Bengals Land Rey-Rey in Second Round
The Cincinnati Bengals snagged a falling star with the 38th pick, grabbing USC linebacker Rey Maualuga.
Love the pick. MLB Dhani Jones is a tremendous leader who can mentor Maualuga, and the move reunites Rey with his college teammate Keith Rivers.
Some fans might be surprised that Cincinnati passed on a potential center in Max Unger, but I’ve had a growing suspicion that the coaching staff is happy with Kyle Cook, Dan Santucci and Andrew Crummy. They might still take a center, but I don’t think it was as high on their list of needs as some have put it.
REAX
Kirk notes that Maualuga was thought by some to be the top LB in the draft.
OMCW is jacked.
Bengal Stripes calls it a Christmas Miracle in April.
James Walker likes the thought of a Maualuga – Rivers reunion.
Posters at Go-Bengals are gushing over the pick. Bengals Jungle loves the pick too. BengalsZone likes Maualuga but is antsy about a center.
Jon Gruden says Maualuga is his Rookie of the Year candidate on defense.
FITZGERALD SPEAKS
Cincy LB coach Jeff FitzGerald on Maualuga:
C. Trent says that FitzGerald can’t stop smiling. Maualuga was the player the Bengals were targeting if they had traded out of the six spot.
[...] Phillips, then this could be an unbelievable draft class for Cincy. Here’s what Dave from Stripe Hype had to say about the [...]
April 25th, 2009 at 5:04 pmI love that we got him in the 2nd round,what a steal! I remember talking on here about two months ago taking him with the six pick!
On a side note – ESPN’s coverage has been horrible today. Berman needs to hang it up, replace Dilfer for Young, Tom Jackson for Johnson (adds no value to coverage what so ever), move Mort up to the table, and finally keep Kiper. Whoever is directing the coverage today needs to be let go! I actually have been watching the NFL Network more today.
April 25th, 2009 at 6:20 pmI still can’t believe he was there.
April 25th, 2009 at 7:11 pmIn my most optimistic thoughts about the draft, I didn’t foresee this scenario. The fact that Mike didn’t step on his wiener and grab a receiver or a rb is a miracle. This calls for a million dollar general manager bonus.
April 25th, 2009 at 8:03 pmTo be honest when the Bengals were on the clock I was expecting Barwin: UC product, local star = ticket sales. And I would have been OK with that because I think he’ll be a great pro too, but Maualuga was IMO “the” pick here and they took it. So yup, props to our erstwhile GM. Maybe it’s just the old blind-squirrel-and-acorns thing, but I’ve no complaint at all.
April 25th, 2009 at 8:40 pm