Bengals 2025 Training Camp Preview: OT


Bengals Training Camp Preview: OT

Players:

75. Orlando Brown

71. Amarius Mims

76. Devin Cochran

77. Caleb Etienne

73. Andrew Stueber

79. Andrew Coker

The Bengals are set to enter training camp with some stability at the OT position, even if the depth might have a few question marks. This isn’t totally surprising, however. Last year, they had the veteran, Trent Brown, starting at RT, and a 1st round rookie to fall back on. As it turned out, they did need to fall back on Mims, when Brown was lost for the season due to injury. Now, with Trent Brown leaving in free agency, they won’t have the same kind of luxury.

Just looking at the starting spots, the Bengals are looking good on both sides. Orlando Brown maintains his spot on the left side, and he has generally been pretty reliable since signing in Cincinnati. Mims will now enter the season as the starter at RT. After an impressive rookie season, he will be looking to build on it, not only maintaining a level of consistency, but also getting to a new level altogether. With an abundance of talent, there is a lot of optimism that Mims can reach these heights.

I’ve got Cochran listed as the third “true” OT. The 2022 UDFA signing spent most of the season on the practice squad, but was elevated in week 9 to get his first game action. Some shaky moments were inevitable for a guy in his position, but he improved as the game went on, in the end, making a surprisingly good impression.

Cochran, if he can continue to improve, has a solid chance at cracking the roster. He’s got the traits to be a good player, and the Bengals have invested a good chunk of time in his development. That said, it is very unlikely that he is first off the bench, should one of the starters go down. This is because someone like Cody Ford, who is primarily a G, is also capable of filling in at OT, and would likely get the call in this scenario. Even someone like Jalen Rivers or Jaxson Kirkland might be in play. Like Ford, they are better fits at G, but are capable enough at OT to be included in both competitions. I will talk more about those players in my next article, highlighting the iOL.

Looking at the rest of the OT’s, they might be fighting for some of the available practice squad spots. 

From just a physical traits standpoint, Etienne wouldn’t totally surprise me if he makes a decent push for the roster. Guys that have high end traits can catch that lightning in a bottle at any time, and you have to leave open that possibility. However, he looked very raw on his college tape, and his technique needs a lot of work. These issues are more likely to overlap into the early stages of his pro career. Some developmental time on the practice squad is probably the route that they take, similar to what they did with Cochran.

Stueber and Coker round out the group. Stueber was a 7th round pick of the Patriots in 2022. He is another guy with OT/G versatility. After being signed off of the Falcons practice squad after week 5, the Bengals waived him and signed him back on the practice squad. He then was signed back to the roster at the end of the season. He only played a small handful of snaps in his first season with the Bengals, and will have to impress in order to earn a spot once again.

As for Coker, he spent most of last season with the Bengals on the practice squad. The 2024 UDFA seems like the longest shot of the bunch, but the depth is fringe enough that everyone should be given a shot. But as mentioned earlier, he’ll have to compete with the players in this article, as well as some of the G’s that have the versatility to also play OT. This will be an interesting battle.



Featured Image Via: Dinur (CC)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *