Zac Taylor and the Bengals coaches could hardly hold their excitement in when talking about their first pick of a new era of Bengals’
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InsiderSalary Cap And CBAZac Taylor thinks Jonah Williams’ ‘tape speaks for
itself’Zac Taylor and the Bengals coaches could hardly hold their excitement in
when talking about their first pick of a new era of Bengals’
football.EDTShareTweetShareShareZac Taylor thinks Jonah Williams’ ‘tape speaks
for itself’Kirby Lee-USA TODAY SportsThe Bengals added offensive lineman Jonah
Williams out of Alabama with the 11th overall selection. It was surprising that
the Bengals ended up having their pick of offensive tackles after the top
10
Preston Brown Jersey , but head coach Zac Taylor and the Bengals feel like they got a good one in Williams.“We’re very excited. We thought highly of Jonah
ever since this process started — starting at the combine from the first
interview,” Taylor told reporters after the pick. “Obviously his tape speaks for
itself, so it’s a really exciting addition to our offense and to our offensive
line room. High football IQ, great football character, the game means to much to
him, and that’s the type of player we’re looking to add to this team...“Let’s
get him in the building and get it all sorted out with these linemen, but we do
have a great plan in place. He’s a guy that we were really excited about. He
fell to us, quite frankly. So we felt like it really worked out in our
favor.”Williams certainly does provide a question mark as far as what position
along the offensive line he will end up playing this season. Initial thoughts
would make you think he would be the starting right tackle, but Taylor doesn’t
want to rule anything out.“He’s played three years in the best conference in all
of (college) football,” Taylor said “He’s done a great job at left tackle for
them. Certainly he can play guard. He has great flexibility here
Ryan Finley Jersey , so he enables us to get our five best linemen on the field. So we’re excited to get him into the mix...[Left tackle is] his most
natural position, and he’s done a great job there. Again, he gives us a lot of
flexibility coming into this building.”Whether Williams comes in and starts at
left tackle Week 1 for Cincinnati remains to be seen. We know that the Bengals
at least have their future left tackle on the roster for whenever they feel
Cordy Glenn isn’t playing to their standards.Character was another common theme
during the press conference, and that was one of Taylor’s main messages when he
joined the Bengals.“Out of all the positions in any sport, I think chemistry in
the offensive line rooms is one of the biggest — especially on football teams,”
offensive line coach Jim Turner told reporters. “That chemistry in that room is
a big part of the success or failure of that offense. The head coach (Zac
Taylor) made a great point in our draft meetings about this young man that we
just drafted — Jonah Williams — and what he can bring to the table, and I felt
the same thing. All we kept coming back to was his character.”It is always great
to get a player who will likely be around for a very long time (Williams only
turned 21-years-old in November) who seems like he could have a huge leadership
role going into the next era of Bengals’ football.What held Williams back from
likely being a lock to go in the top 10 picks was his size and athleticism. Many
critiqued his short arms, which seems to be a common indicator of how easy of a
time offensive lineman can play tackle in the NFL. Some even deemed Williams a
guard at the NFL level. The Bengals don’t share those concerns.“A phenomenal
athlete. When we went to work him out down there at Alabama... The thing you’ve
got to remember is he blocks everybody in the SEC,” Turner said. “So you always
go back to these little pieces on players, and you’re like
Cheap Renell Wren Jersey , ‘Well, this isn’t good. This isn’t good physically.’ But then when you watch the tape, if he blocks all the best players
in the country that are getting picked in the first round, he’s a first round
pick, and he’s going to be able to do it at this level. Again, we’re very
excited. He played at Alabama, so not only is he blocking everybody in the SEC,
he blocks everybody in practices, and practices against some of the best players
in the country every day. So, it’s a big part of why he is the polished player
that he is.”It is clear Cincinnati views Williams as a high character guy who
has a very long and bright future in this league. His versatility means he
should see the field early
Michael Jordan Jersey Limited , but it is obvious that he is destined to end up on the left side of the offensive line. As far as the Steelers possibly
taking away the Bengals top target at the time at pick No. 10, Taylor left
little doubt if the team was disappointed when asked what the mood was when
Pittsburgh moved up.“That Jonah Williams is right there at 11 (laughs).” The big
winner of Sunday’s big Steelers-Patriots game may have been the Texans.After the
Patriots lost on Sunday, the Texans now have the inside track to a bye week in
the AFC playoffs. Home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs will likely
go to the AFC West winner, and the Texans just need to win out to guarantee
they’ll get the No. 2 seed and the second bye week.Meanwhile, the AFC North
remains wide open between the Steelers and the Ravens, and the Patriots have
still not clinched the AFC East.Here’s how the playoff picture looks after Week
15:1. Chiefs (11-3): Win the tiebreaker with the Chargers based on better AFC
West record.2. Texans (10-4): Will clinch the AFC South with one more win or if
the Colts and Titans both lose next week.3. Patriots (9-5): Two straight losses
have kept them from clinching anything.4. Steelers (8-5-1): Still in the lead in
the AFC North.5. Chargers (11-3): Tied in the AFC West, but they need to win out
while the Chiefs lose or tie one of their last two games.6. Ravens (8-6): They
win the conference record tiebreaker over the Colts.7. Colts (8-6): Win the
head-to-head tiebreaker over Tennessee for now, but they meet in Tennessee in
Week 17.8. Titans (8-6): Tiebreaker scenarios aren’t great for Tennessee.9.
Dolphins (7-7): A blowout loss to the Vikings may have ended their playoff
hopes.10. Browns (6-7-1): It may be too little too late, but give Cleveland
credit for still being in contention after beating the Broncos.11. Broncos
(6-8): Their playoff hopes went from slim to none with the loss to the
Browns.12. Bengals (6-8): Marvin Lewis can do no better than .500 this
season.
