Training camp is underway for the Bengals. We are now through the first four sessions, and things should ramp up as we progress forward and the pads come on. While the early sessions are typically a bit lighter, there were still some intense moments, injury scares, and highlight plays.
One of the storylines from OTA’s was the work being done from under centre. This continued into the Bengals first day of camp, and the first play of 11 on 11’s came from under centre. Burrow seems to be expressing more willingness to operate in this capacity, so perhaps it will actually feature more prominently during the season.
As you would expect, Burrow’s connection with Ja’Marr Chase was visibly pretty early. The duo have connected a good number of times over the first couple of days. Chase did have a drop on one play, but he has been getting open and Burrow’s accuracy looks like it is in mid-season form.
Day 1 was very chippy. There was one instance where Jalen Davis made a tackle on Mike Gesicki. But with tackling reportedly prohibited in this session, the veteran TE had some words for Davis. At one point, Chase also got into it with Davis.
The chippiness progressed into more of a brawl as tempers continued to flare. Chase and DJ Turner got into it, with Chase eventually tossing Turner’s helmet. WR1 against CB1 should be a great battle throughout the summer.
There was an injury scare involving Shemar Stewart. The video did not look good, as his leg bent in an unnatural way. There was fear of an ACL injury. Luckily, the test results showed a hyperextended knee. It will still keep him out for weeks, but it is not the catastrophic injury that was initially feared. A bullet dodged.
On day 2, Burrow again found Chase on the first play. Tee Higgins also made a catch on Turner, while Andrei Iosivas made a nice toe tapping sideline catch.
Interestingly, rookie WR Colbie Young seems to have been involved quite a bit. The Bengals coaching staff has expressed an openness to giving him a role on offence, and Dan Pitcher said that the size of this role will largely depend on him. It seems like the WR3 battle is not a formality, and that there are actually snaps up for grabs.
Some other interesting tidbits included the involvement of Erick All. He caught a pass from Joe Flacco, but has been getting work in different sets. After missing more than a year and a half, he seems to be in a good place physically. Having him back and in form would be a significant boost for the offence, given his well rounded skill set.
Also practicing was rookie C Connor Lew, who tore his ACL last season. He did sit out the team drills, according to Dan Hoard, but he looked good in the individual portion. Things for him will continue to ramp up.
Rookie UDFA WR Noah Thomas turned in one of the highlights of the first few days. It was a leaping catch over top of DJ Ivey. I noted his upside in my UDFA article, and he is showing some of those traits early on. We’ll see if he can do enough to challenge for a roster spot with the Bengals.
On the defensive side, we saw Daxton Hill make a nice pass breakup on Chase. Turner has gotten a lot of the hype this offseason, but Hill’s prominence should also not be understated.
In what might be the most encouraging development from the first few days for the Bengals, the young LB’s have looked good so far. Demetrious Knight got a nice interception off of Burrow, while Barrett Carter completely blew up a screen pass, showing good instincts in the process. Carter has been wearing the headset, so the early improvements are good to see. Hopefully they can keep it going.
Dexter Lawrence has also stood out. On one play, he displayed a nice arm over move to get into the backfield and put pressure on Burrow.
Day 3 was the lightest of the first few days. Mostly just a walkthrough. Nobody had helmets on, outside of Barrett Carter, who was using it for the headset.
Jonathan Allen took a veteran’s day off on day 2, while Lawrence had day 3 off. Load management like this is typical in training camp.
When asked about the lighter session, Zac Taylor noted past injuries on day 3 of camp. They are trying to find a balance between getting some good work in while also keeping guys fresh and healthy.
Day 4 was heavier again than the previous session, but still padless. Due to the rain, it started off inside their practice bubble, before later moving to the outside fields.
The battles between Chase and Turner continued. Turner was able to come up with a nice pass breakup on a deep ball to Chase. Working with the second team, rookie Tacario Davis also had one of the nicer pass breakups of the day.
There were some sloppy moments from the offence in this one. Ja’Sir Taylor perfectly mirrored a Iosivas route and had a pick put right into his hands. He dropped it, but he did well in the build up. He got chirped a bit for dropping it, in a lighthearted manner, as you often see in these practices. Later, it was Jalen Davis taking advantage of an off target pass. He was able to hang on for the interception.
Dexter Lawrence continued to impress. Earlier, it was his pass rushing that stood out. On day 4, he beautifully ate up space and drifted to the left with the play, before stuffing Chase Brown at the line of scrimmage. Boye Mafe, meanwhile, had some stand out plays as a pass rusher.
The offence still had its moments. Burrow hit Iosivas on a deep ball, and it goes without saying that Chase made a few plays. He caught one over the shoulder in the corner of the end zone for a TD. Mitchell Tinsley also hauled in a TD.
In each session there has been a veteran or two to take the day off. On day 4, it was Tee Higgins sitting out.
The Bengals will be back at it on Monday as training camp continues. The pads will come on for that one, so it will be interesting to see who can start pulling away in some of the roster battles.
Thumbnail Image Via: All-Pro Reels (CC)