You would think that Miami Dolphins linebacker Jacob Rodriguez giving up two TDs in coverage would automatically make him the loser of his Week 5 showcase against the Cincinnati Bengals' top-drafted rookie, Cashius Howell.
Right? Nope. You'd be wrong. Cool that the Bengals won 31-24 since that's what really matters, but the Rodriguez-Howell subplot was rather discouraging to say the least.
After a rather promising start to his maiden pro campaign, Howell appears to have hit a rookie wall early. Good thing that Week 6 bye is hitting now, eh?
Rodriguez's trajectory keeps pointing up as Howell struggles to carve out a role
Alright LOOK. I'm COOL with non-immediate gratification, y'all. But my god. How many times does this damn front office have to stare down a blindingly obvious draft pick that would help the team in such a profound way, only to say, "You know what, let's zag here when everyone expects us to zig! It'll make us look smart!"
Meanwhile, y'all have the smallest scouting department in the league and just like...keep doing this to yourselves!
Jacob Rodriguez leads the NFL in tackles after picking up 11 more on Sunday. The Bengals still cannot tackle on defense. They just allowed over 200 yards rushing to Miami despite Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, and Boye Mafe frequently dominating in the trenches.
Once those three cats came to town to rock Bengals stripes, I'm pretty sure the top draft priority shouldn't have been another defensive lineman. With historically short arms for the position.
I like Cashius Howell as a player. I don't love him. I loved Jacob Rodriguez coming out. He was such a slam-dunk pick. I've written about him so many times before (and a bit after) the draft that I'm tired of regurgitating his Texas Tech stats and the fact that he finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting.
Did Rodriguez get beat in the red zone by Mike Gesicki and Samaje Perine for TDs? Yeah. Did it take a perfect throw from Joe Burrow on the latter for that to happen? Also yes.
Samaje's first TD of the season.#CINatMIA at 1:00 PM on Fox pic.twitter.com/bQtKCLMPzb
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) October 11, 2026
Plus, Burrow himself shouted out Bengals pass game coordinator Justin Rascati for the specific play call on 3rd and goal, where Cincinnati clearly seemed to know precisely which coverage the Dolphins were going to call:
"The first touchdown was a great call. Rascati works really hard on those red zone plans and that was one drawn up for that coverage, so that was a great beater."
That may or may not be more on Jeff Hafley than anyone else. Didn't exactly put Rodriguez in an ideal spot there, coach!
In other news, Howell registered one pressure on 14 pass rush snaps. He presented like far too many other Cincinnati defensive ends in recent years: A member of the JAG squad (Just Another Guy).
Once again, the Bengals drafted a pseudo-succession plan with their top pick
Do I really need to go through it again. Aight. Fine.
Bengals top draft pick succession plans since 2022
- 2022: Dax Hill for Jessie Bates (failed)
- 2023: Myles Murphy for Sam Hubbard (jury out? lol)
- 2024: Amarius Mims for Trent Brown (A HIT! LO AND BEHOLD!!)
- 2025: Shemar Stewart for Trey Hendrickson (nah brah)
- 2026: Cashius Howell for...Shemar Stewart and Myles Murphy?
You can't make it up. Good thing Dax proved he can perform as a boundary and slot corner, as opposed to the position the Bengals initially had in mind for him. Alas, that took about two years too long to come to fruition. Meanwhile, Cincinnati has missed the playoffs every single season Dax has seen significant action.
How did the Bengals look at Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr., presumably watch Jacob Rodriguez's college film, and conclude they were better off without him? Make it make sense.
Oh wait. Because they're too prideful to admit their mistakes. They take half-measures like claiming an ex-Al Golden pupil Jack Kiser off waivers to "address" the linebacker position.
This isn't so much about Carter or Knight being downright terrible in 2026. It's more about the fact that they can't hold Jacob Rodriguez's jock. He's only five games into his career. The fight is over.
Imagine what Rodriguez could do with Dexter Freaking Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, and Boye Mafe balling out in front of him. He'd be an even more dynamic player. Then, Cincinnati would only have one pseudo-liability starting in the linebacker corps as opposed to two.
Again, Cashius Howell has looked like a pretty good player at times. That's encouraging by typical Bengals rookie standards. That said, my lord. What a missed opportunity it was to draft Rodriguez.
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