Bengals sign undrafted free agent that should've been selected in the draft
It wasn't likely, but the Cincinnati Bengals had interest in selecting some of the top offensive linemen in this year's NFL Draft. Oklahoma offensive tackle Anton Harrison was high on their board right before he was taken a few picks prior to Myles Murphy becoming the next Bengals pass-rusher. After missing out on Harrison, the […]
It wasn't likely, but the Cincinnati Bengals had interest in selecting some of the top offensive linemen in this year's NFL Draft. Oklahoma offensive tackle Anton Harrison was high on their board right before he was taken a few picks prior to Myles Murphy becoming the next Bengals pass-rusher.
After missing out on Harrison, the Bengals opted to not draft a single o-lineman, and considering they had 15 in total on the roster, that wasn't a big surprise. They did manage to find a potential steal directly after the draft concluded.
Former Washington o-lineman Jaxson Kirkland was the team's first reported undrafted free agent signing, and for good reason. The 24-year old was a five-year starter for the Huskies, and brings plenty of NFL-ready attributes to Cincinnati.
Bleacher Report's Brandon Thorn, one of the better offensive line minds in NFL media, gave Kirkland a draftable grade in his pre-draft scouting report on the versatile lineman. The way he wins, according to Thorn, translates well if the Bengals want to try more zone blocking after going away from that last season.
"Kirkland wins as a blocker in the run and pass game using excellent snap timing and initial quicks out of his stance to into his fit as a run-blocker with positional leverage and pairs that with active, accurate independent strikes to establish first meaningful contact on rushers. Kirkland is a functional zone run-blocker due to his quicks and timing, allowing him to overtake/release and execute combo blocks effectively. He offers little to no value tracking targets on the move as a puller or on screens due to a poor break down, redirect and change of direction ability." – Thorn on how Kirkland wins
What's interesting about Kirkland is that he was ready for the NFL last year. He initially declared for the 2022 draft before realizing an ankle injury of his required surgery. He was granted another year of eligibility and used that to develop his game further in college, but he did lose a potential year in the league because of it.
A porous o-line class in general pushed some notable players down from where they were expected to land, and that includes Kirkland falling out of the draft entirely. He joins a now 16-player position group in the NFL. The good news? Most of those 16 players don't have a roster spot locked down.
The five projected starters, Orlando Brown Jr., Cordell Volson, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa, and Jonah Williams, are all going to be on the roster. Jackson Carman is set to compete with Williams for the right tackle job, so his spot is safe as well. Cody Ford and Max Scharping are largely unimpressive veterans, but were signed this offseason.
That leaves at least two spots up for grabs, and Kirkland's experience at playing both tackle spots and left guard gives him a great chance at snagging one of them. Can he stand out enough in training camp to make the Week 1 roster? Only time will tell.
