The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off a commanding win at home over the lowly Las Vegas Raiders. In the process of securing its first home win of the year, the Bengals played complementary football with both the offense and defense having their way. Bengals star after Bengals star made massive plays at every turn, led by three-time Pro Bowler, Trey Hendrickson.
Hendrickson has been a criminally underrated player for the Bengals defense ever since singing before the 2021 season. He had a breakout season with the New Orleans Saints in 2020 and the Bengals signed him to a four-year, $60-million contract in the following offseason. Then, Hendrickson signed a one-year extension prior to the 2023 season, tying Hendrickson to Cincinnati through the 2025 season.
Needless to say, he’s been well worth his contract. Now, through nine games, Hendrickson is making a case for Defensive Player of the Year.
According to FanDuel, Hendrickson is now tied for second-best odds to take home the award.
Cincinnati Bengals Star Making Early Case for Defensive Player of the Year
Through his first three seasons in Cincinnati, Hendrickson has been one of the top pass rushers in the NFL. From 2021 through 2023, Hendrickson secured 39.5 sacks. In that time, he was fifth in the NFL behind the likes of T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, and Micah Parsons. In that stretch, he played fewer games than Garrett, Bosa, and Parsons.
In those three seasons, he made the Pro Bowl. Even if the honor is not quite as prestigious as the All-Pro team due to the perceived popularity contest, making three while in the presence of those four is a big deal. To this point, he’s been considered a step behind the last three Defensive Players of the Year and Parsons, a player who was the runner-up in 2021 and 2022 while finishing third last year.
Hendrickson is already in elite company but he has never received a single vote.
The NFL started tracking sacks in 1982 and Hendrickson’s 2023 and 2021 seasons are the two greatest seasons from a pass rusher…officially. Unofficially, Pro Football Reference went back and assigned sacks to pre-1982 seasons, and the unofficial franchise leader in sacks in a single season is Coy Bacon‘s 21.5 (or 22, based on who you ask) in 1976.
Blackout Trey
Here are all 4 sacks and 6 pressures from Trey Hendrickson from yesterday pic.twitter.com/iWb7OL2dRg
— mike (@bengals_sans) November 4, 2024
This year, Hendrickson is on another level.
Through nine weeks, the Bengals star has 11 sacks, most in the NFL. He has multiple multi-sack games and kicked it into another gear against the maligned Raiders offensive line.
The Raiders suffered numerous injuries to the left side of the offensive line but great players make teams pay. Watt and Garrett didn’t hold back when the Bengals’ offensive line was the worst in the NFL, Hendrickson did not hold back, nor should he have.
Against the Raiders, Hendrickson had a four-sack effort for the first time in his career. Compared to those four aforementioned players ahead of him, he has as many four-sack games as Watt and Garrett (4.5 sacks, technically). Bosa and Parsons have never had a four-sack game and Parsons has never had a game with more than 2.5. Hendrickson was one sack behind the franchise record in a single game.
Despite being part of an otherwise weak defense on a 4-5 team, Hendrickson has shown he’s among the elites in the NFL. In addition to leading the NFL in sacks with 11.0, he leads the way with 11 tackles for loss (tied with three others).
In Bengals History
Hendrickson is sixth all-time in sacks for the Cincinnati Bengals. However, there’s one thing that plays in his favor: games played. The Bengals’ current leaderboard after Week 9 of 2024 is:
- Eddie Edwards: 84.5 sacks (170 games)
- Carlos Dunlap: 82.5 sacks (155 games)
- Geno Atkins: 75.5 sacks (161 games)
- Reggie Williams: 63.5 sacks (206 games)
- Ross Browner: 61.5 sacks (127 games)
- Trey Hendrickson: 50.5 sacks (57 games!!!)
Trey Hendrickson with the best #SpeedToPower rush I’ve seen this season. All starts with the great get off from the wide alignment!
Hendrickson puts pressure on the OL’s set & when he transitions to power, it’s full commitment. He floors the OL & gets the sack! #PassRush pic.twitter.com/PUG9dIRJX6
— DLineVids (@dlinevids1) November 4, 2024
Hendrickson deserves another multi-year contract after the 2025 season and he will be well worth it. If he played 170 games as Edwards did, Hendrickson would have 150.5 sacks. In just three-and-a-half seasons, he has shown that he is one of the greatest defenders in franchise history and that’s saying something.
If he keeps up this pace, Hendrickson should, at the very least, earn him Defensive Player of the Year votes for the first time in his career. Can he win it? Can he finally earn First-Team All-Pro honors? Time will tell. The Bengals have an opportunity to help him out at the trade deadline. Time will tell. However, one thing is certain, Hendrickson is an elite pass rusher and deserves his spotlight.
Main Image: Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
