The old adage in the NFL is that opponents will pick at your weak link until you prove that it can hold up. Players get circled by a red marker on the opposing team’s white board, and those players get attacked over and over until they show the league that they’re not the same players that they used to be.
Last season, opposing offenses relentlessly challenged linebackers Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. and forced them to make a play. More often than not, on the 27th-ranked defense in the NFL in points allowed per drive, the linebackers got beat.
The Bengals are running it back at that position this season, betting on Carter and Knight making the type of Year 2 leap that Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt made back in the early 2020s.
For the Bengals to have a successful season this year, Carter and Knight need to prove the team right.
“Last year does not define us,” Carter said. “Let’s write the story for the 2026 Bengals. What’s our story going to be? What’s our mark? What’s our legacy going to be? We’re trying to preach that message every day. Do we want to come and pass by, or do we actually do something special? We’re all here for the same reason: to host a trophy in February.”
Knight said, “It’s going to be about us. If we don’t do anything with the opportunity, it’s all for nothing. We have to learn how to start fast. That’s the thing with the Cincinnati Bengals. We started fast last year. We want to make sure that we start fast again this year and continue to keep the pedal to the metal as we go through the season.”
The case in favor of Carter and Knight starts with the unfair ask that they had to handle last season. It’s challenging enough for one rookie linebacker in the NFL right now, let alone two playing next to each other. Before last season, they had barely even seen a fullback or an under-center offense before. In their rookie seasons, Carter and Knight played poorly.
It wasn’t all bad. They were active in the box, they were quick and they showed some flashes of upside in coverage. They played much better after the bye week, and the final three games of the season were their best.
“We’re building off what we did in the second half of the season last year,” Knight said. “There’s no limit to what we’re doing. We’re trying to pile on top of things we’ve already done.”
Carter and Knight have followed that up with strong training camps. But especially at linebacker, where your tackling ability is critically important, you can only learn so much about a player during the summer.
“We’re trying to change a narrative,” linebackers coach Mike Hodges said. “They’ve done a good job of working toward that. It’s not going to change unless they work for it. The consistent effort and consistent work ethic they’ve displayed was admirable. I’m pretty proud of it.”
The intangibles are a part of their story. Opposing offensive coordinators tried to embarrass Carter and Knight last season by going at them over and over and over. How they handled that as rookie was a factor in the Bengals’ decision to not add any competition for a starting spot in 2026.
“They brought me here because I was a leader,” Carter said. “They saw that at Clemson. They saw that in me. They said that they don’t care how old I am. They want me to keep being that leader that I am. I’m trying to do my part.”
In training camp, they did all of the right things. They were consistent, vocal and played a lot faster than they did last summer.
“Kobe never wasted a day,” Knight said. “MJ never wasted a day. I don’t see any wasted days in our camp.”
In training camp, Hodges saw Carter command the huddle as well as the line of scrimmage pre-snap in a much more confident way.
“He has really improved there,” Hodges said. “We saw that growth last season. It’s much further than where we were before. I’m encouraged about where we’re at.”
Hodges saw Knight showcase an ability to read the play very quickly and break into the backfield for a splash play.
“His consistency in recognizing plays, he’s ahead of it,” Hodges said. “Be it that the scheme has calmed down for him and/or another year under his belt, those two things combined has allowed him play faster. Now, we’re able to see the speed and the athleticism that we drafted him in the second round for on display more consistently. We saw flashes of it last year. Now, it’s been more consistent.”
That exact comment was made about Pratt many times during the prime of Pratt’s Bengals’ career.
Hodges said that he sees significant growth in the young linebackers, but they haven’t tackled anybody yet. Tackling was the biggest weakness in the Bengals’ defense last season. Carter and Knight will need to prove that they’ve made strides in that area during the season.
“That’s probably my biggest unknown, to be fair,” Hodges said. “It’s all good (in practice). We’re close. We’re in the right spots. We’re doing the technique we’re supposed to do. That traditionally translates to succeed. It wasn’t a secret. We shared it with each other. We’ve addressed it every single day. Every single day, there’s a tackling drill. That’s not going to change. We’re going to continue to focus on it. It’s our vocation to tackle well.”
If the Bengals have the type of season that they’re looking for, then the best offenses in the game and the best quarterbacks in the game will be staring down those linebackers in January. The season will be on the line, and the linebackers will almost assuredly need to make a play.
Carter and Knight need to start fast. They also have four months to get ready for that ultimate challenge, being ready for postseason football against elite opponents.
“That’s what we’re expecting to do,” Carter said. “That’s everyone’s mindset. We don’t care who’s on the other side. It’s a nameless, faceless opponent. It doesn’t matter if we’re going up against — I’m not going to throw names out there. It doesn’t matter who the quarterback is. We expect to dominate who we’re going up against. It doesn’t matter who they are.”
For the last calendar year, Carter and Knight have only heard about their struggles. They’ve been working to improve their games, but they haven’t had the chance to do anything about it. At least not until the season opener.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Carter said.
Carter and Knight are hoping to reintroduce themselves.
“This year, we have an attitude about ourselves,” Knight said. “The defense is nasty, fast, we play hard. When you turn the tape on, in this building or other buildings, they’ll see a team that plays hard, plays fast and knows ball. They know what’s coming. They hear pre-snap what’s happening.”
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