Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Writing that Cincinnati Bengals have drafted an offensive lineman again feels like I’m living in one big deja vu, but with their final pick of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Bengals have chosen to ensure their line for years to come by drafting T.J. Johnson, center, from South Carolina.
Standing at 6’4 210 lbs, Johnson has a lot of starting experience and has not had any issues with making calls on the offensive line, where necessary and thanks to this leadership he was named to the Coaches All-SEC second-team. However, Johnson has two major issues. When the rush comes in towards him, he often panics at the initial release and often gives away a lot of penalties for holding when he goes to grab them anywhere he can.
Johnson will join centers Kyle Cook and second-year center Trevor Robinson, both of whom had their fair share of problems last season, Kyle losing his spot to Robinson and Robinson having some issues against the pass rush.
The Bengals 2013 Draft is finally over. There were some unusual picks but all in all, the team has probably had their best draft since the hiring of Marvin Lewis. The Bengals drafted at every position they needed to fill, bolstered their offense more than anyone could have expected and still managed to get some excellent late-round steals. Next on the list is for the Bengals to fight over undrafted free agents. So expect a few decent players that could easily make the roster out of that group, including a back up quarterback and with a bit of luck, maybe even Tennessee Tech wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers, a prospect who was a hopeful for an early round pick but fell through the draft because of his off-field behavior resulting in being indefinitely suspended from college.
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