The Cincinnati Bengals do their due diligence when it comes to scouting every player they deem capable of playing in the NFL, so it comes as no real surprise they were on hand for Old Dominion's pro day on Tuesday. The Monarchs have never had a player drafted, but that may change this year.
They don't have a single player ranked in the top 800 of CBS Sports' big board, and most draft sites don't have any viable data on potential draft prospects from ODU. But not many people know about offensive guard D.J. Morrell. Scott Wright of Draft Countdown ranked him the 17th-best OG prospect.
According to Harry Minium of ODUBlitz.com, the Bengals were one of several teams to scout Morrell during the regular season. ODU head coach Bobby Wilder said that during the season that scouts were telling him Morrell could be ODU’s first player to be drafted:
"A number have told me they believe he’s going to be drafted," Wilder said. "The round is unknown, but it would be tremendous for our program to have our first player drafted.
"D.J.’s height and the length of his arms, that’s the difference."
Needless to say, you may not hear any ODU players' names called on draft day, but Morell could be a guy the Bengals sign after the draft is over.