Quote:Athletes have come to appropriate Proverbs 27:17 into their work lives, especially when it comes to the offseason or practices when they go head-to-head with a teammate, or a friend from around the league to work on individual skills.

“Iron sharpens iron” is the part most often quoted, and it offers insight into a relatively simple mindset: At some point, you need someone to make you better.

Cedric Ogbuehi, meet Carlos Dunlap.

The Cincinnati Bengals second-year right tackle is working against the Pro Bowl defensive end on a daily basis in the Cincinnati Bengals training camp, a matchup that even three-time All Pro former left tackle Willie Anderson says will help Ogbuehi more than any coaching could.

“You'll be surprised at how much that helps guys out, facing a Pro Bowler every day,” said Anderson, who was in Bengals camp to provide information and help to the offensive line.

“It gives them something to work on. You're not just working against some scrub guy. You're working against top-notch guys every day and you see Carlos telling him things every day. Those are things you get better at, learning yourself, learning who you are, learning your weaknesses. I'm sure Carlos will tell you, the great players, they learn quick. They study quick.”

Dunlap is coming off his best season as a professional and is in his prime years with a stated goal of toppling his new standard of 13.5 sacks in 2016. Ogbuehi, the presumed starter on the right side of the Bengals’ line, has only six games of experience to draw upon.

The matchup isn’t all one sided. Ogbuehi isn’t just an anvil.

“He's stronger than I thought he was,” Anderson said of Ogbuehi. “You see his body type. He's got very strong hands. Obviously a great athlete, great feet.”

Dunlap spent his entire career going against Andre Smith on a regular basis, and his new opponent is presenting new challenges.

“He’s probably one of the most athletic guys, but he’s also pretty strong,” Dunlap said of Ogbuehi. “Giving him all my tips is making it harder for me. It does nothing but help me in the long room. It’s a win-win for me. Andre was a big, athletic tackle but he had really great feet. Ced is a little bit smaller so he’s built differently but he’s still very athletic. He doesn’t have the savvy vet stuff yet so I’m trying to give him a jump start by giving him all these tips. That way he can help me in practice and in the game he’s helping himself.”

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And while the pair continues to work on their craft to one another, they both didn’t hesitate to call on Anderson to assist with the forging. Dunlap went to Anderson to crawl deeper into the mind of an elite tackle – a pathway Anderson gladly shared.

“Everybody has a different perspective,” Dunlap said. “He gave me one or two things and more importantly he confirmed a couple things he confirmed a couple things I understood, or thought that they did. To hear it come from him just confirmed it. That probably had more of an effect on me, tings he confirmed that I already thought of or learned over the years.”
Bengals offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi has leaned

Bengals offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi has leaned on the advice of teammate Carlos Dunlap and former Bengal Willie Anderson to improve. (Photo: Kareem Elgazzar)

Anderson then turned around and told the same things to Ogbuehi. Iron meets iron meets iron.

“He’s an All-Pro player, so the more I can learn from him the better I’ll be as a player,” Ogbuehi said. “How to be a pro, how to play the game, technique issues, everything.”

The desired end result, of course, is that Dunlap will mold himself into the type of end that can eclipse Michael Strahan’s single-season record of 22.5 sacks and Ogbuehi can forge his first-round pick potential more quickly.

“If I give him all the tips of the trade and he’s in the perfect positon that makes it that much harder for me,” Dunlap said. “If I can beat him and he knew what I was doing, then that means I’m ready. You want to make practice harder than the games. He’s getting a lot better. He’s got some pretty good camp tape but obviously it’s a lot easier versus teammates, so his first preseason game and the practice versus the Vikings, that’s when we’re going to start believing a little bit more.”