Bengals Training Camp Preview: DE
Players:
91. Trey Hendrickson
94. Sam Hubbard
99. Myles Murphy
58. Joseph Ossai
96. Cam Sample
52. Cedric Johnson
93. Jeffrey Gunter
51. Justin Blazek
Hendrickson not only is the leader of the DE unit, he is also one of, if not, the most important figure on defence for the Bengals. His ability as a pass rusher has been game changing since his arrival in Cincinnati, and the team will be looking for more of the same. Needless to say, he will have a big role this season.
Sam Hubbard has been his running mate since Hendrickson came to Cincy. His play as a pass rusher also saw a boost around this time. However, he seemed to regress this past season. In fairness, Hubbard was dealing with some injuries, which likely impacted his ability on the field. When healthy, his play against the run has been outstanding. The Bengals will be counting on him to play a big role, and the hope is that we can see his pass rush production tick back up. But if he has some struggles early, there will be younger guys potentially pushing for more snaps.
One of those guys is second year player, Myles Murphy. He was selected by the Bengals in the 1st round last year, and played as a rotational lineman. It was a slow start for him initially, which wasn’t too surprising, given his need for additional refinement out of the draft. As the year went on, he was able to make some strides, which resulted in more playing time and more flashes. Murphy is someone to watch closely this season. He may still be playing behind Hubbard, but will still see his fair share of rotational snaps again. Likely a bigger share than last year. A step forward for him would make for a nice three headed monster at the edge position.
If a three headed monster sounds good, how about a four headed monster? Joseph Ossai has somewhat been forgotten about after a lacklustre start to his career. But it wasn’t long ago that most people were very bullish on his potential. Injuries impacted him last year, but he is now back to full health. An offseason of health is exactly what he needed to hopefully see some of that potential we saw in him as a draft prospect. He will be fighting for snaps, but given how defensive lines rotate, he’ll have an opportunity to contribute, even if it is as the fourth guy and/or a situational rusher.
With Cam Sample, we get down to fifth on a crowded DE depth chart. He has played a decent chunk of the rotational snaps over the past couple of years, and is a solid, reliable player on the edge. That being said, he doesn’t have the ceiling of guys like Murphy or Ossai. Murphy, in all likelihood, will be firmly ahead of Sample. However, he’ll have the chance to battle Ossai for that fourth spot. Given Ossai’s struggles, it is a battle that Sample can win. But with Ossai’s ceiling, the hope would be that he can win it.
Regardless of who wins that battle, an interesting question will be if the loser still makes the roster. Keeping 5 DE’s could be tough, even if you have the argument that both would be deserving of roster spots.
Further complicating matters in that 4-6 range of the depth chart is the Bengals use of a 6th round pick on Cedric Johnson. It is certainly a crowded position group. Johnson was an upside pick, but is not a finished product. According to his college tape, at least. His play on the field in camp will determine things, but looking at it beforehand, there are a few ways they could go. If he plays well, maybe he earns a spot over Sample or Ossai. Or both? Probably not, but you can’t rule it out. On the other hand, he might still look raw. In that case, does he still make the roster as a recent draft pick, or do they try to sneak him on the practice squad? It will be interesting to follow.
Jeff Gunter, the former 7th round pick, has been in the organization for a couple of years now. He will be battling for one of those back-end spots. But given the logjam at the DE position, a potential spot on the practice squad is probably more realistic. Up to this point, he has been quiet, so him challenging for a roster spot, given the current depth, would be a bit out of left field.
Justin Blazek rounds out the unit. He is an undrafted rookie who has athleticism and some skills as a pass rusher. However, he is undersized and faces a steep jump to the NFL, coming from a small school. There is some developmental upside to him as a situational pass rusher, but he’ll likely need time to develop on the practice squad. He’ll be battling some of the back-end guys previously mentioned.
Featured Image Via: Eli Marshall