Given the worst start in franchise history, the two-win finish and possessing the No. 1 pick, one would think no members of the Cincinnati Bengals would appear on a list ranking the top 101 players of 2019.
But that isn’t giving star defensive end Carlos Dunlap enough credit.
Dunlap was a bright spot for the Bengals once he got fully healthy and going down the stretch. The late surge was enough to land him No. 42 on a top 101 of 2019 ranking at Pro Football Focus by Sam Monson:
“The Bengals as a whole had a dismal season on their way to the No. 1 overall pick, but they weren’t without individual standout performances, one of which came from Carlos Dunlap. He ended the season with the highest overall PFF grade of his career at 89.7, racking up 50 total pressures, forcing a pair of fumbles and batting down four passes at the line of scrimmage to go with registering the best run-defense grade of his career. This marked by far the best season of Dunlap’s impressive career since 2012, and it came with less help than he has had previously.”
Dunlap missed two games last season, yet powered through the downtrodden year and remains a core piece of the team. Keep in mind all this while undergoing a schematic alteration under the supervision of a new coaching staff for the first time in his career.
Alongside Geno Atkins, Carl Lawson and Sam Hubbard, Dunlap figures to keep spearheading one of the team’s strengths as the Bengals head into Year 2 for Zac Taylor.
