Jalen Rivers continued ascending over the past couple of weeks after making the switch to right guard and even earned praise from Coach Taylor after the 53-man roster was announced.
Rivers spent much of training camp and the first preseason game working at offensive tackle. The Bengals decided to kick him inside to guard, partly due to injuries the past couple of weeks at various times to Lucas Patrick, Cody Ford, and Cordell Volson.
In his first preseason action in Week 2 at guard, he turned in a solid but not spectacular performance against the Washington Commanders. What made that performance so impressive to me was the limited reps he had at the position up until recently. You could tell he was still getting comfortable at the position at this level of football, but he showcased a lot of good traits for an interior offensive lineman to build on and continue developing.
He followed that performance up by looking even more natural on the inside against the Indianapolis Colts this week, displaying good hand usage, power as a run blocker, and looking to finish through the whistle. His ability to recognize and pick up stunts already looks like a veteran player.
Rivers also took some reps recently at left guard for the Bengals.
For now, the newly signed Dalton Risner is set to be the starting right guard eventually, but he’s only on a one-year deal, potentially paving the way for Rivers to take over in 2026.
At worst, Rivers looks like a quality depth piece for the roster that will be active on gamedays and can provide versatility to play guard or kick back outside to tackle if needed. The Bengals very well may have hit on two long-term solutions for the guard position with Rivers and Dylan Fairchild.
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