Bengals head coach Zac Taylor says he does not expect first-round pick Jonah Williams to play this season (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Ben Baby). The team will monitor the tackle over the next few weeks, but there’s little sense in rushing him back on to the field in a lost season.
[RELATED: Bengals Activate John Ross]
Williams was slotted to start at left tackle before suffering a left shoulder injury. Unfortunately, Williams was just one of several banged up Bengals this season, putting a major damper on Taylor’s first year.
Still, the future is bright for Williams, who was on track to be a Top 10 pick before the Giants shocked the world by taking Duke quarterback Daniel Jones at No. 6 overall. The early shakeup led to the Jaguars taking Kentucky edge rusher Josh Allen at No. 7, which allowed the Lions to opt for Iowa tight end T.J. Hockenson at No. 8 instead of Williams. That worked out just fine for the Bengals, who were able to stand pat and land the best tackle in this year’s class.
Next year, they should find out exactly how good Williams is.
#6 is turnover proned, #7 doing great, #8 IR, #9 IR. Draft is a crapshoot, but living in Jacksonville and growing up rooting for the Skins, I’m excited for the offseason to begin!
Jim Mora: “Offseason? Don’t talk about the offseason…are you kidding me? The Redskins can still win the NFC East!”
“there’s little sense in rushing him back on to the field in a lost season.”
Wrong! Game experience is game experience. If you want to wait for a winning season go ahead but he could be old enough to retire by then.