It has been asserted repeatedly that the biggest need of the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason is going to be the offensive tackle position. Even though the team finished in last place in the AFC North last season, there was a lot to be optimistic about in terms of the quality of the overall roster. That being said, incumbent right tackle Jonah Williams is now a free agent and after some dramatics last offseason, the chances are slim that he will return to the team in 2024. The real question now is what the time will do with that essential position moving forward.
Bengals Executive Discusses Scouting Keys at the Offensive Tackle Position
While Cincinnati has had a history of making poor picks in the NFL Draft, an incredibly efficient run over the past five seasons has been the biggest building block that has turned this team into a perennial contender. Director of Player Personnel (and de facto General Manager) Duke Tobin has talked before on how Cincinnati takes a different approach to scouting with by far the smallest department in the NFL. During the senior bowl, he gave some insight into specifically how he was going to assess the offensive tackle position this offseason.
“There are traits and it’s a lot about intangibles and get to what makes a guy tick,” Tobin said. “You want guys that grind and fit into the group. You want a guy that wants to be in the group. If they don’t act that way off the field, then normally they’re not going to suddenly act that way on the field.”
Obviously there isn’t a perfect strategy toward determining whether collegiate athletes will transition smoothly to the professional level but this isn’t a horrible approach. The way I would interpret that is the team will focus on technique more than anything else when assessing the collegiate players. The big take away from that is that the team may be focusing more on who will be the best right side guardian to elite quarterback Joe Burrow because the team needs to figure out how to keep their superstar clean.
Tobin went on to address how well the timing worked out that Williams is likely leaving the team during one of the best draft classes of offensive tackle in the past decade. During his time at the Senior Bowl, he also mentioned that the collegiate all-star game was an excellent showcase for the NFL Draft.
“People disappear pretty quickly and the line of scrimmage disappears faster than anything else and you have to be good upfront. That’s where it always starts and that’s where it starts this year. There is a good crop of linemen. This is a good game here. They’ve done a good job bringing in people. Even at the East-West game there were some guys that were interesting.”
Potential Draft Pick Talks about Mentorship at the Senior Bowl
The offensive tackle class is particularly deep and there are four or five realistic options for Cincinnati to draft at the 18th overall pick. After a conversation with one of the offensive tackles prior to the Senior Bowl, there is also a strong possibility of trading down in the NFL Draft and picking up some valuable draft capital. The tackle in question is the massive 6’7″ 328-pound player out of Oklahoma by the name of Tyler Guyton.
After putting in a solid season at the University of Oklahoma as a red shirt junior, Guyton is currently projected by draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. to be the 31st overall prospect in the upcoming draft. He has also apparently developed a close mentorship under Cincinnati’s current left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. Brown was drafted out of Oklahoma but hasn’t hesitated to take an interest in the well being of his positional descendent at his alma mater. When interviewed after all of the all-star game festivities, Guyton didn’t hesitate to praise his mentor.
“He’s been a great mentor. He’s been like a big brother,” Guyton said after the American team practice at Hancock Whitney Stadium on Tuesday. “He’s telling me to take this time very personal because it’s going to separate me going into the draft. He’s very respectful to me even though he’s already in the league, but he talks to me like a brother.”
Another huge advantage to Guyton is that he has been being personally trained by former Cincinnati offensive line coach Paul Alexander. Alexander was widely regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches in the league for over twenty years and Guyton gave a little insight in what he was able to pick up from the legendary trainer.
“Paul taught me how to stay patient on pass sets and working against inside moves. Not shooting hands before my feet. Feet before hands.”
Brown was brought in last offseason to essentially replace Williams on the left anchor on the offensive line to finally provide sound protection to Burrow. While he didn’t have a perfect season, he certainly drew praise from Tobin during his interview at the Senior Bowl.
“Orlando, his intangibles are off the charts,” Tobin said. “His tangibles are off the chart. He’s big. He’s hard to get around. He’s everything that we saw that we wanted and we wanted a guy with substance to him on and off the field and we got that. I’m pleased for Orlando and as he enters year two in our scheme with our players, he’ll get even better.”
In saying this, Tobin once again provided perspective on what he values in his offensive lineman. The number one thing to the de facto general manager is straight size as Brown registers at an enormous 6’8″ and 345 pounds. This was the second reference to intangibles in the interview as well which I would interpret as pass setting technique and ability to actual drive defenders off the ball. Tobin also clearly values mindset and camaraderie amongst the ultimate team position in the sporting world by saying he wants his offensive linemen to trust each other.
If the team were sold by Brown to acquire Guyton (which wouldn’t be the worst thing with a connection to Brown already), the team would be wise to trade back in the first round to bring him in at a more suitable position. It wouldn’t make a ton of sense to use the 18th overall pick to bring in a player that they could possibly get in the second round. This way they would also most likely pick up an additional second or third round pick which they could utilize on providing depth and competition on the defense.
Cincinnati has managed to build their roster into an elite group by hitting on an extremely high percentage of draft picks over the past five seasons (the team still has 20 players on their roster from the past 3 NFL Drafts). For Cincinnati to continue to perform as an AFC powerhouse, they will need to continue this trend into next season.
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