CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals got some help for their offensive line Friday night, taking Clemson tackle Jackson Carman with their second-round pick in the NFL draft.
The Bengals got the 6-foot-5, 330-pound lineman with the 46th pick after trading the 38th to the New England Patriots. Cincinnati got two more picks in the trade, the 122nd and 139th.
After making a splash by taking star LSU receiver Ja’Marr Chase in the first round, the Bengals turned to one of their greatest areas of concern — protecting second-year quarterback Joe Burrow.
Cincinnati will expect Carman, who protected the blind side of college football’s most valuable quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, at Clemson, to contribute right away. He can also play guard.
The Bengals gave up the third-most sacks in the NFL last season and lost Burrow to a season-ending knee injury in a Week 11 loss to Washington when the pocket collapsed on him. The running game also sputtered, although a season-ending injury to feature back Joe Mixon in Week 6 didn’t help.
The Bengals line should be improved. They already signed free agent tackle Riley Reiff, a former Viking, and hope young tackle Jonah Williams, a first-round pick in 2020, can stay healthy after missing the final six games of the season with a knee injury.
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