5 Bengals whose stock rose after Week 1 of preseason
Players who boosted their stock
4. Darius Hodge
This guy was incredible in the first week of preseason. Many probably didn’t think he had any legit chance to make the 53-man roster heading into the night. Now, he is being raved about and could be a solid piece for this Bengals defense. Hodge ended up with 1.5 sacks and five quarterback hits.
According to Dan Hoard, Hodge was making a name for himself far before preseason Week 1.
Several days ago, I asked a #Bengals front office staff member to give me an “under the radar” player having a great camp. He said Darius Hodge.
— Dan Hoard (@Dan_Hoard) August 15, 2021
Great call right? 1.5 sacks, 5 QB hits tonight
With 8:11 left in the first quarter when he entered the game, Hodge put on an extreme showing at the linebacker position, making a serious impact right away. His ability to blitz the quarterback but also drop back in coverage gives him a nice mixture of agility at the position.
I would only expect him to see more playing time as the preseason rolls along to see what kind of role he can have on this team after an eye-opening performance.