Bleacher Report says Germaine Pratt could still break out for Bengals in 2021

The Cincinnati Bengals’ linebacker unit has dropped off in recent games along with the rest of the defense, but Germaine Pratt is one of the few players trending upward.

Maurice Moton of Bleacher Report recently revealed a list of one player from every NFL team would could break out before the end of the 2021 season.

All of the selections have five or fewer years of pro experience, and Moton describes them as “unheralded players with opportunities ahead of them or high draft picks from recent classes who have a ton of room for growth.”

For the Bengals, Germaine Pratt was the chosen breakout candidate:

"Compared to fellow linebacker Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt’s production doesn’t jump off the screen, but he’s a downhill defender who’s played well in an improved Cincinnati Bengals defense…Since Week 7, Pratt’s snap count has trended up, and he took the field for a season-high 92 percent of the plays last week, which bodes well for his outlook through the remainder of the term."

Pratt enters his third year at Cincinnati after playing in all 32 regular season games in the last two years.

Cincinnati Bengals’ Germaine Pratt has made a monumental impact in defense so far

In 2021, he’s started all nine games and his defensive snap count has been steadily rising since Week 1.

In the season-opener against the Minnesota Vikings, Pratt played in 45 percent of defensive snaps; In Week 9 against the Cleveland Browns, he played in 92 percent of defensive snaps.

So far, Pratt has recorded 45 tackles, five tackles for loss, a forced fumble, a pass breakup and an interception. His high levels of production factor into Cincinnati’s ninth-ranked run defense in 2021, which needless to say is a huge improvement from last year.

As a key member in the interior defense, Pratt is currently allowing an 87.3 passer rating, which is vastly better from his 111.1 rating in 2020.

Pratt is enjoying his most productive season yet on the Bengals and is on track to setting career highs in several tackling categories.

Don’t sleep on Pratt in 2021. He’s one of the good ones.