CINCINNATI -- Yes, it's true.

A couple seasons ago, the Cincinnati Bengals were willing to look beyond Adam Jones' past troubles to sign him, hoping that everything would turn around. They also were comfortable taking a gamble on Vontaze Burfict following his own stretch of bad post-college publicity, signing him as an undrafted free agent.

But that was then, this is now.

The Bengals might have a history of taking on players with checkered pasts, but it doesn't necessarily mean they want to continue doing that. Intrigued? Read on. It's with this that we begin Part 2 of this weekend's mailbag:

@ColeyHarvey @nflnetwork mocked Dorial Green-Beckham to the #Bengals. Don't you think the risk is too high for him at 21?

— Mitchell Porter (@Mitchell_Clee) March 27, 2015

@ColeyHarvey. Thanks for the question, Mitchell. First of all, let's look at the "risks" that are being associated with Dorial Green-Beckham. He was part of two incidents involving marijuana while at Missouri, including one in which he was arrested and booked on the charge of possession with the intent to distribute. The charge never stuck, but the whole scenario sounded pretty bad. His alleged involvement in an altercation with a friend of his girlfriend sounded bad, too. Green-Beckham was alleged to have pushed the female friend down four steps after barging into her apartment. Charges were never filed, but the incident forced Missouri to kick Green-Beckham out of school. Needless to say, any team interested in drafting Green-Beckham will have to do serious homework on him and his legal issues. They will need to be sure such events won't be repeated as a pro. They also will need to be sure they get a balanced understanding of who he is, both as a player and a person. As far as the other risk -- drafting him at No. 21 when he doesn't fully suit the Bengals' needs -- that is a problem. More of a jump-ball deep threat, Green-Beckham doesn't fit what the Bengals are looking for at receiver. They want speedy home-run threats, but they want those players to be smaller, shifty slot types. Green-Beckham is 6-foot-5. Combine that poor fit with the off-field stuff, and it doesn't really make sense for Cincinnati to take such an early gamble. Yes, the Bengals got Burfict, but he went undrafted. It's a different proposition drafting a player with baggage in the first round.

@ColeyHarvey everyone worried about getting blocking TE. Everyone forget about Hewitt last year? Great blocker and has hands to boot!

— Michael Pfeiffer (@Skinny_Mean_Man) March 27, 2015

@ColeyHarvey. It's understandable why some Bengals fans might be a little concerned about the tight end position, Michael. Right now, the Bengals don't have anyone in that role. Jermaine Gresham still isn't under contract and will have to undergo rehab from a back surgery last week. As was mentioned earlier this week, the Bengals haven't quite closed the door on re-signing him. He's been their best off-the-line option as a tight end blocker in recent seasons. As for Ryan Hewitt, he might very well have been the Bengals' best non-offensive lineman blocker in 2014. But he's not considered a tight end, and head coach Marvin Lewis confirmed this week that he wanted to keep Hewitt at H-back. That means they still need an off-the-line blocking tight end. Considering the free-agency well is dry and the draft is largely devoid of such tight ends, that's worrisome.

@ColeyHarvey with Hill likely to get bulk of carries, will we see Gio get more time as a return man?

— Brian Burton (@bburton359) March 27, 2015

@ColeyHarvey. I wouldn't go so far as to say Jeremy Hill will get the bulk of carries, Brian. Not yet, at least. It's still early on the offseason calendar. We'll have a better idea of what the Bengals' plans are for him and Giovani Bernard when training camp gets going in August. That said, assuming the Bengals do stick with using the formula that made them successful late in the year -- having Hill operate as the bell-cow back while Bernard fulfilled a secondary role -- it might make sense to let Bernard log more time on the return teams. But it likely won't happen. There's a reason the Bengals are looking for draft targets who can have impact in the return game. Tyler Lockett, Mario Alford and Jamison Crowder are some of the receivers the Bengals are exploring who have returner's ability. If the Bengals land the returner they want, Bernard can stay fresher for offense, where he can be a good change of pace from Hill to be used in space.

@ColeyHarvey W/$22M in the tank, why not try 2 sign Zeitler now 4 Boling $, & sign exts for the guys you'll depend on for '16, like Sean W?

— Harold Moskowitz (@chgolaw) March 27, 2015

@ColeyHarvey. The Bengals certainly have some big free-agency decisions looming with 12 key contributors from last season's team all eligible to sign elsewhere at the end of this coming season. Kevin Zeitler isn't the only one. A.J. Green, George Iloka, Marvin Jones, Mohamed Sanu, Reggie Nelson, Adam Jones and Leon Hall are among the many whose contracts are soon expiring. If anybody gets extended this offseason to allay some of next year's signings it will be Green. Perhaps it would be best to lock down Zeitler now, but they don't have to. He could at least receive a fifth-year option for the 2016 season that would be worth more than one year on Clint Boling's new deal. Besides, Zeitler's next long-term deal probably will be worth more than Boling's. After all, Zeitler was a first-round pick; Boling was a fourth. Zeitler also had a solid first three seasons. Also, the remaining salary-cap money you see doesn't really equal money to spend. Per Bengals math, much of it will go toward other expenditures such as paying drafted players, practice-squad players, injury protections and offseason workouts. At this point, the Bengals only have their $8.6-million rollover to work with as far as agreeing to extensions covering the 2015 season. Extensions might come this summer, but Zeitler might not be one of them.