CINCINNATI -- It's often hard to convince a coach to muster praise for his younger players in May. The pads haven't come on, the game plan hasn't been installed and much of practice revolves around teaching players how to handle certain situations.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther broke that trend Tuesday when asked about rookie defender Carl Lawson.

"Lawson looks really good," Guenther said. "I think he's going to be a damn good player."

Fourth-round pick Carl Lawson played defensive end in college, but could make the transition to linebacker with the Bengals. Greg McWilliams/Icon Sportswire

The 6-foot-2, 261-pound Lawson fell to Day 3 of the NFL draft, likely due to medical concerns regarding hip and knee injuries and college. The Bengals drafted him in the fourth round, a surprise for some who thought he would go off the board earlier.

Lawson's best asset is his pass-rushing ability (9.5 sacks in his final season at Auburn), and his size will likely limit him from being an every-down defensive end, the position he played in college.

The Bengals have put Lawson at linebacker so far, and Tuesday he had a would-be "sack" of quarterback AJ McCarron. Exactly where Lawson ends up playing could be fluid, but Guenther said the rookie isn't limited to his pass-rushing role.

"I think he's going to be a good player wherever we use him," Guenther said. When asked if he thought Lawson would make a good linebacker, Guenther noted, "He can do a lot of different things for us."

Guenther said the goal right now is to ease Lawson into the transition from college defensive lineman to NFL linebacker. That will involve dropping back into coverage more than Lawson did in college.

"I think he looks great," Guenther said. "Way better than most guys that are trying to do that, that I've coached that tried to make the transition from being an every-snap going forward to now dropping back. He's way ahead of a lot of guys I've coached."