2. Jackson Carman
The only position that’s somewhat up in the air on the offensive line is at left guard. Most fans seem to believe that Jackson Carman will get every opportunity to win the starting job there, especially with Quinton Spain not being retained (though he is still available in free agency, as of this writing).
Carman was a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and after playing left tackle in college, was set to move inside to one of the guard spots. With Spain winning the left guard job, right guard was where Carman eventually played and with mixed results.
Cincinnati put a lot of money into fixing their o-line this offseason and one of their moves on the line was bringing in Alex Cappa. The former Buc will be the starting right guard and that means the only spot left for Carman to fill is at left guard, a position that he hasn’t played at the professional level.
It’s still too early to give up on Carman but if the Bengals are able to get Tyler Linderbaum at pick No. 31, the rookie would take over at center and newly-signed free agent Ted Karras would be the starting left guard. That puts Carman out of a starting job.
Carman stands to lose a lot in the draft if Linderbaum slides down to the end of the first round.