Christian Westerman has been one of the more interesting offseason questions surrounding the Cincinnati Bengals for years.
Westerman joined the Bengals via the fifth round in 2016 and caught the eye of onlookers in a few different ways since, especially because of his strong pass blocking when given the chance.
But those chances have been sporadic at best despite it looking like Westerman might boast starter upside.
Pro Football Focus contextualized this recently with some data: “#Bengals G Christian Westerman only saw 96 snaps last season, but in that time he managed an 80.8 pass-blocking grade and an 80.0 run-blocking grade. In 60 pass-blocking snaps, he allowed just two pressures, translating to a pass-blocking efficiency of 98.1 (T-18th among guards).”
So what has stopped Westerman from getting on the field? Under Marvin Lewis, Westerman went through two different offensive line coaches who passed him over. Once Jim Turner arrived this offseason along with a new staff, the Bengals drafted Jonah Williams to play left tackle, shifted Cordy Glenn to left guard, signed John Miller to play right guard and drafted Michael Jordan — seemingly passing Westerman by yet again.
The injury to Williams has changed a lot of this since, but the point remains. Glenn is going back to tackle which leaves an opening at left guard. Clint Boling is in a contract year and has had a mysterious absence the team won’t speak about.
So does that mean Westerman finally gets his starting chance or does he get passed over again?
Back in December of 2018, Marvin Lewis offered a shaky explanation as to why Westerman and others weren’t getting chances along the line during a lost season.
At the very least, this new Bengals coaching staff has shown it isn’t afraid to dramatically shake things up in the trenches in an effort to field the best lineup. If Westerman’s flashes and data show up during auditions this summer, it’s safe to say he has a fair chance at starting.
