Bengals DC Lou Anarumo confirms Cincinnati is taking best possible path towards replacing DJ Reader
In the movie Moneyball, Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, talked about replacing (or in his words, recreating) MVP and All-Star first baseman Jason Giambi in the aggregate. This meant that instead of finding one player to compensate for the loss of Giambi, the A's would count on multiple players to […]
In the movie Moneyball, Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, talked about replacing (or in his words, recreating) MVP and All-Star first baseman Jason Giambi in the aggregate.
This meant that instead of finding one player to compensate for the loss of Giambi, the A's would count on multiple players to recreate the same level of production.
Jason Giambi and former Cincinnati Bengals nose tackle DJ Reader are two different athletes from two different sports, but Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo plans on replacing Reader in a very similar fashion. And it's exactly what the Bengals should try and do.
Anarumo made a recent appearance on The Growler podcast with The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr. and Pro Football Network's Jay Morrison. On the topic of replacing Reader in 2024, Cincinnati's defensive mastermind noted that the task will require help from multiple players, including two of the team's earliest picks from this year's NFL Draft.
"We're trying to see how we can replace DJ with maybe a couple of different pieces, Anarumo said. "Two young guys who will play big roles in that with Kris Jenkins and McKinnley Jackson, so, you know, that stuff will get all ironed out in training camp."
Jenkins and Jackson were drafted in the second and third round, respectively, this past April, and while they're both defensive tackles, they're two very different players. Jenkins has plenty of power and length to his game, which makes him ideal as a run-stopper. Jackson has the mass of a true nose tackle, but attacks as a penetrator more often than his new rookie teammate.
Combining their collective skills gives Anarumo and the Bengals a solid plan to replace Reader's snaps, which averaged to about 38 a game last season.
The progress Jenkins and Jackson have each shown still needs to translate when the pads come on, which is not lost on their defensive coordinator.
"It's hard to judge any player in the spring, especially o-line and d-line. Their jobs are required to hit somebody every play," Anarumo said. "So while those guys have done everything we've asked of them, they've done a good job with what they've been presented to do, it'll show itself as we get through training camp."
Truthfully, it'll take more than two rookies to aptly replace an elite talent like Reader. Veterans B.J. Hill and Sheldon Rankins will also be relied on in both run defense and pass rushing with Jenkins and Jackson spilling them throughout the game. Zach Carter is also entering a make-or-break season if he survives final cuts in August.
A lot is to be determined at the defensive tackle position, but the Bengals are handling the conundrum in the only feasible way.
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