What are the Bengals doing at Defensive Tackle?

[*Synric*]

(05-15-2024, 02:19 PM)Au165 Wrote: They made an interesting note about not thinking Jenkins body had been tapped out in terms of adding size. I think because of his strength we will see him playing the 0/1 more than people think. I could see him being a bit of a Harrison Phillips and playing nose at 305 or so but being capable of holding his own.

Jenkins could stack peek shed and tackle better than any DT in the draft class, and I could definitely see him developing into some nose tackle roles in the future. I'm just not so sure about Week 1 2024.

Right now we know it's week 2 vs the Chiefs which is Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, and Isaiah Pacheco. That's a team that attacks inside lanes in the run game.

.... then of course the AFC North is on the schedule. I'm worried about this position group alot of question marks.

[Soonerpeace]

(05-15-2024, 10:58 AM)Synric Wrote: Some much needed major changes to the defensive tackle room where made this off-season but left a massive of question mark . Who is the starting Nose Tackle? Right now the front 4 probabaly looks like Hendrickson - Rankins - Hill - Hubbard which means BJ Hill is going to be the A-Gap defender for the majority of the snaps. Will BJ Hill add weight from 311 to 320ish?

Another question is will McKinnley Jackson be the short yardage Nose Tackle? I was a big Jackson fan pre-draft and love that we added him but I don't think he is going to be a successful short yardage nose in his rookie year.


I like that the Bengals attacked the trenches this off-season but playing in the AFC North I would have liked to see them add someone with some size and experience at DT.

They were surprised D J Reader left and got such a huge contract. They scrambled and got Rankins. He’s a much better pass rusher. I wish we could have kept D J. He was immovable and disruptive like no DT in the NFL. Jackson I’d expect will be in on short yardage and goal line. Provided he performs well. Who knows if Byron Murphy had he been available if they’d drafted him. Doubtful

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(05-15-2024, 02:19 PM)Au165 Wrote: They made an interesting note about not thinking Jenkins body had been tapped out in terms of adding size. I think because of his strength we will see him playing the 0/1 more than people think. I could see him being a bit of a Harrison Phillips and playing nose at 305 or so but being capable of holding his own.

I could see that. Kris Jenkins is The Mutant for a reason. He went from a 250 pound End to a 305 pound DT and is great at shedding
blocks in the run game and tackling RB's as a DT. He even said something about if they needed him to gain 20 pounds or so he could 
eat the chili and do whatever the coach's ask of him and be a Nose Tackle.

[NATI BENGALS]

Rankins is taking Reader’s snaps. Jenkins is taking Carter’s snaps. Jackson is taking Topou’s snaps. Snaps from last year that is. Hopefully.

[SunsetBengal]

(05-15-2024, 04:37 PM)jj22 Wrote: You got Carter making the club Sunset?!

Based on his production last season, probably not. However if he spent the offseason improving his body and skill set similar to the way Murphy did, he would still have an opportunity to secure a roster spot. After all a guy on a rookie deal is cheap depth.

[*ochocincos*]

I'm cautiously optimistic on the Bengals DTs this year.
I was a big Jackson fan, although I dunno how well he can come in and cover NT Week 1.
Jenkins rotating with Jackson should help, but Rankins might also actually be starting Week 1 alongside Hill with Jenkins, Jackson, and Carter backup.

Long-term, I'd like to see Jenkins and Jackson solidify one DT spot while a better pass rusher is drafted next year to go along with Rankins and Carter.
Maybe this is the year Carter comes along. He was a 3rd round pick for a reason. He needed time to grow into full-time DT.

[Luvnit2]

I keep hearing concerns we have no nose tackle. I don't have the resources to get snap information.

How many snaps on average per game did the Bengals utilize a NT?

My gut tells me not a lot, but I would love it someone had a way to let us know the facts from 2023.

[JoeyB2023]

Honestly I think the team is better and gets better with rankins and Jenkins starting and hill spelling. Jenkins is gonna eat and hill was such a better player off the bench. I’m hoping that’s why we went so heavy at DTackle

[*Synric*]

(05-15-2024, 08:39 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: They were surprised D J Reader left and got such a huge contract. They scrambled and got Rankins. He’s a much better pass rusher. I wish we could have kept D J. He was immovable and disruptive like no DT in the NFL. Jackson I’d expect will be in on short yardage and goal line. Provided he performs well. Who knows if Byron Murphy had he been available if they’d drafted him. Doubtful

I'm not trying to attack their off-season plan for DT because I understand the situations they were in. It's just there's alot of new and a position switch for their only real vet so it's definitely my biggest worry for 2024.

[*Synric*]

(05-16-2024, 11:17 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: I keep hearing concerns we have no nose tackle. I don't have the resources to get snap information.

How many snaps on average per game did the Bengals utilize a NT?

My gut tells me not a lot, but I would love it someone had a way to let us know the facts from 2023.

How often do you think they left the A Gaps undefended? Rarely.

Mostly in long down and distance pass rush situations during 2 minute defense. Those are the times you see the QB rush up the middle untouched for 15 yards lol. Every once in a while, not often mind you, you will see a 2, 2 interior split with both DTs attacking the B Gaps but then the MIKE is eating a full force climbing Center.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(05-16-2024, 11:17 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: I keep hearing concerns we have no nose tackle. I don't have the resources to get snap information.

How many snaps on average per game did the Bengals utilize a NT?

My gut tells me not a lot, but I would love it someone had a way to let us know the facts from 2023.

