If alarm bells weren't already going off about the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive tackle depth, well, they're screaming right about now. Second-year fifth-round pick Jalen Rivers was more often a left tackle than a left guard at the University of Miami, but he played both spots well enough to merit NFL Draft consideration.
Alas, Rivers was thrust into duty as a rookie at right guard and was one of the very worst players at the position in the entire sport. He wound up on the bench, and now the Bengals have two capable starters at those spots in Dylan Fairchild and Dalton Risner. Plus, rookie Brian Parker II is a good fill-in at either guard position, in addition to center.
But again, we're not talking about guard. We're talking about offensive tackle.
It's a position where Orlando Brown Jr. is on a steady decline protecting Joe Burrow's blind side. Where Amarius Mims will be eligible for probably-tense contract negotiations next offseason. And where the swing tackle spot is very much up for grabs in a concerning sort of way.
Jalen Rivers' failures at guard have forced him into swing tackle competition
As was reported by NBC 5 sports director Charlie Clifford, Jalen Rivers worked at left tackle with the second-team offense at Bengals training camp practice, while Cody Ford kicked inside to guard.
Ford is the typical by-default swing tackle. To me, he's always been better suited at guard. What I don't understand is how Rivers is expected to flourish at tackle when he couldn't hack it at an easier position on the inside. It's not like he's some phenomenal athlete or something (6.48 RAS).
Like if Rivers had elite physical tools, I could buy the argument that maybe he just got outmuscled on the inside and is better suited at tackle. This is not the case. I just don't think he's quick enough to hang out there on the edge.
SI.com's Jay Morrison captured some testimony from Rivers that is the work of an S Tier spin doctor by the latter to rationalize why changing positions is somehow a good thing:
"“They told me after the (Detroit) game, 'Hey, we’re gonna see what you can do at tackle as well,' ...I can’t say it caught me by surprise...It’s important to work at both, and this just improves my game even more. Improves my knowledge of the game, too. It’s helped me tremendously. [...] This is not new to me...At Miami, I would be the starting left guard, (and) during camp in the spring I'm working left tackle the whole week. Shoot, even center."
Bengals are being awfully lazy about an urgent problem (sound familiar?)
Jalen Rivers moving to tackle isn't a positive development for anyone involved. It's a similar song of the sirens variety that has sunk Cincinnati in recent years.
The Bengals are desperately trying to make some use of Rivers, who looks like a failed draft pick. Zac Taylor and the coaching staff are trying to cover for a scouting department that, once again, whiffed on an acquisition designed to better protect Burrow.
And for Rivers, he's taking on an even steeper challenge by flexing out to tackle. It's almost as if the Bengals are praying that Rivers can't be as bad as Ford.
Y'all know the drill by now. Taylor speaks with alleged candor to the press as the front-facing fall guy. He says something like, "We believe in the guys we have in the locker room."
And that's about all there is to it. Case closed. Meanwhile, the piss-poor performance on the field persists. Fans look on askance, wondering why or how the front office could be so negligent about such a massive priority.
That's how you get Rivers trotting out in an emergency situation if Brown or Mims ever get banged up, and that's how you put Joe Burrow at risk. Again.
Duke Tobin, can we just sign or trade for a semi-serious swing tackle? Please? I get wanting to develop your own players. I really do. But now is not the time to mess around. This offseason was about going all-in for a Super Bowl. I'm not keen to possibly repeat the history of, like, Jackson Carman, Isaiah Prince, and Hakeem Adeniji types starting at offensive tackle deep into playoff runs. Let's STOP with that, shall we?
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