Zac Taylor and the Cincinnati Bengals have gone out of their way to stress the drafting of Jonah Williams gives them the opportunity to put their best five players on the offensive line next year.
In what might come as a surprise for some onlookers, that includes Bobby Hart at right tackle.
New offensive line coach Jim Turner and others on staff have been adamant since extending Hart on a three-year deal that he’s better than advertised.
Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com just provided further perspective on this:
Bobby Hart is the right tackle as sure as Mike Brown is the owner, Zac Taylor is the head coach and Adriel Jeremiah Green is their best player.
I think you just answered your own question. Turner had six weeks to look at Hart and how he’d fit into his scheme and recommended they sign him. Jim has given you his reasons, too. He’s a big, athletic guy and those kinds of athletes just don’t show up at yard sales. Guys with pretty much the same skill set and similar talent got paid twice what Hart did from teams that couldn’t line up without one.
The Bengals were absolutely torched for the decision to extend Hart. The former New York Giants tackle was one of the NFL’s most-penalized players a season ago with 11 and allowed 10 sacks per at least one measurement tool, so the decision to reward Hart with an extension after a poor “prove-it” year backfired publicly.
Still, Bengals coaches are adamant last year wasn’t indicative of Hart as a player and believe he’s going to trend upward under their watchful eye.
