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One of the reasons the Cincinnati Bengals were so confident in not making an offensive lineman the fifth overall pick this year was due to the stability added in free agency with veteran offensive tackle Riley Reiff.
And Burrow points to Reiff as a big reason for the 3-1 start and buzzing offense.
“He’s made a world of difference,” Burrow said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “He’s a veteran leader that doesn’t say a lot, but when he does, you listen. And he’s really locked down that side of the offensive line.”
Reiff, a first-rounder in 2012, spent the last four seasons in Minnesota before coming over to replace the ineffective Bobby Hart at right tackle. While he hasn’t been perfect, Reiff is still a large upgrade in consistency and the veteran experience has come up big in key situations.
Burrow pointed out one of those key plays to C.J. Uzomah that helped the team win on a Thursday night as proof, per Hobson:
“He got out, maneuvered … – they brought one guy inside, one guy outside and he slipped them and then got skinny and blocked the linebacker. And he was really the key block that allowed us to get 20 yards instead of five.”
Not bad for a guy the Bengals signed to a one-year deal worth $7.5 million in a move that didn’t get a ton of publicity at the time.
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