Over the past several seasons, the Cincinnati Bengals have put substantial effort into improving the offensive line after their elite quarterback Joe Burrow tore his ACL halfway through the 2019 season with variable success.  Interior lineman Alex Cappa and Ted Karras have turned into tolerable assets at the heart of the offensive line and left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. seemed to work out how to at least play at an acceptable level last season.

In the negative perspective, left guard Cordell Volson has struggled to truly acclimate to the NFL as he was one of the major issues with the line last season and I have previously outlined the alternatives if Cincinnati wanted to go a different route at the guard spot.  The biggest problem for Cincinnati unfortunately is going to be the right tackle spot

After the Super Bowl season in 2020, the Cincinnati Bengals went out and brought in quality La’el Collins to fill the right tackle spot.  After tearing his ACL in December of 2022, Cincinnati decided they needed to reevaluate the tackle spot and decided the best approach would be to bring in first round talent from their biggest competition: the Kansas City Chiefs.  Even though the problem was on the right side, the team decided to go out and grab left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.

Upon the reporting of that contract, incumbent left tackle Jonah Williams was furious and demanded a trade the following day.  Williams, understandably so, wanted to remain an NFL left tackle due to the major pay discrepancy between the sides.  After about a week, Williams was convinced into playing out the remaining year of his contract at the right tackle position.

Williams was a serviceable option this season but after that narrative, I would say the odds of him resigning with the team to play a position he doesn’t want are incredibly slim.  Therefore, the team is going to have to find a completely new option to play at the right tackle position this offseason.

The drama at the right tackle position couldn’t have come at a better time for Cincinnati due to a combination of factors.  First off, this is a fairly strong draft for the offensive tackle positions and there are four tackles ranked in the top 20 draft prospects by ESPN.  Second, Cincinnati possesses the 18th overall pick and (given that there are almost always at least 3 or 4 quarterbacks taken in that span) will almost certainly have the opportunity to take one of the four.

That being said, I have stated before that Cincinnati will most likely be drafting offensive tackle JC Latham out of the University of Alabama.  While you would expect a right tackle with an enormous frame of 6’6″ and weighing in at 360 pounds to be an elite run blocker, Latham is actual renowned for his quality as a pass blocker.  Even though that is his best talent, one has to imagine a 360 pounder to be able to master the art of opening holes fairly easily at the NFL level with the proper coaching.  Given that Cincinnati is currently an incredibly pass heavy team but is working hard at developing the running game, Latham would fit perfectly.

That being said, Latham is the currently ranked fourth on the list of offensive tackles by ESPN but the NFL Draft is a tremendously unpredictable beast.  If we end up at the 18th pick and Latham is gone and one of the top 3 tackles are still available, Cincinnati should take the best player available.  Since the focus of the NFL has shifted so heavy toward selecting quarterbacks and edge rushers in the top 20 regardless of whether or not they are actually ranked there, Cincinnati should have no issue bringing in an elite prospect to protect the right side.

Maybe Cincinnati has their eyes on another need in the NFL Draft and thinks they can find Williams replacement available in free agency.  If they were able to bring in a suitable option next season for a decent price tag, I certainly wouldn’t spite the decision.  The trouble with that strategy is that offensive tackle is a premier position in the NFL and teams generally don’t let talented players hit free agency.  It is a difficult position to fill in free agency because the few players that typically, the players that make it to free agency generate a bidding war that make them particularly pricy.

That being said, there aren’t many great options available at the right tackle position this offseason as the best offensive tackles will likely have mindsets similar to Williams and be adamant about playing on the left side.  Arguably the best option in free agency will be signing Green Bay Packers backup tackle Yosh Nijman.  After entering the NFL undrafted out of Virginia Tech in 2019, Nijman has managed to put up a consistent Pro Football Focus (PFF) score over 60.

When filling in at primarily the left tackle spot last season, Nijman only surrendered two sacks on 130 pass block attempts.  He may not be an All-Pro his first season in Cincinnati but he actually scored higher than Williams in every category as a backup in Green Bay.  The benefit to Nijman is that since he was both undrafted and a backup in Green Bay last season, Cincinnati would likely be able to bring him in on a bargain.  Another benefit of Nijman is at 6’7″ and 314 pounds, he fits almost the perfect profile of an NFL offensive tackle.

While this is the least preferred option, the last option for Cincinnati will be to promote one of their backups to the starting tackle spot. While I had my moments being remarkably unhappy with him, Jackson Carman will likely still around Cincinnati this season after doing little to earn much of a raise from his rookie contract.

native on the roster has been perennial backup tackle Cody Ford.  Ford was selected 38th overall in 2019 by the Buffalo Bills but has struggled to make a name for himself after showing poor foot speed.  With that type of draft pick, one has to believe that Ford has some natural talent that would allow him to step into the right tackle spot after getting to know the system in 2023 as a backup.

While there are plenty of options for Cincinnati to utilize in 2024, the best option for the future clearly appears to be using their first round pick on an offensive tackle and then bolstering the rest of their team in free agency.  As a team that clearly doesn’t put a ton of emphasis on the offensive line it is hard to picture Cincinnati finally using a high draft pick on a tackle for the first time since Williams but that seems like the obvious choice now.

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