Bengals evaluation of Stanford OT Walker Little one of most intriguing

There is a chance that Little could get his name called Thursday on the first night of the draft. There is a small chance that he might be available on day three.

If he falls a bit, would the Bengals be interested?

Why the Bengals may not be interested:

First, his lack of positional versatility. Little is a pure left tackle. We have not seen Little work at guard and just a handful of snaps at right tackle.

Lack of positional versatility is something that may be playing out when Bengals consider Oregon LT Penei Sewell. Little, much like Sewell sees himself as the best tackle in the draft.

Little seems more open to the idea of just being a lineman than Sewell. Speaking at his pro day press conference Little said:

"“It’s no problem at all. It’s definitely something I already thought about. I’ve been training both right and left tackle and working a little bit of guard the past few months knowing coaches want to see anything. And being able to show that I’m a versatile player. You know, I’m not set on one position. I’m an OL. [I will] step in wherever needed. I think I’m the best tackle in this draft, but I’ll do whatever a team needs me to do. I’m just there to compete and help a team win a championship.”"

The Bengals may not see Little as being an immediate contributor at guard in a season where they need to knock this draft out of the park. Also, Little is not an overpowering, dominant type of LT. Little’s skill set and that of Bengals OL Jonah Williams are a bit redundant. The Bengals just might not love the tape on Little.

Little struggled a bit against Notre Dame in their 2018 matchup. Bengals’ 2020 fifth-round draft pick, Khalid Kareem against Little in that game.