The Bengals Just Found Their Missing Offensive Tackle...
John Sheeran breaks down why the Bengals targeted Hinton, what he brings to the roster and what this could mean for Javon Foster and Jalen Rivers.
Video Transcript
The newest player on the Bengals roster is coming to solve one of their biggest needs.
I'm John Scheeren of A to Z Sports Cincinnati.
This is A to Z Sports Cincinnati, covering your Cincinnati Bengals leading up to the 2026 regular season.
We are finally past roster cutdown day.
The Cincinnati Bengals got down to their initial, their initial 53-man roster on Sunday night, and if you missed out our live stream reaction, definitely go check that out on this channel.
We went over some of the biggest keys and takeaways from how the Bengals trimmed down the roster from 88 players down to 53.
And part of that discussion was keeping nine offensive linemen, including both Javon Foster and Jalen Rivers, because it seemed like the Bengals just didn't really make a true decision as to who was going to be their backup swing tackle, their first tackle off the bench, the guy who's coming in if anything happens to either starting left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., or starting right tackle Amarius Mims.
And as of this recording, this could change in a couple of hours, both Foster and Rivers are still on the 53-man roster.
But the Bengals have officially made a waiver claim that is going to probably boot one of those guys off.
And guys, before we talk about the newest Bengal, I did wanna make a fun announcement.
Over the next two weeks, A to Z Sports Cincinnati is running a giveaway.
One lucky Bengals fan is going to win their very own custom Bengals jersey.
You get to pick the size, the player name and number, the color, the style, whatever you want, and all that you need to do is just follow the steps here on the screen.
You need to go down to the comment section and comment your Bengals season prediction and click the link in the description to add A to Z Sports as your preferred Google source.
That is, adding A to Z Sports as your preferred Google source, and then making sure that you comment on this video your Bengals season prediction, and you will be entered to win a free Bengals jersey of your choosing.
Again, the player name, size, style, whatever you want.
We are running this giveaway right up until the beginning of the regular season.
The last day to enter is gonna be Friday, September 11th, so make sure to not miss it.
Now back to what I was saying.
The newest Bengal on the 53-man roster is offensive tackle Myles Hinton.
Myles Hinton was a sixth round pick out of the University of Michigan in 2025 by the Eagles.
He did not play a single snap in the regular season, but he was a part of the team.
He played in all three preseason games as a rookie, and then he played in all three preseason games as a second year player, and that includes two preseason exhibitions against the Bengals.
It was his first ever NFL game in week one of the preseason last year, and then it was his most recent preseason game when the Bengals and Eagles closed out the preseason last Friday.
Now, last Friday, Hinton had 14 snaps against the Bengals, and he was picture perfect in pass protection.
So if the Bengals claimed Myles Hinton off of waivers, it's probably because they are fans of his most recent tape, not just from this game in which they were present, and they obviously went over the film pretty extensively, but also they probably looked at some of his more recent film in the first two weeks as well.
Hinton played five years at the college level.
His first three years were at Stanford, where he was mostly at right tackle, and then he finished with two years at Michigan, including starting most of the 2024 season at left tackle.
So having both experience at left and right tackle is definitely good news for the Bengals as they need a backup for both of those spots.
And if Hinton is going to be the number three on the depth chart now with just under two weeks until the regular season begins, having that experience and having that footwork and the pass sets that you can just whip out on a moment's notice wherever you are needed in case there is an injury, that is definitely critical.
And Hinton was definitely a better pass protector in college, and I think that's probably remained the case in the NFL now, in, albeit very limited exposure.
Again, he hasn't stepped on the field during an actual regular season game.
But two years of developing behind an offensive line and with an organization that is very well known for developing offensive linemen, I do like the background of w- of who Hinton is, and now that he's entering the Bengals, it seems like he does have a good base and foundation for what they can build off of.
He's still 24 years old.
Again, this is just his second year in the NFL.
He's listed at 6'6", 342 pounds, so he is really big for an offensive tackle.
But by Bengals standards, he's rather a little bit below average.
Amarius Mims and Orlando Brown Jr. Are both 6'8" and about 340, 350 pounds.
So fits right in in terms of weight class, but maybe a little bit shorter.
Definitely has the length, though, and definitely has just the imposing size that you want in your prototypical tackle.
And from the limited tape, I think the athleticism is definitely there with Hinton compared to his new contemporaries now in either Foster or Rivers, whoever ends up sticking around.
Again, we are recording this before the Bengals have officially announced this move and officially announced the corresponding moves.
Maybe the move is to have Shamar Stewart go on injured reserve, and then you keep both Javon Foster and Jalen Rivers.
But I think in comparison to those two guys who are competing for the swing tackle job, Hinton is a better athlete.
