Bengals snap counts reveal problem with Al Golden's defense

When the Cincinnati Bengals brought back Al Golden to serve as defensive coordinator, one of the big highlights was the idea that he would let the young developmental players get on the field. 

But that doesn’t seem to apply across the board. 

Exiting the Bengals’ loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 5, the Bengals snap counts clash with that idea in a notable way. 

Mostly, it comes down to former first-round pick Myles Murphy. 

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Despite first-round rookie Shemar Stewart missing the game, Murphy played just 13 snaps. Written another way, he played 21 percent of the defense’s opportunities. 

Excuses such as the opponent-specific gameplan, on-field scenarios and more can and might just flow when coaches get asked. But refusing to let a first-round investment get on the field more is a strange thing for the Bengals to do, especially when they entered the fourth quarter down 28-3, anyway. 

While Muprhy hardly rotated, Cam Sample got 20 snaps, as did reserve tackle depth such as Mike Pennel. Trey Hendrickson and Joseph Ossai took the bulk of the work on the edge with 37-snap minimums. 

At corner, at least, Dax Hill and DJ Hill both got 100 percent at 62. Cam Taylor-Britt continues to fade at 22. At linebacker, rookies Demeitrus Knight and Barrett Carter saw at least 33, while Logan Wilson hit he 62-mark.

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This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals snap counts reveal problem with Al Golden's defense