At 6-1 and a half and 211 pounds, Bengals rookie receiver Mohamed Sanu is a little bigger than T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The Bengals think he's a little faster and they think he's got the same kind of innate intelligence on the field.
If The Ocho had Housh, does A.J. Green have Mo? He would love to since while The Ocho was winning four straight AFC receiving yards titles from 2003-2006, Houshmandzadeh was catching 241 balls as the perfect No. 2 possession receiver.
Sanu hasn't watched tape of Houshmandzadeh, but he's seen him play on TV plenty.
"That would mean a lot to me," Sanu said. "I know he's a phenomenal player."
When people describe Sanu, they use the same adjectives used on Houshmandzadeh.
"Crafty. Makes plays on the ball," Sanu said. "I feel like I'm crafty and that I'm very physical. I just like competing."
The one knock on Sanu is that he doesn't have take-the-top-off-the-defense speed a la the late Chris Henry. But he thinks he can get downfield after a season he spent in the slot of the Rutgers offense.
"I feel like I can stretch the field. I really didn't have much of an opportunity to really do that this year," he said.
THE PETER KING NOTE THAT PROBABLY ONLY INTERESTS ME
The first Bengal born in the '90s comes out of this draft. Who will it be? Wisconsin guard Kevin Zeitler was the first pick born in the decade on March 8, 1990. Fifth-rounder Marvin Jones, the Cal wide receiver, was born three days later. Boise State safety George Iloka, the last pick in the fifth round, was born on June 20, 1990. So far the youngest is fourth-rounder Orson Charles, the tight end from Georgia, born Jan. 27, 1991.
