While offensive line figures to be one of the bigger needs the Cincinnati Bengals address in the 2020 offseason, Zac Taylor doesn’t sound too worried.
As bad as things were in the offensive trenches, things improved down the stretch and Taylor has some intriguing pieces for the future already in place.
Here’s an excerpt of what he told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“I thought there was lot of growth there in the back half of the season. If you look at Jonah Williams, to me we get two first–round picks this year. Jonah got a chance to go through spring ball and got exposed to what NFL life is like, but he didn’t play for us. ….
“…We’re starting to feel like we’re finding some starters there and some depth at the same time. At the end of the year we felt really good where the offense line is headed.”
If nothing else, it should be encouraging to hear Taylor suggest the line isn’t as big of a need as many think not because of the late-season stretch, but because of future-minded pieces. The team obviously likes Jonah Williams and waiver claim and rookie Fred Johnson was a bright spot while getting starts late in the season.
None of this means the Bengals won’t move to make additions to the line in the draft or free agency. But it’s a public admission the thinking in the building might not perfectly match the narratives outside it.
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