Cincinnati Bengals: Recent draft picks can round elite defense into form

Jordan Willis: The Run Specialist

The Cincinnati Bengals have one defensive end who specializes in rushing the quarterback and another who excels at defending the run. As complements to two-time Pro Bowler Carlos Dunlap, they could become key rotational cogs in the pursuit of a championship.

If Carl Lawson is the pass-rushing specialist of the rotation, then it’s fellow rookie Jordan Willis who deserves credit for his play against the run.

Willis picked up just 1.0 sack in 16 appearances, but defending the run is his specialty. Pro Football Focus gave Willis a grade of 80.0 in run defense in 2017, and it was an accurate reflection of the player that he became.

Willis recorded 18 of his 25 tackles in run defense, and he did so without missing a single tackle—consistency that implies he should maintain this level of play as his snap count increases.

Willis made a stop in run defense on 8.2 percent of the snaps he played—the 14th-best mark in the NFL. That was tied with fellow rookie T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who has received the praise of a rising star.

After watching the Philadelphia Eagles win a championship with a deep rotation of defensive linemen, the Bengals have to be encouraged by their own crop of talent.