Don’t Freak Out About the Bengals’ 1st Depth Chart
On Monday the 9th, the Bengals released their 1st depth chart:
Of course, the depth chart sparked a lot of concern, especially with the offensive line.
Michael Jordan is listed as the starting right guard. After being pushed into Joe Burrow’s knee causing Burrow’s horrible injury, fans haven’t exactly been a fan of him. Even before and after then, Jordan has really struggled. Jordan has a PFF grade of 55.7, which on their scale means he shouldn’t even be a backup. So when he was listed as the starting guard, fans were freaking out.
What is even more interesting, is that D’Ante Smith, one of the Bengals’ 4th round picks, is currently higher on the depth chart than Jackson Carman. D’Ante Smith is listed as the 2nd string left guard, and Jackson Carman is listed as a 3rd string. Smith has received a lot of praise from Zac Taylor throughout training camp, and reporters have reported that Jackson Carman has struggled with false starts. Despite with what the depth chart and reports are saying, it is important to not freak out.
The Bengals have not played a preseason game yet. As of writing this, there’s only been 10 days of training camp. There is plenty of time before the season, and the depth chart will most certainly change before week 1. Like it was said earlier, a lot of Carman’s struggles have been pre-snap. Those issues will be fixed with more snaps. The Bengals’ depth chart will change. Don’t put to much focus on the 1st depth chart.
