Ouch. Well, hey, good for Trey Hendrickson: the former New Orleans Saints defensive end made the cut for Doug Farrar’s list of the most underrated defenders in the NFL over at Touchdown Wire, and for great reason. Hendrickson led the Cincinnati Bengals in sacks (14) and overall quarterback pressures (87, per Pro Football Focus charting) after leaving New Orleans in free agency last offseason. So it’s safe to say he’s doing well for himself.
Hendrickson is one of three edge defenders to make Farrar’s list, along with John Franklin-Myers (New York Jets) and Rashan Gary (Green Bay Packers). Here’s what Farrar had to say of Hendrickson after his big year with Cincinnati:
“There are times as an analyst where you do your best, you think you have it right, and in the end, you have to take the L. Hopefully, you learn from it, and you move on. When the Bengals signed former Saints edge-rusher Trey Hendrickson to a four-year, $60 million contract in March, 2021, I panned the deal, giving it a B- because Hendrickson didn’t offer a lot of gap versatility. I thought that Hendrickson might be limited in a Bengals defense that wasn’t as versatile upfront.
Uh… whoops. I would hereby like to apologize to Mr. Hendrickson, and anybody else I may have offended. Hendrickson wasn’t very gap-versatile in 2021 for the AFC champs — he played 835 snaps outside the tackles and 56 inside — but if you have a fastball with enough velocity and movement… sometimes that’s all you need. In the 2021 season, only Maxx Crosby and Nick Bosa had more total pressures than Hendrickson’s 87, tying with the aforementioned Rashan Gary for third-best in the league.”
