John Sheeran provides an update on the Cincinnati Bengals' plan at offensive guard, a spot that they didn't really address in free agency, which could hint at an unconventional move down the road.
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00:00Bengals head coach Zach Taylor hinted at what would be a very unconventional move for Cincinnati
00:04to make.
00:05In this video, I'll explain what we should expect to happen.
00:11Hi again Bengals fans, John Sheeran of A-Z Sports Cincinnati here, and there seems to
00:15be just a little bit more clarity about what the Bengals are going to do at both guard
00:20spots.
00:21Obviously, this topic has become quite contentious amongst the fanbase considering that the team
00:25basically did nothing to address the issue in free agency outside of signing Lucas Patrick
00:30to a minimum one year deal.
00:31It is clearly by a country mile the biggest weakness remaining on the roster and to have
00:36it be such a glaring weakness entering the draft feels like malpractice on the Bengals
00:41part.
00:42And just like we discussed when we broke down my early prediction for what the Bengals are
00:44going to do with their first round pick, this is not too uncommon for the Bengals to do,
00:49to have glaring holes on the roster entering the draft, setting themselves up to basically
00:54just address need very early in the draft.
00:56And that does seem to be the plan with the Bengals, they've met with a handful of college
01:00left tackles that have the capability to maybe move inside the guard, which they've done
01:04with Andrew Whitworth, they've done with Jackson Carman, they did with Kordo Volson, obviously
01:08the hit right there is one for three, but still that's history.
01:11So it does seem like by the end of the third round of the draft, the Bengals will have
01:14drafted someone that they feel can compete and potentially start at either left or right
01:19guard.
01:20But what about after the draft?
01:21And after the dust settles, when some teams didn't address the needs like they wanted
01:25to in the draft, there are still veteran options able to sign on before OTAs and offseason
01:29workouts begin.
01:30Will the Bengals be involved in that process?
01:33Historically, this has not been the case.
01:35Specifically in the Zach Taylor era, there are only two examples that you can really
01:38point to where the Bengals were in the month of May, and they looked out for veteran options
01:41for guys who have a good chance of making the team.
01:44Back in 2021, the Bengals held tryouts in the month of May, particularly with a lot
01:47of younger players, but Trent Taylor, who was a veteran at the time, he played for the
01:50San Francisco 49ers.
01:51He was a part of that tryout, and he eventually earned a one-year deal, and he stuck around
01:54with the team for a couple years, mainly on special teams and kickoff returns and stuff
01:57like that.
01:58A couple of years later, Trevor Simeon came in for a free agent visit early in the month
02:02of April.
02:03The Bengals were interested in drafting potentially a backup quarterback in that year's draft.
02:06They didn't draft a quarterback, so Simeon signed on for a one-year free agent deal just
02:10a week after the draft in May.
02:11But veteran free agency happens a lot more often around the league, considering that,
02:14yeah, you're probably not going to address all your needs in the draft, and there are
02:17still guys that can help you out and maybe don't want to go through an entire full offseason
02:21with the team.
02:22And down at the annual league meetings this week, head coach Zach Taylor did mention something
02:25interesting regarding the guard spot.
02:27When asked about the current state of the position, he said, quote, I think right now
02:30a guard, we will get to the draft and then evaluate where we're at from there.
02:33Both Paul Diener Jr. of The Athletic and Jeff Hopson of Bengals.com mentioned that Taylor
02:37said they're going to hold off on signing a guard until after the draft, which I think
02:41is pretty notable because it seems like the names that they've been connected to, I'm
02:44talking about Brandon Scherf and Willen Hernandez, it seems like those guys would be more inclined
02:49to wait until after the draft where there's more clarity about, hey, I want to make sure
02:53that wherever I'm going, I'm going to have a really good chance to start.
02:56And if the Bengals just draft one offensive lineman who can start this year at guard,
02:59there would still be a massive window of opportunity for either one of those guys to come in and
03:04start right away.
03:05So that does make sense, and it is encouraging to hear Zach Taylor say it, but there's still
03:09a reservation that I have about all of this.
03:11Because it is one thing for Taylor or Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin to say these
03:15things about the plans and what the roster looks like and yada yada yada, Tobin notably
03:19said at the NFL scouting combine that he doesn't want to go out there and pay more for the
03:23exact same team, and wouldn't you know it, the team right now doesn't look a whole lot
03:27different than it did last year.
03:28I do question how aligned Taylor and Tobin are with the rest of the front office, particularly
03:33with the ownership group who actually ends up writing these checks and signing off on
03:36all these moves.
03:37So I do question if whether or not Tobin and Taylor see things differently as to what
03:41the actual plan is going to be, because if they don't have ownership support, then nothing
03:45happens.
03:46Which makes me question if there's actually going to be an effort to go out and get a
03:50guy like Scherfer, Hernandez, or whomever they have their eyes on at guard.
03:53On the other hand, there could be some sort of agreement here between the team and one
03:57of these players that would sign after the draft.
04:00You know, the draft passes, there's a rookie coming into town, but there's still a starting
04:03job open, and then the team's like, hey, you still want to do this?
04:06And the player says, yeah, I'll do this.
04:08So I think that's what we have to look out for.
04:10Nothing is going to happen between now and the start of the draft, but once the draft
04:13unfolds and then they draft a guard, we will see if anything changes then, and if there
04:18is some sort of a new addition that comes in following the draft.
04:20There is more to get to down there in Florida at the end of our annual meetings, and we
04:23will cover that all from a Bengals lens right here on A to Z Sports Cincinnati.