Starting Left Guard: Cordell Volson
While I'm a firm believer in that the Bengals shouldn't hesitate to upgrade the left guard spot if they can, it's not a major priority. Cordell Volson played fine in 2022 considering that he was a fourth-round rookie who wasn't supposed to be a starter.
Volson beat out Carman for the starting left guard job in training camp and didn't relinquish the gig all season long. He impressed a lot of fans with what he was able to do and unless the Bengals have someone like Andrew Vorhees or O'Cyrus Torrence fall to them in the draft, Volson is probably going to be the guy at left guard in 2023.
PFF didn't love Volson, giving him an overall grade of 51.6. He allowed five sacks during the season, tying him for the fifth-most allowed in the league.
Volson was a fun story in 2022 but it definitely feels like that was his ceiling and there won't be much room for him to grow in 2023 and beyond. He's 25 years old so he was an older rookie and that's why I wouldn't cling to the idea of him being the starting left guard long-term. For now though, he's my pick to start at left guard in 2023.