When it was initially announced that we signed Trey Hendrickson for the same AAV as Carl Lawson, my initial reaction was "Why wouldn't they just offer a little bit more to keep Lawson? Come on! This is a lateral move at best, but I've heard that Trey had a fair number of coverage sacks last year. That won't work on this team!"

After thinking that, I figure I may as well actually look into that to see if it's true.

Here's a video of every sack Trey had last year.

Looking back at each and every one of Trey Hendrickson's 13.5 sacks this season ?

A breakout star on defense ‼️ pic.twitter.com/tfJufOS9kA

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) January 26, 2021

I just want to share my thoughts on each of the sacks and see what you all think.

Sack #1 @ 0:00
This was a good rep by Trey. He got around the tackle and avoided the (shitty) chip block by #10). He gets to Brady in about 3 seconds, which is definitely not a coverage sack. You could say "Oh, the defense sniffing out the RB dump off made Brady hold the ball rather than get rid of it, so this shouldn't be a sack" but that's nit picking hardcore. I give Trey full credit for this sack.

Sack #2 @ 0:13
This is a coverage sack. He does get doubled for a short period of time (basically the time it took for the Oline to adjust to what looks like an unintentional stunt), but this sack developed over about 6 seconds, which is coverage sack #1 all the way.

Sack #3 @ 0:31
He gets stonewalled early, but keeps fighting and gets a clean up sack that was partially created by two other guys breaking down the pocket. Not necessarily his effort that created it, but he was in position to clean it up. Give him half credit, I'd say.

Sack #4 @ 0:46
Quality rep. Beats the LT outright and gets right to the QB, despite being held briefly.

Sack #5 @ 0:52
The whole Chargers line collapsed on this play (as I hear they were prone to do), but this is still a quality rep.

Sack #6 @ 0:59
He was playing from inside on this play and...I kind of hope we don't use him there that often. He is pretty much handled the entire play until the QB scurries out to the sideline. Even then, this should have been a thrown away ball, not a sack. Coverage sack #2.

Sack #7 @ 1:13
This is a decent rep. He gets kind of thrown into the backfield, but he recovers and cleans up when TB is forced to back up into his own LT. Another I'd give half credit for.

Sack #8 @ 1:26
He looks like he jumped Offsides on this play and it wasn't called, but other than that, a good rep.

Sack #9 @ 1:39
Honestly, this is a really bad play by Trey. He looks to be in contain, but then he runs up on Ryan when he sees he's about to throw. Ryan re-directs and, if Ryan weren't old and unathletic (relatively speaking), this is a loss of contain and a huge QB run. Since Ryan is old and unathletic, it is instead a 0 yard sack.

Sack #10 @ 1:51
Quality sack. No notes. He just drives the LT right into Ryan's lap.

Sack #11 @ 1:59
This one is on the edge of a coverage sack. He had a good push and his push kind of threw the LT for a loop (he literally spins haha), but this play took a little over 4 seconds to develop and I just don't know if this happens in Cincinnati often.

Sack #12 @ 2:09
No notes. Quality sack.

Sack #13 @ 2:19
This is a good sack, but I think it's worth noting how insanely deep Mahomes drops back on this pass. If he dropped the standard 5 yards or so, Trey is pushed around the pocket and out of danger by the LT here. But because he drops back 12 yards, the otherwise good re-routing by the LT turns into a sack here. But, to be fair to Trey, he lined up way outside on this play, so they obviously game planned with Mahomes' crazy drop backs in mind.

Sack #14 @ 2:34
And, finally, a sack that looks like it's entirely caused by the blitz. He comes in unblocked and takes the QB down. I can't complain about this play because it was executed to perfection, but I can't help but feel like this wouldn't happen in Cincinnati haha.

So, if we're counting it up, that's 2 coverage sacks, 2 clean up sacks, 1 sack that's kind of on the edge of what I'd consider a coverage sack and 1 really bad play that counted as a sack because Ryan is so slow.

Now, if he produced these 14 sacks and then didn't really provide any other pressure, that'd be concerning. You'd be forgiven for fearing this was an Antwan Odom signing. But, the good news is that, in addition to his 14 sacks, he also had 12 TFL, 25 QB hits and he finished with the third-highest pressure rate (16.3%) in the NFL and was first in the league in third-down pressure rate (25.5%) according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

So, overall, I'm pretty pleased with this signing. I think Bengals fans naturally were hoping we kept Lawson, since we knew he could produce to the level that he did with zero help from his team, and we wonder if Trey relied a little bit too much on the Saints players around him, but you can't blame a player for the success of his teammates. I am hopeful that this guy will be a good player for us for a long time.

If he was a signing to be paired with Lawson then I'd be excited as that would be a real statement of intent. As a replacement he seems to be a step down from Lawson (albeit I was higher on Lawson than most).

He is taller than Lawson w longer arms and a high motor. I think at WORST it is a lateral move. Given it is only 10 mill guaranteed vs Lawson's injury history getting 30 mill guaranteed, it is a better deal.

