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Bengals Booth Podcast: Holiday · Bengals Booth Podcast

0:03
Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody.
0:04
Speaker 2: I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading the Bengals Boot Podcast.
0:08
Speaker 2: The holiday oh holiday addition, as the players begin a
0:14
Speaker 2: five week break before training camp, but we don't here
0:18
Speaker 2: On the pod. Coming up, I'll talk to Trevor Sikkama
0:21
Speaker 2: from Pro Football Focus about what it's going to take
0:24
Speaker 2: for the Bengals to surpass Baltimore in the AFC North,
0:28
Speaker 2: followed by five observations about one of the biggest storylines
0:32
Speaker 2: will be focused on in training camp. The Bengals Booth
0:36
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0:56
Speaker 2: quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of
0:59
Speaker 2: this podcast as delivered write to your phone, tablet, or
1:02
Speaker 2: computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the
1:06
Speaker 2: greatest thing since Knockout Roses. My stepfather was a wholesale florist,
1:14
Speaker 2: so you would think I would know something about flowers
1:17
Speaker 2: and how to grow them. Unfortunately I don't. Whatever the
1:21
Speaker 2: opposite of a green thumb is, you're listening to them.
1:25
Speaker 2: That's why knockout roses are so great. They're already planted
1:29
Speaker 2: in front of our house when we moved in, and
1:31
Speaker 2: with little to no maintenance, they bloom beautifully year after year.
1:37
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1:40
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1:43
Speaker 2: So if you're looking to add some beautifully colored flowers
1:47
Speaker 2: to your home, knockout roses are hard to beat and,
1:51
Speaker 2: more importantly, for me, easy to grow. Now, let's get
1:55
Speaker 2: to football. According to ESPN bet, at this point of
2:00
Speaker 2: the off season, Cincinnati is tied for having the seventh
2:03
Speaker 2: best odds of winning the Super Bowl. This week, I
2:07
Speaker 2: discussed the roster and some key off season question marks
2:11
Speaker 2: with Trevor Sikama, an analyst and podcaster for Pro Football Focus. Trevor,
2:18
Speaker 2: you've probably been on a bunch of podcasts where the
2:21
Speaker 2: host near the end says, tell us where people can
2:25
Speaker 2: find you or find your work, And I want to
2:28
Speaker 2: start with that because it seems to me that, in
2:29
Speaker 2: addition to your written content, you are doing more and
2:33
Speaker 2: more podcasts and Pro Football Focus, so fill us in.
2:37
Speaker 3: Pro Football Focus.
2:38
Speaker 4: They keep you busy, but I'm glad that they do
2:39
Speaker 4: because I work with a lot of great people, get
2:42
Speaker 4: to do a lot of different shows. The main one
2:44
Speaker 4: that I do is the PFFNFL show that I get
2:47
Speaker 4: to do with mainly Dalton Washman, but we have a
2:49
Speaker 4: lot of other great people who are in on that
2:51
Speaker 4: show as well. Max Chadwick is a familiar face there,
2:54
Speaker 4: those guys doing the college show also dabbling in the
2:57
Speaker 4: NFL world. I also cover the NFL Draft three sixty five.
3:02
Speaker 4: That's my true passion, is the lead draft analyst for
3:04
Speaker 4: Pro Football Focus, and I do that over the NFL
3:07
Speaker 4: Stock Exchange show with my good friend and co host
3:10
Speaker 4: Connor Rogers. So it definitely keeps us busy, even here
3:14
Speaker 4: in the middle of the offseason. It gives us things
3:16
Speaker 4: to think about, and we're already thinking about that twenty
3:18
Speaker 4: twenty six NFL Draft class to win some summer scouting.
3:20
Speaker 4: So the work never stops, the podcast never stopped.
3:23
Speaker 3: But I love it. I love what I get to do,
3:25
Speaker 3: so it's always great when I get the turn.
3:27
Speaker 1: Of my gun.
3:28
Speaker 2: So with the title NFL Draft Analyst. Let's discuss the
3:32
Speaker 2: Bengals draft. They had six picks. The top three were
3:35
Speaker 2: Shamar Stewart, Demetrius Knight, and Dylan Fairchild.
3:38
Speaker 1: How did they do?
3:41
Speaker 4: I look, I actually really liked what the Bengals were
3:44
Speaker 4: able to do in the draft. I think that the
3:47
Speaker 4: Shamar Stewart pick, obviously, I think that what's going on
3:51
Speaker 4: with him and the contract situation, it.
3:54
Speaker 3: Put the dark cloud over it.
3:56
Speaker 4: Honestly, though, the way that I saw this is this
4:00
Speaker 4: is kind of what they really wanted Miles Murphy to be,
4:04
Speaker 4: except for just maybe like a higher ceiling type of
4:07
Speaker 4: version of that. Not that Miles Murphy can't find a
4:09
Speaker 4: place on the defensive line, whether it's on the interior
4:11
Speaker 4: or the edge, but I think they were hoping that
4:13
Speaker 4: he'd probably find more of a home and be more
4:16
Speaker 4: dominant as an edge rusher. And I think they think
4:17
Speaker 4: the same now of Shamar Stewart, who I think is
4:20
Speaker 4: like Miles Murphy just almost super charged a little bit, right,
4:23
Speaker 4: taking a super Mario mushroom or something with the size,
4:26
Speaker 4: to strength, the explosiveness, all that good stuff. So I
4:29
Speaker 4: know that the contract situation that he's currently in kind
4:31
Speaker 4: of clouds that a little bit. But this is a
4:33
Speaker 4: very talented football player and one who is a highly
4:35
Speaker 4: regarded recruit for a reason, somebody who at texts A
4:39
Speaker 4: and M really had to get on the field over
4:40
Speaker 4: the last couple of years and develop him in any
4:42
Speaker 4: way that he could.
