Bengals Training Camp Preview: DT
Players:
98. Sheldon Rankins
92. BJ Hill
90. Kris Jenkins
68. McKinnley Jackson
97. Jay Tufele
95. Zach Carter
72. Domenique Davis
53. Travis Bell
69. Devonnsha Maxwell
The DT position was a big need for the Bengals heading into the offseason, and it is safe to say that things will look… different. But did they upgrade or downgrade? Well, that depends on how you look at it.
The Bengals certainly upgraded at 3T. They needed another pass rusher to team up with BJ Hill, and they got just that in Sheldon Rankins. Rankins was one of their top free agent acquisitions. He will be starting, and is going to be counted on to produce quite a bit as a pass rusher, along with Trey Hendrickson.
BJ Hill remains, and could be rotating with Rankins at 3T. DJ Reader’s departure left a huge hole to fill at NT. While Hill isn’t a NT himself, I wonder if they will have him playing alongside Rankins, just as the best two interior defenders on the team, regardless of their specialization.
Hill’s role could depend on how far along rookie Kris Jenkins is. He isn’t a traditional NT, and his body type would suggest he is a pass rusher. However, he excelled against the run in college, while showing that he needs improvement as a rusher. The thing is, he is a very good athlete, and his areas for improvement as a rusher are largely technical. So if he can put that stuff together, he can be a complete player. But in the meantime, there is optimism that he can help out against the run as a rookie.
McKinnley Jackson is also a rookie, but unlike Jenkins, he is the dictionary definition of a NT. At least stylistically, he is Reader’s replacement. Of course, you can’t just expect a rookie to come in and replace a guy like Reader, but I could see the Bengals trying to ease him in early, with the hope that he can play some running downs.
Considering that Rankins and Hill both play the same position, Jenkins’ skill set but lack of mass, and Jackson’s size and strength, but lack of versatility, it will be very interesting to see how the Bengals go about dividing up all those snaps.
When it comes to the top four, snap distribution should be the only question, as surely all of them are roster locks. It gets interesting afterwards in terms of the roster battles. Do the Bengals even keep five, or are the rest fighting for a practice squad spot, or auditioning for another team?
Jay Tufele was a guy I liked way back during his draft year, and he has shown a few flashes since joining the Bengals. The numbers game makes it tough for him, but a great offseason might be able to squeak him in. If not, I’d like to see him on the practice squad.
Zach Carter will be one of the guys battling Tufele. He was a relatively high draft pick just a couple of years ago, but has been a foot so far. Perhaps they keep him around on the practice squad due to his draft position. But to even remotely challenge for a roster spot, there will need to be a lot of improvement.
The numbers game hasn’t been kind to Domenique Davis, and this isn’t likely to change. He has been good in each of the last couple of offseasons, but they haven’t been able to squeeze him in. With two draft picks being used on the position, as well as the addition of Rankins, the practice squad might once again be his best hope, unless he can catch on somewhere else.
Travis Bell was a 2023 7th round pick of the Bears. He later ended up on the Falcons, before being claimed off waivers by the Bengals. Devonnsha Maxwell, meanwhile, was signed last year as an undrafted free agent by the Bengals, and spent the entire season on IR with a knee injury. He was recently placed on the active/PUP list. Assuming Maxwell is healthy enough to take part in training camp at some point, both will be battling some of the others for a practice squad spot, but will likely face the steepest odds of sticking around, even in that capacity.
