Bengals: Zac Taylor says Jonah Williams 'looks natural' at right tackle
Of the three likely candidates to start at right tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals, Jonah Williams was always the favorite. Williams is a more experienced and skilled lineman than Jackson Carman, and his recovery from two dislocated knees hasn't kept him off the field in training camp unlike La'el Collins, who remains on the Active/PUP […]
Of the three likely candidates to start at right tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals, Jonah Williams was always the favorite.
Williams is a more experienced and skilled lineman than Jackson Carman, and his recovery from two dislocated knees hasn't kept him off the field in training camp unlike La'el Collins, who remains on the Active/PUP list not even nine months removed from a torn ACL.
This position "battle" only appears like one because Williams is still rotating with Carman after a full week of camp, but it feels like it's already been decided from the words of head coach Zac Taylor.
When asked about Williams' progress moving from left to right tackle, Taylor said just about the best possible thing for Bengals fans to hear.
"I don't think you would have known that you know if you didn't know his background and you just saw him at right tackle," Taylor said of Williams' transition during Friday's presser. "He looks natural. He's done a great job. You wouldn't have noticed, 'Man this guy hasn't played right tackle in a long time.' He's done a good job hitting the ground running there."
The first bit of good news came at the beginning of camp, when Williams wasn't placed on the PUP list with Collins. The former first-round pick was doing rehab work during OTAs and minicamp.
Once camp began, Williams and Carman began splitting reps with the starting line at right tackle. Carman had been repping there with the unit going back to the Spring, and Williams needed to be eased back into the swing of things at a new position.
But like Taylor stated, it's tough to notice Williams hasn't played right tackle since his freshman year at Alabama seven years ago. He's handled himself well in both pass protection and run blocking, and will get more opportunities with the pads all the way on, and the Green Bay Packers coming down for a joint practice next week.
It's been a roller coaster of an offseason for Williams as he enters an all-important contract year. He requested a trade from the team in March upon learning Orlando Brown Jr. signing and subsequent position change out of the blue. All he wanted was communication from the front office that watched him start for three-straight seasons.
He's communicating just fine through his play at his new spot, something the Bengals desperately needed leading up to the season.
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