Eddie Edwards was a beast at the University of Miami, where some considered him the best player on the team.  The Cincinnati Bengals believed that, and they chose him with their Third Overall Pick in 1977.

A defensive star at North Dakota, Jim LeClair, impressed the NFL scouts enough for him to be taken in the Third Round in 1972.

In 1968, the University of Tennessee’s Bob Johnson was the first player drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals, who was the Second Overall Pick.  While you can easily say that he was not a star player, he was durable, and as it turned out, an excellent choice for their first-ever pick.

Carlos Dunlap was a massive part of the Florida Gators team that win the BCS National Championship in 2009.  Dunlap was so impressive that he was the National Championship Defensive MVP. This success was parlayed into a Second Round Pick by Cincinnati, who used the Defensive End mostly in pass-rushing situations in his first three seasons before he was a permanent starter in 2012.