The Sports Xchange

CINCINNATI — One of the many strengths on the Cincinnati Bengals’ talent-laden roster is the offensive line. There is talent all across the group, but long-time line coach Paul Alexander is effusive in his praise for right guard Kevin Zeitler.

“He’s the hardest worker I’ve ever been around — he really is,” Alexander told Bengals.com. “He’s a pleasure to coach, loves to work and has aspirations to be great.”

Dave Lapham has seen a lot of players in close to 40 years as a Bengals lineman and broadcaster. Of Zeitler, Lapham said, “In some ways he reminds me of Anthony Munoz. Anthony wanted to be the best and physically did everything he could to try to get there. I think Zeitler is doing that, and I think his preparation with studying film and things like that are extraordinary as well. That’s high praise to put him with a perennial Pro Bowler and Hall of Famer, but I think that’s where he wants to be. And that’s where his preparation and work ethic are trying to take him.”

Selected with the 27th choice of the first round in 2012, Zeitler has worked hard on his technique and strength since Day 1. Already among the team’s strongest players, he spent the early part of the offseason this year getting even bigger.

“This last offseason I worked really hard,” Zeitler said. “I did double-days for two straight months, which actually put me in a bad position where I reached an overtraining phase. But I’ve healed from that and I’ve definitely put on some muscle. I got down to 12 percent body fat where I had a six-pack showing for a while. Now I’m performance eating and having a few more carbs than I normally have.”

He also studied film of some of the league’s best guards so he could work on being better than he already is.

“I think I must be a jealous person in general. I’ve watched a lot of film this offseason and I see other guards do so many things so well,” he said. “I just really want to do it at the top level, and whatever I have to do to reach that, I’m willing to put in the time. I love what we do here, but it’s always nice to see little things that other people do. I’ve watched San Fran, Seattle, Dallas — you can pretty much name any O-line and I’ve tried to learn something from each of them. You can always learn something.”

He has special admiration for Baltimore guard Marshal Yanda.

“Yanda is definitely one of my favorites to watch,” Zeitler said. “He’s just so smooth, so strong, and he’s always in the right place. That type of consistency is invaluable in the NFL and there’s a reason why he’s an All-Pro.”

Zeitler hopes to get to that level of play.

“I have perfect images in my mind of how I do everything,” he said, “and my only goal is to work every day to get there. I doubt it will ever happen, but I’m going to be the closest I can get to that every day.”

Lapham said, “He wants to be the best there is. He’s so driven and I think he’s very hard on himself. It’s a good attribute to be your own best critic, but I think sometimes he takes it to the point where it can be a little bit harmful. It’s a balancing act, and I think he’s doing a better job of finding that line. He’s not beating himself up over something he thought he could have done better. Sometimes you just have to move on. I think that’s where he can probably get better. In every other area he’s a pro’s pro in every sense of the word.”

Concluded Alexander, “I think he’s made a jump every year. He’s always been good and gotten better, but I think this year may be his biggest jump.”