Bengals Defense: Who Will STEP UP to Help Cincinnati Reach Playoffs This Season?

Bengals Defense: Who Will STEP UP to Help Cincinnati Reach Playoffs This Season?

It’s no secret that the Bengals defense has to be better this season if they’re going to get back to the playoffs. One way that could happen is with some young players breaking out. Let’s try to identify them right now on Cincinnati Bengals Talk. [Music] Hi again everyone and welcome in to CBT. I’m James of Bengles.com. Hit that subscribe button, ring the bell, join the 56,000 Bengals fans that have already hit that subscribe button on YouTube. By the way, the season’s almost here. Training camp is just a few weeks away and we are doing a season preview party this Friday, July 11th. All of the details are on our social media for sure and right here on YouTube. So, if you’re listening, make sure you check it out. It’s at Buffalo Wings and Rings in Beckett Ridge. The address 4782 Plum Square in Westchester. Really excited. 6 to8. And let’s be honest, if we get a lot of turnout, we know Cincinnati Bengals talk viewers and listeners are loyal. You show up, we’ll hang out past 8. We’re excited to hang. We’re excited to preview the season. Andrew will be there. I will be there. We hope to see you there as well. Again, it’s Buffalo Wings and Rings, 4782 Plum Square in Westchester, Becket Ridge location. I’m excited to eat wings, have some cold ones, and see you there Friday, July 11th for our special season preview party. And let’s dive into some breakout players. And we did offense last week and it was so funny when I was discussing the offense and breaking that down. Then you look at some of the YouTube comments and a lot of them are naming defensive players. And one, it’s because the defense is a huge focus. Two, there’s just a lot more candidates for a breakout player, guys that could come in and make a huge impact. I I’ll lead with Dax. I think Dax is the most talented non-star on this team. Trey Hendrickson, of course, is the star of the defense. So, if you take Trey off, if you if Trey Hendrickson was not on the defense, who’s the next guy, who’s the next guy with the most talent? I truly do believe it’s Dax Hill. It’s a huge year for him coming off of the ACL. I expect them to use him in a a unique way where he’s going to play some outside corner, but they’re going to use him on the edge as a blitzer. They’re going to put him in positions to maximize his versatility and skill set. And so Dax Hill is the first guy that I’ve kind of pegged as a breakout candidate. Probably wouldn’t even be eligible for this had he stayed healthy last year, but got hurt in week five as he was starting to break out for the Cincinnati Bengals. One guy that I think is going to matter that could end up helping some of these other guys become breakout candidates is TJ Sllayton. I think we know what TJ Sllayton is at this point. But when you bring in a nose tackle like that, what it’s going to do is it’s going to give Chris Jenkins Jr. a real shot to show what he can do. It’s going to give McKinley Jackson a real chance to show what he can do. And the Bengals would like nothing more than for one of those guys, second and third round picks from a year ago to break out to show that not only are they starters in this league, but they can get some interior pass rush. other candidates. And I’m just going to stick with the defensive line here for a second. Joseph Osai signed a one-year proof it deal with the Bengals. He didn’t like his market in free agency. Essentially, he didn’t get a multi-year deal. You would love to get a multi-year deal. Comes back, familiar faces, comes back to Cincinnati knowing that there’s a starting job open. And not only is his goal to start, his goal is to get a bunch of sacks this year. Can you imagine if Joseph Osai gets double digit sacks this year alongside Trey Hendrickson on the other side? that would do wonders for a Bengals defense that was one of the worst in the NFL at getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks last year. So, that’s another name I look at and I’m like, “Yeah, that would be that would be a big one.” I didn’t mention rookies much last week. There’s a rookie uh for the offensive side. But there’s one to two rookies that I think on defense fit this. We will get to those coming up next. If you’re watching or listening to this channel, you know that I like to train. I like to work out. I like to be in the gym and lift weights and do cardio and try to stay as fit as possible. And Noble has helped me do that. And they can help you do that as well. Noble Drive is the ultimate hybrid workout shoe that is going to make life easier. 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Again, take advantage of this right now by using code drive50 for $50 off your purchase of $125 or more. All right, two rookies that I think fit this bill a ton and one of which at least one of which we’re going to talk on about on Enter the Jungle on Tuesday night. Shamar Stewart. Shamar Stewart. I know he’s a rookie, but it’s just like Joseph Osai. If if Shamar’s getting a bunch of pressures and being disruptive and getting sacks, that’s a breakout performer. That’s a guy that can change your defense. And he definitely falls under that. No doubt about it. Another guy is Demetrius Knight Jr. He’s going to start. Barring something really unforeseen, he’s going to start. He’s going to be that Germaine Pratt, playing that Germaine Pratt role. If you look up and he’s playing at a really high level for a rookie, that could be a breakout differencemaker for this Cincinnati Bengals team. One more guy on the defensive line that I I certainly think couldn’t be in that range, much like Osai, much like Stewart. And and this is what the Bengals are doing. They’re saying, “We’re going to get a bunch of talent that might not be proven, and we’re going to get the most out of it this year.” and Shamar Stewart, Joseph Osai, and then the third one, of course, entering year three is Miles Murphy. Miles Murphy has a ton of talent. Miles Murphy could certainly be the breakout performer. It would be best if Miles Murphy was the breakout performer. So, you figure out what he is now after his his third season because right now we don’t know what he is. He is unproven. And so, new defensive line, coach Jerry Montgomery certainly needs to get more out of him. And and you want to talk about breakouts uh in getting more out of something. And there’s going to be other guys I talk about here, but Al Golden, can you imagine if he went to Notre Dame like he did, had the success that led to a national championship appearance where he was arguably the best defensive coordinator in college football, and then if he comes to Cincinnati and with essentially the same roster, there’s a few new faces, but essentially the same roster is able to get a lot more out of this defense. If Al Golden does that, he is one of the breakout performers. He is one of the guys that’s going to be talked about as one of the best defensive minds, not just in football, but on the planet. And so, you know what I’m saying? Not just in the NFL, but on the planet. And I wouldn’t be wouldn’t shock me one bit if he gets more out of this group. That’s the expectation for sure. The Bengals are banking on him to do that. Other breakout candidates, and I haven’t hit on the secondary a ton, but I think Jordan Battle is in position now. He’s going to start. It’s very, very clear that that’s his job. There’s no uncertainty. I I I think there’s some pressure there to show what he can do and to show that he is a day in dayout starter. And if he does, he’s probably getting an extension at the end of the year. Like that’s what I think is really interesting with some of these guys is if Miles Murphy breaks out, we’re talking about extension talks eight months from now. We’re not necessarily talking about, oh well, what is he, what is he not? Same thing goes for a guy like Jordan Battle. Another guy that could certainly earn his money this off season uh or or this season going into next offseason is Cam Taylor Britt. Looking to bounce back, looking to be more consistent. I think Cam Taylor Britt is going to be pegged as one of those guys that could certainly break out and be a differencemaker for the Cincinnati Bengals. Some dark dark horses uh that could matter a ton. Well, one more before that. DJ Turner as well is another guy that you could see establishing himself as as a real guy. I think Josh Newton is another one and and again like the the edge position. You name multiple guys and you’re just not sure how it’s going to play out. Like I could totally see Josh Newton being a starter at some point. Maybe early in the season I could see DJ Turner and Dax and Cam Taylor Brit all leveling up a bit and playing much much better. I could also see, like I said, Josh Newton coming around just like you could see Miles Murphy, Shamar Stewart and and Joseph Osai all kind of manning that edge spot alongside Trey Hendrickson. So, there’s a lot of guys that could break out. I I think that there’s a few dark horses and I’ll name them here. One, Tyson Anderson. If there’s an injury at safety, do they trust Tyson Anderson? He’s flashed in the preseason. He’s certainly flashed as a special tamer. is one of the best special team special teamers on the in the NFL right now. I I think Cam Sample to a to a lesser degree. I think we kind of know what he is. He’s coming off the Achilles, but I do think that there’s enough there where you could say, man, he really mattered to this Cincinnati Ben Cincinnati Bengals defensive front. Cedric Johnson is someone that I know there are veterans in the building that really really believe in him and coaches in the building that really really believe in him. So, those are some of the other guys that you’re like, “Ah, well, maybe maybe they could matter.” But, but man, it’s a lot of edge, a lot of secondary, a lot of question marks, a lot of unknowns. And that’s why the breakout the list of breakout players on defense to me is is longer because it could be any of those guys. And and if you’re the Bengals, what you need, obviously, you need Trey, but on the other side, you need Shamar Stewart to be productive and then one of Osai and and Miles to be productive. You hope all three, but you need two of the three. At corner, you’re hoping Cam Taylor Brit and Dax and DJ Turner and Josh Newton are all awesome. But what you need is for sure Cam Taylor Brit to bounce back and Dax Hill to be what you think he can be or for Josh Newton to step up and Dax Hill to be that or DJ Turner to step up and insert what you need at least two of the three and and ideally at least three of the four. And that’s kind of where it’s at is it’s like man they’ve they’ve they have their eggs in a lot of different baskets, but most of those baskets need to be hits. If this Bengals defense is going to be significantly improved, we need to be talking about a lot of the guys that I just named playing better, playing more consistent, and breaking out this season. We’ll see if they do that. We are going to be live at Buffalo Wings and Rings Becket Ridge on Friday, July 11th. Please join us this week. I’m really excited to see everyone in person. It’s a nice season kickoff show with training camp and it’ll be less than two weeks away by the time we have that event on July 11th. So, please, please, please support the channel. Come have some wings. Have a have a few cold ones. Chat with me and Andrew for Andrew Foxm Miller. I’m James Peen. Thank you so much for watching and listening to Cincinnati Bengals

It’s no secret the Cincinnati Bengals defense needs to be much improved this season if they’re going to make the playoffs. Which players are poised to breakout?

James Rapien discusses the top candidates, including Dax Hill, Joseph Ossai, Myles Murphy, Cam Taylor-Britt and more! He also discusses Al Golden, Jerry Montgomery, some sneaky breakout candidates and more with training camp just a few weeks away!

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