Critics of Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Jonah Williams, come on down.
Williams, the much-maligned first-round pick who had his ups and downs at left tackle over the years, suddenly looks like a natural at right tackle.
Through seven games, it’s hard to bring up the number of times Williams has been cast in a negative spotlight on one hand — even with a limited-mobility Joe Burrow at quarterback.
The rushing attack looks fantastic and Williams has a 69.6 overall PFF grade so far. Ranking in the mid-30s might not sound amazing, but it sure beats the tar out of the Bobby Hart days of 60th or worse.
We can just take a simple eye test, too, like this one-on-one with Nick Bosa, of all players:
Jonah Williams one on one with Nick Bosa with minimal help. About as good of a rep as you can ask for in that situation. pic.twitter.com/NnmTVVJDwO
— mike (@bengals_sans) October 31, 2023
Much of the criticism shoved at Williams over the years has been the product of his position being a little like cornerback — fans only think about them when something goes wrong. And he happens to struggle twice a year against a guy named Myles Garrett — and who doesn’t?
There was also silly criticism leveled at Williams because he asked for a trade this past offseason after the arrival of Orlando Brown Jr., which shoved him to right tackle. But that was Williams and his agent using their last little bit of leverage, knowing all too well that he wants to play left tackle and left tackles make far more money in free agency than right tackles.
Once camp started, though? Not a peep about a move. Williams has put his head down and is in the middle of his best season as a pro.
The absolute best-case scenario for the Bengals after signing Brown to play left tackle was that Williams would move to the right and excel, solving two problems with one single move — giving the team the best offensive line of the Burrow era.
Williams has done just that, coming off offseason knee surgery and confronting his first position change as a pro in superb fashion.
So much so, that other teams will be looking to pay Williams big money next summer on the market if this trend keeps. And now the Bengals are going to have to step back and ponder whether to give him an extension to keep him there, perhaps at the cost of someone like Tee Higgins.
But it’s the best possible problem to have for a team that hasn’t had steady line play in, well, a really long time. And it’s all a credit to Williams, who just played a critical role in the beatdown of the 49ers on the road, never mind helping Burrow stay healthy while injured and especially never mind where this could help the Bengals go soon.
