Bengals OTAs give one rookie a chance to crash the depth chart

The Cincinnati Bengals, news flash, have a glaring weakness at the linebacker position. Although Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. are talking a big Year 2 Leap game right now, that chatter is cheap, even in the offseason.

It'd be one thing if Knight or Carter showed any semblance of promise as rookies. Not so much the case. Dexter Lawrence and all the other defensive additions can only go so far to mask their collective ineptitude.

This is a major problem in Cincinnati, and we shouldn't pretend that it isn't. Short of an outside solution, one rookie must take it upon himself to will an upgrade at the position into existence at OTAs.

If the Bengals won't sign a linebacker, someone in-house must step up...

Jack Dingle. Undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati. Local guy. Grew up in the area. Dreamed of playing for the Bengals his entire life. Talked to his agent about landing spots after not getting drafted. Knew he had a great chance to make the roster given Cincinnati's personnel.

These are all things Dingle himself has said on public record that I've only just discovered for the first time on this day, on the eve of the second portion of Bengals OTAs. Listen for ye-self:

Nice to loop back around to Dingle, who I've not written about for a minute, to unearth some new information and build up his buzz all the more. For the uninitiated, in addition to his three years as a starter in college, Dingle is an elite athlete. Not "for a UDFA." For any linebacker prospect.

From a raw physical tools standpoint, Dingle dwarfs the likes of Carter and Knight. Dingle also said he can take on green-dot linebacker duties, which, if any one of the two starting Bengals 'backers is to lose his job first, it'd likely be Carter due to his lesser draft status.

Think about it. Carter was a fourth-round pick. Based on how he played as a rookie, the likelihood that he improves enough to justify even being a sixth- or seventh-rounder is very, very low.

So how much of a difference is there, really, between the caliber of player we're talking about between Carter and Dingle? The line is fine methinks. Maybe Carter's single year of trial-by-fire NFL experience gives him a leg up, but Dingle should have every opportunity to ascend the depth chart past the likes of, um, Shaka Heyward and Joe Giles-Harris, right?

If Hayward and/or JGH had anything of substance to offer, they'd have seen the field last year. It'd behoove the coaching staff to see what Dingle can do at OTAs, how he looks in coverage, whether he can get the communication and playbook down, and if he's in the right spot on a regular basis.

I know those sound like basic fundamentals, yet you'd be surprised how in over their heads Knight and Carter were in those critical areas. Something tells me Dingle could be the MIKE LB2 by the time training camp rolls around. He can set the tone for that trajectory with a stellar performance in OTAs, wherein honestly, the Bengals could just use a steady, competent player.

Another ex-Bearcat, Ivan Pace Jr., went from UDFA status to a starting role for the Vikings in 2023. Other undrafted linebackers who are achieving big success these days include Alex Singleton, T.J. Edwards, and Tyrel Dodson. Even Kaden Elliss found his stride once he converted from the edge to inside linebacker.

None of these fellas, save for Elliss, have anything close to Dingle's athletic testing numbers.

Just saying, there is precedent for a linebacker coming out of nowhere to blow past expectations. Here's praying Jack Dingle is the latest.

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