By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Bengals have hit home runs when drafting offensive linemen in the first or second rounds in the past 14 years.

Of course, they've gone to bat only three times for offensive linemen in Rounds 1 and 2 since the 1990 draft.

Right tackle Willie Anderson, the 10th overall pick in 1996, made his first Pro Bowl in 2003 and extended his consecutive starts streak to 64.

Left tackle Levi Jones, the 10th overall pick in 2003, gutted out a knee cartilage injury to start all 16 games and showed just how valuable he has become when backup Scott Rehberg played poorly in the second half in Baltimore.

And Eric Steinbach made the all-rookie team in starting 15 games and providing the line with its most effective pulling guard in years.

Now, heading into the 2004 draft, the Bengals are believed to be looking at a center or maybe even a guard in the first two rounds.

They have the 24th, 49th and 56th picks, and one of them could be invested in Virginia Tech center Jake Grove as the heir apparent to Rich Braham.

The Bengals also might have a chance to get the draft's top-rated guard, Vernon Carey of Miami (Fla.), though Carey would be an unlikely pick given the recent free agent signing of Bobbie Williams.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis listed center as a potential draft pick in a news conference earlier this week.

Braham, 33, re-signed as an unrestricted free agent to another one-year contract, has 10 seasons and 119 games of wear and tear on his body.

Widely underrated, Braham might finally be nearing the end of his career. And drafting a center to learn from Braham - without forcing a rookie center to start with a first-year starting quarterback Carson Palmer - would be an ideal situation.

Enter Grove, who elevated his game as a senior and is described as a blue-collar player with an outstanding work ethic.

At 6 feet 3, 300 pounds, Grove developed that work ethic and his frame by working on his grandfather's 200-acre cattle farm near Lynchburg, Va.

"Anything we needed to do on the farm whether it was bailing hay or fixing fences or doing work with the cattle . . . I showed cattle when I was growing up," Grove said.

"When I was in high school on Saturdays, I'd work on the farm. Then in the summer, I'd work starting at 7 in the morning until about 7 or 8 at night."

Grove compensates for what some scouts say is a lack of athleticism with aggressiveness. Some people call him dirty, a reputation Grove doesn't try to dispel.

"I'd rather be called dirty than soft," he said. "Just don't call me soft. I just enjoy playing football and going out and giving everything I've got to help the team win every time."

If the Bengals pass on Grove, the next three center prospects are Nick Leckey of Kansas State, Alex Stepanovich of Ohio State and Nick Hardwick of Purdue. They should be available in the second through fourth rounds.

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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