The Cincinnati Bengals will be able to find offenisve line upgrades in the opening three or four rounds of the 2022 NFL draft.
So says NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, who held a pre-scouting combine presser and said the following when asked about the Bengals:
“We know they have the needs on the offensive line. They’re going to be able to find upgrades to the offensive line throughout this draft. They’re going to get players in the third, fourth round in this draft that are better than the guys, some of these guys that they trotted out there and started in the Super Bowl. They’re going to have a lot of opportunities to address that position.”
That speaks both to the depth of this year’s offensive line class and the dire state of things for the line in Cincinnati.
The Bengals were forced to roll with backup Isaiah Prince at right tackle in the Super Bowl with Riley Reiff on injured reserve and had worked Hakeem Adeniji and second-round rookie Jackson Carman in at guard during the playoffs.
Cincinnati still has to hope that Carman can pan out at some spot. But a combination of free agency and the draft will assuredly be used to rework pretty much the entire line.
So long as the team doesn’t ignore the line until those third or fourth rounds, the unit should be dramatically improved next season.
