The Cincinnati Bengals have plenty of breakout names to keep tabs on this preseason, including the likes of Jalen Davis and Joseph Ossai.
But it is two rookies who again turned heads the most during the team’s second preseason game — Darius Hodge and Evan McPherson.
McPherson, the fifth-round pick who has been nearly perfect in training camp, didn’t look much bothered by anything during the loss to WFT, hitting both of his field-goal attempts, including one from 50 yards out.
And Hodge, the undrafted edge rusher who looked like a first-stringer in the team’s first preseason game, got in on 32 snaps and recorded a quarterback hit and some pressures while looking like he belonged.
It might seem odd to highlight these two together, but it presents two key areas of the final 53-man roster projection: McPherson has comfortably moved past Austin Seibert for the final roster and there’s no chance the Bengals let Hodge get away.
When the Bengals have a fifth-rounder and undrafted player breaking out and likely making the final roster like this, it suggests good scouting/draft and an increase in the quality of depth compared to recent years.
