The Bengals don't typically ask rookies to do much, but expectations can change dramatically once a player has a full NFL season under his belt.

Case in point: Cincinnati is expecting Cedric Ogbuehi to go from seldom-used backup to being a full-time starter in Year 2. Ogbuehi, already 24-years-old, is pretty old for a second-year player. He has a year of experience in the Bengals' system, learning from Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith, as well as from offensive line coach Paul Alexander.

It looks like that one year sitting and learning paid big dividends as Marvin Lewis singled him out during Tuesday's media luncheon.

"We love what we saw from Ced last year, obviously," Lewis said, via Bengals.com. "We allowed a guy who had been a very good player for us in Andre to move on and which is a hard thing because we kind of raised Andre from the ground up but we did it because we felt good about the young guys we have and not to downplay Eric Winston and others."

Given Ogbuehi's age, not to mention four years of college experience across the offensive line, he should start entering his prime early in his NFL career. Ogbuehi showed promise in limited work through seven games last year (including the playoffs), mostly lining up as an extra tackle in jumbo packages.

The 21st-overall pick of the draft, Ogbuehi had a rough entrance to the NFL after tearing his ACL during his final college game, which was Texas A&M's win over West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 29. Despite many months of rehab ahead of him and with the expectation he would open the year on PUP, Ogbuehi was still taken in the first round of the draft.

That's how talented the 6'5", 306-pound tackle is, who was targeted by the Bengals going into the draft. It looks like that big risk is about to pay off for the team.

For now, Ogbuehi will likely compete with fellow second-year tackle Jake Fisher for the starting right tackle spot, but could eventually take over the left tackle job once Whitworth retires.

"We are in a good situation," Lewis said of the offensive line. "We feel good about it, we have to keep them all up and running and healthy to move forward. Jake really showed us he can go out and play productive NFL football for us. (Ogbuehi) hasn’t taken a lot of those snaps on Sundays, what 120 plays or whatever he played. That’s the thing, but we loved everything we saw from Ced. And loved everything we saw from Jake Fisher."

Another second-year Bengal the team is expecting more from is Mario Alford. With the Bengals' final pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, No. 238 overall, they took the speedy receiver out of West Virginia after a standout career with the Mountaineers.

Not only does he possess the kind of blazing speed the Bengals need more of, but he was thought to be a dynamic returner who could unseat Brandon Tate as the team's primary return man. Alford caught the Bengals' attention with his blistering 4.27 in the 40-yard dash, not to mention his Big 12-leading 11 touchdowns in his senior season. He returned 37 kickoffs for 972 yards, with a 26.3 yard/return average and two scores.

That's Alford's biggest strength, and it's why the Bengals plan to give him the chance to win the primary returner job, according to special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons.

"We have to get (Alford) up to the forefront. We did that with Dane Sanzenbacher and guys like that. We had to find out if he could be an option so you push him up with the first group some," Simmons said. "I know what those other guys can do.

"I don’t need to see Adam Jones returning punts and kickoffs in the preseason. He’s proven he can do it. It’s the same really with Brandon Tate. I know what Brandon Tate does. Now, they all have to develop timing, but I want to see what Mario can do when the lights are on, when there’s a crowd around and there’s the pressure of the moment."

As much potential as Alford possesses, it means nothing unless he can translate it onto the field with a good showing in training camp and through the preseason. If he's not effective then, it's hard to imagine him doing any better once the regular season opens.

"I’ve got to envision in the back of my mind can he be the guy to line up against the Jets (in the regular-season opener)? Can he handle it all or will it be too much?" Simmons asked. "If it’s too much then I have my answer, but if he can show he can play then he becomes an option.

Simmons also made a great point about how simply making the 53-man roster isn't what matters. After all, there are seven inactive players who won't play in each game, so Simmons is worrying about the top 46 guys who will play and make an impact on special teams.

"There’s a lot more things we have to weigh out after, like where does he fit on the team," Simmons said. "It’s a little different for me, too, because it’s not the 53-man roster I’m worried about it’s the (46-man) roster a. Can this guy be one of the top 45 players or I guess it’s 46 that’s going to be out there on Sunday."

That makes it hard to keep both Tate and Alford active on game days if neither of them is offering much as actual pass-catchers. Alford's longest play from scrimmage in the 2015 preseason was a 23-yard run vs the Giants. He finished the preseason with three rushes for 29 yards and three catches for 39 yards.

It's not going to be quite as big of an uphill battle for Alford to make the roster this year with Mohamed Sanu, Marvin Jones and Greg Little departing. All three were ahead of Alford on the Week 1 depth chart last year, even though Little was eventually cut. That speaks to how close to the roster bubble Alford was as a rookie, and he'll be there once again if he doesn't step up in camp and through the preseason.

"We need to see if Mario Alford is a legitimate contender or if he’s a pretender for that spot," Simmons said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer. "He’s one that I think this camp is going to be huge for him. He needs to step up or we’ve got to go someplace else. It’s time for him."