He attended St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale and helped his high school football team to be the Class 5A runners-up in both 2004 and 2005.

[2] At the 2006 FHSAA 3A-4A Outdoor State Finals, he tied for 1st place in the shot put event, recording a top-throw of 18.01 meters.

Fellow Georgia defensive lineman Marcus Howard said of Atkins's antics during the press conference, "He was like acting like a groupie.

[27] Head coach Marvin Lewis named Atkins the fourth defensive tackle on the depth chart to start the regular season, behind Domata Peko, Tank Johnson, and Pat Sims.

[29] The following week, he had one assisted tackle and made his first career sack with teammate Michael Johnson in the Bengals' 15–10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

[32] The following week, Atkins collected two combined tackles and made his first career solo sack on quarterback Colt McCoy in their 19–17 win against the Cleveland Browns.

[34] He received the opportunity after Pat Sims missed training camp and the majority of the preseason after sustaining a knee injury.

[36] He started the Cincinnati Bengals' season-opener at the Cleveland Browns and collected five combined tackles and broke up a pass in their 27–17 victory.

[38] Atkins finished his second season with a total of 47 combined tackles (26 solo), 7.5 sacks, two pass deflections, and two forced fumbles in 16 games and 15 starts.

[43] On January 7, 2012, Atkins started his first career playoff game and made four combined tackles and a sack on quarterback Matt Schaub as the Bengals lost 31–10 to the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card Round.

[46] On November 18, 2012, Atkins collected a season-high six solo tackles, deflected a pass, a sack, and forced two fumbles in the Bengals' 28–6 win at the Kansas City Chiefs.

[47] On December 23, 2012, Atkins tied his season-high of six combined tackles, forced a fumble, and sacked Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger twice in their 13–10 victory.

[57] On October 31, 2013, Atkins recorded two solo tackles and a sack in the Bengals' 22–20 overtime loss at the Miami Dolphins on Thursday Night Football.

On November 1, 2013, the Bengals placed him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season after it was discovered he would have to undergo surgery to repair his torn ACL.

[63] On November 23, 2014, Atkins made two solo tackles and recorded his first career safety on running back Alfred Blue as the Bengals defeated the Houston Texans 22–13.

On January 16, 2015, it was announced that Atkins would replace Detroit Lions' defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in the Pro Bowl due to an injury.

[67] On December 20, 2015, he collected four solo tackles and made a season-high two sacks on San Francisco 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick in their 24–14 victory.

[70] He was selected as a player captain along with Devonta Freeman, Aaron Donald, and Odell Beckham Jr.[71] The Cincinnati Bengals finished first in the AFC North with a 12–4 record and secured home field advantage.

On January 9, 2016, Atkins recorded three solo tackles and sacked quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the Bengals' 18–16 AFC Wild Card Round loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[73] Head coach Marvin Lewis named Atkins and Domata Peko the starting defensive tackles for the sixth consecutive season.

On December 11, 2016, he collected a season-high six combined tackles and sacked quarterback Robert Griffin III three times in the Bengals' 23–10 victory at the Cleveland Browns.

[78] Pro Football Focus gave Atkins the sixth highest overall grade of all qualifying interior defensive linemen in 2016.

[79] Atkins was named the starting defensive tackle, along with Pat Sims who replaced Domata Peko after he departed for the Denver Broncos in free agency.

[80] He started the Cincinnati Bengals' season-opener against the Baltimore Ravens and recorded a career-high seven combined tackles and sacked Joe Flacco during a 20–0 loss.

[81] The next week, Atkins collected five combined tackles and a season-high two sacks on quarterback Deshaun Watson during a 13–9 loss to the Houston Texans.