Lucas Patrick 'Excited For The Opportunity' To Start For Bengals At Right Guard

 It's Lucas Patrick's time to block up the interior for the Bengals offense this coming Sunday. The newly-confirmed starter at right guard spoke to multiple media members on Wednesday after he slotted into the starting role at least for this week against Cleveland.

Patrick had some high highs and low lows in the preseason, but put together a strong enough body of work from those snaps and the training camp sessions to land this role (52.2 Pro Football Focus grade against Philadelphia, 70.2 PFF grade against Washington during his preseason outings).

Patrick's started 64 games since entering the NFL in 2017.

"Those decisions are up to Zac," Patrick said about starting in a one-on-one interview with WLWT's Jaron May. "I leave that up to him and how he communicates that. Yeah, if it's me, I'm excited for the opportunity and going to give it all I got."

Taylor gave his reasoning for picking Patrick over Cody Ford or a brand-new option in Dalton Risner.

"I like his experience," The Bengals head coach said. "I like how he's interacted with the other linemen. I've got a lot of confidence in him. He showed me what I needed to see, so I'm excited for him."

Patrick has gelled well with his offensive line brethren, crediting some of the grown chemistry to team-building efforts from center Ted Karras and offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr.

"I think it's the work we've put in," Patrick noted to the media. "We're not here for nine weeks out of the spring, just to play grab butt. I think that's the most political way to say that. It's kudos to Ted and Orlando. They've really built a culture of getting guys together outside of the room. I mean, Ted's house is probably the most open house I've ever had of a teammate. 

"If you're a Cincinnati Bengal and you want to come hang out, he's more than welcome to have you. Super stoked OB opens up his home to us during the season for dinners and stuff. That's the stuff that goes a long way. Get to know guys' families, get to know what makes them tick. And we've also put a lot of work in. I mean, it's been a very competitive camp, a lot of one-on-ones in practice. And I think we've put in a lot of time with different combinations, which is great. You never know what's going to happen over 17 weeks, but we've really taken the challenge head-on. And I'm pretty proud of this group, and I'm proud to come to work every day with this group."

Cincinnati had arguably the worst guard play in the NFL last season and still finished sixth in points per game (27.8). If Dylan Fairchild and Patrick are just mediocre, they could easily jump into the top five.