Dylan Fairchild isn’t spending much time talking this offseason, and that’s pretty much the point.
The Bengals’ starting left guard has kept a low profile as he builds off the way he finished his rookie year, and heading into Year 2, he sounds more interested in what happens on the field than what happens at the microphone. He joked around a bit with FOX19’s Jeremy Rauch at his locker this week, but the message was clear: the talking can wait.
Fairchild, 23, put together one of the stronger rookie seasons among NFL guards in 2025. He finished with a 59.1 overall PFF grade, which ranked 46th among 81 qualified offensive guards, and he logged 961 offensive snaps. Among rookie guards, he was fifth with a 67.5 PFF pass-blocking grade.
Still, Fairchild kept coming back to the same theme when asked about the season ahead.
"It really doesn't matter what I say. It matters if we hit the ground running," Fairchild declared to Rauch.
"That's the biggest thing, and that's the goal. You want to hit the ground running.
You don't want to start slow, and we've had a great training camp to prepare us for that, and we're really excited, man. It's gonna be a great year.
Our goal is to start fast. That's the biggest thing: start fast, get the ball rolling, and just go from there."
That kind of confidence fits a Bengals offensive line that has stayed healthy all offseason and now gets a chance to carry last year’s strong finish into a new season.
The first test comes quickly. Cincinnati opens with two of the tougher defensive fronts it will see all year, starting with Tampa Bay at home before Houston enters the mix in the early going.
Fairchild sounded especially eager for that home opener against the Buccaneers.
"Really excited to just put our best foot forward and show the world what we've been working on, and just really like go out there and compete," Fairchild said about the home opener against Tampa Bay. "You know what I mean?
Go against a really good team. We're excited with what we've put together, and it's going to be a great year."
For Bengals fans, that’s the part that matters most. The offseason chatter is nearly done, and the games are about to take over.
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