The Bengals could have used a center in Day One, but after Cal's Alex Mack (Browns) and Louisiville's Eric Wood (Bills) both went off the board late in the first round, the team turned its attention to the best player on the board, which was USC middle linebacker Rey Maualuga, who was projected as first-round pick by nearly every mock draft out there.

When he slipped into Round 2, the Bengals couldn't pass him up. The 6-foot-2, 249-pound Trojan reunites with college teammate and Bengals' first-round pick from 2008, Keith Rivers.

Maualuga became a two time honoree on the Pac 10 1st team as a junior, posting a team leading 79 tackles, 10.5 for loss, six sacks and a pick. Maualuga won the Bednarik Award as a senior, leading the Trojans with 73 tackles, 2.5 for loss, and two picks despite missing one game.

"I don’t know why he was still there, but he was, and we’re excited. It’s great," Bengals' head coach Marvin Lewis said. "We actually had a couple players (to choose from) there, so we felt good as we worked through the end of the round that it was going to work out pretty well in our favor."

FootballsFuture.com ranks Maualuga at the 17th best overall prospect in the draft. The website said the following of the newest Bengal:

Maualuga is a part of the most talented linebacking duo in some time in college, teaming with Brian Cushing. The two are as physically gifted as any pair and will cause opposing coaches nightmares this season. Maualuga can do everything you want an inside linebacker to do and more, along with having the versatility to move outside. His all around game is going to entice some team to take him in the first round of the draft in April, barring any unforseen incidents.

NFL nfl draft, bengals, rey maualuga