3 Bengals quietly climbing the depth chart entering Week 11

The Cincinnati Bengals are aspiring to come out of the bye firing with a season sweep against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11, but to do that, they'll need to show ample progress on defense. After giving up 86 points in their prior two losses, preceded by a massive victory over Pittsburgh, demoted captain Logan Wilson was traded to Dallas to make the defense even worse. Who can the Bengals count on this Sunday and beyond? Perhaps there's another hope in the linebacker room with Wilson out of the picture. And that man comprises one of the three Cincinnati players who are quietly ascending the depth chart. First we'll start with the defensive end group. Head coach Zac Taylor announced first-round pick Shemar Stewart and superstar Trey Hendrickson are both doubtful for Week 11, per NBC 5's Charlie Clifford. That opens the door for 2024 sixth-round pick Cedric Johnson to make a splash. PFF had Johnson with three QB pressures on just 12 pass rush snaps against the Bears in Week 9. That's the kind of pressure r