TLL has done the snap count for DJ Reader over the years and it is not a ton of snaps which is why I think we aimed for DT's that have 
high upside in Rankins, Jenkins and Jackson instead of just outright NT's. Jackson is the most like Reader so I would list him as the NT 
right now, and I think he is an upgrade over Tupou for sure who was Reader's backup last year.

I think in the end the problems with stopping the run were much more than just NT last year, it was communication, bad angles and 
poor tackling. But Tupou was pretty terrible last year backing up Reader when I watched him play.

[Joelist]

(05-16-2024, 01:37 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: TLL has done the snap count for DJ Reader over the years and it is not a ton of snaps which is why I think we aimed for DT's that have 
high upside in Rankins, Jenkins and Jackson instead of just outright NT's. Jackson is the most like Reader so I would list him as the NT 
right now, and I think he is an upgrade over Tupou for sure who was Reader's backup last year.

I think in the end the problems with stopping the run were much more than just NT last year, it was communication, bad angles and 
poor tackling. But Tupou was pretty terrible last year backing up Reader when I watched him play.

Exactly. Most of the run issues were not the interior DL getting blown back but rather losing the edges and again communication and poor angles. Hubbard being healthy should help half of the edge issue at minimum. Having a DT room with a far higher floor like we do now is also a big help. Trey losing his edge from over pursuit is just something that has to be compensated for - he's a QB hunter and we want him doing that. 

[Bengalholic]

(05-16-2024, 11:17 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: I keep hearing concerns we have no nose tackle. I don't have the resources to get snap information.

How many snaps on average per game did the Bengals utilize a NT?

My gut tells me not a lot, but I would love it someone had a way to let us know the facts from 2023.

Here's how Reader's 534 snaps broke down last year according to PFF:

LE --- 4
DLT --- 155
NLT --- 16
NT --- 78
NRT --- 12
DRT --- 266
RE --- 3

[*Synric*]

(05-16-2024, 02:02 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: Here's how Reader's 534 snaps broke down last year according to PFF:

LE ---        4
DLT ---   155
NLT ---    16
NT ---      78
NRT ---     12
DRT ---   266
RE ---        3

DJ Reader was 2 gapping both A gaps from 2i lol. Not many guys in the NFL can do that. 

[Bengalholic]

(05-16-2024, 02:06 PM)Synric Wrote: DJ Reader was 2 gapping both A gaps from 2i lol. Not many guys in the NFL can do that. 

Yep. Also, this is where McKinnley Jackson got his snaps last year:

LE ---         6
DLT ---    102
NLT ---      14
NT ---      214
NRT ---       7
DRT ---     77
RE ---        6

[*bfine32*]

(05-16-2024, 05:08 AM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Rankins is taking Reader’s snaps. Jenkins is taking Carter’s snaps. Jackson is taking Topou’s snaps. Snaps from last year that is. Hopefully.

Rankins may take Reader's snap in count only. No way he does what we asked of Reader. I think we'll see a combination of Hill/ Jackson take Reader's snaps and Rankins take Hill's snaps

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(05-16-2024, 01:45 PM)Joelist Wrote: Exactly. Most of the run issues were not the interior DL getting blown back but rather losing the edges and again communication and poor angles. Hubbard being healthy should help half of the edge issue at minimum. Having a DT room with a far higher floor like we do now is also a big help. Trey losing his edge from over pursuit is just something that has to be compensated for - he's a QB hunter and we want him doing that. 

You know it Joelist. As long as the DL isn't getting pushed around and our Linebackers and Secondary are communicating better while
tackling and taking better angles we should be much better this season at stopping the run. Hendrickson has never been known for being
good at sealing the edge in the run game, but Hubbard has been, and Murphy could be an upgrade over Trey on running downs.

(05-16-2024, 02:02 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: Here's how Reader's 534 snaps broke down last year according to PFF:

LE ---        4
DLT ---   155
NLT ---    16
NT ---      78
NRT ---     12
DRT ---   266
RE ---        3

(05-16-2024, 02:28 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: Yep. Also, this is where McKinnley Jackson got his snaps last year:

LE ---         6
DLT ---    102
NLT ---      14
NT ---      214
NRT ---       7
DRT ---     77
RE ---        6

Thanks for the snaps from DJ and McKinnley Holic. Very telling, surprised DJ lined up so wide so often honestly.

McKinnley was clearly more of the Nose Tackle at A&M last year than DJ was for us. Wild.

[007BengalsFan]

(05-15-2024, 04:57 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Looking at some OTA clips, Domenique Davis looks like a big dude. Maybe he can put it all together.

WTS, I'm not sure our 0-Tech is on the team yet

Davis looked pretty good in preseason last year.  The problem is the team never gave him a chance in a regular season game to show what he could or couldnt do.  With the 2 tackles taken in the draft, I doubt Davis gets any chance this year either.  Another issue is Davis is now 28 years old

[007BengalsFan]

(05-16-2024, 02:57 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Rankins may take Reader's snap in count only. No way he does what we asked of Reader. I think we'll see a combination of Hill/ Jackson take Reader's snaps and Rankins take Hill's snaps

I agree.  Rankins will take Reader's starting spot on the D-line but he will not be asked to do what Reader did.  From what I remember reading, Rankins wasnt that great in run support according to PFF.   I think Hill could fill that role better.  Hopefully one of the two rookie DTs can step in and help but you never know what you are going to get from a rookie.  Every draft class is a mixture of hits and misses.  It would be nice if both were hits.

[J24]

I imagine that the starting NT isn't yet on the roster unless Jackson or Jenkins has a major training camp in them.