The Cincinnati Bengals are known for lighting up the scoreboard on offense. However, their defense isn’t too shabby either.
They finished seventh against the run and fifth in the fewest points allowed in 2022. Of course, it starts in the trenches, but the Bengals linebackers, led by Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson, have played good football as well over the last several seasons.
Cincinnati’s linebacker group recently got a major tip of the hat as they were ranked the fifth-best unit of its kind in the NFL.
“Cincinnati’s starting duo of Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson enjoyed breakout seasons in 2022, with both players earning career-high PFF grades. Pratt’s 87.2 coverage grade ranked third among all qualified linebackers. Wilson made improvements across the board, putting up run-defense and coverage grades above 70.0 and contributing 16 pressures as a blitzer.”
“Akeem Davis-Gaither and Markus Bailey serve as useful depth pieces who are homegrown and will be under the age of 27 when the season kicks off. The Bengals have built an excellent young group that glues together a terrific front seven.”-Dalton Wasserman, PFF
Pratt had career highs in tackles (99), sacks (1), pass breakups (10), and interceptions (2). Also, his run-defense, pass-rush, and defense grades in 2022 were the best of his career.
Wilson is a very versatile defender. In addition to his 1,700 career snaps in the box, Wilson has registered 168 on the defensive line, 107 as a slot corner, 17 at free safety, and 12 as a boundary corner.
Davis-Gaither had his best grades in every category last season besides run defense which included only a 2.5% missed tackle percentage.
The run-defense (80.4) and overall defense grade (70.9) for Bailey were his career best in 2022. Davis-Gaither and Bailey were part of a linebacker overhaul by the Bengals in 2020 headlined by Wilson and have proven to be very viable options in case of an injury at the position.
Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo isn’t lacking linebacker talent at the moment.
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