For the Cincinnati Bengals’ current rookie class, the proverbial jury will be out on whether they project as Year One contributors for a while, and well into the regular season in some cases. One rookie that appears ready to be pushing to do far more than contribute occasionally is offensive lineman Dylan Fairchild.
Fairchild, a third-round selection in this year’s NFL Draft out of Georgia, is taking snaps with the first-team as a left guard in his first training camp. That continued on Day Three of Cincinnati’s training camp based at Paycor Stadium on Friday, July 25.
“It’s been good. We’ve just been obviously working hard,” Fairchild said. “Just keep continuing the connection just with the growth of the guys. And still just with the techniques that we’re learning and everything. We’ve just obsessed with getting better. That’s really the main thing.”
What’s the offensive line looked like so far in camp? Making that determination is an inexact science unless you’re privy to the specifics of each day’s plan. It’s difficult for the players to gauge at this point, too.
“That’s hard to say,” Fairchild said. “Again, we’re just constantly obsessed with getting better. That’s really all we’re focused on. It’s ‘every day, are we better than yesterday?’ It’s a never-ending race. You just keep pursuing every single day.”
Fairchild said he’d keep his obsession with getting better at the fore of his approach this training camp in order to continue playing with the first-team offensive line.
Fairchild has at his disposal a wrestling background that earned him looks from Penn State and their head coach, Cael Sanderson. Penn State is a powerhouse NCAA Division I wrestling program, and Fairchild applies many aspects of that sport to his current position battle.
“I just want to be a reliable offensive lineman,” Fairchild said. “I’m here to do my job day-in, day-out. That’s what it comes down to.”
Fairchild hasn’t won any job yet, but he seems to be tracking in the right direction, albeit in the very early days of his professional career.
Fairchild has taken his first-team snaps alongside an offensive lineman group also comprised of Amarius Mims, Cody Ford, Ted Karras and Orlando Brown Jr.
Evan McPherson’s first ‘pressure’ field goal of 2025 was good
So far this week, practice has concluded with McPherson firing field goals toward the goal posts in the southeast corner of the team’s practice facility. He’s made his fair share (does the yardage and his conversion percentage really matter on July 25?).
To conclude Friday’s morning practice, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor added some stakes to the kick. Fairchild explained that the offensive and defensive units are competing in a point-based competition throughout training camp, and Taylor made McPheron’s practice-ending kick (probably from farther than 40 yards out) worth a point in the tally.
Members of the defense crowed and waved their hands to try to distract McPherson and force a miss. McPherson blocked out the noise and converted his kick. A point went to the offense, apparently.
Was that real pressure? No, not like he’ll face with 65,000 spectators present. But Taylor didn’t order up the added stakes for the kick just for the heck of it. McPherson, who battled inconsistency and injury in 2024-25, will be scrutinized during this training camp.
Heavy scrutiny and real pressure hasn’t arrived yet, but there was some in his final kick of the day. So far, McPherson has enjoyed a reasonably successful start.
The Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway wrote about the tweak McPherson made to his kicking that has so far produced good results in the young training camp.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow always leads by example, even when no one’s looking
It’s not hard to want to keep a close eye on the Bengals’ “QB1.” In live action, you usually get rewarded for that with some kind of freakish throw or a generally impressive play, scramble, and so on. He’s elite, but he also impresses when it isn’t live action. Those moments are worth tuning in for.
Burrow is constantly leading by example. With a heat advisory in effect for Greater Cincinnati, Burrow still runs to different stations on the field between periods and drills.
After Friday’s practice was over, and with the midday heat bearing down, Burrow was tossing a ball at midfield with a staff member. The rest of his teammates? They were by no means “dogging it.” Some were stretching. Others were signing autograph after autograph (and both of those things are important during training camp, and for different reasons obviously).
But there was Burrow, zipping the ball to the staffer after that practice session had been dismissed for the day − and on an afternoon leading into a off day for the players.
You wouldn’t expect any less from Burrow, but it’s good to see he’s always a leader, including the moments when truly very few people are looking.
Some notes
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals training camp observations: Spotlight on Dylan Fairchild, Joe Burrow
Reporting by Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
