Cedric Ogbuehi preparing to impress at left tackle in 2017

It has been yet another offseason primarily defined by rough losses for the Cincinnati Bengals. In particular, losing long-time veteran left tackle Andrew Whitworth to the Los Angeles Rams has the potential to sting more than any other loss this offseason. The thought is that he will be replaced by Cedric Ogbuehi in 2017, who struggled to succeed Andre Smith at right tackle in 2016. But, he has been training at FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer’s Unbreakable Camp this offseason, which has helped guys like DeMarco Murray, Calais Campbell, Zach Ertz, and Justin Pugh become stars in the NFL.

The training done at Unbreakable is similar to MMA training, and there are MMA fighters who train there.

“Ced is incredibly athletic,” Glazer told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “He just beat one of our receivers in a race. He’s ridiculous. We had to find out what his weaknesses were.”

The fact that Ogbuehi is athletic and has a lot of potential is nothing new. The Bengals selected him with their first round pick in 2015, despite his then-torn ACL, because they saw a well-proportioned tackle who is still extremely athletic and has already mastered many of the techniques needed to block rushing defenders. Unfortunately, as the Bengals discovered in 2016, his first season as a starter, there were still plenty of areas he needed to work on to be an effective NFL player, especially if he was going to continue playing on the right side of the line.

For that reason, it makes plenty of sense why the Bengals want to switch him back to left tackle now. Ogbuehi could have easily allowed his confidence to waver after such a disappointing first season as a starter, but he appears to still be determined to be a great player in the NFL. If nothing else, you have to admire his drive to succeed.

“If you can go five three-minute rounds with one minute off in between, you can go for eight seconds in the NFL,” Glazer said. “It’s demoralizing what we do. It’s so tough physically that it’s the mental game that’s so important. Getting the crap knocked out you by short old guys. Some of these guys leave here after two days, four days. But Ced’s been there for a month. I’m proud of him.”

There has rarely been a word out of the Bengals’ camp that wasn’t positive about Ogbuehi’s future with the team. Despite his struggles in 2016, the coaching staff and his fellow players stuck behind him and continued to believe in him. That is both a result of his incredible athletic talent and his personal drive for success.

That said, it is still nice to hear about Ogbuehi’s continued development. The Bengals took a big risk on him as he was coming out of college with a torn ACL suffered in his final game with Texas A&M. The problem is, we as fans don’t get to see his development over the course of the offseason, so there are many people who question his value to the team going forward.

“Last week was a big week for him. You can see it click in,” Glazer said. “Whit said the same thing … He’s showing toughness and fighting back.” Whitworth is also training with Glazer and Ogbuehi at Unbreakable.

If Ogbuehi can shake off the baggage from his disappointing 2016 season and use the switch to left tackle to foster success, he should silence all those who doubt the Bengals made the right choice when they selected him. Until then, his on-field production, which has been poor up to this point, is the only thing that fans can take into consideration. But, if you believe what the Bengals tell you, he is poised, in 2017, to prove the Bengals made the right moves in drafting him and moving on from Whitworth, the 35-year-old veteran who spent 11 years in Cincinnati.

Here’s a look at some of the work Ogbuehi is doing this offseason:

Here’s Ogbuehi with Glazer and MMA Hall of Famer Randy Couture at the gym.