3 second-year Bengals players under pressure after 2022 NFL Draft

1. Jackson Carman

Surprise, surprise, another list with Jackson Carman’s name on it.

Cincinnati spent their second-round pick on Carman in last year’s draft and it was a bit of a head-scratcher at the time. Carman wasn’t a bad player during his Clemson days but the Bengals immediately made it known that they were planning to move the Tiger alum to one of the two guard spots despite his preference being at left tackle.

Transitioning to any new position is tough, but moving from tackle to guard is really difficult. Carman struggled massively during the preseason and ended up getting passed by fellow rookie D’Ante Smith as a result.

Fortunately for Carman, things improved. He stepped into the starting right guard job in Week 3 against the Steelers and held the job for three weeks before he got sick and had to miss time. By that point, Hakeem Adeniji was healthy enough to re-join the team and he took Carman’s job.

With the disheartening news surrounding Carman, it wasn’t shocking to see Cincinnati draft a potential starting option at left guard in Cordell Volson in the fourth round. Volson also played tackle in college but he projects as a guard in the pros.

If Carman weren’t a second-round pick, he’d be just another guy on the roster, but unfortunately for him, he is and that means he’s under pressure.

Time for these three Bengals to show what they can do for this team moving forward.