Can A Cincinnati Youth Movement Save Their Season?
Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
The 2021-2022 run to the Super Bowl was one of the happiest and most unexpected stretches of my life as a Cincinnati Bengals fan, and the defense was a major part of it. I still remember players like Sam Hubbard and Vonn Bell being instrumental in holding off the Kansas City Chiefs’ explosive and high-flying offense in the 2022 AFC Championship game.
Hubbard and Bell were players in the prime of their careers at that time, and they experienced their peaks at the exact right time. They were major contributors and high-character players who contributed heavily to Zac Taylor’s culture.
Unfortunately, time is not frozen. The year is 2024. The players that made us feel warm and fuzzy back in 2022 are not in their prime anymore. Hubbard is in the twilight of his career and his production has heavily declined, while Bell has had an up-and-down season. He still has his moments, but is far removed from the player he was when he tackled JuJu Smith-Schuster into the third row of the stands on Monday Night Football.
While their production has trended in the wrong direction, the Bengals have a lot of younger players on their benches waiting in the trenches. Cultivating and developing a youth movement is exactly what got the Bengals to the peak that they reached three seasons ago. To get to that pinnacle once again, they have to bring about a new batch of players all over again. Thankfully, Cincinnati has a lot of those pieces in place to give a new dimension to their defense.
Bengals need to start playing their young players more snaps. Battle, All, Burton, Ced Johnson.
Oh and Myles Murphy (when he comes back) should be taking Hubbards snaps btw. https://t.co/6O8Rx6Zxjs
— Smash Adams (@Goldenstateboy_) September 25, 2024
Unfortunately, Lou Anarumo has given the fan base virtually no reason to believe he will turn the defense over to the next generation. Jordan Battle, the Bengals’ second-year player who was on the PFF All-Rookie team in 2023, has played one defensive snap through four weeks. Even with those accolades and incredibly strong play last season, Bell has held that role all season… except for that one snap.
The trenches have been an even bigger liability, particularly due to a cavalcade of injuries to players like Myles Murphy, B.J. Hill, Sheldon Rankins, and rookie McKinnley Jackson. Luckily, the Bengals will get at least some of those players back, and the youngest among them should be back just in time for a division battle with the mighty Baltimore Ravens.
Myles Murphy and McKinnley Jackson can return this week. Big week of practice this week. 🤞🏼
— Lindsay Patterson (@LndsPatterson) September 30, 2024
On the interior, veterans Zach Carter and Lawrence Guy received 37 and 30 snaps on Sunday, respectively. Meanwhile, 2024 second-round pick Kris Jenkins received 22 snaps, and one of those snaps saved the Bengals from allowing a touchdown on fourth down.
Great play by rookie Kris Jenkins Jr. on the goal line #Bengals https://t.co/HMeRNvsMek pic.twitter.com/drw9s3rJAF
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) September 29, 2024
Jenkins was brought in to be a run-stuffer, and plays like that show that he can be a capable replacement for Reader. The younger defenders in the trenches, particularly Murphy and Jenkins, will be a critical asset to contain Derrick Henry, who just Hulk-Smashed the Buffalo Bills defense for 199 yards on Sunday night. They’ll need younger, faster, and fresher legs in order to contain him.
Thankfully, the Bengals don’t have the “stick with the aging veterans” with the entirety of their roster. One youngster on offense has already seized a role, even if it is more so out of necessity than by choice. But all he has done thus far is live up to the hype.
Joe Burrow went out of his way to shout out to Amarius Mims for his play today: pic.twitter.com/jQF8CAsAzl
— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) September 29, 2024
Mims went up against bull-rusher Jadeveon Clowney for the majority of Sunday’s game and put up a solid performance, allowing just two pressures. It’s certainly something to build off of as the Ravens — who have 13 total sacks so far this season — come into Cincinnati.
Before I get to Erick All, I would like to interrupt this article for a special bulletin.
This is a scheduled tweet:
Play Jordan Battle.
Play Jordan Battle.
Play Jordan Battle.
Play Jordan Battle.
Play Jordan Battle.
Play Jordan Battle.
Play Jordan Battle.
Play Jordan Battle.
Play Jordan Battle.
Play Jordan Battle.
Play Jordan Battle.
Play Jordan Battle.— The Nati King (@thenatiking) September 29, 2024
And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
All was Cincinnati’s most recent fourth-round pick, and he has All-ready become a contributor. In Week 4, he led the Bengals in snaps among tight ends with 40, recorded a modest four receptions for 22 yards, and landed a critical block to allow Chase Brown (yet another young player who has begun to make a significant impact) to burst into the end zone for his first of two touchdowns on Sunday.
Erick All bulldozing people as a motion blocker continues to work for Zac Taylor.
Mark down "Chase Brown touchdown" on your 2024 Bengals bingo card.pic.twitter.com/phcu5ybIhZ
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) September 29, 2024
Cincinnati’s season has not gone according to plan, but younger players on the team have shown significant flashes of potential. While the Bengals have aging veterans taking up snaps and roster spots, they also have youthful players on the bench who are chomping at the bit to make more than the occasional contribution. If they manage to carve out more and more playing time as the season goes on, they can very much breathe life into a team that desperately needs it.
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