The class of 2024 is showing great promise.
Duke Tobin and the Cincinnati Bengals scouting department have taken a lot of heat recently, but this year’s NFL Draft class is really starting to shine.
Big Dawg in the House
After two consecutive years of first-round picks essentially redshirting, the Bengals found an instant contributor in Amarius Mims. The right tackle was not initially the starter, but Trent Brown’s injury pushed him into the lineup, and he has impressed ever since. Mims has lined up against some of the top pass rushers in the NFL and come out on top.
Mims has the talent to be a cornerstone of this team for years to come, but this week, he showed even more than that.
We love to make a big deal out of sideline interactions between players and coaches. A week ago, it was Joe Burrow expressing his frustration to Zac Taylor, this week it was Mims getting into it with offensive line coach Frank Pollack. Mims clarified what happened after the game. There was no disrespect.
Quite the contrary, in fact, Mims had been injured and was pulled in favor of Devin Cochran. Mims felt passionately about being on the field and protecting Burrow, while the coaching staff was acting in Mims’s best interest, protecting himself from himself as it were and trying to prevent him from turning a small injury into a major one.
I love the fire Mims showed. He is just the kind of passionate leader this team needs.
Punting the Sweet Fantastic
From the first-round pick to an undrafted free agent. I am intentionally talking about Ryan Rehkow early in this article because I tend to throw information about the punter in at the end, but that’s not fair. He is having a phenomenal season.
This week he averaged 51.5 yards per punt with a long of 62. He buried the Browns inside their own 20 once and had no touchbacks.
D Up
Fifth-round pick Josh Newton continues to impress at cornerback, having been thrust into a starting role due to injuries to Dax Hill and DJ Turner. The Browns lack any receivers who could present a real challenge. Newton has had a good couple of weeks, but it needs to be understood that he will continue to have ups and downs as a natural part of his development.
Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins has also become a start due to injury, but unlike Newton, his reps are managed by rotation. Jenkins played 31 snaps and made two sacks. The most impressive was on a boo where he burst through the line and could have tackled the running back for a loss if he had the ball, then chased down the quarterback for the sack.
Fellow interior disruptor McKinnley Jackson played 21 snaps and had a sack of his own. Although his reps have been somewhat limited, Jackson has been very impressive. His motor and athleticism at 330 pounds stand out. Both rookies show great promise. For a team with problems rushing the passer, particularly from the interior, seeing a pair of rookies put up three tackles is huge.
And the Rest on Gilligan’s Isle
Jermaine Burton got the standard WR4 single-digit snaps on offense and returned two kicks for 49 yards. That is where he will contribute most for the time being. Another fan favorite, tight end Matt Lee, saw action as an extra lineman on four offensive plays.
With Sam Hubbard out, Cedric Johnson got in at defensive end, but only for six snaps. Still, he managed to flash and could have earned a better look moving forward. Johnson made one tackle and played 10 special teams snaps.
Maema Njongmeta continues to contribute primarily on special teams, playing 16 snaps on those units compared to 6 on defense. Daijahn Anthony played 10 snaps on special teams and none on defense.
Big news, sixth-round tight end Tanner McLachlan was finally active. Did you notice him? Yeah, me neither. He played fewer than 10 snaps with most of them coming on special teams. Undrafted tight end Cam Grandy saw more action, playing 11 snaps on offense and 12 more on special teams.
