2011 NFL Draft: The Cincinnati Bengals Select Nevada Linebacker Dontay Moch

by Josh Kirkendall on Apr 29, 2011 9:02 PM EDT in NFL Draft

SAN FRANCISCO CA - JANUARY 09: Dontay Moch #55 and Colin Kaepernick #10 of the Nevada Wolf Pack hold up the trophy after they beat Boston College in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl at AT&T Park on January 9 2011 in San Francisco California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

With the 66th pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select Nevada outside linebacker Dontay Moch. This could seal the ending of Dhani Jones, which would prompt the team to move Rey Maualuga to inside linebacker and create open competition between Roddrick Muckelroy and Dontay Moch as the strong-side linebacker. Another scenario, it could also be in response to losing Brandon Johnson, who will also be a free agent once the new league year starts. Moch gives the Bengals an aggressive pass rusher on third down.

Either way the Cincinnati Bengals went with defense as their third selection this year after kicking off this draft with a wide receiver and a quarterback.

In 2009, Moch was a first-team All-WAC and the WAC Defensive Player of the Year and in 2008, Moch set the Nevada single-season record for most quarterback sacks in a season (11.5). According to CBSSports.com:

Positives: Three-year starter at end is a record-setting pass rusher with superior speed who projects well to the outside linebacker position in the NFL. Played some outside linebacker as a freshman, and often was given assignments dropping off from end. Quick off the snap. Good at shedding blocks with his hands, and has a strong bull rush. Can flat out fly. Big hitter, fearless. Can be effective dropping off into zone coverage against the pass. Productive, durable, intense defensive leader.

Negatives: Former track star. Stiff in the hips and simply cannot change directions well. Pass rush either works on initial quickness and speed or it fails. Lacks a double move. Not stout against the run as a down lineman. Will have great difficulty with NFL man coverage assignments as a linebacker. Did very little in one-on-one attempts against Boston College's Anthony Castonzo in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

According to ESPN's DraftTracker, Moch is rated as the fifth best outside linebacker in the draft.

Poll

Do you like the selection of LB Dontay Moch

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Comments

Looks like he's played a lot of different positions including safety

He’ll be a linebacker for us, but Zim will figure out how to use him effectively. I like the pick, but wish they would have waited a round to grab him.

Fight Bengals Fatalism!

by Paul Cannon on Apr 29, 2011 9:09 PM EDT reply actions

Looks like good raw material

for Zimmer to coach up. Ill be curious to see how much he pushes Muckelroy.

"The only thing we have to fear is, Mike Brown himself."

by DrainBamage on Apr 29, 2011 9:23 PM EDT reply actions

I think it'll be muck pushing him.

by Cry on Apr 29, 2011 10:07 PM EDT up reply actions

you can't teach speed

would be nice to get some o-line help sometime here, tho.

by BeerRun on Apr 29, 2011 9:23 PM EDT reply actions

I don't know...

I’ll decide how much I like the pick depending on who falls to us tomorrow. If it turns out that we passed up every good interior lineman left (Rackley, Moffitt, Boling, Cannon, etc) to take him then I won’t like it as much.

by cincydevil13 on Apr 29, 2011 9:52 PM EDT reply actions

If we get Boling today with our first pick then I'm ok with.......

otherwise, we reached for a player who will potentially help us in kick coverage next year versus a Guard who can play right away and protect our new QB. Hope this guy pans out, but have reservations about using a 3rd round pick on him.

by The Van Buren Boys on Apr 30, 2011 9:36 AM EDT up reply actions

I like him.

I like that with him being a former safety he’ll be very good in coverage. I’ll take it!

by ddbumpus on Apr 29, 2011 10:03 PM EDT reply actions

Coverage

Supposedly he is good in zones, but not so much in man. Stiff hips supposedly

by ochocinco4pres on Apr 29, 2011 10:06 PM EDT up reply actions

He might not have been the best player available, but he was without a doubt the best athlete available.

Fight Bengals Fatalism!

by Paul Cannon on Apr 29, 2011 10:11 PM EDT reply actions

We may have reached, but at least we didn't reach for Ponder!

Or half the QB’s for that matter.

by ddbumpus on Apr 29, 2011 10:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Do you think it's odd

That it mentions that he’s “not an elite athlete”?

by ddbumpus on Apr 29, 2011 10:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Running fast is not what makes an elite athlete.

Elite athletes have instincts and body control. This guy has neither. He is a track star with a helmet on.

by Cry on Apr 29, 2011 11:33 PM EDT up reply actions

If you are 250 and run a 4.3 40, then you are definitely an elite athlete.

Whether or not he’s a great football player remains to be seen, but the guy was the WAC defensive player of the year, and you make him sound like he’s one of the three stooges who can’t walk across a yard without getting hit in the face with a rake.

Fight Bengals Fatalism!

by Paul Cannon on Apr 30, 2011 1:33 AM EDT up reply actions

You just said it..

WAC defensive player of the year (2009 IIRC). Not SEC defensive player of the year. Not Big10. Not Big12. WAC. I know you love the Bengals and believe me I want to get behind this pick, but Moch is purely a combine warrior. He had a very very average ProDay, he decided to lean on his Combine 40 time. He is useless in coverage. We could have had a starter in the third, but instead we got a situational pass rusher. I can’t envision any scenario in which we could be graded higher than a C+ with a pick like this. And this is a year where we needed an A+.

Running fast does NOT make an athlete. This guy cannot flip his hips. He can’t track an NFL RB. He is a one-move situational 3rd down OLB, we could have had that in the 4th or later.

Ask yourself, would you rather have a guy that plays a few snaps per game at OLB or a solid starter at Guard. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid too willingly. He’s fast, yes, but we can’t even utilize that speed in coverage for years, if at all. A reach and a waste. Zim is the best DC we’ve had in a while but after 2010 and this pick I wonder if he’s really the miracle maker we thought he was. Only time will tell. I want to be wrong but don’t think for a second I won’t rub it in when this guy is released in 2012.

by Cry on Apr 30, 2011 2:32 AM EDT up reply actions