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Five Offensive Linemen the Cincinnati Bengals could target in 2020

By Hunter Bittinger

COLUMBUS, OH - OCTOBER 6: J.K. Dobbins #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates his first quarter touchdown run against the Indiana Hoosiers with Thayer Munford #75 of the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on October 6, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - OCTOBER 6: J.K. Dobbins #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes celebrates his first quarter touchdown run against the Indiana Hoosiers with Thayer Munford #75 of the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on October 6, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 16: Quaterback Justin Herbert #10 of the Oregon Ducks fumbles the ball under pressure from Curtis Weaver #99 and Kekaula Kaniho #28 of the Boise State Broncos during the first half of the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium on December 16, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 16: Quaterback Justin Herbert #10 of the Oregon Ducks fumbles the ball under pressure from Curtis Weaver #99 and Kekaula Kaniho #28 of the Boise State Broncos during the first half of the Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium on December 16, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /

As mentioned before, if the Bengals decide to take the advice of many and are sellers at the trade deadline, they could end up with a top quarterback prospect along with an outstanding guard in Shane Lemieux. Right now, if they were to pick up an extra first through a trade, the pick would likely come in the back half of the first round, which is where they’d find great value in the mauler from Oregon.

As you can see in the film breakdown above from @geoffschwartz, Lemieux isn’t afraid to get off the ball and into the second level, something current Bengal’s offensive linemen seem to struggle with.

He could really help Cincinnati get their run game going for the first time in years. With a back like Joe Mixon, he doesn’t need much to break loose. If Lemieux can consistently keep guys off Mixon until he finds some space a few yards downfield, it would solve a lot of the offensive problems fans are currently witnessing. It would also allow Zac Taylor to open his playbook up and utilize play-action like he wants to.

Beyond what he’s doing in the run game, Matt Miller of bleacher Report currently has him pegged as the best pass-blocking guard in the 2020 NFL Draft. For a Cincinnati team that badly needs offensive line help in both aspects, he could be the perfect option for picking up their quarterback of the future and seriously helping the offensive line in the same draft.