Bengals first official depth chart offers some big surprises

Some unexpected developments show up on the first official depth chart.

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The Cincinnati Bengals have dropped their first official depth chart of training camp and the usually by-the-books ordeal has some surprises.

Namely, along the offensive line.

While one might expect a rookie like Jackson Carman or veteran Xavier Su’a-Filo to sit in the starter spots at guard, the honors actually got to Michael Jordan and veteran Quinton Spain.

This tracks with what we saw most recently in a practice, with Carman not working with the ones and fourth-round rookie D’Ante Smith getting a nod with the first team.

On the depth chart, Carman is actually on the third string while Smith on the second string.

One big thing of note here — this is temporary before the team’s first preseason game. There’s plenty of time for things to change and Carman will be given every chance to win a starting job. But it’s clear what the team plans for Smith with his designation as a guard.

That said, consistency is a big problem for the Bengals in recent years, so a revolving door of names throughout three preseason games could do more harm than good.

For now, the second-rounder is behind the fourth-rounder and two unexpected names hold starting spots.

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