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The Cincinnati Bengals selected Texas A&M offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi with the No. 21 pick of the 2015 NFL draft. And we have two things to consider:
1) It's time for Ogbuehi to develop behind Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith, both of whom will enter the final year of their existing contract.
2) This will be a period during which Ogbuehi can slowly recover from an ACL injury that he suffered in January.
Ogbuehi suffered a torn ACL during Texas A&M 45-37 win over West Virginia during the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 29, 2014. He elected to have surgery in early January and his recovery could last into training camp, or even land him on the team's Physically Unable to Perform list. His injury clearly lowered his stock from being one of the top prospects in the 2015 NFL draft (Mel Kiper ranked him as the second-best offensive lineman and the 11th-best overall prospect) to a player that dropped to No. 21.
There's a possibility that Ogbuehi will open the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list. On the other hand, while Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said that his recovery in "on track," Ogbuehi told reporters Thursday night that he believes training camp is a possibility.
Says he's jogging right now and doing some light lateral movement - feels he'll be ready by training camp. #Bengals
— Jim Owczarski (@JimOwczarski) May 1, 2015
Ogbuehi thinks he can be ready by training camp. "I’m jogging right now. Light lateral movement, jumping." #Bengals
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) May 1, 2015
Ogbuehi: "I'm going to play this year. I just know I am." #Bengals
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) May 1, 2015