Geno Atkins

Geno Atkins is a professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL). He currently holds a defensive tackle position for the Cincinnati Bengals. Atkins is a seven-time Pro Bowler and is the son of Gene Atkins, former Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints safety.

Born on March 28, 1988 in Florida, Atkins he played track and football at St. Thomas Aquinas where he was ranked 24th among the finest defensive ends in the country. He then attended the University of Georgia where was placed on Rivals.com’s top 5 defensive tackles. Atkins was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2010 NFL Draft.

During his rookie year, he was able to record 16 combined tackles, 1 pass deflection, and 3 sacks in 16 games. In 2011, he tied with Tommy Kelly of the Oakland Raiders for the most sacks by a defensive tackle. Atkins remains as one of the starting defensive tackles in the 2012 season and recorded the highest overall grade of any defensive tackle in that year.

He suffered from a leg injury in 2013 but he was still able to finish with 20 combined tackles and 6 pass deflections. In 2014, he had his first career safety on running back Alfred Blue in a game against the Houston Texans. He was ranked 29th in the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.

He was named to the 2017 Pro Bowl and was given the sixth highest overall grade of all qualifying interior defensive linemen by Pro Football Focus. By next season, he was ranked second with the highest overall grade among interior defensive linemen. Atkins signed a contract extension with the Bengals on August 28, 2018.

His current player statistics are 335 total tackles, 71 sacks, 6 pass deflections, 8 forced fumbles, 9 fumble recoveries, and 1 defensive touchdown.

Achievements:

• 7-time Pro Bowl (2011, 2012, 2014–2018)
• 2-time First-team All-Pro (2012, 2015)
• Second-team All-Pro (2011)
• First-team All-SEC (2007)