CINCINNATI — There’s no knowing yet exactly how this rookie crop will turn out for the Bengals.
But the early indications are very strong. We’ve already seen Joe Burrow call the attitude and work ethic of first-rounder Amarius Mims “A-plus.”
Jermaine Burton flashing in OTAs and mini-camp. Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson have demonstrated raw power. On Sunday, Daijahn Anthony yelled to Josh Newton “they can’t score on us, bro!” when a receiver separated and came close to a big gain before the ball sailed just beyond the receiver’s reach.
“Whether you have a good day or a bad day, when the sun goes down, the sun rises,” Newton said. “It’s a new day. You can’t (look back). You gotta just keep going, keep pushing forward. I put it like this. When you’re driving a car, your front (view) is bigger than your rear view mirror for for a reason.”
Every experience is a learning experience, just like when Charlie Jones beat Newton on a go ball from Joe Burrow down the sideline on Friday in practice.
“Joe made a check. We were in zero,” Newton explained. “I’m pretty sure he knew it, kind of felt it. He just checked a deep ball and Joe’s a top five quarterback and he threw it.
“I don’t care what my role is. Just learn my role and be ready for it.”
“The biggest thing is really consistency just because consistency is everything, just consistently improving on any little thing and a small thing can lead to big thing. So just improving,” said Newton. “It gets you ready for the 1’s speed, the 1’s thinking, the 1’s action. So that’s what you’re gonna get on Sunday, Monday and Thursday.”
Does Newton get a feel that the coaches are taking note?
“I mean, I feel like that’s a question they can answer for you better but for me, I just come to work every day and whatever group they tell me to run with, that’s the group. I’m glad that I’m in it. It is what it is,” he said.
Anthony, the seventh-rounder out of Ole Miss via Liberty has been making several impressive plays, including a pick last week of Joe Burrow in 7-on-7s and on Sunday, when he intercepted a Jake Browning pass in 11s.
“That’s what you want to do. You don’t want to just have little splash plays every now and then,” Anthony said. “You want to show up every day and come to work 100 percent.”
“You just gotta embrace it. This is what I dreamed of. I just love football. I love being here.” Daijahn Anthony with another interception Sunday. pic.twitter.com/XwjNPfIV9l
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) August 4, 2024
Anthony played all over the secondary as a college player and that versatility is certainly something that appealed to the Bengals. He played corner against the likes of Jermaine Burton at Alabama and Malik Nabers at LSU.
He also defended tight ends when the need arose. So he can play inside and outside, safety and corner. The Bengals are using this time in camp to see where he’s the best fit in their scheme.
Listen to Anthony and you can tell why the coaches like his ability to read and react to what he’s seeing.
“I was manned up on the tight end he ran a slant and he kind of slowed down I saw the quarterback throw into the corner, I curled off a little bit and caught the ball,” Anthony said.
Daijahn Anthony with his second pick of camp this time against Jake Browning in 11s pic.twitter.com/MN6dtPruLw
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) August 4, 2024
Anthony is doing his best to prove that he belongs on an NFL roster and the roster of a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
“It’s very important because you know as a rookie, you’re trying to come in you’ve been working hard all summer so I think it’s just the football gods paying off on all the hard work,” Anthony told me.
Anthony has enjoyed every moment so far as he works to earn a spot on the roster.
“It’s a lot of work but you’ve just got to embrace it,” he said. “It’s just what I dreamed of. I just love football. So I love being here, so it’s going really good.”
Camp Day 9 Observations:
