The defense was the Bengals’ undoing last year, and their weakest position, linebacker, remains unanswered this offseason. Cincinnati invested in the position in the draft last year, but the results left them in a bad spot. With two rookie linebackers starting next to each other, the unit suffered from a lack of quality communication.
At the start of the year, it seemed the Bengals recognized the need to address the linebacker position. They didn’t, however, and one veteran beat writer is calling them out for it. Writing for The Athletic, Paul Dehner Jr. took the underachieving team to task for the malpractice.
“Somewhere between the specific messaging delivered at the NFL Scouting Combine and the execution of the free-agent plan last week, a line of communication got broken,” he wrote. “The Bengals said they were searching for a linebacker to help Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter with both leadership and a presence capable of dropping down along the defensive line. The Bengals never delivered on that in an impactful fashion.”
The Bengals’ two rookie linebackers, Knight and Carter, combined to play nearly 1,600 snaps last season. Knight recorded 106 tackles, 4 for loss, with 3 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 1 forced fumble. Statistically, it’s a very fine season, and he clearly has potential. But he was part of the struggles as a rookie, and pairing him with an equally inexperienced player caused them to suffer.
The Bengals’ other rookie linebacker, Carter, also recorded 106 tackles. He registered 1 for loss and intercepted 1 pass. During the year, they traded veteran Logan Wilson, who just retired. Now they need somebody like Wilson, Dehner seems to believe.
Of Bengals linebackers coach Mike Hodges, he wrote, “He also expected to see additions. Everyone we talked to did. Alas, a big investment never came. Two names that lived near the top of the list of many, Kaden Elliss and Leo Chenal, didn’t draw as much attention internally. Elliss’ money got driven up above their value ($11 million per year), while Chenal wasn’t a top target.”
Ellis signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Saints. Chenal came cheaper, signing a three-year deal worth close to $25 million. But the Bengals never came close to signing either of them, or seemingly any other linebacker.
That “puts the onus,” Dehner writes, on Hodges and developing the Bengals’ two young linebackers. The alternative is drafting another and having young players teaching rookies. Or as he put it, “might be the worst possible plan to ease their growth.”
Of course, the Bengals have issues at every level of defense, not just the linebackers. But given the importance of the position as a hub of communication, it only exacerbated other problems elsewhere. If they can’t get the defense where it needs to be, it will continue to hold back what they believe is a championship-level offense. And right now, that fate rests squarely in the hands of the young bucks in the middle.