The Cincinnati Bengals don’t have many bright spots coming out of the brutal loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But Hakeem Adeniji is one of them.
Tasked with suddenly being thrown to the wolves as a starter at tackle, Adeniji showed why some Bengals coaches proclaimed they had a second-round grade on a guy who fell to the sixth round.
It’s not so funny now after the spot start, apparently. According to Pro Football Focus, Adeniji graded at a 60.0 against the Steelers. That was good for the second-highest grade on the line behind Trey Hopkins’ 72.8.
Keep in mind that came against an elite Steelers pass-rush and again, we’re chatting about a sixth-round rookie thrown into the fire unexpectedly.
ESPN’s Ben Baby provided more notes:
Per @ESPNStatsInfo, Bengals rookie Hakeem Adeniji had a pass block win rate of 81%, which ranked 36th of 54 among tackles on Week 10. Quinton Spain at 73.1%, which was 48th of 54. Thought both played better than those rates, though.
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) November 16, 2020
Not bad for a guy who was technically third on the depth chart at right tackle and has had reps at left tackle, too.
And feel free to call it pretty encouraging for the future of the offensive line. Odds are the coaches will get Bobby Hart or Fred Johnson back in there as soon as they’re ready to go.
But looking at it from the long-term, the coaches might really have something with Adeniji — and solving the problem at right tackle in-house without having to spend any more assets would be a big win for a rebuilding team.
With the season clearly a rebuilding one, perhaps Adeniji can continue to get reps and a chance to prove whether he should be part of the equation in 2021.
