It feels like a year the Cincinnati Bengals could really invest in a first-round offensive lineman again.
But the draft class and team board need to agree.
That just might not be possible in what is widely considered a very weak class for offensive linemen and with the Bengals picking near the end of the opening round, though.
Case in point, at Touchdown Wire, Doug Farrar’s top 50 prospects list as of this writing has just four offensive linemen listed in the top 32:
- 7. Paris Johnson Jr., OT, Ohio State
- 13. Peter Skoronski, OL, Northwestern
- 17. Broderick Jones, OT, Georgia
- 21. Anton Harrison, OT, Oklahoma
Runs on offensive linemen usually happen in the teens or early 20s. Remember the Bengals taking Billy Price after missing on their intended target in that range (of course you do)?
Given the scarcity of quality offensive line help across the league, there being just four first-round prospects as of now might make that run happen earlier than usual. That would leave the Bengals at No .28 settling for reaching down the board into guys who would otherwise fall into the second round.
The Bengals could always try to trade back out of the first round, especially being so near the end of the first day where teams like to jump up. But they could also stand still and take their best prospect, be it a tight end or defender.
What this really does is stress the importance of free agency. The front office probably needs to find a starter-level player for right tackle with La’el Collins not guaranteed to be 100 percent healthy by Week 1. Finding two or three major depth upgrades isn’t a bad idea, either.
For now, this is just something to keep in mind when setting expectations for the offseason. Forcing need in the draft is how Price-level mistakes can happen as it is and a rough-looking draft class emphasizes how careful the Bengals need to be while upgrading the trenches in front of Joe Burrow.
