No, the Cincinnati Bengals won't be switching to white and black stripes next season. Preseason games won't be played at the state penitentiary and the movie on team flights won't be "The Longest Yard."

But expect the jokes to keep coming after the Bengals drafted two players with criminal histories in the first four rounds.

Washington running back Corey Dillon and Miami safety Tremain Mack were ranked atop their respective positions in several pre-draft publications, but off-the-field problems caused them to slide. Dillon, taken in the second round, has at least seven arrests as a juvenile, including being charged with selling crack cocaine to an undercover police officer when he was 15 years old.

Mack, a fourth-round choice, has six arrests in the past four years, three on alcohol-related offenses. His most recent arrest came last September, when he was found slumped asleep over the steering wheel with his car still in gear at a Miami intersection.

Bengals president/general manager Mike Brown said he was unaware that Dillon was arrested on the crack charge. But he also defended the decision to pick both players.

"I would say that in today's world, the African-American kids are the leaders in sports," said Brown, who checked the backgrounds of both players through his coaches and NFL Security reports. "They're the ones who are playing basketball and football best. They don't all come from plush, suburban backgrounds. A good percentage of them come from inner-city environments.

"They don't have perfect family life in some cases. They are raised where they run into temptations that you and I only read about in newspapers. Sometimes, they don't jump all the hurdles they should.

"I don't know if they should be permanently condemned for that. They'll have the opportunity to prove they can do better."

Mack is anxious for that chance. Shortly after his arrest, Mack told the Miami media that, "I want to admit the problem I have is a problem with alcohol." He was charged with suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a suspended license. In November, he was sentenced to six months of probation and 150 hours of community service. He also was suspended for two games.

"After (Saturday), I was wondering if I was even going to get drafted," said Mack, who attended a substance abuse program in January 1995. "Maybe this off-the-field stuff hurt me more than I thought it would. If a team knows me and knows my personality, it shouldn't have been a problem. I've had some things that have gone on and I can't change them. I regret it, but I can't go back."

If Mack stays out of trouble, the Bengals have landed a player who could make a tremendous impact on defense and special teams. He averaged an NCAA-high 37.2 yards per kickoff return last season and has nine blocked kicks in his college career.

Mack was especially brilliant in last year's Carquest Bowl, returning a fumble 79 yards for a touchdown and scoring again on a 42-yard interception return in Miami's 31-21 victory against Virginia. He then decided to turn pro before his senior season.

"He can turn a game around with his play," said secondary coach Ray Horton, who plans to have Mack play strong safety. "We expect him to come in and compete from day one. I will be with him as much as I can."

Dillon also shows potential for greatness. In just eight starts, he rushed for 1,555 yards and 22 touchdowns. Dillon broke the school record for all-purpose yards in a season (2,185) and also set an NCAA mark by rushing for 220 yards in one quarter against San Jose State. Such a performance prompted Dillon to turn pro before his senior season.

The Bengals are hoping Dillon will provide immediate competition for Ki-Jana Carter, who has yet to emerge as a marquee tailback since being taken with the No. 1 pick in 1995. Carter also arrived in poor condition to a mini-camp earlier this month, which probably spurred Cincinnati to spend another high draft choice on a running back.

"Ki-Jana can be as good as he wants," Brown said. "If he steps up and works as hard as he needs to, he'll be a splendid player. But we are sitting here with nothing proven yet at this level. He's showed some good performances last year, especially late in they year. But we haven't seen a full, long-time bell-cow back either. Until we see that, it is a concern for us."

Just as Dillon's past is a concern. While Dillon hasn't been arrested since 1992, he attended three different high schools and three junior colleges.

The Seattle Times reported that Dillon was charged as a juvenile with theft, obstructing an officer and vagrancy. Dillon and Bengals special teams coach Al Roberts -- who coached him at Washington and vouched for his character -- both have denied that Dillon sold crack.

"We would rather he be Phi Beta Kappa," Brown said. "But he's good enough at what he does to merit consideration. He has had some rough spots in the past, but we don't see any of those ruling him out. In time, we feel he will be worthwhile taking everything into account. There are pluses and minuses."

The controversy over the selection of Dillon and Mack overshadowed the team's first-round selection, Reinard Wilson of Florida State. Wilson was a dominating college defensive end -- setting a school record with 35.5 sacks -- but has to adjust to playing outside linebacker in Dick LeBeau's 3-4 scheme.

"If this player can come anywhere close to being that kind of player for us, then we have made a very, very wise decision," said LeBeau, who compared Wilson to a Greg Lloyd-type player. "He is an intense, 100-percent, 60-minute football player ... We have drafted a player who fits what we want to do."

