CINCINNATI - The Cincinnati Bengals concluded that the best pass-rushing linebacker available in the draft wasn't a linebacker at all.
The Bengals took Florida State defensive end Reinard Wilson with their first-round pick Saturday and pegged him as their right outside linebacker.
Even though a couple of highly regarded linebackers were still available at the 14th overall pick, the Bengals went for Florida State's career sacks leader instead of Alabama's Dwayne Rudd or Virginia's Jamie Sharper.
''Those other guys are both fine football players, really more experienced at playing linebacker,'' coach Bruce Coslet said. ''But we thought this guy fit us better than the other two. It comes down to splitting hairs when they're that close together as players.
''In today's game, you've got to put pressure on the passer. If you don't, all of the passers in the league will dice you up.''
Passers have done a lot of that with the Bengals defense the last two years, the main reason Cincinnati has brought in coordinator Dick LeBeau and his three-linemen, four-linebacker scheme.
The Bengals gave up a franchise-record 4,245 passing yards in 1995 and 3,826 last season, when they ranked second-last in the NFL. LeBeau, hired after the season, is scrapping the 4-3 alignment for the zone-blitz strategy he used in Pittsburgh.
Cincinnati was determined to take a pass-rushing linebacker in the first round. It decided to gamble by converting a defensive end who has no experience at covering receivers.
''We never got to see Rudd rush the passer to our satisfaction,'' LeBeau said. ''We got to see him do plenty of coverage, and he's a wonderful athlete. We got to see Wilson rush.''
Wilson had a school-record 35.5 sacks at Florida State. At 6-foot-2 and 259 pounds, he was considered small for an NFL defensive end.
Wilson said Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Baltimore and Cincinnati showed an interest in him as an outside linebacker.
''There were a few teams that talked about doing that, that it would be a great position for me because I'm a great rusher,'' he said. ''I could have played (end in) a 4-3 if I gained five to 10 more pounds. Right now I can stay at the same weight and play great at Cincinnati.''
The Bengals have tried for several years to get more sacks out of their ends and linebackers. Their leader last year was Dan Wilkinson, a tackle who had 6.5. Ricardo McDonald, who will move inside in the 3-4 alignment, was the leading linebacker with five sacks.
James Francis, who had three sacks last season, will be the other outside linebacker.
Coslet is slightly concerned about Wilson's lack of experience at covering passes, but figures that won't be the most important part of his game.
''If we use him properly, we'll probably bring him (on a blitz) 80 to 90 percent of the time,'' Coslet said. ''When they figure it out, we'll do something else with him.''
