With no sign of versatile vet defensive lineman Cam Sample, carted off the field a few days ago with what is feared to be a significant injury, the Bengals' defensive front is getting a lift from rookie Cedric Johnson.
If you don't know about the 6-3, 260-pound Johnson, you do now. The sixth-rounder from Ole Miss has training camp buzzing, from left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to his college teammate and fellow rookie Daijahn Anthony.
You can put defensive line coach Marion Hobby in that category after he and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo lined up Johnson all over the yard on the Kettering Health Practice Fields during Sunday's practice.
With starting ends Sam Hubbard (knee) and Trey Hendrickson (undisclosed) still out for precautionary reasons with minor ailments, there have been a lot of snaps behind second-teamers Joseph Ossai and Myles Murphy.
"He can really ru—uuun," said Hobby with emphasis as he left the field Sunday. "Good kid to see. He's got power, too. He's done some nice things for us."
Johnson got his first couple of camp snaps with the Ones Sunday, where he gave Brown a testing rush on the edge, and during his usual snaps with the twos he slid inside, where Johnson says he felt like he got a good rush over center.
"In the 5 tech or 9 (on the edge), but I can be a multiple rusher," said Johnson after practice, when asked where he feels most comfortable. "(Brown) has been telling me, 'Just keep up the good work. Stay confident.' He told me, whatever head space I was in today, just stay there."
Brown is not only impressed with his head, but his feet. After both spent the summer break among those working at Paycor Stadium, Johnson left a big impression on Brown and the vet has been telling Hobby the kid "is a baller."
"I saw his work ethic and his approach to the daily understanding his role," Brown said. "He's got a great mindset as a young player and you add in the natural talent and ability and the sky's the limit. Very impressive. He's a special athlete with a good feel for the game."
Bengals scouts and coaches spent a lot of time with Johnson at the NFL scouting combine, where his athleticism reinforced the case. According to various web sites, his 38-inch vertical leap and 25 reps of 225 pounds were third among defensive ends. Plus, his 4.63 seconds in the 40-yard dash were No. 7, and 1.61 seconds in the 10-yard split were No. 8.
"Cedric can really run and he's got good natural strength. He brought his traits to film," says Trey Brown, the Bengals senior personnel executive. "He can set the edge and he can also bring his fast ball on the edge and put pressure on tackles. He did a lot of different things at Ole Miss and he gives our coaches a lot of options."
If it looks like Johnson has dropped into coverage before, it's because he has. He spent his senior year at Oxford playing in a two-point stance as a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker after having his hand in the dirt the previous seasons.
"We had a lot more drops in my senior year and I spent a lot of time in the two-point," Johnson said. "I feel I add value that way."
Anthony, who wore No. 3 at Ole Miss, knows the No. 2 Johnson and his game well.
"Two and three, we were like brothers," Anthony said. "Ced's a really good player. He's solid. He shows up to work every day. That's how he was at Ole Miss … He's a dog."
Johnson needs to find a role on special teams to stick and with special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons throwing everything at the wall to figure out the new kickoff rule, a 260-pounder who can run may be alluring.
PLAYER OF THE DAY: S Daijahn Anthony
How about this Bengals rookie class from top to bottom?
First-rounder Amarius Mims and the seventh-rounder Anthony have been the most impressive and in between has been very good, too. Third-rounder Jermaine Burton has flashed at wide receiver, fifth-round cornerback Josh Newton is getting reps with the Ones, and there is sixth-rounder Cedric Johnson, which makes you wonder how they scored on Ole Miss.
When a receiver betrayed quarterback Jake Browning with a busted route Sunday, Anthony came up with his third interception in the ninth camp practice, but he wasn't going to be on the phone back home to Richmond, Va.
"My family has been super excited on the group chat. They don't call me during camp. I call them on off days," Anthony said after practice. "They let me super lock in during training camp. No calls. I only talk to my son during camp."
Jordan Anthony is only two, but there's a lot to talk about. For one thing, there are Jordans all over the place. His dad's position coach is Jordan Kovacs and his fellow backup safety Jordan Battle also had Pete Golding for a defensive coordinator; Battle at Alabama and Anthony at Ole Miss.
But it was an incompletion that shows you the rookie has some vet in him worthy of 47 games on three different collegiate levels with one final season in Oxford.
The last couple of days he's been promoted to first team in the dime package, and on Sunday he came up with a third-down stop covering tight end Tanner Hudson, a favorite target of Joe Burrow.
"It was an out and up and I had the No. 1, the tight end," Anthony said. "I saw Joe Burrow make the check to him and I kind of knew he won't check to just run on an out," Anthony said. "So when he ran that up, I turned a little bit and saw him throw it and I saw (Hudson) going up and I tugged on the back side of his pants low so nobody could see it and I could stay with him up the sideline."
