After a handful of sessions without pads, the Bengals ramped things up in their second week of camp. The pads were on and the intensity was rising as they kicked off day 5.
We saw some nice plays on offence on day 5. Chase Brown got some things going in the run game, and Mike Gesicki made a splash play down the field. On that play, Dexter Lawrence pressured Burrow, almost getting home for a sack.
In the redzone, Burrow found Higgins for a TD. In an endzone target for him later, Daxton Hill was able to fend it off.
Even with some splash plays on offence, it was the defence that probably earned more praise from that session. In addition to the plays made by Lawrence and Hill that were mentioned, the LB’s continued on from their good first 4 days of camp. Barrett Carter tipped a pass and had a nice run stop, and Demetrious Knight continued to make plays.
Further, Boye Mafe was able to turn some heads, DJ Turner nearly picked off Joe Burrow and overall had a good day against Chase, while Jordan Battle was able to break up an attempt for Higgins. Battle also made a nice run stop in the red zone.
In this session, DJ Turner got up a bit slow on one play where he was defending against Erick All. He did practice a bit more after that, thankfully, and it didn’t seem to be anything too serious. As for All, he made a nice catch a bit later in the session, and still looks good off of his injury. He even looked good as a blocker, sealing the edge on a Samaje Perine TD.
Late in this session, Dax Hill got some revenge on Gesicki, who had been having a pretty good day. He got his hand in to force an incompletion on what would have been a nice catch.
On the second team, it was Tacario Davis who stood out at times, on once instance coming close to intercepting Joe Flacco’s pass that was intended for Colbie Young.
But while that pass did fall incomplete, Young had himself a good day, making a few impressive catches. Not to be left out, fellow rookie Cashius Howell flashed his pass rush upside.
The next day was a tough one for the Bengals offence. Burrow was under pressure quite a bit. Lawrence, Mafe, Murphy, and Howell all were making plays. Lawrence especially against the run in this session. Burrow, meanwhile, also tossed an interception to Bryan Cook on one play, who nearly had two or three for the session..
Later, it was DJ Turner with good coverage on a deep shot for Ja’Marr Chase. This has been a great battle throughout camp.
On defence, Dax Hill was out, and DJ Ivery got some time with the ones. Ivey had a nice breakup on a pass for Higgins.
Colbie Young continued to impress, catching a deep ball from Flacco.
Young wasn’t the only non-first team guy to stand out. Former CFL WR Dohnte Meyers has quietly but consistently had a good camp. We’ll have to see how he factors into the mix for the Bengals in the preseason.
Bengals reporter Paul Dehner also noted some impressive reps from rookie UDFA OT Corey Robinson, who is looking to battle for either a back-end roster spot or for one on the practice squad.
Despite the defensive play making, the Bengals starting offence did have some splashes. A TD to Tee Higgins was one. They also ran an interesting jet sweep to Chase Brown out of a 2 RB set. I am hoping this sort of creativity carries into the regular season.
The next session saw rookie UDFA TE Josh Kattus cleared to practice, while Lawrence, Chase, and All had the day off.
Daxton Hill was noticeably a bit limited after hurting his hamstring on one play. He participated still, but I’d say gimpy is the word you could use for how he was moving. Considering he was out there, it shouldn’t be anything too bad.
This session had some unscripted 11 on 11 drills. Burrow was frequently targeting Higgins. A 3rd down incompletion was the play where Hill got hurt. Later, Jonathan Allen got past Dylan Fairchild for a sack.
Burrow continued to look for Higgins, and some of the other CB’s getting opportunities were able to make plays. Tacario Davis had good coverage on a couple of them. Fellow rookie Cashius Howell put up some good pressure to help out too, beating Orlando Brown.
Rookie Colbie Young’s good camp continued. He made some splash plays including one in double coverage against Demetrious Knight and Jordan Battle.
But the defence was able to bounce back, with a Myles Murphy sack ending one of the series. Mafe was in on the play too.
With Hill more limited, the Ivey vs Higgins matchups have been a bit more frequent. Higgins, as you would expect, has won his fair share. But Ivey has been hanging in there too, and has made a few plays of his own. You will expect some losses for him against a player like Higgins, but it would be nice to see some improvement stem from all of this, and show up in the preseason.
