4 reasons the Bengals special teams unit will be top of the pack in 2022

Reliability at the long snapper spot

When deciding which punter is the best fit, you also have to consider the second part of the equation — Who is the best long snapper?

Veteran long snapper Clark Harris has been with the Bengals just as long as Huber has been with the team. More amazing is that Harris has never had an unplayable snap on a punt or placement kick in his career with the team (990 punts and 884 placement kicks).

Some consider rookie Cal Adomitis out of Pittsburgh to be the best long snapper coming out of college last season. A long shot, Adomitis will push Harris for his longtime position at long snapper.

Coach Simmons has been giving Adomitis more opportunities during practice with the kicking unit. He snapped the ball when McPherson kicked his 65-yard field goal at practice—giving him the confidence to push the veteran Harris.

The bottom line will be how well these guys play together under pressure in the preseason games. Simmons said he wants to rotate Huber/Harris and Chrisman/Adomitis in each series of each preseason game to see how they react and to be fair when evaluating them.

I look for this to be a battle worth keeping an eye on.

These four reasons will give the Bengals special teams unit a leg up on the competition.