PFF grades O’Shea Dugas as top-10 offensive rookie midway through preseason

The last time a Bengals left tackle wore the number 70, things didn’t exactly pan out.

But O’Shea Dugas seems to look good wearing it.

As an undrafted offensive lineman from Louisiana Tech, the 335 pound Dugas was originally a guard in college. Due to the team’s lack of depth at offensive tackle, Dugas has exclusively been a tackle since the beginning of training camp, running with the second team as Cordy Glenn’s backup.

Per Pro Football Focus, the commitment to keeping Dugas at tackle has paid off. The rookie was included in PFF’s top rookies through the first two weeks of the preseason.

10. O’Shea Dugas, Cincinnati Bengals

Grade: 75.3

Offensive Snaps: 91

Dugas was not on the 53-man roster radar until after the Jonah Williams injury, and he seized his preseason opportunity. The Louisiana Tech product has surrendered five quarterback pressures, but zero hits and sacks across 67 total pass-block snaps.

All 91 of Dugas’ snaps have come at left tackle with the second and third-team offense. He’s not going up against any reputable competition, but he’s survivng nonetheless.

Three of Dugas’ five quarterback pressures he’s allowed came in Week 1 against the Chiefs, a game where he was pulled for Justin Evans after nearly getting quarterback Jeff Driskel sacked. He played only 36 snaps in that game and wasn’t terribly impressive in pass protection.

Against the Redskins a week later, Dugas had a much more stable outing, allowing just two pressures in 37 pass-blocking snaps (55 snaps total). He entered the game with the second-team late in the first quarter and this time, played the entire rest of the game at that spot.

Despite, PFF’s words of encouragement, Dugas is nowhere near a lock for the final roster. Andre Smith has been working at left tackle this week while Glenn is in the concussion protocol, so the team likely sees Smith as the swing tackle going forward. If Dugas is to make the team, they’ll have to end up carrying four tackles and at least nine linemen total, which is possible but not a guarantee.

Without Glenn for likely the remainder of the preseason. Dugas will continue to get plenty of opportunities to continue making his case to the coaching staff. At the very least, he looks like a safe bet for the practice squad, which would be more than fine.