'It'll Be A Dream Come True' - Luke Kandra Discusses Possibly Playing For Bengals in New Interview

The Cincinnati Bearcat could be an ideal target for his hometown team.

Jul 9, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Cincinnati offensive linemen Luke Kandra speaks to the media during the Big 12 Media Days at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images / Candice Ward-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — Former Cincinnati right guard Luke Kandra sat down with Fox19's Jeremy Rauch before next week's NFL Combine and noted his "dream" of playing in the NFL, and more specifically with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Elder High School graduate was the Bearcats' best offensive lineman during his two years at Cincinnati and is projected to be a mid-round pick as of this writing.

"It'll be a dream come true to play for the Bengals and really every other team," Kandra told Rauch. "But just growing up being a Bengals fan, being in Cincinnati, always thought about playing for the Bengals, but it's going to be a real honor playing for them and any other team."

The model of consistency has never posted one season in his career with a PFF grade below 71.9 overall and is coming off an 803-snap campaign where he anchored Cincinnati's offensive line.

Kandra is ready to show his explosiveness on the 40-yard dash, as NFL teams dial into the 10-yard split to get a real gauge for how offensive linemen fire off the line.

"I've been really focusing on the other drills like the three-cone the shuttle, the 5-10-5 drill, a lot," Kandra noted. "Same with the 40 and like really always thought the 10-yard split of the 40 is really important for the offensive line, because of the explosiveness. But yeah, we train that two to three times a week."

Kandra is currently the 11th-ranked interior offensive lineman on the consensus big board and the 136th-ranked player overall.

Check out a snippet of the interview below and the full conversation here.

"I'm hoping for 4.9. That's my goal."

Luke Kandra, 6'4" and 323 pounds, is hoping to join some elite company at the NFL Combine. #Bearcats @ehsports @fox19 @GoBearcatsFB

See our entire pre-combine sitdown right here:https://t.co/3aw5eY6PAu pic.twitter.com/BTpaIAXa67

— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) February 20, 2025

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