Geno Atkins, Thomas Howard and Reggie Nelson were your respective snap count leaders this year respective based on defensive units (aka, defensive line, linebacker and secondary). Three guys registered over 1,000 snaps this year and 16 plays posted over 400 snaps with seven of those players coming from the defensive line, arguably Cincinnati's deepest position on the team. Your 2011 regular season snap breakdown on defense.
| Defensive Line | Total | Run | P.Rush | Coverage |
| Geno Atkins | 754 | 273 | 475 | 6 |
| Michael Johnson | 702 | 234 | 423 | 45 |
| Domata Peko | 656 | 367 | 287 | 2 |
| Robert Geathers | 509 | 236 | 262 | 11 |
| Jonathan Fanene | 456 | 132 | 318 | 6 |
| Frostee Rucker | 446 | 237 | 204 | 5 |
| Carlos Dunlap | 424 | 121 | 294 | 9 |
| Pat Sims | 297 | 166 | 130 | 1 |
| Nick Hayden | 33 | 17 | 16 | 0 |
| Linebackers | Total | Run | P.Rush | Coverage |
| Thomas Howard | 1,001 | 422 | 74 | 505 |
| Rey Maualuga | 700 | 344 | 36 | 320 |
| Manny Lawson | 489 | 295 | 41 | 153 |
| Brandon Johnson | 316 | 59 | 47 | 210 |
| Dan Skuta | 163 | 94 | 9 | 60 |
| Vincent Rey | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Secondary | Total | Run | P.Rush | Coverage |
| Reggie Nelson | 1,049 | 429 | 38 | 582 |
| Chris Crocker | 1,014 | 416 | 45 | 553 |
| Nate Clements | 946 | 376 | 22 | 548 |
| Leon Hall | 557 | 218 | 0 | 339 |
| Adam Jones | 449 | 185 | 0 | 264 |
| Kelly Jennings | 403 | 101 | 1 | 301 |
| Gibril Wilson | 218 | 83 | 9 | 126 |
| Taylor Mays | 60 | 28 | 4 | 28 |
| Morgan Trent | 61 | 12 | 2 | 47 |
| Jeromy Miles | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Brandon Ghee | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
(snap count account to Pro Football Focus)