Rookie Breakdown: A Look Back at Logan Wilson's First NFL Season

Wilson fared well in his first pro campaign

Author:
Blake Jewell
Publish date:
Feb 1, 2021 7:45 AM EST

The Bengals selected Logan Wilson in the third-round (65th overall) in the 2020 NFL Draft.

The rookie linebacker had a solid season for the Bengals, finishing with 33 tackles (four for loss) two interceptions and one sack.

Wilson appeared in twelve games for the Bengals in 2020. He missed the final three games of the season with an ankle injury.

Linebacker was a huge need for Cincinnati last offseason and they went all-in to fix the issue in the draft. They used three of their seven picks on linebackers, taking Wilson in the third round, Akeem Davis-Gaither in the fourth round and Markus Bailey in round seven.

Wilson had the best season out of the three linebackers selected.

The rookie started his season only playing 30% of the Bengals' defensive snaps, but he worked his way up to playing nearly 55% on average later in the season. He played a big role in stopping the run for the Bengals.

His role should increase in 2021 with veteran Josh Bynes scheduled to become a free agent.

"I just [want to] continue to get comfortable with the defense and understanding why we do things the way we do things," Wilson said last month. "Maybe settle into a little bit more of a role where I can be in the middle of the defense instead of just being on the outside because Bynes was our main middle linebacker so being able to step in a role, like similar to how he was this year."

Wilson had one of his best games against the Giants. He was rarely caught out of position and forced Daniel Jones to throw the ball away on a crucial down early in the game.

On the coverage side of things, he was a little inconsistent. On plays where he stays disciplined, he looks like he could be a valuable asset for the Bengals defense, but there are times when he gets beat in coverage.

Wilson is going to need to stay more disciplined in coverage moving forward, and his development as a run stopper could be key. Although he only played 32% of all defensive snaps in 2020, he has the speed and athletic ability to move into a starting role next season.

The leap from Wyoming to the NFL is a big one and Wilson handled himself well. It's reasonable to expect him to be on the field a lot more in 2021.

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