Bengals give DeCastro a look at Pro Day

Paul Alexander, the much-maligned Cincinnati Bengals offensive line coach, was out of character on Thursday. He was doing something that will make many Bengals fans happy.

According to Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com, Alexander spent at least 20 minutes with consensus No. 1 guard David DeCastro at Stanford’s Pro Day while DeCastro’s teammates were being timed in the 40-yard dash. Reports are that DeCastro was very impressive in his position drills, making him more attractive to a Bengals team in desperate need of interior line help.

The last time Cincinnati took an interior offensive lineman in the first round was 1983 when it drafted center Dave Rimington out of Nebraska at No. 25. The Bengals have taken three first-round centers, but never a guard.

Actually, Eric Steinbach (Round 2, 2003) is the only guard the Bengals have selected before Round 4 in the last 13 years. If DeCastro is there at No. 17, hopefully that trend ends in 2012. Adding DeCastro to the mix would make running behind someone not named Whitworth a viable option on crucial short-yardage plays.

COLLINS RE-SIGNS: In other news along the Bengals front five, the team has announced that free agent lineman Anthony Collins has re-signed with the team.