As we head toward the 2017 regular season, we at Bengals Wire are taking a deeper look into how the defensive rookies on the Cincinnati Bengals could fare in 2017. Today, we’ll take a look at fourth-round defensive tackle, Ryan Glasgow.

The Bengals like to draft defensive tackles in the fourth round and for some reason they’ve had success with them. Both Domata Peko and Geno Atkins were fourth rounders and with Andrew Billings suiting up to start at the nose tackle position in 2017, they could have another fourth-round success on their hands. Following this trend, Cincinnati opted to draft Glasgow out of Michigan back in April.

Glasgow came to Michigan as a walk-on in his freshman year. Not only did he beat the odds in making the team, he shared the Richard Katcher Award (given to Michigan’s top defensive lineman) with Chris Wormley in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. That right there tells you everything you need to know about this man. Hard working, non-stop motor, lunch pail mentality, blue-collar. Any of these words could perfectly sum up Glasgow and his game.

With that said, let’s take a look at how he could fare for the Bengals in 2017.

Best case scenario:

Glasgow makes the roster as the third defensive tackle behind Atkins and Billings. His non-stop motor allows him to pressure the quarterback consistently (fun fact: In college, Glasgow ranked second in pass rush productivity among all interior defensive linemen with 37 pressures). A known technician, Glasgow uses his technique to not only funnel plays to his linebackers, he also affects the run game by making plays behind the line of scrimmage. Gives the Bengals another promising defensive tackle alongside Billings to build around as Atkins slows down.

Worst case scenario:

His limited athleticism keeps him from making an impact in the NFL. He doesn’t live up to his reputation as a “run-stuffer” because of the strength disparity between college and the NFL. His limited pass rush repertoire limits his effectiveness in rushing the passer and makes him one-dimensional. Takes a few years to get to where he can compete regularly with NFL players.

Projected Stats:

18 tackles

4 tackles for loss

1 sack

Glasgow is a solid player and with his blue-collar mentality I don’t expect the worst case scenario to rear up. Having seen some game tape of Glasgow, the one thing that jumps out at me is his non-stop motor. I know many analysts use the phrase “non-stop motor” and “high effort” and is almost cliche, but these terms apply to Glasgow 100 percent. He never stops fighting his blocker, he doesn’t stop until the whistle is blown and most importantly, he lines right back up and does it again, play after play.

If he can learn some of the ins-and-outs from veteran linemen Atkins and Pat Sims, Glasgow has a real chance to make somewhat of an impact for the Bengals in 2017. How far that goes will be mostly determined by how he can handle the strength and speed of the NFL initially.