Cincinnati Bengals: Reviewing players to watch in Preseason Week 2

Looking back at the Players To Watch from Week 2 of the 2018 preseason for the Cincinnati Bengals and how they performed against the Cowboys.

Every week of the 2018 preseason (and likely the regular season as well), we’ll be spotlighting some of the players to keep an eye on in the Cincinnati Bengals’ upcoming matchup of the week.

To go along with that, we’ll also be revisiting those players spotlighted and seeing how much of an impact they actually had (if any).

This week we are checking back on the players spotlighted for Cincinnati in their preseason Week 2 contest against the Dallas Cowboys.

Alex Erickson

His position on the roster is as tenuous as ever, but Erickson is doing what he can to make his case for sticking around on the roster as the main return man and backup receiving option.

As a returner, he had three opportunities in this game (two punt returns, one kick return). Two of those were eminently replaceable (a 19-yard kick return, a five-yard punt return), but he did have a big 19-yard punt return right before halftime which put his team at midfield. Had it not been for an incredibly athletic interception by Dallas cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, that play could easily have become a touchdown (and if not, Cincinnati likely scores at least a field goal before time runs out).

As a receiver, he was given a decent amount of opportunity: his 20 snaps were third among Cincinnati wideouts this game. Those snaps turned into four targets (most on team), two catches (tied for team lead) and garnered 35 total yards (second-most on team).

On the first Cincinnati touchdown drive, it was his big play which made the drive work. First, he turned a short pass into a 13-yard gain on third-and-1, but it was brought back due to offensive pass interference. On the following third-and-11, he stepped things up another level: a toe-tapping 28-yard completion to put Cincinnati at the Dallas 31-yard line.

This effort showed us again what Erickson is: a player with clear athletic limitations who teams will always (rightfully) search for upgrades over, but who has a great habit of making the timely plays and generally making their team better. There’s plenty of competition to overtake him at both receiver (at least six players who are likely above him in the hierarchy right now) and as a returner (for every good play Erickson made as a returner, Darius Phillips either matched or surpassed it), but he shouldn’t be counted out until he’s actually cut.

Brandon Bell

Not much to say for Bell this week, at least not much which really elevates his case for a meaningful role on the roster this season. He had 24 snaps to work with this game, and came away with a single tackle — a tackle which, as it so happens, came on a play which ultimately was brought back on a penalty (meaning: it didn’t make a difference).

Bell’s performance (or lack thereof) stands in poor contrast to his fellow Bengals linebackers this week. He was one of six linebackers with 20+ snaps, but only one of them had less than Bell.

Every one of those other five had a bigger statistical impact than Bell, however: Nick Vigil (29 snaps) had a team-leading six tackles and a sack; Preston Brown (29 snaps) had some issues but collected three tackles; Jordan Evans (28 snaps) tied Vigil in tackles and had a tackle for loss; Malik Jefferson (28 snaps) had three tackles; Hardy Nickerson (22 snaps) had four tackles. The only linebacker Bell was arguably better than was the undrafted Chris Worley, who had no counting stats to show in his 12 snaps.

The trends at his position don’t bode well for Bell. Instead of possibly stepping into a bigger role as previously thought possible, Bell may already be on the outside of the roster bubble halfway through the preseason. The early guess for the usual starters at linebacker Vontaze Burfict, Brown, and Vigil. Evans looks like the first choice for Burfict’s snaps while he’s suspended. Vincent Rey is still here. Jefferson is a high draft pick with the upside to challenge Evans, Vigil, and/or Rey for their spots in the hierarchy.

Six linebackers may be all the team gets (Carl Lawson may technically be one, but he’s moreso included with the pass rushers for all intents and purposes), and Nickerson seems to at least be even with Bell in the competition as both are currently on the outside looking in at the others.

Suffice to say, Bell enters Preseason Week 3 with as much to prove as anyone in his hopes to stay on the roster.

Christian Westerman

Westerman ended this game with the second-most snaps of any Bengal, and was one of only four players (Westerman, Cedric Ogbuehi, John Ross, and Jessie Bates) to eclipse 40 snaps in the contest. Unfortunately — just as it happened against Chicago the week before — Westerman had to pick up all of those snaps as a reserve.

Though he was impressive enough against the Bears to garner a spot on Pro Football Focus’ Team of the Week for Week 1, the team still doesn’t appear ready to entrust the open guard spot on the offensive line to him. The main reasoning given so far by his offensive line coach Frank Pollack is that his technique still needs work. The fact that much of his work has been at left guard (the open starting spot is right guard) may also play a factor as well.

He’s doing just about all he can to make his case for the starting nod with the opportunities he’s being given, at least. The second-team offense had their struggles (first three drives: fumble, punt, interception), they did manage to take the lead on two successful drives after halftime (field goal, touchdown and two-point conversion) which included a 14-play, 92 yard outing. Meanwhile, the first-team offense had two three-and-outs and three punts in their three drives against a first-team Dallas defense which may not be all that good this season.

To be sure, Westerman was part of the second-team’s mishaps, but much of his time on the field he was a positive force. He was there as the team took the lead while going on four straight scoring drives in the second half, and throughout the preseason so far he’s been one of the bright spots on the unit and the team in general.

There are still two preseason games remaining, so he’s got plenty of time to further prove himself as the best choice for the open guard spot. At the very least, he should have a sizable lead over his competition (Trey Hopkins and Alex Redmond) for it as we enter the most influential of the preseason contests.