The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t emerge with a win during the Week 1 preseason opener against the Arizona Cardinals.
But they did emerge with some interesting lessons learned as coaches have to figure out rotations and eventually a full-blown final roster.
That sprint to the final cut downs before the regular season starts will only quicken in pace from here. One tool outsiders can use to judge how things are going for players is the grading system over at Pro Football Focus.
There, we find some pretty interesting grades for unexpected names, plus some expected ones given the struggles of certain players.
Here is a quick look at the most notable player grades from the opener.
Top 5 offense
- WR Kendric Pryor: 92.5
- WR Trent Taylor: 87.1
- RB Jacques Patrick: 78.8
- OG Cordell Volson: 74.8
- TE Scotty Washington: 69.9
Some pretty interesting marks right here. Pryor’s making what was thought to be a settled wideout spot pretty interesting and Taylor’s nearly a lock given his use on special teams. Then there’s Volson, who is about to get first-team reps after Jackson Carman’s struggles.
Top 5 defense
- LB Clarence Hicks: 83.1
- CB Abu Daramy-Swaray: 77.6
- LB Keandre Jones: 70.2
- S Dax Hill: 69.6
- CB Jalen Davis: 69.5
To say the depth is strong would be an understatement. Four of the five here might not even make the final roster but they should be around for call ups, at least. Hill, starting for Jessie Bates, very much looked the part and might come along quicker than expected.
Bottom 5 offense
- TE Justin Rigg: 53.6
- WR Kwamie Lassiter II: 53.5
- OL Ben Brown: 46.7
- TE Nick Eubanks: 32.7
- OT Hakeem Adeniji: 24.7
Tough start for the undrafted Brown, who looked like a sleeper to make the roster. And Adeniji will need to recover fast — a former starter struggling that much against backups is bad news.
Bottom 5 defense
- DT Zachary Carter: 46.5
- DT Domenique Davis: 39.4
- LB Markus Bailey: 38.4
- LB Akeem Davis-Gaither: 35.0
- LB Tegray Scales: 25.2
The rookie Carter appeared to have some flashes at times and still projects to have a rotational role in the base defense. Ditto for Davis-Gaither, who will at least rotate in and put that athleticism to work in coverage.
Special teams
- P Kevin Huber: 62.8
- P Drue Chrisman: 58.8
This is the only notable battle worth watching on special teams and both were fine, with Hubert getting three attempts and Chrisman two. The former was the only one to have one land inside the 20.
Other notables
- OG Jackson Carman: 54.7, 19.3 pass-blocking grade
- DE Jeffrey Gunter: 53.0, 62.3 pass-rushing grade
Two of the big ones to track in camp here. Carman looked too upright and stiff and struggled against backups, hence the poor grading. Gunter, a seventh-round potential breakout, didn’t have a great overall grade but his marks in pass-rushing put him third on the team overall on the night.
