Protecting quarterback Joe Burrow is without question the most important key to success for the Cincinnati Bengals, but their projected offensive line is not receiving any praise coming into this season. In an effort to upgrade the unit, the team spent a first round pick on right tackle Amarius Mims last year, and then drafted offensive guard Dylan Fairchild in the third round of this year's draft.
Rounding out the offensive line along with Mims and Fairchild are veteran left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., center Ted Karras, and right guard Lucas Patrick. None of the aforementioned names received a Pro Football Focus grade over 65 for the 2025 season,a nd because of that, PFF has ranked the Bengals' offensive line 31st of 32 teams.
Last season, the Bengals allowed 48 sacks of Burrow, which was 12th in the league, but on the PFF grading scale, the unit's overall play was graded poorly. Here's what PFF had to say about the projected starting offensive line for Cincinnati coming into this season.
"The Bengals overhauled their guard pair with journeyman Lucas Patrick and third-round draft pick Dylan Fairchild. However, the rest of one of the worst offensive lines in 2024 remained in place. The offensive tackles, in particular, will need to improve drastically.
Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.’s 58.2 PFF overall grade ranked only 66th among 81 qualifiers, while rookie right tackle Amarius Mims’s 57.8 mark placed him 67th." (ProFootballFocus.com)
Both the left and right tackle spots are going to be under the spotlight this season, and although there has been a recent addition of youth with Mims and Fairchild, the entire offensive line has their work cut out for them. Not only to protect Joe Burrow, but to open up holes in the running game which will be led by 2024 breakout star Chase Brown, the offensive line needs to vastly improve this year.