And that was my biggest gripe, specifically with Javon Foster, because I think technically-wise, Foster is a better tackle prospect and a better player at the tackle position compared to Jalen Rivers.
But foot speed, kick slide speed, and general athleticism was definitely Foster's biggest weakness.
It's why I don't think he worked out with the Jacksonville Jaguars, despite the fact that he was a fourth round pick there a couple of years ago.
He was drafted a round ahead of when Jalen Rivers was a year later.
So athleticism and general movement ability, I think was Foster's biggest weakness.
And considering that Orlando Brown Jr. Is not the best athlete, I think that the Bengals would want to have a better athlete backing him up potentially, because no one is obviously the imposing, you know, behemoth of a man that Orlando Brown Jr. Is, aside from Amarius Mims, who happens to be a phenomenal athlete.
So I think the, the athleticism tools are definitely there with a guy like Hinton, and I think w- now that you are putting him in an offensive line room with offensive line coach Scott Peters, who has definitely proven himself, despite only being here for about a year and some change, he's definitely proven himself to be able to get the most out of the offensive linemen that he ha- can get his hands on to develop.
He's already shown immense progress and promise with Dylan Fairchild.
He's maximized, Dalton Risner in this scheme.
Amarius Mims took a huge step forward last year under his tutelage, and Brian Park and Connor Liew hit the ground running as rookies under his scheme.
So I definitely have a lot of confidence in whomever Scott Peters has identified as someone that he wants to work with and, and someone who, that he thinks that he can get the most out of.
As for Jalen Rivers, you know, the reason why he didn't end up winning this battle I think was pretty simple.
It was apparent last year that he was not suited to play tackle at the NFL level, which is why he was moved inside to guard, and why the team trusted him to start at right guard for a handful of games last season, just as a rookie.
He was wide-eyed and hadn't really played right guard before ever in his, in his- playing career, just both college and the NFL.
So he is more suited for guard.
I think that's where, if he does last long in the NFL, he will see the majority of his playing time.
And a- again, I'm gonna talk like he's both on the team and off the team at the same time.
If he is still here, then he is probably that last offensive lineman, that last guard on the depth chart.
Jacob Bayer is probably the first guard off the bench with Brian Parker spending the first four weeks on injured reserve.
Waiver claims don't always make a tremendous impact.
The Bengals have made several of them in the Zac Taylor era.
I can think of Devin Osiansi, Max Sharpening, you've had a couple of others that have come through, through the years.
Oftentimes, it's usually the teams that end up, you know, claiming higher up in the order that they get their pick of the litter, and those are the guys that end up making the most impact.
But obviously, if everything goes to plan for the Bengals this year, you're not gonna see Miles Hilton But obviously, if everything goes to plan this year, you're not gonna see Miles Hidden on the field very much for the Bengals.
He's only gonna be on the field either in very emergency situations in which something has happened to Brown or Mims, or he could be a part of their jumbo packages in which they have extra offensive lineman on the field.
Maybe that could be fun with him being, you know, 6'6", 342 pounds.
But judging by his collegiate profile, judging by when he was drafted, what he's done in very limited exposure, where he comes from, it seems like the Bengals have confidence in his early teachings and his early learnings as an NFL player, someone that they identified in the NFL draft as someone who is positional vers- versatile, who can play on both sides of the offensive line, someone who has the size profile that they want, someone who also has athleticism at that size to boot, someone who can develop when given some time, and he should have time now behind two very good starters for the Bengals at tackle.
Also at this moment, the Bengals are building out their practice squad.
There have been, at the, the time of this recording, a couple of confirmed retentions, including Shawn Clifford, Braelon Lux at cornerback, Russ Yeast at safety.
None of the Bengals players that were waived yesterday, on Sunday, ended up being claimed by any teams.
I think only one as of right now has joined another practice squad, and that's tight end Camp Grandy.
So I would imagine the Bengals are gonna have the vast majority of their ideal practice squad targets make the practice squad from their own team.
I would expect at least a couple of players from other teams make the practice squad as well.
That is tradition for what the Bengals typically do in their operations.
And we'll get all that clarity this time tomorrow when we're, we're gonna talk a little bit more about what the 69 player roster for the Bengals look like, and that includes the 53-man roster and the 16 player practice squad.
Because that is ultimately the number that the Bengals really care about.
Those are all the players at their disposal that they can play at a moment's notice.
Obviously, practice squad players can be elevated up to three times in the season before they have to be signed to the active roster.
And like I said, by the time that this video is posted, we'll probably know the corresponding move as to who ends up getting booted off the roster to fit in Miles Hidden.
So give me your comment down below for your reactions for what the Bengals did on Monday following roster cutdown.
