Grade the pick: Bengals select Cordell Volson in Round 4

The Cincinnati Bengals spent the first two days of the NFL Draft adding athletic defensive players in the secondary and on the defensive line. They finally addressed the offensive side of the ball by drafting offensive lineman Cordell Volson from North Dakota State.

Volson projects as a player who may have to kick inside due to his frame and size.

He is 6-foot-6 and over 300 pounds. He played almost exclusively at tackle, including several starts at left tackle after Dillon Radunz was drafted in Round 2 last season but eventually went back to right tackle.

The Bengals have done a ton of work on an offensive line that allowed quarterback Joe Burrow to be sacked 70 times in a season that finished with a trip to the Super Bowl.

They have already added players like La’el Collins, Ted Karras, and Alex Cappa to come in and start. Cincinnati also picked up left tackle Jonah William’s fifth-year option earlier this week.

The only real hole is at left guard as Quinton Spain remains unsigned.

We will likely see Volson compete for a backup job at one of the guard positions while Jackson Carman, D’Ante Smith, and Hakeem Adeniji compete for that left guard spot. But who knows, we could easily see Volson surprise us during camp and make a real run at the starting spot.

He is a very tough offensive lineman that fits into offensive line coach Frank Turner’s “glass eater” profile.

He plays mean and loves finishing blocks. He will just have to make the adjustment to playing inside and working on some lateral quickness and getting to the second level in a good position on a consistent basis.

What do you think of the pick?

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