Rey Maualuga: Christmas In April For The Bengals

On Saturday before the draft I don’t think anyone could absolutely know who the Bengals could pick in this year’s NFL Draft.

A lot of names were thrown in the mix as far as Andre Smith, Michael Crabtree, Beanie Wells, and B.J Raji. All of which were positions the Bengals could freshen up on.

It was clear with the celebrating Andre Smith before it was announced that the Bengals had made their choice in helping their all-pro quarterback Carson Palmer.

After that no one could have seen what was ahead in the second round. As the first round was ending, Chris “Beanie” Wells from Ohio State and Rey Maualuga from USC were the top-ranked players on the board until the Cardinals selected him with the 31st pick.

Then you could have noticed that James Laurinaitis and Rey Maualuga were still on the board. I expected the Steelers to nab Maualuga and was just praying that Laurinaitis fell in their lap.

The Steelers selected Ziggy Hood and then I was just counting down the picks knowing that not many people needed an inside linebacker.

The Rams selected Laurinaitis, which was a huge gain for them because he is a great player and should have been in the first round, and the Bengals were handed their biggest deal of the draft in Rey Maualuga.

I really think that Maualuga is exactly what was missing off this defense. He’s not the most athletic linebacker, but he is a playmaker and an electric player.

This reminds me so much of the 2005 when the Bengals drafted Odell Thurman in the second round. The big difference is I don’t think Maualuga will be a bust like Odell was with his drug and alcohol problems.

This Bengals defense was probably the softest defense in the AFC North—not known too much for huge hits.

When you think of the AFC North defenses, you know Baltimore and Pittsburgh are some of the hardest hitting players in the NFL—but not the Bengals.

Maualuga gives them a player that will pump up this defense similar to what Ray Lewis and Shawn Merriman do. I don’t know if he will be as good as those guys, but he definitely has the potential.

This was the best decision the Bengals made in the draft, and I breathed a sigh of relief when they didn’t pass this kid up.

He definitely adds to the depth of this defense and to this linebacker core who has been plagued with injuries for the past couple seasons.

With the talent they have already and the new addition, I expect Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga to have a great season together.

Both were teammates to a consistently great defense at USC and hopefully they turn this Bengals' defense into one of the premier of the league.

This is the first thing to happen to the Bengals in the offseason that fans can be happy for.