Cincy Jungle
With the Bengals getting a week off, it is a great time to take a look at the snap count changes and trends over the course of the season.
At the beginning of the year, Trey Hendrickson was taking 70-80% of snaps, which was necessary but unsustainable. Since they have backed down his reps, the defense has gotten worse.
Now, Hendrickson is dealing with a nagging injury, so they can’t just rev his snaps back up.
In the meantime, there seems to be a shift, with Myles Murphy becoming the DE2 over Joseph Ossai, but it is not having the desired impact.
If there is an answer to their pass rush woes on the roster, it is neither Murphy nor Ossai. Since his return from injury, Shemar Stewart has seen his snap count soar, but he has yet to take advantage and now has another knee injury.
Cedric Johnson seems to be challenging Cam Sample for his snaps as well. In one game back, Johnson nearly matched Sample’s snaps. This could put Sample’s position as an active player on gameday in jeopardy when the entire group is healthy.
Of course, the big change at linebacker was made very clear when Barrett Carter not only took Logan Wilson’s starting job but also took 100% of defensive snaps over the next four weeks. Wilson’s departure will force the Bengals to finally utilize Oren Burks in a reserve role behind the rookies Carter and Demetrius Knight.
In the immortal words of Billy Madison, “Man, am I glad I called that guy.”
Over the course of the season, the two former Wolverines, Dax Hill and DJ Turner, have established themselves as the team’s top cornerbacks. Cam Taylor-Britt and Josh Newton have combined for nearly as many snaps over the course of the season, which has been rather volatile for Taylor-Britt.
Taylor-Britt bounced back from a healthy scratch against the Steelers to play 124 snaps over the last two weeks, while Newton took a mere 16.
Noah Fant seemed like a luxury acquisition at the time, but with Mike Gesicki on IR, Fant had become an integral part of this offense. Fant has 219 snaps this season, second only to Drew Sample among tight ends. Over the last four weeks, since Gesicki has been out, Fant has out-snapped Sample by an average of five snaps per game.