Both signings so far are a wash. As of now, the Bengals are basically no better and no worse.

I don't expect 13.5 sacks out of this guy...but we never got that out of LT errrr I mean Lawson, either. Give me around 8 sacks and constantly hustle and I'm happy.

I want to see an o-lineman signed, but people whining and nitpicking us signing a 26 year old with 13.5 sacks? Dumb.

We used to complain when we signed some 34 year old off the scrap heap. We used to complain when we replaced a Justin Smith with a (cheaper) Antwan Odom.

Now we complain when we sign the guy who finished 2nd in sacks and is coming into his prime? Again, dumb.

I dont think any of us know if its a lateral move yet or not. I can see where folks would feel that way but reality is we dont really know yet. Lawson had major injury issues and only had one season where he had more than 5.5 sacks, and it was when the DL around him was stout as heck and he was used sparingly as a rookie. When Lawson took on a more full time role for us, he either got hurt or produced 5.5 sacks. Pressures and hits are nice, but sacks are better. Hendrickson had 13.5 sacks in a season and doesnt have an injury history that goes back to college. That's a big deal. We've all been waiting for Lawson to finally have his breakout season and get 10+ sacks. Hendrickson just did that and Lawson didn't. Id rather have both, but free agency is a two way street. You can only try to sign someone for what you think he's worth.

I saw almost IDENTICAL to what you saw, when I viewed it last night.

People who throw out, "10 of them were coverage or cleanup sacks," are just angry and bitter. **** 'em.

At the absolute worst, it is a lateral move, at best, we have a double-digit sack guy.

BuT hE hAd A bEtTeR lInE tHaN wE dO!!!

He also played double+ the amount of snaps he had in a previous year, so maybe that's the uptick in production? **** the analytics, he's on a different team and different scheme now. Even if our scheme is the worst on the planet, he may be perfect for it and go off for even more sacks this year.

Let things play out FFS. Toxicity is disgusting.

(03-16-2021, 01:34 PM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: I saw almost IDENTICAL to what you saw, when I viewed it last night.

People who throw out, "10 of them were coverage or cleanup sacks," are just angry and bitter. **** 'em.

At the absolute worst, it is a lateral move, at best, we have a double-digit sack guy.

BuT hE hAd A bEtTeR lInE tHaN wE dO!!!

He also played double+ the amount of snaps he had in a previous year, so maybe that's the uptick in production? **** the analytics, he's on a different team and different scheme now. Even if our scheme is the worst on the planet, he may be perfect for it and go off for even more sacks this year.

Let things play out FFS. Toxicity is disgusting.

Yep, everything needs context. If these signings help us sign some more in other positions than WJIII and Lawson and those guys hold serve and the other pieces contribute, the. It ends up as a win. If we just sit on our hands and replace the ones we lost with these guys, then that’s just a failure on FO.

I think he is better than Lawson at being able to bull rush with edge rush.... also hard to compare cleanup with Lawson only had 5.5 sacks anyway... he seems stronger than Lawson so finishes the pressures better to me for it to be a sack

This guy could be the best pass rusher in the league next year and it literally won't matter without more pieces. Losing Lawson and replacing him with Hendrickson is just running in place.

I came around after seeing how the deal was structured which showed the high risk/high reward of the signing.


Anyway you look at it the Bengals are treading water. Hendrickson alone is not going to boost the team that was last in sacks in 2020. I hope they add one another Edge Defender in free agency. Melvin Ingram, Justin Houston, Aldon Smith, Vic Beasley... maybe a younger guy that hasn't lived up to his draft status like Solomon Thomas or a Tyus Bowser.

Edit: Scratch Bowser Ravens resigned him.

I like the signing as I simply don't trust Lawson to stay healthy. I hope he stays productive playing across from Sam Hubbard who is solid, but no Cameron Jordan. He was the top DE in FA once Barrett re-signed with the Bucs, so certainly added a quality player. I am curious to see how he performs with a heavier snap workload (same concern I had with Lawson) as he played only 53% of the defensive snaps in 2020.

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All that aside, I just can't shake the feeling that the Bengals with their limited FO size spent all their attention on Lawson/Hendrickson (who lets be honest, neither would truly matter here until Lou Anarumo is gone) and in the meantime all the top OL FA went off the board. It's looking more and more like it will be next verse same as the first.

(03-16-2021, 01:49 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: I like the signing as I simply don't trust Lawson to stay healthy. I hope he stays productive playing across from Sam Hubbard who is solid, but no Cameron Jordan. He was the top DE in FA once Barrett re-signed with the Bucs, so certainly added a quality player. I am curious to see how he performs with a heavier snap workload (same concern I had with Lawson) as he played only 53% of the defensive snaps in 2020.

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All that aside, I just can't shake the feeling that the Bengals with their limited FO size spent all their attention on Lawson/Hendrickson (who lets be honest, neither would truly matter here until Lou Anarumo is gone) and in the meantime all the top OL FA went off the board. It's looking more and more like it will be next verse same as the first.

