An athletic 280-pounder with a big wingspan, Dunlap is a naturally gifted playmaker with statistics to bear it out ... Led 2016 Bengals in passes defensed (15) and forced fumbles (three), and was close second in sacks (eight) ... Played in his second straight Pro Bowl after the season ... Three of his passes defensed in ’16 led to INTs, and his 15 PDs led all NFL defensive linemen by wide margin ... Led team in 2015 with career-best 13.5 sacks, and his 57 career sacks rank fourth in Bengals annals ... Has 14 career forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries, 41 passes defensed, four blocked FGs and two TDs scored.

Career transactions: Selected by Cincinnati in second round of 2010 NFL Draft (54th overall) ... Signed with Bengals on 7-28-10 ... Signed contract extension with Bengals on 7-16-13.

 Pro Bowl participation: Has been named to and played in two games ... Starter for victorious AFC in 2016 season game at Orlando ... In 2015 season game at Honolulu, had one tackle and one pass defensed, playing for victorious Team Irvin.

 Carlos’ PD frenzy — unprecedented: No defensive lineman had ever led the Bengals in passes defensed for a season until Dunlap did it in ’16. His 15 PDs were five more than the second-place Bengal (CB Dre Kirkpatrick, 10), and he had seven more PDs than any other NFL defensive lineman. The NFL players with more PDs were all cornerbacks. Dunlap’s total was nine short of the league lead but only five short of third place.

 More on the ‘frenzy’: Dunlap’s team-leading total of 15 passes defensed (see previous item) was so statistically remarkable, it deserves more historical context. Over 41 years of Bengals defensive record-keeping (1976-2016), the second-highest total PDs by a defensive lineman was only nine, by DE Michael Johnson in 2013. No other D-lineman has ever had more than six, a mere 40 percent of Dunlap’s total. Johnson ranked third on the team in 2013, but no other D-lineman has ranked higher than fifth.

 2016 general: Started at LDE in Games 1-16 ... Led D-line in tackles (49) ... Rose during season to fourth all-time on Bengals in sacks (57), and has a career pace that could take him beyond all-time leader Eddie Edwards (83.5) within three-to-four years.

 2016 game-by-game: Logged a team-high two passes defensed and five tackles on Sept. 11 at N.Y. Jets ... On Sept. 29 vs. Miami, recorded two sacks, including one on which he forced a Ryan Tannehill fumble that Bengals recovered ... Also vs. Miami, deflected two Tannehill passes and totaled five tackles ... Had a sack-and-strip for the second straight game Oct. 9 at Dallas, forcing a Dak Prescott fumble that Bengals returned to their 41 in third quarter, and finished game with three total QB hits ... Deflected a Kevin Hogan pass that LB Vincent Rey intercepted on Oct. 23 vs. Cleveland, and also had a six-yard sack of Hogan plus two additional QB hits ... Two passes defensed Nov. 27 at Baltimore, including one deflection that LB Rey Maualuga intercepted, and also had a 10-yard third-down sack of Joe Flacco deep in Bengals territory, forcing Ravens to settle for FG ... Four PDs on Dec. 4 vs. Philadelphia (tied team high for the season), including one that LB Vontaze Burfict intercepted to stop a scoring threat ... Also vs. Philadelphia, had a shared sack, one additional QB hit and four tackles ... Personal season-best seven tackles Dec. 18 vs. Pittsburgh, with one pass defensed ... Forced a fumble by C.J. Fiedorowicz on Dec. 24 at Houston, running down the WR after a 12-yard completion, but Texans recovered ... One-yard sack of Joe Flacco on Jan. 1 vs. Baltimore.

