'He’s very mature for a rookie' - Bengals veteran starter is taking notice of his new running mate

Demetrius Knight Jr. went from starting zero games in his first four years in college to captain of an SEC defense in about a year's time. A player many considered to be a third-round pick ended up hearing his name called in the second round by the Cincinnati Bengals another year later.  

Fast progressions have been a part of Knight's career since transferring from Georgia Tech to Charlotte to South Carolina. Going from college to the NFL isn't going to be any different as the 24-year old was slated to start out the gate as the 49th overall pick in the draft next to Logan Wilson.

Per FOX19's Charlie Goldsmith, Knight is taking first-team reps at linebacker in the early days of install.

"This defense is giving a lot of opportunities to young players, and Knight has been thrown right in with the first team defense." - Charlie Goldsmith via Charlie's Chalkboard

The state of the linebacker room around Knight has changed dramatically compared to last year. Germaine Pratt is away from the team as he awaits his future, Oren Burks is one of the new veterans in the room as a free agent signing, and fourth-round pick Barrett Carter joins Knight as another rookie in the mix.

But Knight isn't just another rookie. He's one of the oldest new players in the NFL this year and with a full family to go home to. His new defense wouldn't bestow him with starting responsibilities so early if he wasn't capable of handling it all. Wilson sees it himself.

“He’s learning the system pretty well,” Wilson told Goldsmith. “He’s very calm, cool and collected. You can tell that he has a wife and two kids. He’s very mature for a rookie.”

The Bengals' defense needs all the good news it can get with defensive ends Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart not practicing due to contract situations. The defensive line's importance can't be understated, but new defensive coordinator Al Golden will have his linebackers conduct the new-look defense.

Knight is right in the middle of operations, and it seems the start of the process is going swell.