When Cincinnati Bengals rookie offensive guard Jackson Carman reported to training camp out of shape, veteran guard Quinton Spain pulled him aside for a conversation.
Spain told Carman he had been through everything Carman was going through. Getting demoted on the depth chart due to a slow start. Struggling to adjust to the NFL. Working to get back to your playing weight.
Spain told Carman there were no guarantees in the NFL. If Carman didn’t make a few key adjustments, then the business side of the NFL could catch up to him.
The next six months were a roller coaster of adversity for Carman, the Bengals second round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. But it paid off for Carman, who finished the game at right guard in the Bengals win over the Kansas City Chiefs and helped the Bengals get to the Super Bowl.
"It's been a traditional rookie arc,” Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said. “There is a learning curve. There's a maturation process that goes on, particularly for young players. I think it's really, really difficult to play offensive line in the NFL.”
The low point for Carman came on Nov. 9, when Carman lost his starting spot to right guard Hakeem Adeniji, who hadn’t played the position since college. Over the next two months, Carman played sporadically whenever injuries popped up. But Callahan stressed he hadn’t “given up on” Carman’s potential.
Heading into the AFC championship game last week, the Bengals coaching staff was looking to make another change at the position as Adeniji struggled. Carman had stayed ready, so he split reps with Adeniji on Sunday.
“To see young players come in and succeed right away is not something that happens often,” Callahan said. “I think over the course of the season, he's gotten much better. He shows all the traits that we think are going to make him a good player.”
In the second round of the playoffs, Adeniji allowed two sacks to Tennessee Titans star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. As a result, the Bengals coaching staff created a new plan for their matchup against defensive tackle Chris Jones and the Chiefs.
Adeniji got the start, but he split reps equally with Carman. They each made a few standout plays and allowed a couple pressures.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor didn’t commit to which one of them would start in the Super Bowl.
“We'll continue to evaluate what the best plan is going forward,” Taylor said. “(Carman and Adeniji) certainly had a tough matchup. (The Chiefs) have some really good interior defensive linemen. We're going to face the same thing (in the Super Bowl) from the Rams.”
It was an up-and-down game for both of the Bengals young right guards.
On quarterback Joe Burrow’s first drop back pass, Adeniji allowed Chiefs defensive tackle Jarran Reed to slide underneath his right shoulder, which made Burrow quickly leave the pocket. Later in the first quarter, Reed executed the same move to create pressure.
Adeniji finished that drive with a solid block on Clark on third down, but Carman replaced him for the Bengals third possession of the game.
For the first possession of the second quarter, Carman also had a slow start. On his first third down of the game, he lost a one-on-one block to Jones. Jones used a power move to push past Carman’s left shoulder, and Burrow had to get rid of the ball.
It was another piece of adversity in Carman’s season, but he responded with some of the biggest blocks of the game.
“He's powerful, and he's athletic,” Callahan said. “He has settled in and trusted technique more, because there is so much technique involved in playing up front, probably more than any other position. You've got to be exact with it, otherwise you get beat.”
On the Bengals last drive before halftime, Carman made a key block on Jones as Burrow made a first down throw to wide receiver Tee Higgins. Carman didn’t budge an inch off the line. When Jones tried to swipe Carman to the side, he held his ground. On the next play, Carman sealed off a blitzing cornerback.
And then when running back Samaje Perine ran a screen for a 41-yard touchdown, Carman created the window. He sealed off the sideline for Perine to sprint to the end zone.
Carman kept his starting spot for the first drive of the second half, and he opened the half with the most important block on a play action deep pass to Higgins. Carman didn’t move off the line of scrimmage against Jones. Right tackle Isaiah Prince initially slid over to double team Jones, but he backed off when he recognized that Carman had his block under control.
Adeniji returned to the game for the following series as Taylor continued the rotation, and Adeniji played two consecutive clean drives. In this part of the game, Adeniji made a few standup blocks against Jones and showed his athleticism in space.
Adeniji made his best play of the game on a screen to running back Joe Mixon with five minutes left in the third quarter. Adeniji sprinted 15 yards down the field to lead the way and get the Bengals inside the 10-yard line. He also won his matchup on the line when Burrow threw a goal line touchdown to wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
But Adeniji allowed pressure on his final snap of the game.
With 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Jones shed Adeniji at the line of scrimmage and got a free pass to Burrow. Burrow got rid of the ball and attempted a pass to Chase on the left sideline, and his pass got intercepted. Carman entered the game on the following drive and played the rest of the way.
As the Bengals took the lead with six minutes left in regulation, Carman nearly allowed two sacks. Even though Jones won a few reps, Burrow bailed out the offensive line with his best two scrambles of the game. While the drive didn’t start great for Carman, he responded with another important block.
To set up the field goal, Carman made the key block on Reed on a first down throw from Burrow to Higgins. Carman’s block contained Reed’s attempt to push him back in the pocket, and Burrow had time to hit Higgins on a crossing route over the middle. Carman made another important block against a power move on a quick throw to Chase that put the Bengals in field goal range.
The drive ended with a field goal, and the coaching staff kept Carman in the game for overtime.
In overtime, Carman made another strong block on Reed to set up another first down throw to Higgins. Even though Carman rotated in-and-out of the game and even though his fourth quarter wasn’t perfect, Carman’s pass protection helped the Bengals in the most important points of the game.
“All of the things Jackson has done, he has gotten better, he has matured, he's grown,” Callahan said. “Everything he has done has been improved every time he gets out there and plays, and the consistency part has picked up.”
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