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The Cincinnati Bengals agreed to terms with two major free-agent prizes with D.J. Reader and Trae Waynes.
While numbers are nice they only tell part of the story.
Here are some noteworthy quotes about both guys Bengals fans might want to check out.
D.J. Reader
Former Houston Texans teammate J.J. Watt, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson:
“He’s the best, I love D.J. He doesn’t get enough credit for what he does. He works extremely hard. He’s a lot of fun to be around. He has a grinder’s job, literally his job is to take on double teams and block up that middle so everybody else can make pays and he still makes plays.
Former Texans head coach Bill O’Brien on the Texans Unfiltered podcast:
“He’s a guy that has come in here and paid attention to things like losing some weight, getting stronger, being able to improve his skill set so that he’s not just playing on the interior. Sometimes he plays on the outside of the line of scrimmage and has helped us in some ways there, especially like you said when there were injuries. So, he’s a really valuable part of our defense and I know our guys in our locker room really respect him.”
Watt, after calling Reader the best nose tackle in the league, per Wilson:
“I’ll always be pushing for him to get all the recognition he deserves, because while what he does sometimes goes unnoticed outside of our room, every single day we’re watching the film and I see how important he is, not only to myself, but to the linebackers and the rest of the defense. D.J. deserves a ton of credit that he doesn’t often get.”
Let’s toss in this from Pro Football Focus’ Ben Linsey too:
“In 2017 and 2018, Reader graded out above the 75.0 mark, but he elevated that to an overall grade of 85.5 in 2019 that ranked seventh among qualifying interior defenders. Career-high marks in pass-rushing grade (72.5), total pressures (35) and pressure rate (10.7%) helped drive that improvement, along with a career-best season in run defense with a grade of 85.1 against the run. At just 25 years old, Reader has one of the best combinations of reliability and upside among the interior defender options on the market this offseason.”
Trae Waynes
Waynes’ former head coach Mike Zimmer, per Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press:
“I think the next progression because he’s close a lot of times, when the ball’s there, and the other guy makes a play. So when he gets to the point where he can continue to knock the ball out or intercept the football, that would be taking the next step to being an elite corner…He’s a really good corner now. To be elite, he’s going to have to take the ball away and deny the ball.”
Zimmer, per Sam Gordon of Prime Time Sports Talk:
“Trae is a great kid, very good tackler, has got great speed. I hope nobody is as good as when we drafted them [but better] when they leave. “He is a great guy, hope to get him back and we’ll see what happens.”
Harlon Barnett, Waynes’ coach at Michigan State, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“He can run. He could always run. I hate the term cover corner. No disrespect. But it’s a complete corner. Run, cover tackle. Everything. He can do that.”
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