Last week, the Cincinnati Bengals suffered a devastating blow with the loss of right tackle Trent Brown to a season-ending knee injury. While he may not have been perfect, Brown had done an adequate job of stabilizing the right tackle position that had been in flux since the departure of Andrew Whitworth in 2017. Without him, Cincinnati will face questions for the remainder of the season on who will fill the tackle position.
Cincinnati Bengals Prodigal Rookie Expected to Start Week 4
After Brown was carted off with a meniscus tear in his left knee, Cincinnati’s first-round draft pick Amarius Mims took the field to likely claim the starting right tackle position for the foreseeable future. In his 39 snaps, Mims posted a below-average Pro Football Focus rating of 47.7. Still, a lot of that could be attributed to the nerves of being thrown into your first professional football game unexpectedly. Mims managed to play fairly well but a series of mental blunders including oversetting on defensive end Dorance Armstrong and allowing a sack ultimately ruined his first grade at the professional level.
Mims had shown spectacular potential during his limited training camp and optional team activities (OTAs) period. The 6’8″ 340-pound goliath out of the University of Georgia was selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft primarily as a project after he only played eight games as a starter at the collegiate level. With his combination of size and athleticism, those eight games were enough for Cincinnati to see him as their long-term starter at offensive tackle.
Depth Chart Shows Massive Gaps Heading Into Week 4
While Mims being listed as the starting tackle for Week 4 is noteworthy, that is not the most interesting information listed in the lineup. According to the depth chart provided by ESPN, Cincinnati will be entering Week 4 of the regular season without any backup offensive tackles. That means if either Mims or left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. were to miss any time with an injury, they would likely be replaced by offensive guard Cody Ford.
Even though he has yet to live up to his potential at the professional level, Ford is certainly a player with plenty of potential on his own. After being drafted with the 38th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Ford has struggled as being too slow to play the offensive tackle position but also too passive to play the guard position. That being said, Ford played the tackle position during his dominant years at the University of Oklahoma and he at least has experience playing on the outside. The major concern would be his ability to keep up with professional talent in pass protection.
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