Top Bengals rookie keeps getting unique usage

The Cincinnati Bengals won’t field a predictable defense next year.

Look at rookie Cashius Howell. The Bengals drafted him in the second round and even hinted they might have grabbed him in the first, had they moved around the board.

But it was a little surprising, with first-round investments in Myles Murphy and Shemar Stewart on the board, plus big money spent on edge rusher Boye Mafe in free agency.

It didn’t take long for Howell to start getting linebacker looks in early rookie work, though.

Jaron May of WLWT recently provided this note from OTAs: “The second unit defense is running Cashius Howell at linebacker, bringing him down off the edge, and sliding Shemar Stewart to a three-point pseudo-tackle.”

The Bengals run a “multiple” defense, so they’re going to find ways to get guys on the field. That means kicking edges inside in certain packages and reinforcing the suspect linebacker spot with guys like Howell.

On paper, it means getting investments on the field, having packages for specific scenarios and being much tougher to prep against. And that means they’ve had a specific gameplan for Howell from the jump.

This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Top Bengals rookie keeps getting unique usage