Al Golden spoke with the media on Monday ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals starting training camp. He was asked how he felt the competition at nickel corner looked ahead of camp. He mentioned the addition of Ja’Sir Taylor as a veteran to the competition. He also mentioned Bralyn Lux, Jalen Davis, and Josh Newton as players that could compete for the starting spot.
When discussing how important the position is, Golden stated,
“Very critical. You gotta be savvy; you’ve gotta be able to play zone and man
(coverage). Maybe you wouldn’t be the most fiercest tackler, but you can find the ball. You’ve gotta be able to communicate. The nickel kind of steers the defense, drives the bus.”
Golden specifically went on to mention that Jalen Davis communicates at a high level. As expected, it seems like Davis will have the early lead in the competition entering camp. By no means does that mean he will be the starter on day one when the regular season gets underway against Tampa Bay.
Ja’Sir Taylor and Bralyn Lux are the two most likely candidates to push for playing time at the nickel spot. This is arguably one of the most open competitions on the roster, after the Bengals invested so heavily in a lot of the defense elsewhere.
Who do you think starts at nickel against Tampa Bay during the first week of the season?
