When it comes to the Cincinnati Bengals offensive line, the biggest talking points continue to be Orlando Brown Jr. and the right tackle battle, where Jonah Williams sits ahead of others.
Even left guard Cordell Volson, a possible breakout, commands some headlines.
But when the Bengals linked up for joint practices with the Green Bay Packers, it was backup D’Ante Smith who stunned with his showing.
As Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic wrote recently, Smith put multiple Packers on the ground while throwing nice blocks:
A forgotten man in the backup tackle conversation, Smith enjoyed a remarkable run through pass protection one-on-one drills. He put four Packers on the ground during a string of reps where he looked as good as any player in a helmet.
A fourth-round pick by the Bengals in 2021, Smith has made a few appearances during the regular season but otherwise remained a high-upside backup.
It’s notable that Smith looked great in live action against another team, especially when the backup conversations usually focus on the likes of Cody Ford and Jackson Carman.
Like with other conversations about the line though, Smith’s strong showings recently give the Bengals a good problem to have and is another hint that this might be the best line of the Joe Burrow era to date.
