As Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson learns his new team’s playbook, he said he sees more opportunity.
The biggest difference for him between Cincinnati’s playbook and the plays he ran with the New Orleans Saints will be how often he will run them during the season.
With the Saints in 2020, Hendrickson played just 53 percent of the team’s defensive snaps. After signing a four-year, $60 million deal this offseason with the Bengals, Hendrickson said he’s confident he’ll play a greater share of snaps.
“It’s going to be a unique opportunity to rush the passer and be used in different ways,” Hendrickson said. “It’s looking very unique (from) anything I’ve ever played before, but I think it’s playing to both the (Bengals) defense and what I can bring to the table.”
During organized team activities this month, Hendrickson had his first opportunity to see how he fits into a Bengals defense that only had 17 sacks last season.
Watching film of the Bengals 2020 season, Hendrickson said he thought the Bengals were a piece or two away from addressing that concern. The Bengals added him and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi to start next to defensive tackle D.J. Reader and defensive end Sam Hubbard.
The success of the Bengals defensive line will be determined by how well that unit rushes the quarterback.
“It’s going to be a competitive atmosphere, but (Hubbard and I) are both making each other better,” Hendrickson said. “You can’t sack the quarterback one (against) five. I need him just as much as he needs me. Same with the interior, Larry, D.J. and Mike (Daniels), all those guys we all bring something to the table. That’s why football is so special because we all can’t do it alone.”
MORE BURROW: In each of the Bengals OTAs open to the media, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow added one more drill that signaled his rehab progress from reconstructive left-knee surgery.
On Tuesday, Burrow ran play action passes with running back Joe Mixon and also threw deep routes with the team’s wide receivers. Both were another step toward Burrow being at full strength.
“He looks really good,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “I know a lot's been made about the arm strength and velocity and all that, but he's throwing the ball on time where it needs to go and that's what I'm pleased about.”
MAXIMIZING MIXON: When he was healthy last season, Mixon was often not on the field on third downs and passing downs.
According to Taylor, that usage wasn’t a reflection of Mixon’s weaknesses.
“Having Joe Mixon on the field makes us better,” Taylor said. “At the same time, you don't need him on the field for 75 snaps a game. Sometimes you have to pick and choose where you can give those guys the break.”
Over the rest of the offseason, the Bengals will look for Samaje Perine, Trayveon Williams and Chris Evans to establish roles behind Mixon. For Mixon to play in 16 games, which has only happened once in his NFL career, Taylor said he has to split responsibilities between the running backs.
“You've got to delegate in a sense and make sure there's roles for other guys where everybody is fresh and giving you the best effort,” Taylor said. “It's not always necessarily 'What did he do wrong? He's not on the field for three downs.' We feel like we have other weapons we can utilize and (who) can do a great job for us.”
REHAB CONTINUES: Center Trey Hopkins and defensive tackles D.J. Reader and Renell Wren are continuing to work separately from the rest of the team and rehabbing on a side field. All three players had season-ending injuries in 2020, and they worked on agility drills during practice on Tuesday.
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