Film Room: Dylan Fairchild is poised to upgrade the Bengals offensive line

The Bengals found a potential stud.

For the second year in a row, the Cincinnati Bengals went to Athens, Georgia, to find some offensive line help, and from the looks of things, they may have hit it out of the park once again.

While his teammate Tate Ratledge may have gotten more attention in the pre-draft process, Dylan Fairchild is an extremely talented player and a great fit for the Bengals.

One of the things Fairchild is most often praised for is his pass protection, specifically his anchor.

You can see it here. He is initially pushed back but is able to sink his hips and hold the rusher in place. Even the defensive end bumping into him doesn’t knock him off his block.

In this clip. Fairchild does an excellent job of picking up the defensive line stunt.

Initially, he blocks the defender in the B-gap, but as the defensive end loops the inside, the offensive tackle (57) steps down into the B-gap. The tackle takes over the block, allowing Fairchild to pick up the looper in the A-gap.

This is excellent communication between the two linemen and a great pickup by Fairchild.

Fairchild is a smart player who does a great job of adjusting to defensive movement.

Here is another example of Fairchild picking up a stunt by the defensive line.

This time, he initially blocks the defensive lineman aligned in the B-gap (90). Number 90 stunts inside, and Fairchild seamlessly passes him off to the center. Then, he picks up the nose tackle (8) as he loops to the outside.

Let’s take a close look at that block.

Fairchild flexes his wrestling background here with some great hand usage.

The inside man wins, and the defender has inside hand position.

Fairchild throws a two-handed chop and resets his hands inside.

This is fantastic.

I am really excited to see what Fairchild can do in the run game.

In this clip, he does a great job of rolling his hips through contact and driving the defender downfield. He is really showing off that 370-pound power clean and 570-pound squat on this rep.

In fact, he takes him past the defensive end and all the way off the screen.

In this clip, Fairchild showcases his strength once again, along with some excellent footwork.

The defender is lined up inside and Fairchild successfully reaches him, placing himself inside of the defender and swinging his hips into the gap.

Fairchild brings a powerful punch with his inside arm, knocking the defender to the ground.

Now, let’s talk about second-level blocking.

Fairchild does a great job of climbing to the second level and tracking linebackers on the move.

In this clip, Fairchild punches the defensive lineman and works up to the middle linebacker. When he gets to the linebacker, he gets his body in the gap and controls the defender.

Now let’s take a step back and look at what Fairchild does at the first level.

Look at how Fairchild throws a left-handed and completely turns the defensive lineman’s shoulders.

This is an incredibly powerful punch on his way to the second level. The offensive tackle doesn’t follow through with the block, but Fairchild set him up perfectly and got to the linebacker fast.

He went from power to speed in the last clip, in this one he goes from speed to power.

Fairchild is the first puller. He gets the edge and absolutely annihilates the first defender he sees.

This clip speaks for itself.

How often do you see a 325-pound man blocking 20 yards down the field?

The Bengals may have found something special in Dylan Fairchild.

He is a young, ascending player who has fantastic strength and processing. Now, this high school wrestling champ at Georgia’s highest level has been matched up with the perfect position coach with an MMA background in Scott Peters.