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The Cincinnati Bengals have plenty of intrigue when it comes to the assembled 2020 undrafted class.
Marcel Spears Jr. could make a play for the final roster at linebacker. Wideout Scotty Washington has big upside. Tyler Clark out of Georgia made plenty of noise in the SEC along the defensive line.
But don’t count out East Carolina’s Kendall Futrell.
Futrell was the most productive member of the East Carolina defense last year and his potential scheme versatility is what has Bengals coaches so excited, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“That’s one of the ideas behind the 3-4. The Bengals picked up two rookie defensive ends that they believe can both rush the passer and drop into coverage in Notre Dame’s Khalid Kareem, a fifth-round draft pick, and Kendall Futrell, an undrafted free agent out of East Carolina. The dimensions of the 6-4, 268-pound Kareem and the 6-2, 222-pound Futrell are vastly different but they showed those traits in college and they would have had a pretty good idea by now if they could continue that development.”
Futrell was actually one of the five undrafted free agents we said could threaten to make the final roster back in April because of these very traits.
Traits and college film aside, Futrell won’t have an easy path thanks to Kareem and what is otherwise already a pretty interesting edge defender depth chart. But one standout summer and a quick display of smooth pro adaptation could skew final-roster projections in a hurry.
And given Futrell is just one of several undrafteds the coaching staff and those around them keep talking up, it’s a great sign about the work the front office put in right after the draft itself ended.
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