From Clemson Backup to NFL Star

Reader’s Rise to One of the Game’s Top Defensive Tackles similar to Bengals' Rise in AFC

D.J. Reader, you can say, was a late bloomer at Clemson.

The Cincinnati Bengals’ 6-foot-3, 347-pound defensive tackle started just 10 games in his Clemson career. He played the majority of his college career (46 in all) as backup on a defense that led the nation in 2014 and ranked 10th nationally in 2015.

Most of that time, Reader played behind Atlanta’s Grady Jarrett, a three-time Pro Bowler and a 2019 All-Pro selection for the Falcons. When he was taken in the fifth-round (No. 166 overall) of the 2016 Draft by the Houston Texans, no one realized the kind of NFL player he would become.

By the time he was a free agent in 2020, Reader was one of the more sought-after defensive tackles in the NFL.

“I was surprised. Never in my whole life did I think I was going to make that kind of money,” Reader said to the media, as the Bengals prepare to play the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI on Sunday.

Ten games into his rookie season, the Greensboro, N.C., native became a starter at Houston. He went on to start in 52 of his 61 games with the Texans, while recording 139 tackles, including 6.5 sacks.

In March of 2020, Reader signed a four-year, $53 million deal with the Bengals, the largest free agent deal in the history of the franchise.

“I did not know I would be wanted by someone like that,” he said.

Cincinnati figured Reader was the first piece in turning things around for a franchise that at the time had the worst record in the NFL.

“I knew we had some really, really good pieces around us, as a team,” Reader said. “I knew what they were probably going to go with, with the (first) pick. And I felt good about the organization. They called multiple times. We talked and I felt really comfortable.”

A month after signing Reader, the Bengals drafted quarterback Joe Burrow with the first overall pick in the 2020 draft. In the second round, with the 33rd overall pick, they took former Clemson wide receiver Tee Higgins.

In the 2021 NFL Draft, the Bengals snagged Burrow’s former LSU receiver, Ja’Marr Chase, with the No. 5 overall pick. To sure up the defense, they added veterans like cornerback Mike Hilton from the Pittsburgh Steelers, safety Vonn Bell from New Orleans, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi from Cleveland, corner Eli Apple from Carolina and corner Chidobe Awuzie from Dallas.

“I think it is really about the mentality. When I showed up, guys were really ready to work,” Reader said. “Guys that had been here, they were hungry to win. The coaching staff was hungry to win. We knew we had to make some adjustments.”

With Reader leading the defense and Burrow and the offense putting up big numbers, the Bengals now find themselves in the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years.

To get there, they first stunned everyone by winning the AFC North, a division routinely owned by either the Steelers or the Baltimore Ravens.

In the playoffs, Cincinnati knocked off the Las Vegas Raiders in the Wild Card round, then upset the Tennessee Titans in the Divisional Round, before surprising everyone with a fierce second-half rally to beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

“Things come with time. You have to learn those things,” Reader said. “You have to learn how to win and how to go about the process of winning. You know, creating the routine, being pros. I think, bringing in the extra guys the next year, and the draft picks, they have all taken hold of that.

“The guys who stayed, they have pushed through.”

And like Reader, a guy who has worked hard to be called one of the best, the Bengals have risen to the top and are one win away from being called World Champions.

The odds of the Bengals winning the Super Bowl is currently +168 according to Fanduel.