Former Cincinnati Bengals great Andrew Whitworth, an Amazon Prime Video analyst, shared some eye-opening remarks about Baltimore Ravens defensive end Trey Hendrickson during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” when asked about the Bengals’ trade with the New York Giants for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
In March, Hendrickson, who played the past five seasons for the Bengals, agreed to a four-year deal worth up to $112 million with the AFC North rival Ravens.
“Here’s the reality to Trey Hendrickson,” Whitworth told McAfee. “He’s a helluva player. But here’s the truth. He is ranked at the top of the group when it comes to sacks and pressures of the quarterback, no doubt. But let’s go look where he’s ranked in the run game in all those years as well. And it ain’t up at the top.”
“So my point is you’re talking about a guy who, yeah, he put up a lot of numbers,” Whitworth continued. “A lot of statistical things. He’s gonna create a lot of sacks. He’s gonna get some pressures on the quarterback. But you know what else you can do? You can run the football right at him all the time, anytime you want.”
“So when you’re dictating the terms on defense, that’s the reality,” Whitworth explained. “To me, I think when you talk about a guy like Dexter Lawrence, you’re talking about all three downs how can we affect it. How can we go get maybe a guy in this draft that’s an electric pass rusher, who can come on the field on third down and impact it there, while we also have the interior push of Dexter Lawrence?”
“That’s just the reality,” Whitworth concluded. “Trey’s a helluva player. Is he a guy you want in a closing situation? No doubt about it. … But when you’re talking about a defense that’s been 30th in the NFL … I think they’re trying to figure out how do we put all the pieces together to help us be a total defense. Not just one that can win on third-down-and-8 when we need a guy to go get a sack.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Andrew Whitworth slams Trey Hendrickson on ‘Pat McAfee Show’
Reporting by Dave Clark, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
