too old and definitely before the draft. At the league meetings last March, Goodell said his new personal conduct policy and decisions about suspensions -- including those of Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry (eight games) and Tennessee cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones (full season) would be made before the draft to allow teams to address potential needs. They were made in early April.