Jon Hayes isn't sure The Suit is going to end up hanging in his locker this weekend like it has for his previous five drafts with the Bengals.

Even with the arrival of Ben Utecht.

The Suit, or a tie and sports jacket, or just a tie, or just a sports jacket, are what the assistants bring to Paul Brown Stadium in case a player at their position is selected and they meet the media.

Hayes hasn't had to worry about it because a tight end has never been called, a fact he doesn't let his boyhood friend and boss, head coach Marvin Lewis, forget with good-natured busting. With the signing of Utecht, a player with nearly 70 catches the past two seasons for the Super Bowl champion and defending champion Colts, no one is expecting to break the skein this year.

"But you never know," Hayes said this week. "That's how the draft is: expect the unexpected. Do the homework and if there is a guy there that simply makes you a better football team compared to the other guys, you have to take him."

Some of the coaches even make sure they are well dressed when they make their presentations to the draft room, an exercise that took place last week in front of Lewis, Bengals president Mike Brown, his family that makes up the executive branch of the club, the personnel department, and the coaching staff.

But Hayes delivered his synopsis in the sweats he would wear on his daily lunch time bike ride through downtown, symbolizing the miles he has covered in about eight campus visits and the acreage of tape he has watched in putting together his reports.

Each assistant makes his oral presentation, outlining each prospect's strengths, weaknesses, a round designation, and how he'll impact the team in scheme, playing time, and roster.

For instance, a grade of 3C, which is how the Bengals marked their two safeties selected last year, means a late third-round pick.

And the arrival of Utecht signaled that the Bengals are looking at the position with a different flavor than in years past.

"That's what we're saying, we'll see if that holds up as we move forward and get on the field," Hayes says. "Ben is the kind of guy we haven't really had here and, it remains to be seen, but we're probably looking at using more double tight ends like we did when Matt (Schobel) was here."

Hayes, an imposing 6-5, 250-pound professor emeritus of 12 NFL seasons as a tight end, is at ease in the classroom setting. It is, after all, what football is all about. Meetings, meetings, meetings. Even every play begins with a brief confab called a huddle.

"It's a good give and take. It gets debate and discussion going and any time you can do that, it's good," Hayes says. "After you talk about each guy, you discuss the grade you give him and if there's disagreement, you talk about it. I had a couple this year where we had to talk about it. Usually there is a compromise, but everybody gets heard."

Brown bends over backwards to make it a process of consensus between scouts and coaches in moderator fashion. But while there is no question that Brown has the final say in grades and selections, Hayes says the process isn't such that he has to feel he has to lobby Brown privately.

"Everybody can hear what I have to say," Hayes says. "The big thing is I can't be selfish. I can't go in there and pound the table when I've already got a guy in Ben and we've got other needs. The bottom line is whatever you're doing, it's best for the whole team."

It took a morning or so to get through the tight ends. Hayes used his loose-leaf draft notebook as a guide, a tool that every draft room member has in front of him. It divides the draft into positions and each page contains what amounts to a report on each prospect.

Besides the view from a national scouting service, the page includes a report by anyone in the organization that has done a writeup of the player. That means at least three takes and it lists the games the evaluator has watched the prospect play, along with that particular scout's/coach's overall grade and grades for everything from toughness to speed to upside.

Also in the report is a grade for medical, character, a synopsis of his family situation, his measurables in drills and on tests, and phone numbers for the player and agent.

Hayes has boiled down his notes from the Senior Bowl, NFL scouting combine, campus visits and tape studies, and put them into sentences that read something like, "he has some snap to him," along with observations of his conditioning and, in some cases, what they would have to do to help the player off the field.

"Looking at the potential free agents is almost more demanding and important," Hayes says. "Probably not as much is known about those guys and you know whatever happens you're going to get at least one of them, probably even two."

But even before the draft, Hayes is pumped up by his room. The addition of Utecht gives the Bengals an accomplished pass catcher who can stretch the field, more so than Schobel did before he left after the 2005 season.

"In the past, we have been looking for guys that can hold the point of attack in the run game and pass game, can run catch routes over the middle and occasionally sneak past you," Hayes says. "Although Ben is a guy that has a lot of experience blocking, he's also a guy that can get down the seam. We can't throw it to ourselves, but we have to be ready with our assignments and we've got guys with good hands that can catch the ball in Reggie (Kelly), Ben and Daniel (Coats).

"With Ben, it does give us an opportunity to use more two tight ends like we did when we had Schobel and Tony (Stewart). Both guys could catch, so it gives the defense something to worry about besides the run."

Except for this week because of draft prep, Hayes has spent a lot of time with Utecht watching tape and schooling him on the offense. Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski's scheme response to the Utecht signing won't be known until the club can start digesting the on-field activities and the revised offseason playbook begins to take shape.

Utecht is certainly no empty suit.

"You knew what you were getting in Ben," Hayes says. "He's a true professional who adds that to your team. He's been that every day he's been here."

But how Utecht's presence affects the draft remains to be seen. Much has changed since the Senior Bowl when talk was getting Notre Dame tight end John Carlson at No. 46 or Tennessee's Brad Cottam at No. 77.

Since January for receivers, Ocho Cinco has gone Ocho Psycho while Chris Henry and Tab Perry are just gone. For running backs, Kenny Irons (knee) isn't going to be on the field in May and June and the next word there is usually PUP and nothing until October.

But now Utecht is here, giving the Bengals much-needed flexibility starting in the second round to fill some other offensive needs.

But that doesn't prevent a surprise.

And in meetings this Monday and Tuesday, the Bengals tried to anticipate all sorts of surprises in two separate Mock Drafts.

With each draft room member getting a team or two to research, they made the pick with Brown pretty much serving as Chris Berman. The Mock Meetings broke up before lunch and the coaches spent time on football in the afternoon.

Hayes, the former Chief, got Kansas City and Indianapolis. At No. 5, he said the Chiefs would take quarterback Matt Ryan if available but if not, they have so much need on the offensive line that he gave them Virginia guard Branden Albert.

"Indy is looking pass rusher, either at end or in linebacker form," Hayes says.

But you can only do a Mock so many times. They went through four rounds, but Hayes won't tell you if he got a tight end in either Mock.

The only clue is he wasn't wearing a suit.

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