The Cincinnati Bengals used a first-round pick in 2019 on offensive tackle Jonah Williams.
Cincinnati got several good years out of Williams, who played through injuries and made the switch to right tackle last year rather well.
In a new 2019 draft redo from Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox, though, the Bengals go with pass rusher Rashan Gary:
After tallying just 2.0 sacks as a rookie, Gary recorded 29.5 sacks over his next four seasons. He had nine sacks in 2023 to go with 30 quarterback pressures.
In Cincinnati, Gary would help forge a dangerous pass-rushing rotation alongside 2018 third-round pick Sam Hubbard and 2021 free-agent addition Trey Hendrickson.
The Bengals could always use more pass rush, though it’s interesting to wonder if adding Gary and getting some production out of him means the team doesn’t bother with acquiring Trey Hendrickson.
If the Bengals don’t draft Williams, they potentially get stuck starting someone like Hakeem Adeniji or Fred Johnson.
If nothing else, it’s an interesting what-if scenario to consider for a Bengals team that continues to have ups and downs in both trenches.
