Dylan Fairchild will have unique advantages at his disposal as the Bengals' third round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft

Dylan Fairchild's rookie season objective has already been set for him

There's no confusion as to what Fairchild will be asked to do. Head coach Zac Taylor confirmed to reporters after submitting the pick that the soon-to-be 22-year old will compete to start at left guard this season.

The competition awaiting Fairchild figures to be Cody Ford and Cordell Volson, two players who started games at that spot last year. Both players have experience in the offense, but with a new offensive line coach Scott Peters in charge of the group, the door is wide open for Fairchild to come in and move past them. Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher left no doubt about that.

"Left guard is absolutely his to win," Pitcher said.

Volson went through a similar experience as a rookie. The team's fourth-round pick in 2022 beat out Jackson Carman to earn the starting LG gig and held it all the way until late last season when Ford became the better option. Ford was re-signed this offseason to win the job for good, but Fairchild can't be discounted as a contender. He's the first true college guard the Bengals have taken before Day 3 of the draft since taking Kevin Zeitler in the first round back in 2012. Carman was a second-rounder in 2021, but he was a tackle who moved inside for the Bengals.

Needless to say, if Fairchild is closer to Zeitler than Carman, this pick will be a success. 

Cincinnati had specific reasons to draft Fairchild

The Bengals passed on other quality guard prospects Friday night to eventually take Fairchild, and there's a likely reason why they went that route.

Fairchild is one of the offensive line prospects in this class to utilize the "strike system" Peters developed before becoming an o-line coach. He'll now work under Peters with an advanced knowledge of what Peters is looking to develop from a technical standpoint.

That alone should help him see the field as early as possible, but it's not the only advantage on his side. 

Fairchild played the 2023 season with Amarius Mims holding down the right tackle position for seven games, so he's coming to Cincinnati already knowing one of his new teammates very well. The two even played side-by-side for a couple games that year when Fairchild lined up at right guard to start the year. They called each other right after the pick was made. 

Fairchild having baked-in chemistry with one of Cincinnati's established starters gives him another leg up in the competition he's set to enter.

Final Word

Fairchild is the first o-linemen Peters had a hand in drafting, and he fits what the Bengals should've targeted at the guard position. He was an incredibly productive pass-protector with just 14 pressures allowed in two years of significant playing time, he has an understanding of what Peters will be teaching him, and he's now reunited with one of his former teammates. 

The consensus had Fairchild as a fourth-round pick, but with such a glaring need and obvious connections, this pick makes a ton of sense.