Could Aaron Curry Slip to the Bengals, Part 2

Okay, this is officially getting spooky.

First, full disclosure, I’m not some kind of media insider, I have no NFL sources, I’m just a fan with a blog. In short, nothing freaks me out more than the notion that I might actually have some idea what I’m talking about.

I’m sure that makes no sense, but anyhow…

Back about two weeks ago, I babbled on for a few paragraphs about the unlikelihood that Chad Ochocinco (nee Johnson) would be traded. A short time later (and I’m sure there was no connection), Jason Cole at Yahoo Sports issued his own take, which was subsequently followed by the bullcrap Bleacher Report Chad-to-Raiders story and the whole uproar over possible Chad trades that still hasn’t died down.

For all you “f**k Chad” types out there, my apologies if I had anything at all to do with bringing him up again.

Anyhow…the reason for this trip down (recent) memory lane is that earlier today, I riffed on the possibility that Aaron Curry might fall to Cincinnati at six. (Note: for those who read it, since its original writing that entry has been updated) Pipe dream, right? I figured so, despite the fact I could construct scenarios in which it happened.

Well, to quote the one and only Popeye the Sailor, blow me down: over at CBS Sports, none other that Rob Rang writes that Curry may slide.

"With every team in the top six having either privately worked him out or invited him to tour their facility (or both), Curry’s popularity with teams is nearly as impressive as his game film or the athleticism he has shown in drills. However, there is still some talk among league insiders that Curry could take a surprising tumble on draft day.One general manager, who asked not to be identified, characterized Curry as “probably the safest guy this year,” but still thinks he’s “fighting history to be taken as high as you all [the media] think.”The point is a valid one.Only one linebacker has been selected earlier than the ninth overall pick since 2001, and the exception — Green Bay’s A.J. Hawk — is a solid starter but has yet to show the playmaking ability expected from a player taken with the fifth overall pick in 2006.The meteoric rise in quarterback Mark Sanchez’s stock since the Southern Cal pro day and the belief that Curry fits best outside in the 4-3 alignment is prompting some within the scouting community to suggest that Curry could slip — perhaps all the way down to the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 8 overall.Prominent in the rationale for why Curry could slip is the belief that his size and skills don’t translate particularly well to the 3-4 defense. The inside linebacker position in the 3-4 defense — the position many feel Curry, at 6-feet-2 and 254 pounds, fits best — is generally considered the least valuable of the linebacker positions in either the 3-4 or 4-3 scheme."

Wow. No. 8? Ho boy. Bengals could be staring at something special come draft day…