Wilson's work ethic and on-field effort -- described as "relentless" by coach Bruce Coslet -- has Cincinnati convinced he will learn how to play linebacker, although he will not be asked to drop into coverage very often. The Bengals had unsuccessfully searched for a linebacker with pass-rushing skills during the recent free-agent signing period.

"I just like to rush the quarterback," Wilson said from a draft party in his home town of Lake City, Fla. "The little coverage in it, I think you can learn that real well. If you're an athlete, I think you can do anything."

But should Wilson not pan out, critics will have plenty of reasons to blast this pick. Two other highly-regarded linebackers (Alabama's Dwayne Rudd and Virginia's Jamie Sharper) were still on the board when Cincinnati drafted Wilson. The Bengals, though, said they decided that Wilson was their top choice earlier this week.

"We never got to see Rudd rush the passer to our satisfaction," LeBeau said. "We got to see Wilson rush every down. We want to be a 'here-we-are-and-we're-coming' defense and Wilson fits us in that respect. That was really the determining factor to us."

Wilson also had the lowest score on the standardized intelligence test given to the 322 players at February's NFL scouting combine. Wilson correctly answered only five of the 50 questions on the 12-minute test. The average test score is 19, which translates into an IQ of 100.

The Bengals, though, re-tested Wilson and were satisfied with the result. Wilson also only needs to complete an internship to graduate with a degree in criminology.

"I honestly think that when he took the test, he was not taking it seriously," said Marc Pollack, Wilson's agent. "Several teams have re-tested him and nobody had any questions after. It's not an accurate test."

Said Brown: "Our coaches feel he has a good ability to learn. We aren't drafting a surgeon. We're drafting a football player."

ROUND-BY-ROUND ANALYSIS

Round 1/14 -- Reinard Wilson, LB, Florida State

The feeling on Wilson was mixed around the NFL. At least two other coaches (Bill Parcells and Jimmy Johnson) thought Wilson would make an excellent player. But they also run 4-3 schemes. It's easy to fall in love with Wilson, though. LeBeau said he never saw Wilson take a play off during his entire senior season at Florida State even if the Seminoles were ahead by a substantial margin.

Round 2/43 -- Corey Dillon, RB, Washington

If Dillon's off-field problems from his youth don't resurface, this could be the steal of the draft. Dillon was dominating in his only eight starts at Washington, setting the school's single-season yardage record (2,185). Al Roberts feels Dillon will thrive in a one-back system that Cincinnati may employ more of. Dillon also will get a look as a kick returner.

Round 3/76 -- Rod Payne, C, Michigan

The Bengals didn't really need a center, with Darrick Brilz a solid starter and left guard Rich Braham a capable backup. But Cincinnati said Payne was ranked much higher than the other players available on its draft board. Payne is a physical player who will provide insurance in case Brilz doesn't recover from his third foot surgery in the past 11 months. The Bengals also could toy with moving Brilz or Payne to guard.

Round 4/111 -- Tremain Mack, S, Miami

Like Dillon, the selection of Mack could be a tremendous coup or a terrible mistake. Mack was ranked by Mel Kiper Jr. as the best safety in this draft and has blocked nine kicks during his college career. But Mack also has three alcohol-related arrests in the past two years. The Bengals say Mack will be used as a strong safety, which means he is the heir apparent to incumbent starter Bracey Walker. Mack, though, probably won't be returning kicks like he did at Miami.

Round 5/144 -- Andre Purvis, NT, North Carolina

The Bengals wanted a nose tackle for LeBeau's 3-4 scheme and line coach Tim Krumrie feels Purvis fits the bill. Purvis played every position along the defensive line at North Carolina, but said he usually lined up either over the center or guard. Purvis will battle Tim Johnson, Kimo von Oelhoffen and Tim Morabito for a starting spot at nose tackle. Krumrie said, though, that drafting Purvis didn't mean the Bengals would stop expressing interest in free agent Tony Siragusa.

Round 6/176 -- Canute Curtis, LB, West Virginia

Curtis projects to being able to play both inside and outside linebacker, which has appeal to a Bengals team looking to add depth at that position. Curtis also has pass-rushing ability, as evidenced by his school-record 34.5 sacks (16.5 of those came during his senior season). Because the Mountaineers used a scheme similar to LeBeau's defense, Curtis may not need much time before being able to contribute. Bengals linebackers coach Mark Duffner said Curtis may have lasted to the sixth round because he may be best suited for a 3-4 scheme.

Round 7/217 -- William Carr, NT, Michigan

The Bengals added another player to its mix at nose tackle in Carr, who was a pre-draft favorite of Krumrie. Carr draws comparison to Jerry Ball because of his size, but has to play with better intensity on every play. His conditioning is a question, though, which is one of the reasons Cincinnati plans on using him only on first and second downs.