The Cincinnati Bengals’ season has life thanks to a stunning second start by Jake Browning in place of an injured Joe Burrow, but the engine that makes the team’s defensive front go is DJ Reader. Although Cincinnati is having a rough year on that side of the ball, Reader still ranks eighth in PFF’s rankings among interior d-linemen — ahead of bigger names like Chris Jones, Vita Vea and Cameron Heyward.
Reader just continues to be one of the most underrated defenders in the sport. He’s one of only two pending free agents I’m praying gets re-signed, with the other being Tee Higgins. Not only is Reader a beast on the gridiron, he’s a delightful personality to have in the locker room. A true leader on and off the field. We’ve learned something new as of Friday, though: Reader is good enough at time management to clap back when Internet trolls get on his case.
Tell ’em, DJ! Fake hardos who hide behind anonymity or empty digital threats do not faze this man. If you’re gonna say something, Reader says, at least tag him in the post. If you really want to work something out with him, he is fully available to fight in person if you’d like that, too.
Why anyone would ever give DJ Reader sh*t online is beyond me. For all the issues the Bengals have had defensively, he’s not the root cause of any of them. In fact, it’s almost unbearable to imagine how dire the situation would be if Reader weren’t in the lineup.
In case you’re still wondering, “Why does DJ Reader matter? Barely heard of him.” Well, he’s a great dude first of all, an excellent football player, and a collective awareness needs to be raised about him no matter the tactics. Like when he’s not even rated among the top 10 d-linemen in strength rating on the latest edition of Madden, something is very, very wrong.
If more people knew about him, a gross miscarriage of justice such as this would never happen.
That play was from Week 1 of last season, when Reader defied physics and conventional wisdom about flexibility — particularly for a man his size — when he contorted his body Cirque du Soleil style to shed a block and make a big-time tackle.
Please stay in Cincy, DJ. We can’t lose you. And thank you for giving me another excuse to cover something Bengals-related. I hope your story of bodying pathetic people on the Internet blows up enough so that you get more of the recognition you thoroughly deserve.