 Previous seasons: 2010—A Pro Football Weekly all-rookie team selection, Dunlap contested Detroit DT Ndamukong Suh for the league’s rookie sacks title, posting Bengals rookie record of 9.5 ... Lost the rookie crown when Suh went to 10 with a zero-yard sack late in fourth quarter in Week 17 ... Dunlap eclipsed former Bengals rookie sack record of 8.5, set by DE Justin Smith in 2001 ... All of Dunlap’s sacks came in last eight games, including 8.5 in last six games ... Became first rookie to lead team in sacks for season since 1990, when LB James Francis led with eight ... On Nov. 14 at Indianapolis, brought down Peyton Manning for first career sack. 2011—His sack total dipped to 4.5, from 9.5 as a rookie, but despite missing four games he still led team in QB pressures (27) and had an impressive fumble return for key TD ... Missed Games 9 and 11-13 due to hamstring injury ... On Oct. 16 at Indianapolis, with Colts looking to erase a 20-17 Bengals lead in the fourth quarter, Dunlap scooped a Pierre Garcon fumble at the Colts 35 and ran for a game-clinching TD ... On Nov. 6 at Tennessee, had two sacks of Matt Hasselbeck, for 22 yards. 2012—Began action in Game 3, after missing time in rehab from a preseason knee injury ... Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance Dec. 2 at San Diego, when he forced fumbles on each of his two sacks, recovering one late in the game to help preserve win ... Had a 14-yard INT return for a TD to seal Dec. 30 win vs. Baltimore ... Tied for team lead in both forced fumbles (four) and fumble recoveries (three) ... His seven combined fumbles forced and recovered led the team by three ... Had 27 QB pressures (second on team) and five tackles-for-loss ... On Sept. 23 at Washington, set up Bengals TD when he forced a fumble by Robert Griffin III and recovered it at Redskins 12 ... Four tackles in Wild Card playoff at Houston. 2013—Played in all 16 games for first time in career, with 15 starts at LDE, and made first postseason start ... Logged 70 tackles, with 7.5 sacks (tied for team lead) ... His 10 passes defensed led D-line ... Led team in forced fumbles (four) and QB pressures (34), and tied for second with seven tackles-for-loss ... On Sept. 29 at Cleveland, deflected 51-yard Billy Cundiff FG try ... Provided major momentum shift in win Oct. 20 at Detroit, blocking 34-yard David Akers FG attempt late in second quarter to prevent Lions from making a third straight unanswered score, and offense responded with TD for 14-10 lead ... On Oct. 31 at Miami, ran down RB Lamar Miller after 41-yard gain to Bengals 11, forcing fumble that Cincinnati’s Adam Jones recovered in end zone and returned 43 yards ... On Nov. 10 at Baltimore, had sacks of nine and eight yards against Joe Flacco ... On Dec. 22 vs. Minnesota, returned a Matt Cassel fumble 42 yards to Vikings four in first quarter, setting up a TD. 2014—Started at LDE in Games 1-16 and in Wild Card playoff ... Led team in sacks (eight), tackles-for-loss (17), QB hits (27), forced fumbles (two) and combined fumbles forced-and-recovered (three) ... Led D-line in tackles (66), a personal career first, and also led D-line in passes defensed (five) ... Had 10-yard sack of Matt Ryan on Sept. 14 vs. Atlanta, and credited with four total QB hits ... In shutout win Dec. 14 at Cleveland, tied for team lead with six tackles (two for-loss), including a seven-yard sack of Johnny Manziel ... Led line with four tackles (one for-loss), including a five-yard sack of Peyton Manning, in playoff-clinching win Dec. 22 vs. Denver ... Two tackles and three QB hits in Wild Card playoff on 1-5-15 at Indianapolis. 2015—Started at LDE in Games 1-16 and Wild Card playoff ... Led D-line in tackles (55) in regular season ... Led team in QB hits (31), ranked second in total tackles-for-loss (16), and had two blocked FGs ... Tied with 49ers’ Quinton Dial for most blocked FGs in NFL ... His three sacks of Brock Osweiler on Dec. 28 at Denver were most by Bengal since LB Vincent Rey had three on 11-10-13 at Baltimore ... On Oct. 11 vs. Seattle, spurred comeback win by forcing Seahawk punts with a fourth-quarter solo sack of Russell Wilson and an overtime shared sack ... Totaled six QB hits vs. Seattle, the team season-high ... On Oct. 18 at Buffalo, had 1.5 sacks of E.J. Manuel ... On Nov. 5 vs. Cleveland, had two sacks of Johnny Manziel in fourth quarter, for 16 combined yards ... On Dec. 6 at Cleveland, logged a five-yard sack of Austin Davis, an eight-yard tackle for loss, a forced fumble (Bengals recovered) and a blocked a 47-yard FG attempt ... On Dec. 20 at San Francisco, earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award for a blocked FG that ended 49ers’ last hope for a win ... In Wild Card playoff vs. Pittsburgh, his three tackles included a shared sack, and he had a pass defensed and one additional QB hit.

 College: Played three seasons (2007-09) at Florida, with totals of 84 tackles, 19.5 sacks, 26 tackles for loss, eight passes defensed and four blocked kicks ... Entered NFL Draft following his junior season ... Named Defensive MVP of 2008 season BCS national championship win over Oklahoma ... Helped Gators to 13-1 records in each of his last two seasons, including 51-24 Sugar Bowl victory over University of Cincinnati to close 2009 campaign.

 Personal: Hometown is North Charleston, S.C. ... Was Bengals 2015 team nominee for NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award ... Attended Fort Dorchester High School, and closed his career ranked 15th on ESPN’s Top 150 recruits list ... Actively supports children in need in both South Carolina and Greater Cincinnati, through the Carlos Dunlap Foundation, with events including an annual football camp and holiday shopping trips ... Has earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Florida and a master’s degree in business administration from Miami (Fla.) ... SEC Academic All-American in 2008 ... Selected to SEC Academic Honor Roll as a freshman ... Enjoys playing basketball and jet skiing ... Was named ‘Mayor for a Day’ in North Charleston on 3-13-09 ... Lists parents, Diane Ross and Carlos L. Dunlap Sr., as his greatest source of inspiration.