UDFA Ja’von Rolland-Jones fights for Bengals roster

Following an incredible career with exceptional numbers at Arkansas State, UDFA Ja’von Rolland-Jones will have to prove himself to the Bengals.

Following the conclusion of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals signed undrafted free agents who were not able to hear their names called on the special weekend. One of the young players Cincinnati is bringing in is Arkansas State edge rusher Ja’von Rolland-Jones. Putting up outstanding numbers in college, the question is whether he can do it against higher competition and if his combine scores were enough to make him undrafted.

When I first took a look at Rolland-Jones stats from college, my eyes widened. He was an absolute terror for quarterbacks playing at Arkansas State. During his four seasons as a Red Wolf, he had impressive numbers like 42 sacks, 63 tackles for a loss, one interception, three passes defended, ten forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.

Rolland-Jones was able to rush the passer throughout his college career, but he wasn’t a three-down player until his final two seasons. During those last two seasons, he put up 38.5 tackles for a loss, 26 sacks, four forced fumbles, and 112 tackles. Both of his final two years at Arkansas State he was awarded Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. There is no question that this kid deserves a shot to make an NFL team this summer.

If you go check out his games on youtube, or even check out the highlight video from 2017 below, you can see that Rolland-Jones is more polished than most edge rushers coming into the league. His instincts and pass rush are incredible, and something most college players don’t have yet coming out of college. The 6’2″ and 252-pound edge rusher was consistent throughout his career but the question will be if he can take on more considerable talent in the NFL.

The most impressive skills that he possessed when I watched him play was his hand fighting skills and bend around the edge. Both of these are skills that most edge rushers don’t have coming out of college. You might see a limited amount from other players but nothing like Rolland-Jones abilities. When looking at the best edge rushers in the NFL, the most significant thing you will notice is the bend around the edge. Getting under the tackles block and bending his body to make for a quicker route to the quarterback is something that could help him prove himself in the NFL.

Which leads me to his position with the Bengals. At 252 pounds, Rolland-Jones is light for a defensive end in the NFL and would struggle against more significant talent at the position. I think he would have more success playing as a 3-4 outside linebacker/edge rusher. Positions like Justin Houston and Von Miller. The 3-4 look could find it’s way into the Bengals defense as not a base set but something new defensive coordinator Teryl Austin deploys for special schemes. With the amount of blitzing talent Cincinnati has, I don’t see why you wouldn’t.

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The Bengals already have a significant amount of edge rushers with defensive end Carlos Dunlap, linebacker Carl Lawson, defensive end Jordan Willis, rookie defensive end Sam Hubbard, and defensive end Michael Johnson but adding another in Rolland-Jones and it makes things interesting. Considering the Bengals are expanding Lawson’s roles to linebacker, imagine a 3-4 set with Rolland-Jones and Lawson on opposite sides and still having defensive tackle Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, and Johnson/Hubbard inside. That sounds terrifying. Keep up with the Bengals undrafted free agents with our UDFA tracker.