There's an obvious player the Bengals need to draft to improve their Super Bowl odds
The Cincinnati Bengals have the No. 28 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft next month.
The Cincinnati Bengals aren't far away from winning a Super Bowl.
In fact, they have nearly all the pieces in place already — superstar quarterback, elite wide receivers, smart coaches, etc.
There's still one area, however, where the Bengals need to improve.
And it's the same area as last offseason — the offensive line.
Four of the Bengals' offensive line spots appear to be locked in for the 2023 season.
Jonah Williams is expected to stick at left tackle while Ted Karras will hold down the center position. Alex Cappa and Cordell Volson should start at the guard positions.
The right tackle position is the one spot where there's some uncertainty for Cincinnati.
La'el Collins started at right tackle in 2022 for the Bengals, but he tore his ACL in a week 16 matchup against the New England Patriots. With the injury happening so late in the season, it's unclear if Collins will be ready for the 2023 season.
The Bengals could designate Collins as a post-June 1 release and save $7.7 million in cap space in 2023 (with a $1.6 million dead cap hit in 2023 and 2024).
That could be a realistic scenario for the Bengals. But even if they keep Collins, they could still use another option at right tackle.
Cincy offensive line coach Frank Pollack suggested this week that Jackson Carman could be in the mix at right tackle. Carman played well down the stretch last season, but Cincy might need to see a bigger sample size of solid play from Carman.
One solution for the Bengals at right tackle — and I think this is the best solution — would be to target Tennessee Vols offensive lineman Darnell Wright in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Wright's seen his draft stock increase in recent weeks, so it's not a slam dunk that he'd be available at No. 28. But if Cincinnati needs to trade up a few spots to land Wright, I think it would be worth it.
The former Tennessee standout is a natural right tackle. He started every game at right tackle for the Vols this past season and didn't allow a sack, despite playing against Alabama's Will Anderson and LSU's BJ Ojulari (both are projected as first-round picks with Anderson likely going in the top three).
Speaking of Anderson, he said this week that Wright was the best offensive lineman he played against this past season.
Wright, a former five-star recruit, has a load of SEC experience. He's battle-tested. And he has a nasty streak in him.
I'm not sure what else you could want in a right tackle. Wright has the pedigree, he's produced at a high level, he has versatility if needed (he also played left tackle and right guard in college, but he's better at right tackle), and he has 42 career SEC starts.
Wright is also a good geographical fit for the Bengals. He's from Huntington, WV which is just a couple of hours east of Cincinnati.
There are several possibilities for the Bengals in the first round, but it's hard to imagine a better fit for them than Wright.
