The Cincinnati Bengals defense was a shell of its former self it 2023 as the team finished second to last in total yards allowed per game with a staggering 374.6. While the strategy of defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has clearly been “bend but don’t break”, the team bent a little more than anticipated in their 2023 season.
For those who aren’t familiar with the phrase, Anarumo’s entire strategy is that he doesn’t care about how many yards the team gives up but wants big plays to prevent touchdowns by generating turnovers and to excel in situational stats like third down percentage and red zone percentage. Understandably so, the teams most valuable player in 2023 was one of their big play machines on defense.
Bengals Most Valuable Player goes to the Obvious Choice
Understandably, the Cincinnati Chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America named defensive end Trey Hendrickson as Cincinnati’s Most Valuable Player throughout the 2023 season. Without a doubt, Hendrickson was the best player on the defense and the only player on the team who would rival him on a regular basis would be star quarterback Joe Burrow.
“Trey Hendrickson proved his immense value to the Bengals defense as one of the most reliable and dominant pass rushers in the NFL,” said chapter vice president Mike Petraglia. “He recorded a career-high in sacks despite often being the target of double teams and scheming to account for his explosiveness off the edge.”
Hendrickson was a force on the edge last season as he finished second in the NFL with 17.5 sacks behind only Pittsburgh Steelers superstar T.J. Watt. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Hendrickson’s advanced stats credit him with 49 hurries, 10 hits and 79 total pressures on opposing quarterbacks on 469 pass rush snaps. While Cincinnati may have been a struggling defense, Hendrickson was the one consistent option on the defense.
While Hendrickson finished the season with the sixth best PFF pass rushing score in the NFL with a staggering score of 90.7, his discipline in run defense took a substantial hit this season as his score torpedoed to an abysmal 51.0. While he has historically been a sound contain defender against the run, it was noticeable that Hendrickson struggled to hold the edge against the tougher competition this season. Whether that was a conscious decision by the coaching staff to maximize his pass rushing potential is difficult to say.
Both defensive ends Hendrickson and right end Sam Hubbard struggled with their contain responsibilities during the 2023 season and stout run defender D.J. Reader may be heading out the door this offseason. Without Reader, Hendrickson’s ability to hold the edge in the run game will be far more important and the team may ask him to reign in his pass rushing focus. I find that unlikely as I believe Cincinnati will put focus on finding a viable replacement at the nose tackle this off-season but it most likely won’t be the 30-year-old reader coming off of a season-ending lower body injury.
Hendrickson also deserves credit for battling through injuries as the star edge rusher managed to play with several nagging injuries last season that would hold a typical player off the field. The defense will need to grow quickly this offseason and a player like Hendrickson is the rock that everyone wants to maintain the defense.
For More Football News:
Follow me on Twitter at @Super_Squatch76. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in college and NFL news, click here! If there is a topic you’d like me to cover or a question you’d like to ask, feel free to contact me at my email timothy.mcbride76@gmail.com.