Bengals could take advantage of strong offensive tackle draft class

It’s a good year to need to be looking for offensive tackles.

The Cincinnati Bengals have their eyes set on the offseason, and there are likely team staff members right now somewhere in a room discussing potential free-agent targets and creating a draft board.

There are several positions of need, and with the potential exit of Jonah Williams, one of those is right tackle.

Luckily for them, the stars have aligned, presenting them with possibly one of the best offensive tackle draft classes over the last several seasons.

Despite investing millions of dollars into the offensive line with free agents like Orlando Brown Jr., Alex Cappa, and Ted Karras, the Bengals have struggled at protecting Joe Burrow and Jake Browning. While they played better down the stretch, Burrow was already gone for the season, and it didn’t really matter anymore.

Now Williams is entering free agency after playing out his fifth-year option season. Despite the professionalism he exhibited after being forced to right tackle, it was clear he wasn’t happy about it, and, were I a betting man, I’d bet he’s already got his eyes on greener pastures.

So could the Bengals possibly land Joe Alt? Or could they be looking at Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Taliese Fuaga, JC Latham, or Amarius Mims when they go on the clock with the No. 18 overall pick?

Or could they pass on an offensive tackle in the first round? We shall see.