Sometimes the best player on the field may be the player who you least expect.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will look to put their best players on the field when they take on the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. While the Jaguars have some great starters in quarterback Gardner Minshew II and running back Leonard Fournette on offense, they also boast considerable talent on defense as well in starters like defensive end Calais Campbell and cornerback A.J. Bouye.
Here at the Jags Wire, we will take a look at a couple of names to watch out for in Jaguars and Bengals game that may not be your typical starting players from the offense and defense.
Here are the X-factor players from the Jaguars’ side who are worth keeping an eye on in Week 7:
WR Chris Conley
The Cincinnati Bengals defense is completely ravaged with injuries, as they will be without their two top cornerbacks in William Jackson III and Dre Kirkpatrick. That means that reserve defensive backs Tony McRae and Torry McTyer will be making their second and fifth starts, respectively, with veteran B.W. Webb in the nickel spot. The team will also try to work former first-round pick Darqueze Dennard into the lineup, as he attempts to make his way back from the physically unable to perform list.
With the lack of depth at cornerback for the Bengals and Jaguars wide receivers Dede Westbrook (shoulder) and Marqise Lee (ankle) being ruled questionable and out, respectively, Chris Conley could be in for a huge game despite only catching 14 passes this season. Simply put, Sunday would be the time to get him going and that’s what I fully expect.
DE Dawuane Smoot
The Bengals are in absolute shambles as they will be without starting right guard John Miller due to a groin injury, which means Alex Redmond will get his first start of the 2019 season. They are also without starting tackle Cordy Glenn due to a team suspension for missing meetings, practice and not traveling with the team against the Pittsburgh Steelers and backup left tackle Andre Smith will also be ruled out due to an ankle injury.
The entire Jaguars’ defensive line should feast on a Bengals front that has given up the sixth-most sacks in the NFL, but the spotlight will be on defensive end, Dawuane Smoot.
Smoot is a part-time player behind Calais Campbell but has been extremely efficient when he has been in the game. He has only eight tackles on the year, but three of those tackles are sacks.
If Smoot can gain more snaps on the field, he could be a force to be reckoned with against a heavily weakened Bengals offensive line and increase his sack total. He’s tied for second on the team in sacks with Calais Campbell with three, only trailing Josh Allen in the category, who sits at four sacks on the year. This could potentially be a breakout game from Smoot.
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