The Cincinnati Bengals have been having issues with their offensive line since Joe Burrow got to Cincinnati in the 2020 season. This isn’t news to any Bengals fan, but this isn’t just a problem in the Zac Taylor era. The Bengals have been struggling to protect quarterbacks for the better part of a decade.
When appearing on the Pat McAfee Show on Monday, former Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth revealed a shocking stat about the Bengals’ lack of success evaluating and retaining offensive line talent.
Yes, you heard that right. Since 2011, the Bengals have not drafted an offensive lineman who would go on to sign a second contract with the franchise. Despite drafting several players in that timeframe, only Clint Boling has signed with the team beyond his rookie contract.
For context, of 11 offensive lineman drafted between 2011 and 2020 have not signed a new deal with the franchise. That number could go up depending on how the last four draft classes pan out.
When asked why he believes that is the case, Whitworth said that it is more of an evaluation issue than anything and with those numbers, it is hard to disagree.
The team has changed head coaches and had several offensive line coaches in the last 14 years and since then, they haven’t drafted a single player they were willing to retain. It can be a mixture of coaching, development and talent evaluation from the start. As of now, the history shows that the Bengals haven’t figured any of those out.
We’ve seen the struggles year after year, but to hear it spelled out that way is shocking.
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