The fact that the Cincinnati Bengals didn't draft an offensive lineman this year should be seen as a vote of confidence for offensive tackle Jackson Carman as one of the guys in the mix to win the right-tackle job this summer. Carman went into organized team activities his rookie year taking first-team repetitions at right tackle, but he couldn't win the job. He was the plan at left guard in 2022 but struggled in the preseason and lost the job to rookie fourth-rounder Cordell Volson. Carman has another opportunity to win a job this year, but if he fails, he could be out of the team's plans. He'll be competing against the likes of Jonah Williams, Cody Ford, D'Ante Smith and Hakeem Adeniji.
The Bengals selected Clemson offensive tackle Jackson Carman with the 46th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft on Friday evening. Touted as one of the biggest and most athletic linemen in the draft, the Ohio native should make a difference in improving arguably the worst offensive protection unit in the league. Carman has a legit chance to start at the beginning of the season and can help open things up for Joe Mixon and add some much-need protection for franchise signal-caller Joe Burrow.
