Bengals' Winston on rookie Fisher: 'He's going to go through a lot of growing pains'

The Cincinnati Bengals were clearly looking to the future in the first two rounds of the NFL draft, selecting offensive linemen Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher.

Though many think the pair will soon succeed Andre Smith and Andrew Whitworth, who are both heading into the final year of their deals, another Bengals offensive tackle thinks that will be easier said than done.

With Ogbuehi still recovering from a torn ACL and not likely to play right away, Eric Winston, a 10-year veteran and president of the Players Association, cautioned those about putting too much pressure on Fisher.

"He's going to go through a lot of growing pains," Winston told ESPN. "To anoint him or think he's going to be able to step in Day 1 and be able to do it, hell, I can't do that. There's not a lot of guys that can do that and step in Day 1 and be a guy the team can rely on, especially at one of the tougher spots like the tackle position. It's rough. It's not easy."

By all accounts, Fisher is an excellent athlete and turned some heads during offseason workouts when he spent time at multiple positions on the offensive line.

"It's tough in a sense when you are learning two or three positions while learning a new offense, but at the same time that also allows you to conceptualize the whole offense a lot quicker, and at at the end of the day, it will make him a better player," Winston said.

Ironically, Fisher's rapid development could make Winston expendable when rosters need to be cut to 53. As good as Fisher has been thus far, though, it's still only June. Winston knows things are only going to get tougher.

"He's got to figure that out," Winston said. "He's on that path now. You (could) see the improvement through OTAs (organized team activities), but there will be other big challenges when camp comes and the pads go on."