Stat of the Jay: Where Does Bill Bergey Rank Among the Great Bengals Draft Picks That Got Away

Jay Morrison | 16 Hours Ago

Nov 22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Former Philadelphia Eagles greats Ron Jaworski (7) and Bill Bergey (66) and Harold Carmichael (17) prior to game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lincoln Financial Field. The Buccaneers won 45-17. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – The passing of former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Bill Bergey earlier this week at the age of 79 stirred some curiosity about how many other players in franchise history took a similar path through the NFL.

A second-round pick of the Bengals in 1969, Bergey played 68 games for the franchise before team owner Paul Brown traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles amid a contract battle that landed in federal court.

His career body of work made him one of the best defensive players in the league in the 1970s with five All Pro awards (three first team) and five Pro Bowls.

Bergey is one of only two Bengals to win a Defensive Rookie of the Year award, garnering the AFL honor in 1969. Defensive end Sherman White won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 1972.

After a long hard 3 year battle, Dad lost his fight with Cancer. The best father, friend, grand father, football player and out right great person in this world. I will truly miss him. Love you dad. pic.twitter.com/RTLln3UA8o

— Jake Bergey (@Bergey66) December 25, 2024

Statistics were not as meticulously recorded during Bergey’s era.

The Bengals didn’t officially begin logging tackles until 1976, three years after Bergey’s final season in Cincinnati.

But there are some notable numbers.

The Bengals have drafted 697 players in their history. Bergey ranks 36th in career games played (regardless of team) with 159.

He played 68 games for the Bengals before the trade that sent him to Philadelphia for two first-round picks and a second-round pick.

Those picks became defensive linemen Wilson Whitley and Ross Browner and defensive back Ray Griffin, each of whom were regulars on the 1981 Super Bowl team and combined to play 297 games for the Bengals.

Bergey played 91 games in Philadelphia, plus four postseason games that don’t count on a player’s official tally. The final game of his career was Super Bowl XV against the Oakland Raiders when he logged five tackles, one shy of the team high, in a 27-10 loss.

He was inducted in to the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame in 2009.

Among the 697 players the Bengals have drafted, Bergey is one of only seven to play at least 64 games (the equivalent of four, 16-game seasons) in Cincinnati and at least 64 with another franchise.

Here is that list in chronological order:

Bill Bergey, 1969 second round – 68 with Bengals, 91 with Eagles

Blair Bush, 1978 first round – 68 with Bengals, 82 with Seahawks

Max Montoya, 1979 seventh round – 157 with Bengals, 66 with Raiders

Kimo von Oelhoffen, 1994 sixth round – 79 with Bengals, 95 with Steelers

Mike Goff, 1998 third round – 83 with Bengals, 80 with Chargers

Johnathan Joseph, 2006 first round – 67 with Bengals, 133 with Texans

Andrew Whitworth, 2006 second round – 168 with Bengals, 71 with Rams

If you want to win a bar bet, Bush is the answer.

The question: ‘What Bengals draft pick has the most career games played in the NFL, regardless of team?’

Bush had 246 to edge out Whitworth with 239.

If you count postseason games, Bush had 256 to Whitworth’s 254.

In addition to his 68 games with the Bengals and 82 with the Seahawks, Bush played 48 games with the Packers and 48 games with the Rams during a 17-year career to also featured 10 postseason games, including Super Bowl XVI with Cincinnati.

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