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It was only a matter of time before the Cincinnati Bengals went out and added some pass-rushing depth in the 2020 NFL draft.
Zac Taylor and Co. did so at the top of Round 5 with Notre Dame’s Khalid Kareem. He’s a 6’4″, 268-pound presence with good length and character marks as a team captain Bengals coaches surely love.
The writeup from NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein is hard not to like:
“Power-based edge defender who uses technique and force to make up for a lack of explosiveness. He does an adequate job of bracing up and defending his turf when the run comes his way, but he lacks the athletic gifts to make many plays outside of his area. He’s able to muscle up and create some pocket pressure against college tackles, but that approach is unlikely to yield results against most NFL starters. Kareem has size and toughness but may not have enough athletic ability to ever be more than a backup 4-3 base end.”
It’s important to keep such a writeup in context — this is the fifth round. The Bengals aren’t asking Kareem to come in and be an every-down player who can do it all on his own.
Realistically, Kareem is an instant rotational presence who tandems with what’s already on the roster to make the pass rush even more lethal. The team can also merely use some more depth because names all over the front seven like Ryan Glasgow and Carl Lawson just haven’t been able to stay healthy.
Viewed within this context, it’s hard to complain about another high-character guy to fuel the defensive makeover. Offensive line seems like an issue too, but it’s just clear the Bengals don’t agree and/or the board just isn’t falling in a manner they like.
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