The Bengals Need Josh Newton To Be Special
Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
The Cincinnati Bengals have had an entire bye week to figure out their plans after a rocky 4-7 start. During their most recent loss in primetime against the LA Chargers, Cam Taylor-Britt’s struggles continued, and he was benched in favor of Josh Newton. Seemingly on a moment’s notice, the Bengals’ defense shifted from porous to stingy.
Former #TCU cornerback Josh Newton came off the bench and stood out for the @Bengals last night!
Four tackles and two pass breakups including this ball to former #TCU teammate Quentin Johnston!pic.twitter.com/UW79oPTlmm
— Frogs O’ War (@FrogsOWar) November 18, 2024
Newton was a fifth-round pick out of TCU, which already gave him a chip on his shoulder. He started the year on the bench and watched Taylor-Britt regress as hard as nearly any corner in the league. Now, Newton has an opportunity to pick up where he left off and be the shutdown cornerback that Cincinnati desperately needs.
It already appears that Newton is a man on a mission. In a week where the Bengals made headlines for a totally different sport, the rookie cornerback is looking to build off of his strong Week 11 performance against the Chargers.
“I don’t play ping-pong,” Newton said. “I just play DB.”
This means that Newton is either fully locked in as a cornerback, or he’s too embarrassed to admit that he sucks at ping-pong.
The Bengals would hugely benefit from Newton backing up his confident self-talk with strong play. In a season where Dax Hill and DJ Turner both suffered season-ending injuries, it’s on the TCU rookie to embrace the “next man up” mindset. The Bengals have the seventh-worst coverage grade in the NFL (per PFF) in 2024 (57.8), and Taylor-Britt’s awful play in particular has been a major culprit. It appears CTB’s starting cornerback job is now Newton’s to lose, and it’s on him to play up to the level that he believes he’s capable of.
“I’m not trying to downplay the situation,” Newton said. “I know I’m a rookie and not everybody gets this opportunity their rookie year, especially with how I’m coming in as a fifth-rounder, but I’m laser-focused. This is what I work for. I’m just staying dialed in.”
It’s not unrealistic for a fifth-round rookie cornerback to rise to the occasion. Richard Sherman, one of the best cornerbacks of the 2010s, was a fifth-round selection himself in 2011, and he very quickly cemented himself as the Legion of Boom’s cornerstone (pun intended) piece for the Seattle Seahawks. This is not to say that Newton will play to a Hall of Fame level — those expectations are beyond unfair. But the idea of an overlooked defensive back turning into something special is not entirely unheard of.
Cincinnati badly needs a player like him, too. The team has had to rely on Joe Burrow to give a masterclass on quarterbacking just to stay competitive. Only the Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars have allowed more points among AFC teams. For a team that will face receivers like CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens (twice) in the final six weeks of the season, Newton rising to the occasion would greatly benefit a currently-thin cornerback room.
“His energy level [is] off the charts, he’s as tough as they come and he just thinks that no one can beat him,” Lou Anarumo said. “His mental approach is terrific. So let’s start with that. He really goes about his everyday business of, ‘I want to be the best player I can be every day.’ I can’t say enough about him on his approach to all of it. So it wasn’t a total surprise that he went out there and did what he did, to be quite honest. I’m happy he did, and happy he’ll have that confidence that, ‘Hey, I can do this at this level’.”
The Bengals need Newton’s mentally strong, unfazed approach to the game in a season that has left a lot of players on the defense dazed and confused. With the Bengals’ playoff hopes hanging on ever so slightly by a thread, Cincinnati needs a new elite player in the secondary.
OK, while Newton has earned a starting role, it’s far too early to use the word “elite” to describe him. Still, he started off so strong against the Chargers (two pass breakups and a 74.7 PFF coverage grade) that he allowed Quentin Johnston to hold off the “Quentin Johnston has the dropsies” narrative for an entire week. It’s a performance to build off of, and it’s one the Bengals desperately needed. For the stretch run of the season and beyond, Newton will play a key role on the Bengals’ struggling defense. By all accounts, he seems primed and ready.
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