The Cincinnati Bengals made the right decision when bringing in Trey Hendrickson in free agency last year despite the backlash they received. The dude was a beast in 2021 and he’s a good bet to lead the league in sacks this year.
This time last year, a big talking point for the Cincinnati Bengals was what kind of production the team should expect from newcomer Trey Hendrickson, who joined the team in free agency. The stripes allowed Carl Lawson, who led the team in sacks in 2020, to walk in free agency and signed Hendrickson instead.
Hendrickson was such a question mark for the team a year ago because he had just come off an explosive season with the Saints in 2020 and many wondered if he’d be a one-year wonder.
Well, he proved that wasn’t the case.
Bengals fans should feel comfortable betting on Trey Hendrickson.
Heading into the preseason, Hendrickson has terrific value when it comes to betting on the 2022 regular-season sacks leader sitting with +1800 odds, per WynnBET. These give him the eighth-best odds to be the sack leader when the regular season comes to an end. He’s trailing T.J. Watt (+600), Myles Garrett (+700), Nick Bosa (+1200), Chandler Jones/Joey Bosa/Khalil Mack (+1400), and Aaron Donald (+1500).
It’s not surprising to see some of these names ahead of Hendrickson considering how dominant they’ve been in recent years but the Bengals defensive end still has great value in this category. He finished last season with a career-high 14.0 sacks, good for fifth in the league. Watt finished with 22.5 sacks, Robert Quinn had 18.0 sacks, Garrett had 16.0 sacks, and Nick Bosa edged out Hendrickson with 15.5.
There’s no reason to think that Hendrickson can’t lead the NFL in sacks this year, especially with the Bengals’ defensive line improving even more this offseason, which should take attention off of him.
Watt is obviously a monster in the pass-rushing department and the other guys listed above Hendrickson are clearly there for a reason but the Cincy d-line is improved and we’ve seen that Hendrickson is anything but a one-year wonder. Bet on him to make this competition interesting.