The stat sheet doesn’t show all that DJ Reader means to the Bengals
Heading into the 2022 season, Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard was looking for a way to help defensive tackle DJ Reader finally get some credit. Before the Bengals voted for their team captains, Hubbard started an under-the-radar campaign for Reader and encouraged his teammates to give Reader a vote.
As Hubbard spoke to his teammates about Reader’s impact, he recognized that he didn’t really need to be pushing for Reader’s captaincy. Everyone on the Bengals’ defense has a story of how Reader helped shape them into better players, and Reader was already on track to get the votes he needed.
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Over the last four years, Reader has been the most important free agent that the Bengals have added into the mix. His approach this week is another reminder of what he means to the franchise.
Reader showed why Bengals signed him
In 2023, with quarterback Joe Burrow out for the season and the Bengals’ playoff hopes dimming, the Bengals are facing the most adversity that they’ve seen in a few years. In situations like this one, the Bengals’ defense looks toward Reader.
When he’s asked about the reality of the Bengals’ current situation, Reader slips into a pregame pep talk.
“What are you going to do, quit?” Reader said. “You can’t be a loser. We’ve got guys in this locker room who I’ve bled and cried with. That’ll continue for the rest of the season. They’ve put me in this leadership role and trusted me to be a captain. You don’t complain. Hopefully everyone else follows.”
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor credits quarterback Joe Burrow for raising the standard on the Bengals’ offense and forming a Super Bowl caliber group. He said that Reader has done the same on the other side of the ball.
The Bengals signed Reader because they were looking for an All-Pro caliber player to build a defensive line around. They also wanted to add winners to a team that was in the middle of the rebuild. Reader had played for a championship at Clemson University and started postseason games with the Houston Texans. “I wanted to bring things that I developed in other places,” Reader said.
When Reader arrived in Cincinnati in 2020, he had fresh ideas on how to turn around the Bengals. His three sacks and 115 tackles in 41 games don't sum up his impact he has had on the Bengals.
Expected others to play to his standards
“The moment he walked in the door here, there was a standard that he held himself to and everybody else to,” Taylor said. “He’s not afraid to open his mouth if he sees something that’s not going right and needs to be changed. That’s a hard thing to do and he’s willing to do it. I know I’ve always appreciated that, and that’s why he’s a captain and that’s why he’s so well thought of in the locker room by our coaching staff and players.”
In 2020, the Bengals had players on the defensive line who weren’t committed to stopping the run. Reader didn’t accept the status quo. Rookies like linebacker Logan Wilson were looking for role models to follow. Wilson said that Reader helped him figure out everything from the Xs and Os of the defense to the effort level that he had to play with on every snap.
During his first year with the Bengals, Reader wasn’t giving big speeches yet. He was taking stock of what the Bengals had on the roster and where the defense could grow.
“You’ve got to be a good listener before you can be a leader,” Reader said. “I got here and tried to be one of the guys and immerse myself in the culture. Then, when you establish a culture, it’s easier to talk about the things that aren’t going right. Once you set the standard, it’s easier to introduce yourself as a bigger presence.”
Reader missed the final three months of the 2020 season with a quad injury, which he said gave him time to reflect. He thought about what his role could be in turning the Bengals into a contender, and Reader recognized who was bought into what the Bengals were doing.
Early in the 2021 season, Reader started telling his teammates about “the scratch line.” It’s a motto that he has always followed about becoming a different person when he steps onto the field.
“He rallied guys around him,” Wilson said. “Because of how hard he plays and what he does for our team, it’s easy to get behind guys like that. He gave us an experienced vet. There’s a respect factor there. It’s easy to respect DJ. Any time you have a guy like that coming in and setting a culture, it’s easy to rally behind that.”
Not shy about helping others on defense
When defensive tackle BJ Hill was learning the Bengals’ defense, Reader corrected him and told Hill “how it’s supposed to be.” When Reader was out with a knee injury in 2022 and the run defense was struggling, he kept stressing reminders about “following the fundamentals.”
Center Ted Karras watches Reader pull young players on the defense aside during practice as often as any player on the team.
“DJ does a great job showing them what it means to be a pro,” Karras said.
In addition to Reader, the Bengals signed Mike Hilton and Vonn Bell to give the Bengals’ defense more of a veteran presence as they rebuilt the roster between 2020 and 2021. The plan paid off as the Bengals reached the Super Bowl in 2021 and the AFC Championship Game in 2022.
Reader played his best football in those moments. In the Super Bowl, Reader single-handedly changed the Los Angeles Rams’ game plan with the way he stuffed the run and helped the Bengals hold the Rams to 1.9 yards per carry. In last year's AFC Championship Game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Bengals allowed just 2.1 yards per carry.
As Reader prepared for those big games, his teammates followed his example.
“DJ provided us something that we hadn’t had in this locker room in a while,” Hubbard said. “You can be a winner, but when you actually have done it, you have a different perspective and a different attitude on how to get there and how to do things. I credit him for showing me that. Now, I have that as well, just from that help.”
As the Bengals had all of that success, Reader barely got the spotlight. Germaine Pratt had his moment with his goal line interception against the Las Vegas Raiders. Bell had his moment when he picked off Patrick Mahomes in the AFC Championship Game. Hubbard had his moment with the Fumble in the Jungle, and Hilton had his moment when he made plays all over the field against the Buffalo Bills.
Reader’s legendary moment during that run doesn’t get as much recognition. Against the Tennessee Titans in the second round of the 2021 playoffs, Reader delivered one of the best individual performances that the Bengals have had in years. He was a bulldozer at the line of scrimmage and shut down Titans All-Pro running back Derrick Henry.
But the nose tackle doesn’t get much credit for setting his teammates up for tackles.
Reader expedited a winning culture
After that game, Reader delivered his most famous speech with the Bengals. He told the team that he was tired of the Bengals being viewed as underdogs.
“That was huge,” Reader said, looking back at that moment. “In this sport, your craft gets picked at a lot more than any other profession from outside people who don’t know what’s really going on. They don’t know what you’re about and they don’t know the work you’ve put in. After winning that game with everyone doubting us, I wanted to tell everyone what was so disrespectful. You don’t want everyone telling you what you're not.”
This week, after the Bengals lost their third straight game, Reader told his teammates to look forward. The Bengals’ playoff hopes are dwindling, but they have a chance on Monday Night Football to “change the narrative” about a defense that hasn’t been as consistent as it was over the last two years.
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo had the Bengals work on run defense more this week than they have in a while. As the defense goes over those mundane drills, Reader is right in the middle and ensures that the drills are going the right way.
“He’s authentic,” Hubbard said. “When something isn’t right or there’s a miscommunication, he has no fear of letting it be known. That goes a long way. It’s about the way he carries himself every day. It’s not something you can sum up in a sentence or two. It’s about how you hold yourself during the ups and downs.”
Regardless of how the final six games of the Bengals’ season go, the franchise’s long-term plan is to get Burrow back healthy in 2024, develop the young core of their defense and be Super Bowl contenders again next season. Reader is setting the foundation for the future, even though he’s one of two starters on the Bengals’ defense who isn’t under contract for 2024.
“This team has taken me on a wild run,” Reader said. “I’ve gotten to go to two AFC Championships and the Super Bowl. I’ve been blessed. And it's all made me want to play even harder. I take pride in everyone around me becoming better players. I take pride in guys getting new contracts. I take pride in guys making plays. Being a part of a good group means that I’m contributing something.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The stat sheet doesn’t show all that DJ Reader means to the Bengals
