Ask Cincinnati Bengals left guard Dylan Fairchild about the key to his improvement this season and he’ll sum it up in one word: fundamentals.
“The fundamental, fundamental stuff is what wins,” Fairchild said in a locker room interview before Week 17’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. “It all comes down to knowing your teammates, knowing the person next to you.”
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Fairchild’s contributions were recently recognized when he was named to the NFL’s All-Rookie Team by ESPN’s Ben Solak. Fairchild was selected to Seattle’s second team behind Gray Zabel.
“Fairchild is one of the more under-the-radar prospects on this roster, and he’s improving every week and producing splash blocks with impressive speed and core strength,” Solak wrote. “He’s a developing player out of Georgia who looks to be ahead of himself. He’s a nice mid-round pick for the Bengals.”
The Bengals selected Fairchild with the 81st overall pick in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and he almost immediately stepped into the starting role. He has an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 60.8 so far, better than 42ND among all eligible guards.
Fairchild had the highest pass-blocking efficiency with a grade of 66.8, ranking him among the top 28 backs. So far this season, he has just two sacks, five hits, 29 total pressures, and is a key cog on an offensive line that has a 5.4% sack rate and 11 sacks.th The best in the NFL.
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“I just want to say the feel of the game,” Fairchild said of his development. “Orlando (Brown Jr.) and Ted (Karras) helped me a lot with that. Just feeling the game, just getting it down in terms of simplicity. It’s a super detailed game and you have to lock in and pay attention to those details. But it’s still football, you know? It’s complicated, but it’s simple. You can make it simple.”
Fairchild has some struggles against the run game, and his PFF grade of 57.4 reflects those struggles. But he knew where to find the answers.
“Just great execution, looking at things with a pair of eyes and trusting our fundamentals,” Fairchild said. “It all comes down to the basic techniques and the basic stuff that we do. Just playing as a unit and playing as a unit.”
