Draft countdown: Bengals 2015 first round pick

The Cincinnati Bengals looked to find help through the draft at offensive line by drafting tackle Cedric Ogbuehi before letting go Andrew Whitworth.

The Cincinnati Bengals spent their 2015 draft addressing heavily in the offensive line. Selecting tackle Cedric Ogbuehi with the 21st overall pick and then grabbing tackle Jake Fisher in the second round was the sign of things to come. Following the 2016 season, the Bengals let Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler, their two best homegrown linemen, walk in free agency in hopes that Ogbuehi could step up and be the cheaper option.

This has obviously not been a good move so far by the Bengals as Ogbuehi has yet to develop into a starting role on either side of the line. Starting on the right side in 2016, Ogbuehi struggled tremendously and was moved to the left side of the line in 2017 where it got even worse. Both Ogbuehi and Fisher failed to handle the right side of the line and have been benched at some point.

With the addition of left tackle Cordy Glenn and the interest in the top tackles in this years draft class, Ogbuehi could be finding himself in a backup role come 2018. There is one other option if the Bengals cannot find a better guard on the right side. Ogbuehi played both guard and tackle during his college career and it might be better for him to move inside if he wants to attempt to save his career.

Struggling against some of the better pass rushers on the outside in the NFL, it might be a good move for the Bengals to slide him inside and find someone else for the tackle position in the draft. Speed around the edges has been a struggle for Ogbuehi to block in the passing and running game so moving him inside where he has help on both sides and not near the speed of defensive linemen might prove to salvage this 2015 first round pick that was so glamorous at the time.

The argument can be made that the Bengals already have young potential at the right guard spot with unproven players like Alex Redmond and Christian Westerman who played well at the end of the 2017 season. There has also been the talk of possibly pushing Fisher inside as well. It seems that this could be a battle for training camp to see who will be the best fit and whether the Bengals draft a tackle they feel comfortable starting in week one.

Next: Third round names to keep an eye on

Entering the fourth year of his rookie contract, this is the opportunity for both the team and Ogbuehi to redeem themselves. If Ogbuehi plays well on the interior part of the line, Cincinnati can pick up his fifth-year option before having to dish out some money. If Ogbuehi struggles there too, the team can cut him knowing they tried and gave him all the opportunities to succeed.