Bengals need only one Year 2 leap success story to make their defense superb

As they're wont to do, the Cincinnati Bengals divided the fan base last year when they drafted Texas A&M defensive end Shemar Stewart the 17th overall pick. Stewart had only 4.5 sacks in three years for the Aggies, yet that didn't stop Duke Tobin and Co.

Cincinnati invested further on defense, selecting linebackers Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter in the second and fourth rounds respectively. Both of them started last season for the NFL's worst run defense, and neither of them were particularly effective in pass coverage either.

When Stewart was healthy enough to play, PFF rated him as the literal worst edge defender in all football out of 119 qualifiers. That'll ignite early bust talk — and not of the Canton variety!

Safe to say the Bengals' sophomores have some room for improvement this season. Honestly, only one of them needs to make that mystical Year 2 leap to vault this new-look Cincinnati defense into another stratosphere.

Carter and Knight seem confident they can take that next step. If we're being real about it, only one of them probably will.

Analyzing the Bengals' second-year defenders is a torturous exercise

Yes, the Bengals could very well indeed have at least one major liability in the linebacker corps. It's wild that they don't have much depth behind Knight and Carter other than the likes of Oren Burks and Shaka Heyward. Is that really who we'll be rolling with?

Cincinnati already appears to be hedging their bets on Stewart by drafting his college teammate — SICK BURN! — Cashius Howell in the second round this year. Howell had 11.5 sacks last season alone as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

Although Howell is cross-training as an occasional off-ball linebacker, he has serious juice off the edge. More technical prowess than Stewart. Oh, and Stewart has to compete with Boye Mafe and Myles Murphy for snaps at defensive end, too.

Tough runway for a Year 2 leap for our guy Shemar. Alas, Knight might be even worse off. That leaves (somehow!) Carter as the likeliest candidate. Let's look at each of them a little more closely.

Power ranking Bengals' likeliest Year 2 leap candidates on defense

3. Demetrius Knight Jr.

I mean, the guy turns 26 years old this coming Tuesday. Are we sure he has that much room to improve? Unfortunately, what Knight looked like last year might just be what we're gonna get.

Knight was a little better toward the end of the season like most of the defense was, albeit against poor opponents. Hard to trust him when he can't fit the run, can't consistently set the edge when he flexes out there, and can't cover anyone to save his life.

2. Shemar Stewart

We're just betting on pure talent and upside here. There's at least an excuse to Stewart's struggles. He had a promising debut in Week 1, got injured the next game, and was terrible whenever he stepped foot on the field after that.

Maybe Stewart was trying to gut it out and play as much as possible. Maybe the blend of technical rawness the Bengals knew they were getting and his lack of full health were a vicious cocktail that sent Stewart into a rookie-season tailspin.

1. Barrett Carter

This is almost trying to will it into existence. If the coaching staff trusts Carter with the immense responsibilities of a MIKE linebacker at the heart of this much-improved Cincinnati defense, I guess we the fans need to have a little faith, too.

We'll see what it looks like in training camp. All indications are Carter has his act together a little more nowadays.

Will Carter have his troops on point, or will it be necessary to break glass in case of emergency for a wily vet like, say, Bobby Wagner? Or trade for Miami Dolphins All-Pro Jordyn Brooks?

I'd personally prefer the latter move. Why mess around? You know you have a pretty big weakness that, to date, hasn't proven fixed on the football field.

My hope is that the Bengals are smart enough to realize that they don't need to hitch their wagon to a fourth-round draft pick as an unchallenged starter at such a vital position. If they are, and they're rolling with Carter anyway, then he must actually be showing signs that he'll make a big Year 2 leap.

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