Bengals surprise by picking OT Jake Fisher

The Bengals' staff spends the weeks leading up to the NFL draft preaching their philosophy to always stick to the best talent available on their board, regardless of position. With the 53rd overall selection Friday night, they proved that's not just talk.

For the second straight day, the Bengals selected an offensive tackle by picking Oregon's Jake Fisher. He'll join first-round pick and Texas A&M tackle Cedric Ogbuehi this year - playing behind starters Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith.

Fisher was in the conversation for the No. 21 overall pick, and the fact he was still available one round later made him easily the highest rated player on the board. The Bengals opted for the player they believed to be the best talent, and will find a way to make the crowded room work going forward.

"He was we felt the best player we had ranked and we just couldn't go by him," head coach Marvin Lewis said. "We'll find a way to fit him in."

Whitworth, 33, and Smith, 28, enter the final year of their contracts, and certainly the outlook on their future alters with two young tackles in the reserves. Both Ogbuehi and Fisher can also move inside and play guard. Both did so in college, so they would be first off the bench to start should injuries occur anywhere on the interior as well.

However, if injuries don't occur on the line, there's a chance the first and second picks in this draft won't make a single start in 2015.

Lewis and Mike Brown sat down together early this week and discussed their possible approach should the board break where they select two tackles in the first two rounds, and decided they'd stick with their best player approach despite the clog at the position for now.

"For (Brown) to stay with the conviction of it, that this was the guy we ranked highest so let's let it flow," Lewis said. "If you go for another position you don't place quite the value on that position player, you are overshooting your thought then you are somewhat disappointed and allowed a better player to go elsewhere.

"We can't tell what happens with the football team with injury and so forth. We want to fill the seats up the best we can and move on from there and then the next one and the next one. You bypass one and leave one sitting and take — in your own minds because everyone has done the work and valued — a different grade then how does your system ever work? Why go through the exercise if you are just going to hodge-podge around and choose willy-nilly? You have to trust your system, you have to trust your board and go with it."

Fisher belongs on the top of their board. At 6-foot-6, 300 pounds, he was a 13-game starter at left tackle for the Oregon Ducks last season and first team All-American. He moved from a high school tight end, bulked up and instantly rose up the depth chart starting 35 games in his final three seasons. He sits well with offensive coordinator Hue Jackson because of the mean streak and attitude in which he plays and high-end overall athleticism.

"There are so many characteristics that drew us to him but, obviously, that's one of them," Jackson said, also not ruling out the idea of rotating linemen if necessary. "He plays with a mentality you like your offensive lineman to play with."

Fisher admitted being slightly surprised that the Bengals took him considering they went tackle the day before, but arrives only hoping to play whatever role the coaches deem necessary.

"You never know what happens ... I'm just happy to be part of the Bengals' organization," Fisher said. "My role is to be a teammate and guy off the field that people can rely on. That's what I'll come in as a young player doing and stay focused on that and stay focused on earning respect and earning my job."

Before looking up which tackle will be around in the next rounds, Lewis would admit that should be the end of their foray into the tackle category as they turn to other positions. No matter what happens the rest of the day, the tone of this offseason's focus was set after a free-agency period that saw players pile up on the defensive line.

"From the time I started here I told people we need to be strong and physical up front," Lewis said. "They will set the tempo. The defensive line and offense line have been the energy through this building. They will continue to lead the way."