Training camp is officially a week away for the Cincinnati Bengals and the cornerback position is one that has the biggest makeover since last year. Two of the current starting cornerbacks on the team didn’t play a snap for the Bengals in 2020.
Trae Waynes was signed last year but an injury during training camp ended his 2020 season before it ever really began. This will be his first year in the stripes and fans are excited to see what he can bring to this defense.
The Bengals signed Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton this offseason, giving them a decent-looking cornerback group. It’ll be fun to see what kind of difference these newcomers make for the team in 2021.
Here is the Cincinnati Bengals’ cornerback depth chart entering training camp.
- Trae Waynes
- Chidobe Awuzie
- Darius Phillips
- Mike Hilton
- Ricardo Allen
- Eli Apple
- Tony Brown
- Donnie Lewis Jr.
- Jalen Davis
- Winston Rose
- Antonio Phillips
Waynes, Awuzie, and Phillips are the likely starters entering the season with Hilton, Allen, and Apple likely seeing a decent amount of playing time as well. Phillips is entering his fourth year with the Bengals and was a fifth-round pick in 2018 out of Western Michigan.
Speaking of fifth-round picks, Allen was selected in that very round by the Falcons in 2014 and spent the entirety of his career with them to this point. He’s now with the Bengals and looks to make a splash in their secondary and Cincinnati is certainly hoping he does just that.
Apple is another free agent addition and is on his fourth team in just six years after previously playing for the Giants, Saints, and Panthers. He’ll join the AFC for the first time in his career and should look to be a nice option as a backup.
The Bengals made sure they added to their cornerback position over the offseason and they went to work at upgrading one of the most important positions on the defensive side of the ball. This is a new-look group for the Bengals and that could go swimmingly for them or it could completely blow up in their faces and backfire miserably.
Hopefully, it’s the former and the Bengals can finally feel comfortable with the defense they have on the field.