I think it's a near certainty that Michael Johnson starts and gets the majority of snaps at RDE next season unless the Bengals decide that a 3-4 is their best front. Since they finally seem to have found a couple of guys that can regularly pressure the pocket from the 4-3, I think that's an unlikely change. Marvin Lewis, in what may have been the only useful comment he made in his press conference, noted that the young guys on defense were going to be a building block. I think that means Johnson, Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins.
Rey Maualuga is a different issue. He was even more inconsistent this year than last. At times, he read the play correctly, stayed in his gap, shed a block and made a big play. But he remains very susceptible to play action, overruns too many plays and misses too many tackles. Mike Zimmer has always had good things to say about him, but it's clear that Lewis wants a player he can trust at MLB. Dhani Jones seems likely to be gone next year, so it may end up being Rey Maualuga by default. If that happens, his upside will be determined by whether he plays every down and that's dependent on Lewis/Zimmer, what happens with FA Brandon Johnson, etc.
