Cincy announced Friday that they signed Zeitler. (Getty Images)

On Wednesday, we told you that New England signed first-round pick (and hopeful pass-rush rejuvenator) Chandler Jones. To acquire Jones, the Patriots traded up with the Bengals. And on Friday, the Bengals announced they signed the player they picked in the Pats spot, Wisconsin guard Kevin Zeitler.
Prior to the draft, many people (myself included) believed the Bengals would use their two first-round picks to select a cornerback and an offensive lineman.

They ended up doing that but in a different way than most people expected -- they traded (which is rare for Mike Brown), they swapped picks so Bill Belichick could move up (even rarer), and they decided to pass on Stanford guard David DeCastro.

As it turns out, the Bengals loved both guys.

"They're both going to be great players," Cincy offensive line coach Paul Alexander told the Cincinnati Enquirer recently. "We had them ranked equally."

The Bengals recently said that Zeitler, a physical mauler from the midwest, will play right guard and backup center in 2012.

What makes his performance most interesting, though, will be the comparisons that he draws to DeCastro, who the division-rival Steelers ended up selecting with the 24th overall pick.

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