We definitely missed the boat on interior offensive linemen, as Zeitler, Thuney and Linsley all were off the board in the first few hours of free agency, but we always knew they weren't going to go in the top signings for interior linemen. That's never been the Bengals style. Every time they have a good OG, they let him go (Steinbach and Zeitler being the most obvious ones). I do still have hope, however, that we can sign a good RT. Riley Reiff would significantly improve this team, in my opinion, as would Alejandro Villanueva. Trent Williams is still out there, although I don't expect we'll be in on him. Okung and, in the worst case, Wagner could also improve this line. 

I hope we sign a new OG as well, but Spain may be the one we go with at this point, I'm not sure. Both Slater and Sewell can play guard in their first year as well if we do sign a RT but no premium guard. I haven't lost hope yet about the Oline, but I'm definitely worried haha.

(03-16-2021, 02:00 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: We definitely missed the boat on interior offensive linemen, as Zeitler, Thuney and Linsley all were off the board in the first few hours of free agency, but we always knew they weren't going to go in the top signings for interior linemen. That's never been the Bengals style. Every time they have a good OG, they let him go (Steinbach and Zeitler being the most obvious ones). I do still have hope, however, that we can sign a good RT. Riley Reiff would significantly improve this team, in my opinion, as would Alejandro Villanueva. Trent Williams is still out there, although I don't expect we'll be in on him. Okung and, in the worst case, Wagner could also improve this line. 

I hope we sign a new OG as well, but Spain may be the one we go with at this point, I'm not sure. Both Slater and Sewell can play guard in their first year as well if we do sign a RT but no premium guard. I haven't lost hope yet about the Oline, but I'm definitely worried haha.

I only see Thuney as missing the boat probably for bengals.. Zeitler age and production down.. Center i think they feel couple years away.. I think Feiler the pitts guard would have been nice on day 1 though.  

(03-16-2021, 02:00 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: We definitely missed the boat on interior offensive linemen, as Zeitler, Thuney and Linsley all were off the board in the first few hours of free agency, but we always knew they weren't going to go in the top signings for interior linemen. That's never been the Bengals style. Every time they have a good OG, they let him go (Steinbach and Zeitler being the most obvious ones). I do still have hope, however, that we can sign a good RT. Riley Reiff would significantly improve this team, in my opinion, as would Alejandro Villanueva. Trent Williams is still out there, although I don't expect we'll be in on him. Okung and, in the worst case, Wagner could also improve this line. 

I hope we sign a new OG as well, but Spain may be the one we go with at this point, I'm not sure. Both Slater and Sewell can play guard in their first year as well if we do sign a RT but no premium guard. I haven't lost hope yet about the Oline, but I'm definitely worried haha.

Big no to any Steelers tackles. They get away with nonstop holding there, and it doesn't translate to a different team. He'll also be 33.

Would expect Trent Williams to go to a contending team as he's heading into his age 33 season.

Spain was already here, and he was subpar at best.

Leave it to the Bengals to take the best LT prospect seen in quite some time and throw him at guard because they can't even wipe their own ass in FA.

Thanks for the vid CJD. Upgrade over Lawson in my opinion. Hendrickson knows how to finish, is longer and plays
more disciplined. Great signing, this guy is in his prime and doesn't have the injury history Lawson has. Hubbard will
work on his pass rush this Offseason and we can still add to the DL to get our pass rush up to par.

I said if before that I was willing to let Lawson go and pay Hendrickson. Now get some OL and a 3-tech.

I like the signing. I won't call him an upgrade or a downgrade yet but he's worth a shot at $0 guaranteed after 2021.

You can discount the coverage sacks if you want but they count too. 3 second bull rushes are nice; but 5 second sacks are better than the 5 second completions we saw in 2020.

(03-16-2021, 01:46 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: This guy could be the best pass rusher in the league next year and it literally won't matter without more pieces. Losing Lawson and replacing him with Hendrickson is just running in place.

This is getting kind of silly. Unless you think Lawson was the best pass rusher in the league last year our defense will improve if Hendrickson is the best in 2021

(03-16-2021, 02:51 PM)fredtoast Wrote: This is getting kind of silly. Unless you think Lawson was the best pass rusher in the league last year our defense will improve if Hendrickson is the best in 2021

Yeah, not understanding the negativity around here about letting Lawson go at all and I wanted him back and defended his 
lack of sacks before this. But to get and End who actually finishes well and doesn't have the injury history is an upgrade.

Now if people want to complain about us not upgrading the OL I can understand.

I dont see any way this guy makes it to the 4th year of the deal. After 3 years we can dump him and pick up 15 mil in cap room. Most fans will want to move on from this signing after year 2. Market dictated this signing due to poor planning and it will prove to be a massive overpay.

(03-16-2021, 03:11 PM)mikey6866 Wrote: I dont see any way this guy makes it to the 4th year of the deal.  After 3 years we can dump him and pick up 15 mil in cap room.  Most fans will want to move on from this signing after year 2.  Market dictated this signing due to poor planning and it will prove to be a massive overpay.

Hell, some want to move on from the signing after minute 2