How Adding a Second 6-Foot-8 Tackle Will Help Evolution of the Bengals’ Offense

CINCINNATI — Prior to last season, there was only one 6-foot-8 offensive tackle who had ever started a game for the Cincinnati Bengals in the 55-season history of the franchise.

That was the 6’9″ Dennis Roland, who started 30 games from 2008-13

But when the 2024 season opens Sept. 8, the Bengals are expected to have two 6’8″ tackles in the starting lineup after signing Trent Brown to a one-year contract earlier this week.

How Will Bengals Benefit From Pair of 6-Foot-8 Tackles?

Brown will join his namesake and fellow 80-inch tall behemoth Orlando Brown Jr. to provide a massing, bookending presence on the offensive line.

Since Trent Brown entered the league in 2015 as a seventh-round pick, there have been 30 tackles who were 6’8″ and started at least one game. Rob Havenstein leads the list with 130 starts, while the 370-pound Trent Brown is second (93) and 345-pounder Orlando Brown (92) third.

Jonah Williams, the tackle Trent Brown is replacing, was 6’5″, 312 pounds.

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So, what will adding that much size to an already large line mean for the Bengals?

New offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher weighed in with his thoughts:

“You can look at two different factors, the protection part and the run-game part,” Pitcher said. “Protection-wise, what size gives you No. 1 is reach and just the bulk to anchor and absorb a bull rush and not give ground.”

“When you want Trent’s tape, that just jumps right out at you,” Pitcher continued. “He has good range for a man his size, and then when he engages a rusher on the edge, and that rusher tries to do anything other than run around him, he’s able to blunt that rush and then keep the width of the pocket. That’s something that’s so critical.”

It’s important not just in the moment on any given snap but also in terms of the cumulative effect.

Pitcher said when he watched Brown’s tape, the frustration felt by the opposing edge rusher was noticeable.

“A lot of times, quite honestly, guys just quit,” he said. “Guys stop rushing. I’ve never been in that position and never will be, but I would imagine it can be pretty defeating when you’re trying to move this human, and he’s just not going anywhere. So that’s where size comes into it in the protection part of it.”

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And while protecting Joe Burrow is the top priority for whoever plays anywhere along the offensive line, getting more explosive in the run game has been a talking point for the franchise the last two offseasons.

It was the main reason they moved on Joe Mixon, and it played a huge role in why the Bengals targeted Zack Moss in free agency.

Bookending the line with two massive tackles is a good way to create space to let the backs work their way into the second and third levels.

“In the run game, just naturally bigger guys are gonna be more powerful people,” Pitcher said. “Now they have to play with great technique and pad level and avoid having the things that affect big guys negatively, which is guys being able to play lower than them. But Trent does a good job of that as well.

“A man that big and that powerful, he can generate movement that few guys at this level can generate because of the guys that are across from them,” he added.

“When you’re in 1-on-1 situations in the NFL, you don’t expect a lot of actual movement to be generated. You expect a guy to win with leverage and technique, but in terms of actually displacing a defender — you see it on double teams, but you don’t see it all that much on base blocks — but you turn on Trent’s tape, and it’s there.”

There’s obviously a give-and-take to constructing a line as large as Cincinnati’s.

Whereas some teams prefer the lighter, quicker, more athletic linemen who can get out in space and be a force in the wide-zone run schemes, the Bengals are content to lean into power vs athleticism.

“We’re all in search of the guys that can do all of it,” Pitcher said. “And just because we lean in one direction doesn’t mean that we completely remove ourselves from another. It’s about finding the right balance.”

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“You can still have variety of scheme based on how we’re built,” he continued. “I’m excited about how we’re built. I’m excited we get to add a guy of that caliber at this stage. And I think it’s only going to help us moving forward.”

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