Bengals meet with Johnny Newton ahead of 2024 NFL Draft

Newton is the kind of disruptor the Bengals defense needs more of.

The 2024 NFL Draft is almost here, and it’s no secret that the Cincinnati Bengals are in the market for a defensive tackle.

One of the best in this year’s class is Illinois’ Jer’Zahn ‘Johnny’ Newton. He’s been mocked to the Bengals at pick No. 18 in several projections, though one recent mock had him falling all the way to pick 49 in Round 2.

Regardless, he’s someone the Bengals have an interest in, as they recently hosted him for a pre-draft visit, according to Joe Goodberry.

The 6-foot-2, 295-pound Newton had 52 total tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks this past season for the Fighting Illini in the Big Ten, despite battling a foot injury throughout the year. Among his many postseason honors was the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year award.

He’s more in the mold of Sheldon Rankins/BJ Hill, not the run-stuffing mammoth that DJ Reader was. However, there aren’t many true nose tackles in this draft worth of a high-round pick. One of the few is Texas’ Tvondre Sweat, but he was recently arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Do you take a guy like Newton and bolster the interior pass rush while accepting that you’re not going to be great up in the middle in run defense? There’s certainly an argument for having a strong rotation of defensive tackles vs. having two guys who play the bulk of the snaps like we saw with Reader and Hill for much of last season.

A trio of Hill/Rankins/Newton would certainly make this pass rush more terrifying. After all, the Bengals’ 44 sacks last season were just the 18th-best in the league, so it’s not like they were lighting the world on fire in that regard.

Personally, I’d be cool with Johnny Newton at pick 18. Would you? Let us know in the comments section!

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