Cincinnati Bengals: How Tre Flowers can help the secondary

The Cincinnati Bengals recently acquired fourth-year cornerback Tre Flowers off waivers from the Seattle Seahawks to strengthen a depleted secondary. Flowers is 26-years-old and was drafted in the fifth round in the 2018 NFL Draft. How can the new corner benefit this Cincinnati secondary?

Trae Waynes was put on IR on Monday, which will keep him out until at least Week 9. Therefore, Eli Apple will again have to step into a starting role and play a high volume of snaps for the secondary.

This season, Apple has had his moments where he has contributed solid production but ultimately has struggled in his time with Cincinnati. Pro Football Focus has him graded with a 42.5 overall so far, which is far below average.

Flowers hasn’t had the best season in Seattle either but adding depth and a player capable of being an upgrade over Apple is a smart move by the Bengals.

Why adding Tre Flowers was smart move for Cincinnati Bengals

In four seasons, Tre Flowers has 212 career tackles, two sacks, three interceptions, and five forced fumbles through 47 career games played. His production is there.

With Chidobe Awuzie still taking CB1 honors and having Mike Hilton in the slot with two very good safties in Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell, Flowers won’t be asked to do much but simply play his role, play consistent and play clean football.

Apple has struggled with that aspect of his job, as he has committed three penalties for 48 yards in his four games as a starter, putting him on pace to set a career-high for penalties committed in his career. Two of those flags were also thrown in the red zone, which later resulted in a touchdown.

Apple will still see plenty of snaps, but having a player like Tre Flowers behind him or splitting snaps with him may boost his performance knowing someone is there to try and take his job. Plus, for Flowers, his performance so far this season is skeptical. It may not look good on paper, but playing for a defense in Seattle who has struggled heavily, he was asked to do a lot more.

With new scenery in Cincinnati, his role will be minimal, and Seattle is a zone-heavy team; Cincinnati is not. This could be the perfect place for Flowers to flourish, which is why I can see him having plenty of success for the Bengals. The talent is there, and he’s got good size and speed for a corner. Flowers is 6’3″ and 202 pounds and ran a 4.45 40 yard dash time at his combine.

It’s essential to note that Flowers also has a lot of experience at safety, which means the Bengals will be able to use him in many different ways if he adjusts well—Thus, giving this secondary the exact depth it needs as the season rolls along with some significant games in the upcoming weeks starting this Sunday on the road against the Detroit Lions.