You won’t find many differences in the current Cincinnati Bengals’ offense compared to last year. The quarterback, skill players, bookend tackles, and center are all the same as the 2024 squad that nearly carried the team to the postseason.

The one area that changed, and needed change, was the guard position. Said change amounted to the release of Alex Cappa, signing a veteran free agent to a minimal a one-year deal, and the use of the team’s third-round NFL Draft pick.

There’s a bit of projection when looking at this group, but the next installment of our Bengals depth chart preview series looks at the current state of both guard spots.

The starters: Fairchild, Patrick. Fairchild, the 81st overall pick in the draft, is slated to be a Week 1 rookie starter at the position he manned for two years at Georgia. Right guard is entirely up in the air as both Patrick and Ford are the two main candidates for the job with Kirkland being a dark horse name to remember. Patrick has the edge with past starting experience and better pass blocking production from past systems. What truly matters is how they all perform over the next two months to decide the fifth starter of the offensive line. Because of that battle, take this specific depth chart with a grain of salt.

First off the bench: Ford. If Patrick does make it out of training camp as RG1, Ford is the easy pick for first guard off the bench as he held this role last year before taking over for Volson at LG in Week 13. This would become Patrick if Ford wins.

The rest: Volson is the wild card of the group as he’s no longer locked in as a starter. He needs a great camp and preseason just to stay on the team as the alternatives to him are cheaper to stash on the bottom of the depth chart. Stueber spent several weeks on both the active roster and practice squad last year while Manning was on the practice squad the entire season.

Who will make the 53-man roster: Fairchild, Patrick, Ford, Kirkland. The first three are essentially locks, and with Ford having value at offensive tackle, keeping a fourth behind him should be a priority. I think if both Kirkland and Volson have similar camps and preseason tape, the former will be more attractive to keep around as he also has G-T versatility.

Practice squad prediction: Volson. Assuming the former starter clears waivers, he’d be a prime candidate to return to the practice squad for more opportunities to learn under new o-line coach Scott Peters. Stueber is also a candidate to stick around in this fashion.