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The Cincinnati Bengals surprised some by passing on offensive linemen in the 2020 NFL draft until the sixth round with Hakeem Adeniji.
Those surprised by the move have asked a simple question since: Why?
But dating back well before the draft the Bengals had been pretty open about feeling better about the offensive line than the public perception seemed to think.
The draft itself was an extension of that, even when highly-heralded Houston tackle Josh Jones slid past them three times.
Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com provided some insight:
“Three things on Jones: 1) if they take Jones in the third round to play right tackle, recognize that he played left tackle at Houston and Jonah is the guy at left tackle, 2) if they take Jones, they are deviating from their draft board where they had higher grades on Wilson, 3) clearly they didn’t have that kind of grade on Jones. It looks like they had company because the Cardinals didn’t take him until No. 72. The sense I get is they felt they didn’t have to rush a tackle because they figured they could get the same kind of guy at No. 33 and No. 65 later than that while getting the backers. And they were proven right when they got Kansas’ Hakeem Adeniji in the sixth round, a guy they thought was, at the very least, a fourth-rounder.”
There is a bit to unpack here, though it’s all relatively simple. The Bengals viewed Jones just like everyone else seemed to — as a third-to-fourth-round pick.
And again, they feel just fine about the line. Not only does Adeniji have collegiate tackle experience worth mentioning, but last year’s line also improved down the stretch.
At right guard, the Bengals have Xavier Su’a-Filo from free agency and others capable of competing. At right tackle, younger guys like Fred Johnson and Isaiah Prince they really like.
Is that an ideal solution right now? Probably not. Standing relatively still is how the Bengals got in this line mess in the first place. But these are the reasons the front office veered from conventional wisdom and will go into 2020 with a largely similar line, besides additions like Jonah Williams, Su’a Filo and Adeniji.
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