The Cincinnati Bengals have high hopes for third-round rookie defensive tackle Zach Carter.
Barring a move between now and the start of the regular season, the hope is that Carter can provide a strong rotational pass-rush from the defensive line’s interior after the team lost Larry Ogunjobi in free agency.
Onlookers in camp this week have noticed the rookie starting to flash, even against veteran offensive linemen.
Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com captured some of the reactions from onlookers:
“The thing that Lapham noticed about Carter is he gave the back-up offensive linemen fits with his first step and they had trouble getting hands on him as he got around the outside. The only guy able to handle him was starting left guard Jackson Carman …”
Dan Hoard provided a highlight:
With no #Bengals practice today, here’s a bonus video clip from yesterday.
I noted in my “5 observations” on Tuesday that rookie DT Zach Carter was dominant in one-on-one push rush drills. The exception was when he faced Jackson Carman who does an excellent job here pic.twitter.com/3UmCo5uIKW— Dan Hoard (@Dan_Hoard) August 3, 2022
While it’s only the early goings of camp, it’s notable that Carter’s showing well already against the offensive line. If he can roll this momentum into the preseason and real games, it will soften the loss of Ogunjobi, at a minimum.
