Cincinnati Bengals: 5 Situations To Watch Tomorrow Night

Marquis Flowers

Marquis Flowers makes his first appearance in a Bengals’ uniform tomorrow night. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Marquis Flowers has made some noise so far during this year’s camp. He was the team’s sixth round pick in this year’s draft, a somewhat unsurprising late-round pick considering there were reports of the Bengals’ interest in him. Flowers is an intriguing prospect in a few ways. He reminds me of an unheralded version of Pittsburgh’s first-round pick Ryan Shazier. He’s similarly fast, running somewhere between a 4.4 and 4.5 at his pro day according the differing reports, and athletic and he has a tough demeanor according to Coley Harvey.

He’s a converted safety much like Emanuel Lamur was coming out of college. The Bengals have shown a penchant for these types of players recently, when also considering the contribution from Taylor Mays last year, and for good reason as tight ends become more athletic and more difficult for the prototypical linebacker to cover. Today’s NFL is speeding up and emphasizing the passing game increasingly, so finding these ultra-athletic linebackers is key to keeping up with opposing offenses.

According to Jason Marcum, Flowers got some reps yesterday with the first team. It’s a strong indication that Flowers is on the ascent, as a competitor of his, Sean Porter, seems to be on the decline. Porter will be sitting out tomorrow night’s game with an injury, and after missing the entire season last year, this can’t bode well for his chances. There is a heated battle among several players for the last couple of spots within the linebacking corps. If Flowers plays well tomorrow night, he may begin to separate himself from the pack and be the next “diamond” added to this roster.