Quote:The Cincinnati Bengals want a big immediate impact from second-round pick Jackson Carman.

So much so, they aren’t hiding the fact they want him to start at guard right away.

Director of college scouting Mike Potts just said as much in an interview with Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:

“He’s an AFC North physical, powerful offensive lineman who is very athletic. The way this division is set up, this is a physical line of scrimmage division. He’s got a lot of things going for him. He’s a tackle with guard flexibility. He’s extremely intelligent. People say, ‘You’ve never seen him play guard.’ But with all the research we did on him, we know he’s smart enough to do it.”
A fun nugget in that writeup? The Bengals sought out the opinion of Bengals legend Willie Anderson while weighing whether to make Carman the pick.

The Bengals actually traded back in the second round, picking up two extra fourth-round picks, before calling Carman’s name. They wanted him earlier and thought he would last, which he did.

This was always going to be the fate of a line pick by the Bengals this year with Jonah Williams and Riley Reiff manning the edges. Depending on how long the latter plays at a quality level, Carman might never have to kick outside.

And Carman, by the way, is a hometown kid who had an amazing reaction to going back home.

(05-04-2021, 11:33 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: Yea, I'm pretty sure Zac said this on Friday.

(05-04-2021, 11:41 AM)BFritz21 Wrote: Nice to have coaches with an actual plan and some intelligence!  

It's nice to know that the best players will be on the field!

Thanks for allowing the old guy along for the ride! May GOD bless you ! #WillieAndersonLinemanAcademy https://t.co/PlKsXlhz5e

— Willie Anderson (@BigWillie7179) May 4, 2021

(05-04-2021, 11:13 AM)BFritz21 Wrote: This article from The USA Today doesn't go into specifics, but it says that we want to start Carman inside at guard:


I love it because it means we're putting our best players on the field and having the best team possible.  We started Whitworth at guard because of injuries and that turned out working out pretty well.  When we kicked him back out to his natural left tackle position, he still was a star, so I don't fear that this will hinder Carman in any way and I'm excited that we're putting the best possible combination out there.

I'm starting to think that this team could surprise a lot of people!

(05-04-2021, 12:14 PM)pally Wrote:

Thanks for allowing the old guy along for the ride! May GOD bless you ! #WillieAndersonLinemanAcademy https://t.co/PlKsXlhz5e

— Willie Anderson (@BigWillie7179) May 4, 2021

(05-05-2021, 01:11 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: No surprise, thought so. Carman is a road grading, mauling, pancaking Guard all the way. This pick is going to have a lot of people
eating crow that didn't like it. Carman could end up being the best OL taken in this class. Only Guard I had rated above him was 
Vera-Tucker who also was a Tackle in college but didn't play in the SEC like Carman did.

I don't see Carman going back out to Tackle unless in emergency. His natural position is Guard, unlike Whit who was more of a 
Tackle. The question is which side of the Line Carman plays on, LG or RG?

(05-04-2021, 11:41 AM)BFritz21 Wrote: Nice to have coaches with an actual plan and some intelligence!  

It's nice to know that the best players will be on the field!

(05-05-2021, 01:28 PM)Sled21 Wrote: RG... they have returning to his natural position at LG and he is penciled in starting there. Carman is penciled in at RG

(05-05-2021, 01:33 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Cool, thought he would be playing RG as Spain and XSF are much better on the left side.

(05-05-2021, 01:37 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Yeah, I'm guessing unless he really brings it, XFS is the backup for either position.

(05-05-2021, 01:40 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Thinking the same, believe Spain will win the LG position. Hopefully we bring in another vet at Guard for depth as well.

If MJ cannot get low he is a lost cause and we will have to cut the guy. 

Would like to hear what Willie thinks about MJ honestly. Heard he was working with him this Offseason...

(05-05-2021, 01:11 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: No surprise, thought so. Carman is a road grading, mauling, pancaking Guard all the way. This pick is going to have a lot of people
eating crow that didn't like it. Carman could end up being the best OL taken in this class. Only Guard I had rated above him was 
Vera-Tucker who also was a Tackle in college but didn't play in the SEC like Carman did.

I don't see Carman going back out to Tackle unless in emergency. His natural position is Guard, unlike Whit who was more of a 
Tackle. The question is which side of the Line Carman plays on, LG or RG?

(05-04-2021, 11:13 AM)BFritz21 Wrote: This article from The USA Today doesn't go into specifics, but it says that we want to start Carman inside at guard:


I love it because it means we're putting our best players on the field and having the best team possible.  We started Whitworth at guard because of injuries and that turned out working out pretty well.  When we kicked him back out to his natural left tackle position, he still was a star, so I don't fear that this will hinder Carman in any way and I'm excited that we're putting the best possible combination out there.

I'm starting to think that this team could surprise a lot of people!

(05-05-2021, 01:11 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: No surprise, thought so. Carman is a road grading, mauling, pancaking Guard all the way. This pick is going to have a lot of people
eating crow that didn't like it. Carman could end up being the best OL taken in this class. Only Guard I had rated above him was 
Vera-Tucker who also was a Tackle in college but didn't play in the SEC like Carman did.

I don't see Carman going back out to Tackle unless in emergency. His natural position is Guard, unlike Whit who was more of a 
Tackle. The question is which side of the Line Carman plays on, LG or RG?

(05-05-2021, 02:14 PM)mrredneck Wrote: I am hopeful, he is what 23/24 he has basically got two years of NFL training, when he should have been in college, he was another he's got great potential pick,  maybe the biggest reason I preferred Chase over Sewell. Praying Carman, Shelvin, and D Smith > Jenkins or Barmore.  I was not happy at the time, however three players for one is a no brainer with the elite players off the board.

(05-05-2021, 02:19 PM)Dr.Z Wrote: I remember you mentioning Carman several times pre-draft, and respect you having your own opinion in evaluating him.  Props, and I hope you’re right lol.

(05-05-2021, 02:25 PM)Gdale_Bengal Wrote: I hope a lot of people knew that when he was drafted he was playing guard. He has short arms and has trouble with speed rushers, but he can stand up bull rushers and fight them back. He is very athletic and gets to the 2nd level quickly, making him a very good pulling guard.

He has a lot to learn though, switching from tackle to guard means he has to learn more calls on the line. He has the makings of a quality nfl guard though.

(05-05-2021, 02:38 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: based on your description RG would be the place for those talents.

I like the Talent. But thought an OT would be more valuable.  Most OTs can slide inside.  Not Every OG can slide out. (and depth is still an issue)

If he comes anywhere close to having a career like Willie then its a damn good pick

(05-05-2021, 02:38 PM)SHRacerX Wrote: A couple podcasts (Hear that podcast Growlin, and Locked on Bengals...both excellent) had the Bengals Director of College Scouting, MIke Potts, on for an interview recently.

I was most interested to hear his opinions on Carman, and the details about the trade back.  He referred to Carman's play at LT as "violent", and that he was often punching his opponent first, rather than retreating and catching.  It was a perfect fit for the RPO that Clemson liked to run.  Jake Liscow asked about his ability to play guard, and mentioned that he felt like Carman "played Tackle like a Guard", in terms of the phone booth space and often met his opponent with a strike.  Potts laughed and said that they felt the same way and everyone in the Bengals room was very high on him, largely because of his physicality.  

Potts also mentioned how impressed they were about Carman's desire to finish the season the last 5 games with a herniated disc in his back, rather than opting out and having the surgery to have time to prepare for the draft.  

I think Carman is our RG for a long time, and I'm very excited about that.  My only wish was instead of Ossai, they took Spencer Brown to develop at RT behind Reiff, but I am very happy about Carman.