It’s no secret the Cincinnati Bengals need people to step up on the defensive side of the ball during training camp.
Cedric Johnson is more than happy to oblige.
With Shemar Stewart out with an injury, Johnson has been making the most of his chances during camp at a crowded spot on the depth chart.
After all, the Bengals’ big plan at defensive end is some platoon of Boye Mafe, Shemar Stewart, Cashius Howell and Myles Murphy. Johnson is just a depth guy.
But Johnson isn’t just a guy.
As The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. pointed out while naming Johnson one of the biggest winners of camp so far, the defensive end has produced 23 pressures over 197 pass-rush attempts. It’s a small, but very productive sample size.
Why is this a problem for the Bengals,
beyond throwing another efficient pass-rusher at Joe Burrow in what is suddenly a much-improved defense?
On paper, Stewart is the first-round pick who is supposed to be soaking up snaps with Mafe, Howell and Murphy. But if he comes back and doesn’t make as many waves as Johnson, it makes the coaching call quite a bit tougher. Do they sideline Johnson again in the hopes of feeding Stewart as many developmental snaps as possible?
Hard to say, but it’s pretty clear that Johnson’s small sample size deserves to be bigger. The sixth-rounder from 2024 clearly has some untapped potential worth exploring.
No doubt, it’s a good problem for the Bengals to have. And quality depth along the line should, in fact, be a strength in 2026, not a weakness. Sharing snaps means staying fresh and hopefully injury-free, while letting guys like Stewart line up all over formations.
While his name and draft stock aren’t as big as others on the depth chart, it’s plenty clear Johnson will have an important role to play during the regular season.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Cedric Johnson is creating a good problem for the Bengals