Sticking with the secondary, DJ Turner and Jalen Davis also had a couple of pass breakups. Turner on one of them was matched up against Charlie Jones.
The next day’s session saw the team in the stadium. But poor weather made them start out inside the practice bubble. But later, they did finally make it back, with fans in the seats.
For the stadium practice, Tee Higgins got the day off. Chase had the previous practice off.
Burrow hit Chase on a deep ball, much to the pleasure of the fans who showed up.
The last session saw some improvements from the Bengals run game, and this continued in the stadium. On one play, Chase Brown took a long run all the way for a TD. Karras and Fairchild teamed up to take Dexter Lawrence out of the play, which opened up a gap.
Lawrence, however, did have a great day as a pass rusher. He was consistently in Burrow’s face, even (probably accidentally) getting a hit in.
Beyond the first team, Tacario Davis had another good day. On one rep, while still inside the practice bubble, he was able to pick off a Josh Johnson deep ball, with Kendric Pryor as the intended receiver. It was an underthrown ball, one Johnson would have wanted back.
Colbie Young continued to impress. In one rep with the first team (albeit, against DJ Ivey), he made a high pointing catch from Burrow. Dohnte Meyers, meanwhile, made a few good plays with the second team.
Another who has continued to have a strong camp is Jordan Battle. One one play, he forced a fumble on Chase Brown, punching the ball out.
In addition to Higgins, Jonathan Allen, BJ Hill, and Jalen Davis were out for this one. As was Shemar Stewart, who hurt his knee earlier in camp. Bralyn Lux worked with the first team in place of Davis.
On day 9, a Joe Flacco 4th down TD pass to Tanner Hudson was one of the highlights. Hudson highpointed the ball in double coverage, holding on for the score. Flacco later found Charlie Jones for another TD.
While Young has been impressive, it has been a bit of a mixed bag for Andrei Iosivas, as they continue to battle for the WR3 job. Iosivas has had a few drops, but also some highlight catches, including a TD in 11 on 11’s. He has also been getting open quite a lot.
Burrow found Higgins for another TD in this session. But it came from farther out than the last one. He highpointed the ball, beating DJ Ivey in coverage.
Knight and Carter continued to earn praise on day 6, while Jonathan Allen showed up with a sack for the defence.
Bryan Cook, Daxton Hill, and Jalen Davis all sat this one out, which explains why others, like Ivey, were in with the first team.
Day 10 saw the Bengals move inside due to another day of bad weather. They were back in the practice bubble, like they were at the start of day 8.
Howell was sitting out for this one. Stewart was there with him, and seems to be moving a bit better, as he continues to recover from a hyperextended knee. Bryan Cook and Tacario Davis also sat for this one.
Jordan Battle’s good camp continued into this session. He was able to pick off Joe Burrow. Chase was the target.
Tee Higgins made a nice sideline snag for a TD, as the offence bounced back. Later, Burrow made a nice scrambling pass to Chase Brown. Burrow’s work under pressure is always impressive, but the defensive line’s pressure throughout camp has also been impressive.
Later, the defence continued to show out. Josh Newton has reportedly been in the doghouse with the Bengals coaching staff for much of camp. But with extra opportunities in this one, he took advantage, breaking up a 3rd & goal pass for Ja’Marr Chase. But their parade was foiled when Burrow found Higgins in the end zone on 4th down. He beat DJ Ivey in coverage.
For this last indoor session, Paul Dehner noted Connor Lew getting a little work with the first team, which is good to see for the rookie. Dan Hoard, meanwhile, highlighted a Tahj Brooks TD pass from Joe Flacco, while also mentioning the work that Brooks has been putting in to improve in the passing game.
Evan McPherson has been stellar in camp so far. His strong start was noted in my first recap article. It continued into day 5 when he went 5/5. He nailed a 65 yarder in the stadium practice, and his perfect camp continued right through the last day.
The Bengals now turn their focus to the first preseason game. It is against the Detroit Lions on Thursday. Some starters may appear, but Joe Burrow will not take the field.