Bengals’ Duke Tobin praises Jonah Williams, has big plans for Jackson Carman

Many are planning for the Cincinnati Bengals to add offensive lineman, but there may be potential that, instead of bringing in the talent necessary to improve their offensive line, they develop it.

The Bengals Director of Player Personnel has noted that he will do whatever it takes to improve the line and that trading for a player could be on the table. However, the team also has high aspirations for Jackson Carman, their second-round draft pick in 2021.

Carman could be a starter next season, but he’ll need to show improvement. Taken with the 46th pick, Carman ended up making 17 appearances.

“[We] think highly of him. He’s a young player that’s developing. He’s got a lot of physical traits. He’s got a taste of what the NFL’s all about. He provided valuable snaps for us, and we feel like he’s on track,” Tobin said.

Carman played 462 snaps last season and totaled five penalties. The guard finished with a 56.3 overall grade.

While he’s more of a project, the team is expecting big things from former first-round overall pick Jonah Williams. Williams played in 1,044 snaps and had just four penalties, being held responsible for eight sacks. His durability was a positive, playing in 16 games.

“I think Jonah played pretty well this year. I didn’t have a problem. Every tackle gets beat. But I know that the other players on the offensive line and the other players in our offense have confidence in Jonah, as they do with the other offensive linemen.

“Are there improvements that he and the group can make? Sure. There are improvements that can be made, but we feel fortunate that Jonah’s around.

“And again, he’s an AFC champion, too, just like Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase.”

Williams is going to be a staple for the offensive line for years to come, and hopefully, at that left tackle position, he’ll be able to shore up a unit that struggled to protect Joe Burrow this past season.