The Cincinnati Bengals head into 2024 with more questions to answer and holes to fill than they have had in a handful of years, and the Senior Bowl has been a go-to resource for restocking the roster since the Zac Taylor era began.
The Bengals have selected 16 Senior Bowl participants in the last five years, and technically, you can add a 17th to the list in long snapper Cal Adomitis, whom they signed as an undrafted free agent and have watched handle the duties for the previous 32 games.
Of the 17 players the Bengals have selected from the Senior Bowl, 12 are still on the roster, including three starters in Cam Taylor-Britt, Logan Wilson, and Germaine Pratt, and a pair of promising rookies from the 2023 class in Chase Brown and Andrei Iosivas.
Offensive Linemen at the Senior Bowl Who Fit the Bengals
The Bengals value character and leadership on top of raw athleticism. The extensive opportunities to meet with each player at the Senior Bowl help them identify good fits, and the fact that they are seniors increases the likelihood they were captains on the college team.
And the talent in Mobile, Ala., is expected to be even richer this year, with the game allowing juniors to participate for the first time.
Surprisingly, only two of the 17 players the Bengals have grabbed from the Senior Bowl have been offensive linemen. It’s been a need for years, and Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin said this week the focus for him and his staff is always on the trenches when it comes to evaluations in Mobile.
“There hasn’t been a year that we don’t want to continue to develop both line of scrimmages,” Tobin said in an interview with Geoff Hobson of bengals.com and the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway.
“That’s where the game is won and lost,” Tobin added. “There’s great players on every team (at) skill positions, and you need them. You need guys that can make plays at big moments and want the ball in their hands. But the game is won and lost on the line of scrimmage. Everybody is down here at the Senior Bowl focused on the line of the scrimmage. That’s the nature of the NFL. You have to be good up front.”
The Bengals were as good on the offensive line in 2023 as they’ve been in years, but still not good enough.
MORE: Bengals’ Duke Tobin Discusses Free Agent WR Tee Higgins at the Senior Bowl
And with right tackle Jonah Williams set to leave in free agency and no options on the current roster that inspire great confidence they can fill the role, finding a right tackle who be the starter through the end of quarterback Joe Burrow’s extension in 2029 is the single biggest need the Bengals have this offseason.
Below is a look at some of the players who fit the best and are participating in the Senior Bowl. And don’t forget about our free PFN Mock Draft Simulator if you want to get an idea of how long they might be available.
Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State
He’s one of, if not the top-ranked tackle at the Senior Bowl and a projected first-round pick, and he played right tackle in college. Fuaga measured 6’5″, 332 pounds — check out all of the official Senior Bowl measurements here — and was an Outland Trophy semifinalist during his redshirt junior season at OSU, where he was dominant in the run game.
Troy Fautanu, Washington
He beat out Fuaga for the Pac-12’s Morris Trophy, presented annually to the conference’s best offensive lineman, as voted by the defensive linemen. Fautanu played left tackle last year while leading the Huskies to the CFP Championship Game, but he also played some guard earlier in this career.
Our Ian Cummings calls Fautanu one of the most versatile blockers in the class in his scouting report.
Tyler Guyton, Oklahoma
Guyton made the switch from left to right tackle after transferring from TCU to Oklahoma prior to his junior season in 2022. At 6’7″, 328, he has the length the Bengals covet at tackle. Last year was his first as a full-time starter, but Cummings labels him as “one of the most upside-driven tackle prospects in the draft.”
Day 1 of @seniorbowl practice is in the books! Whose 2024 NFL Draft stock is on the rise?
Tyler Guyton and Quinyon Mitchell separated themselves as superlative offensive and defensive prospects, but plenty of other players stood out (via @PFN365):https://t.co/XD491M5Csh
— Ian Cummings (@IC_Draft) January 30, 2024
He made an instant impact at the first practice in Mobile, and the Bengals are likely to target the position in free agency and the draft.
So if they land a proven vet they can count on right away, Guyton is the kind of enticing, high-ceiling prospect they could go after in the second round if they draft a defensive lineman or other position of need in the first round.
Patrick Paul, Houston
A four-year starter and two-time captain at Houston, Paul checks a lot of boxes for the Bengals, including his size (6’7″, 333). Paul, who played left tackle for the Cougars, allowed six hurries, one hit, and no sacks as a fifth-year senior in 2023.
Despite making the leap from AAC to the Big 12, Paul earned first-team honors. Cummings described Paul as a “tall, looming blocker with great mass, hyper-elite length, and a dominating wingspan” in his scouting report on him.
Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon
The Bengals haven’t drafted an interior offensive lineman before Day 3 since 2012, when they took Kevin Zeitler in the first round. But they need more depth on the interior, and they need some sort of succession plan with center Ted Karras going into the final year of his contract.
MORE: Top iOL in the 2024 NFL Draft
Powers-Johnson (6’3″, 334) could be the first interior lineman selected. A center with guard experience, Powers-Johnson was one of the stars of Wednesday’s practices, just as he made a strong first impression at Oregon, playing 11 games as a true freshman.
Cooper Beebe, Kansas State
A consensus All-American last year and a two-time team captain and two-time Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year, Beebe started 48 games for the Wildcats and allowed just five sacks on 1,488 pass-block snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
The 6’4″, 335-pounder projects as a guard at the next level, but he played left tackle, left guard, right tackle, and right guard for KSU. And scouts love his physicality as much as his versatility.
As the 2023 NFL season comes to a close, the 2024 NFL Draft is on the horizon. Pro Football Network has you covered with everything from team draft needs to the Top 100 prospects available. Plus, fire up PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator to put yourself in the general manager’s seat and make all the calls!
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