Dre Kirkpatrick Giving Bengals Reason to Move Away from Aging Veteran CBs

The Cincinnati Bengals have invested heavily in the cornerback position, drafting Leon Hall in 2007 with the 18th overall pick and bringing in former first-round draft picks of other teams, such as Terence Newman and Adam Jones.

They also drafted two more cornerbacks in the first round in recent years: Dre Kirkpatrick in 2012 and Darqueze Dennard in 2014.

With Hall, Jones and Newman all over the age of 30 and Newman an unrestricted free agent, it is important that at least one of the young corners begin to make a name for himself. In 2014, that was Kirkpatrick. It's likely he'll be starting in place of Newman in 2015.

Kirkpatrick's career in Cincinnati started slowly due to a preseason knee injury he suffered in his rookie year that, along with a concussion, limited his ability to get on the field.

He played only five games in his first season, notching two tackles and nothing else.

Year	Games	Snaps	Tackles	INT	TD	PD	FF	FR
2012	5	43	2	0	0	0	0	0
2013	14	363	25	3	1	7	0	1
2014	16	248	23	3	1	7	0	0
Total	35	654	50	6	2	14	0	1

His workload increased in his second season, which included four starts to end the year after Hall suffered an Achilles tendon tear. According to Pro Football Focus, Kirkpatrick played 363 snaps and ended the year with seven passes defensed, three interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), a fumble recovery, a sack and 25 total tackles.

With Hall back and healthy, Kirkpatrick's playing time went down to just 283 snaps, or 28.3 percent of the Bengals' total defensive snaps, in 2014.

Still, he managed to make just as much an impact as he did in 2013 with 23 total tackles, seven passes defensed and three interceptions—again with one returned for a touchdown. He had two starts but appeared in all 16 games as both a cornerback and member of the special teams unit.

The Bengals need to start transitioning from their veterans not just because of age, but also because of cost.

Hall, Newman and Jones haven't had major drop-offs in performance yet—none gave up more than three touchdowns in 2014, though Hall did allow catches on a team-high 70.3 percent of his targets. 

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However, that drop-off is coming, because it always does. The Bengals have been stockpiling insurance for that day. And it's an added bonus that the insurance is far less expensive.

Newman, the free agent, had a salary-cap hit of $2 million in 2014. Hall has the Bengals' second-highest cap hit in 2015 at $9.6 million, including a base salary of $7.7 million. Jones will cost them $2.55 million, with $1.55 million of that in salary.

Player	Age	FA?
Terence Newman	36	2015
Adam Jones	31	2016
Leon Hall	30	2016

Though Kirkpatrick is making more in 2015 than Jones—$2.74 million in cap, $1.57 million in salary—it must be noted that Kirkpatrick was a recent first-round pick while Jones has been in the NFL since 2005. Kirkpatrick's value-to-money ratio is far more Bengals-friendly than Jones'.

Further, 2015 is the last year for both Hall and Jones' contracts. They will both be unrestricted free agents in 2016, and it's possible only one—or neither—returns.

Though the jury remains out about Dennard's ability to replace either cornerback, Kirkpatrick seems on a direct path to starting—if not in Newman's place in 2015, then in Jones' or Hall's in 2016.

Cornerback is certainly not a position where the Bengals would like to trade speed and youth for veteran experience and diminishing on-field skills. However, a too-young, too-green cornerback can be just as much a liability, albeit in different ways.

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Though Kirkpatrick's rookie year was marred by injuries that stunted his growth as a player, it's not likely he would have had many opportunities regardless.

Newman, Hall and Jones had their respective jobs locked down and were playing well—especially in 2012—far better than anyone could have reasonably expected out of Kirkpatrick, despite his draft pedigree.

But as he's been given additional responsibilities in the two seasons that followed, he's shown improvement. Kirkpatrick has particularly been effective later in the year, such as on the 30-yard interception he returned for a touchdown in Week 16's 37-28 win over the Denver Broncos that sent the Bengals into the postseason.

Now, as the Bengals' core group of cornerbacks heads into their 30s and closer to free agency, Kirkpatrick can finally show he was worthy of being drafted in the first round and be an asset on the field.

Though we've only seen flashes, thanks to Cincinnati's depth chart, those flashes seem to indicate the Bengals clearly do have a true talent on their hands.

Salary-cap and contract information courtesy of Spotrac.