Jackson Carman praised by Ted Karras and Joe Burrow

The Cincinnati Bengals spent this offseason rebuilding their offensive line with four new faces starting in Week 1. But over the last month, the Bengals have lost three of their five starters in right tackle La’el Collins, left tackle Jonah Williams, and right guard Alex Cappa suffering injuries.

That led to Jackson Carman being thrust into playing left tackle half of the Wild Card game against the Baltimore Ravens and starting at left guard against the Buffalo Bills today. It wasn’t exactly a stellar plan on paper as he hadn’t played offensive tackle since college, and the Bengals had most recently played him at right guard.

The reviews are in from some of the offensive players who were on the field, and things seemed to go pretty well.

It certainly went well for Carman today. He didn’t allow much pressure off that left side, and as a whole, the line did a great job of making holes for Joe Mixon in the running game as well.

One thing Carman really has going for him is his strength. He is rarely going to get pushed back, and he can really handle blocking a guy once he is able to get his base set and hands on the defender.

It should be noted that the snow really benefited Carman in that aspect. His issues really would show up against speed rushers who can get outside of him or be able to use that speed to make a double move back to the inside. The heavy snow really didn’t allow for that to happen, so that’s a real test we will have to see him face before the Bengals can truly believe in him.

There is a chance that Williams and/or Cappa could be back for the AFC Championship Game next week against the Kansas City Chiefs, but the odds are against it. Carman has shown that if need be, he may be a nice depth piece moving forward at tackle.

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