It looked like Hudson was looking for a flag after it was overthrown, but Anthony was looking at the refs for the drill, director of player development Eric Ball and assistant special teams coach Ben Jacobs. There was nothing.
Then he went back to working at safety with the twos and got the interception covering a tight end when the receiver slowed up and he dropped off.
The Bengals were attracted to Anthony's personality and competitiveness at the East-West all-star game, and they thought those traits were a match with his resume of playing multiple spots (safety, cornerback, slot) in the secondary.
"It's really still a long way to go, but with everything we're throwing at him, he's picking it up well," Kovacs said after practice. "It's a lot of jobs we're giving him. Just seeing where he fits. He's a smart kid, he's been well-coached, and you can see it on tape. He's got a great skill set. He's long, he can, he can cover."
The competitive streak they saw early showed up as he began the walk to the locker room.
"I'm more prepared for the bad stuff than the good stuff," said Anthony, when asked if he'll savor the interception on film. "You have to correct the bad stuff so it's not in the game on Sunday. We've got a game this week. I want to make sure I clean up stuff this week."
PLAY OF THE DAY: S Geno Stone
Stone came screeching out of center field in the move-the-ball period and batted away Burrow's pass for wide receiver Andrei Iosivas just before it arrived on the right sideline with such force you wonder what would have been Iosivas' health if it had been a Sunday in the fall.
Which is how you lead the AFC in interceptions, which is what Stone did last year for the Ravens before he came over here in free agency. His first of seven picks came in the building next door when he picked off Burrow at the Baltimore 2 to change the game and he said he used that same knowledge Sunday.
"I knew what was coming," Stone said.
"They kept asking me if I was going to do a big hit. If it was a real game, I'm going to pick the ball off. I didn't want to run into my guy. If it was a real game, I'm going to run through and catch the ball."
Stone says Sunday is the most comfortable he's felt in camp. So comfortable that he was able to move Vonn Bell, "Coach Vonn," as he's known, into a more favorable pre-snap position.
"Most of the defense has been (installed) and I'm getting my legs under me with the weather," Stone said. "I talk to Lou (Anarumo) and Vonn every day and ask them the little things they see. I feel like we're getting there."
Stone shows you that the little things are how he got here via the practice squad and the seventh round. His game is as much mind over the matter of sprinting to the sideline to play the ball.
"If I was playing the Bengals, I still would know what plays are coming," Stone said. "That's something I do. Watch a lot of film and try to figure out what tendencies teams do and watch the quarterback before the play."
But that's all Stone is going to give you on this day. Except that preparing for Burrow last September is helping him in practice this August.
"I'm not giving up anything what the offense is doing," Stone said.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Edge Trey Hendrickson on appearing with Panthers fan Luke Combs during last weekend's concert at Paycor Stadium:
"We were talking about how my first sack was against (Carolina quarterback) Cam Newton, an overall No. 1 pick and MVP, and what that meant for me as a rookie. Things progressed, I got invited to a few things, and I ended up on stage."
SLANTS AND SCREENS: Newton is still impressing enough to run with the Ones, but he also continues to get an open class-room education from Burrow.
On a third down in the red zone in the move the ball drill, Burrow wasted no time picking on the rookie when he saw Newton split out with Trenton Irwin to his right. Because of the formation, cornerback DJ Turner was tucked in the lot and No. 1 cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt was on the other side.
It could have been the Play of the Day. Burrow lofted the fade to the back corner only where Irwin could catch it. And Newton had good enough coverage that Irwin was forced to make a marvelous circus catch just before stepping out.
It was the only touchdown the offense scored in the move-the-ball period.
There'll be critiquing of Newton, no doubt, on the tape. But not much. As one observed on the sideline with a shake of the head, "It's Joe Burrow." …
Look for right tackle Trenton Brown to make his Bengals practice debut Monday after getting cleared Sunday ...
Safety Tycen Anderson, sidelined last midseason with an ACL injury, is surfacing in team drills and they're easing him in. "I'm looking forward to cutting him loose," Kovacs said …
Rookie tight end Erick All Jr., another midseason ACL client, has also taken a few team snaps and he's looked fresh-legs fast …
A treat for the nation Monday when Bengals radio voices Dave Lapham and Dan Hoard host a two-hour Bengals training camp special on Sirius Radio from 5-7 p.m.
They obtained that rarest of treasures in Bengaldom, a sit-down with Burrow, and Hoard promises "Joe was very good." But that's not all. The NFL's best radio booth also nabbed Zac Taylor, director of player personnel Duke Tobin, Lou Anarumo, Vonn Bell, Logan Wilson, and Andrei Iosivas.
