“He Was A Great Player” Auburn Tigers Key Defensive Lineman Makes An Official Visit To The Bengals For A Possible Move.

admin | April 5, 2024 | Auburn Football, NFL | No Comments

Bengals host Auburn defensive lineman Justin Rogers

The Bengals continue to get some extra looks at nose tackle prospects.

When it comes to prospects anticipated lower in the draft, the Cincinnati Bengals have no qualms with using their top 30 visits.

You may refer to it as a means of gaining favor with undrafted free agents who could become priority players or as an additional look at a potential gem.

Justin Rogers, a defensive lineman with the Auburn Tigers, has been added to that list.

Rogers is currently ranked 267th on NFL Mock Draft Database Consensus Big Board, while Drafttek has him ranked 277th and the fifth-best true nose tackle prospect. Pro Football Focus also doesn’t think ultra highly of him, giving him a 63.6 grade in 2023. His pass-rush analytics are also quite poor, with a grade of 57.3 in that department and a pass-rush win percentage of only 3.5%.

So what are the positives? Well, Rogers is built like an NFL nose tackle. At 6-foot-3 and 330 pounds, the d-lineman is a big body that Cincinnati is lacking on the interior and has plenty of experience at both the A and B gap over his NCAA career. He was also quite good against the running game. He is not only hard to move, but he can also close running lanes by moving offensive linemen.

The Bengals have a pretty serious need for a run-stopping defensive tackle after the loss of DJ Reader. It also wouldn’t be surprising if this is a guy Cincinnati uses a draft pick on, given the ability he has in the running game.

At the very least, they laid some serious roots with Rogers. While he probably wouldn’t play much as a rookie, he is a nice player to stash on the practice squad.