Dan Hoard on Bengals Right Tackle Strategy

Transcript

00:00 I think that's the interesting dynamic with tackle is the draft loaded, especially early on

00:06 first round free agency. Not so much. I think it gets pretty thin pretty quickly,

00:11 especially at right tackle. At the same time, I do think the latter veteran,

00:16 don't you? They have to add someone at that spot. Absolutely. I think they're going to add

00:22 somebody who could start if need be. And keep in mind, a lot of people seem to think there are

00:28 probably six to eight first round tackles in this draft. At the top of that list, I think you would

00:36 have a definitive plug and play starter at right tackle. But if six of them are gone and the Bengals

00:43 were to draft number seven or eight, is that guy a plug and play? Or is he more of somebody that's

00:50 going to need a little bit of developmental work? I know you heard Greg Cosell on my most recent

00:56 podcast, who's obviously extremely well connected in NFL circles. And just specifically talking

01:02 about Amarius Mims, a guy who has frequently been mock draft to Cincinnati. Greg said,

01:07 I don't think he's a year one starter. I think he's going to be potentially a great NFL player,

01:12 but he might not be a guy who's ready to start in week one in the NFL this year with eight college

01:18 starts under his belt. So I do think you need to have somebody that's potentially you're starting

01:25 right tackle, even if you take one in round one. Totally agree. I think just giving yourself an

01:33 established guy that can do it. If Brock Bowers is there at 18 or if Quinion Mitchell is there

01:39 at 18 or one of these guys that you don't necessarily expect to fall happens to fall

01:43 because there's a run on tackles. You don't want to have to reach for that next tier.

01:48 Yeah. The other thing to keep in mind too, is that the Bengals were extremely lucky this past season

01:52 in that their five starting offensive linemen were able to start every game. The odds of that

01:57 happening in back to back seasons, unfortunately are slim and none at some point this year,

02:03 a Bengals offensive lineman won't be able to start a game. Hopefully it's nothing,

02:07 you know, that's going to cost a guy a season or half a season, but a game or two here and there,

02:14 it's almost a certainty. So you better have a swing tackle that you really like as somebody

02:20 that can step up and start a few games, if that's not your guy that you expect to start

02:25 all year at right tackle.