4:42
Speaker 3: And then of course you have this year starting with Nick.
4:45
Speaker 4: Scorton there on that team, So I think it's still
4:47
Speaker 4: going to be a little bit of time and development.
4:49
Speaker 4: It's going to take a little bit of time for him,
4:50
Speaker 4: but he's got an incredibly high ceiling.
4:52
Speaker 3: I like the Dylan Fairchilds selection as well.
4:54
Speaker 4: This is an interior offensive line that really just had
4:57
Speaker 4: to get a lot better from what it was last season.
4:59
Speaker 4: And there's some familiar faces there, Ted Carris obviously one
5:02
Speaker 4: of them playing at that center spot.
5:03
Speaker 3: But then it.
5:03
Speaker 4: Feels like those two guard spots are up for grabs
5:06
Speaker 4: and it's sort of going to be a training camp
5:07
Speaker 4: battle of who's going to come out and win those
5:09
Speaker 4: and I think that Dylan Fairchild could very well. You know,
5:12
Speaker 4: he's coming from such a highly successful program at Georgia.
5:17
Speaker 4: He's faced some of the best interior defensive linemen in
5:21
Speaker 4: the SEC over the last couple of years. So I
5:23
Speaker 4: like the fact that they've either got him his depth
5:24
Speaker 4: or maybe as an early starter. Here, Demetrius Knight was
5:27
Speaker 4: somebody who you know, when I was looking at night,
5:31
Speaker 4: I didn't get to him until sort of late in
5:33
Speaker 4: the process. I didn't really know a lot about him.
5:34
Speaker 4: And it kind of makes sense, right, I mean, he's
5:36
Speaker 4: a Georgia Tech for all those years, plays but sort
5:38
Speaker 4: of sparingly. Okay, maybe as one year left or I
5:41
Speaker 4: think he had two years left of eligibility. But he
5:43
Speaker 4: goes to Charlotte, so he kind of goes down in
5:45
Speaker 4: competition a little bit, but he shows out really well.
5:48
Speaker 4: So then all right, well, Charlotte to Columbia South Carolina.
5:50
Speaker 4: That's not too far away. They've actually been able to
5:52
Speaker 4: see me play. Let me go to South Carolina. And yes,
5:55
Speaker 4: he is an older prospect, but man, you love what
5:58
Speaker 4: he's able to bring to the table, in my opinion,
6:00
Speaker 4: especially as a will linebacker, which is perfect for what
6:04
Speaker 4: the Bengals need. Right They've got Logan Wilson in the
6:07
Speaker 4: middle to be able to play that mike linebacker role
6:09
Speaker 4: as the centerpiece of that second level of the defense.
6:11
Speaker 3: Now Demetrius Knight.
6:12
Speaker 4: He's a player who you know, when I watched him
6:15
Speaker 4: and I first looked at his measurables, I was like, man,
6:17
Speaker 4: you know, he's big enough to be able to play Mike.
6:19
Speaker 4: I actually kind of like him as a Mike backer,
6:21
Speaker 4: and I still think that he could be a good
6:23
Speaker 4: Mike linebacker.
6:24
Speaker 3: But really it's that run and chaseability.
6:27
Speaker 4: It's his fluidity and coverage and the potential that he
6:29
Speaker 4: has there that really gets me excited. And so I
6:32
Speaker 4: think he landed in a perfect spot where he can
6:34
Speaker 4: play more as that in space linebacker. You know, Logan
6:38
Speaker 4: Wilson's the one who's calling things out, He's getting the
6:40
Speaker 4: run fits set everything like that, and then Demetrius can
6:43
Speaker 4: play a little bit more in space and run and
6:45
Speaker 4: chase a little bit more. So I think that that
6:46
Speaker 4: gets a lot out of what he brings to the table.
6:48
Speaker 4: I think Breck Carter kind of the same way, coming
6:50
Speaker 4: from Clemson, another athletic linebacker to bring in that depth
6:53
Speaker 4: and kind of get that same player there. And then
6:55
Speaker 4: I'll just shout out Tis Brooks as well. You know,
6:57
Speaker 4: when I was watching Tis Brooks, he had some of
7:01
Speaker 4: my favorite vision of any running back in the class.
7:04
Speaker 4: Now that is my as people ask me all the
7:07
Speaker 4: time kind of about how I scout and what I'm
7:09
Speaker 4: looking for and things like that, generally not to give
7:12
Speaker 4: away too much of the secret sauce.
7:13
Speaker 3: I don't really care. I love talking about it.
7:15
Speaker 4: But I have about ten categories for every single position,
7:20
Speaker 4: and there are things like for running backs, for example,
7:22
Speaker 4: it's you know, like how often they can make guys
7:24
Speaker 4: miss elusiveness, you know what they are after contact, you
7:27
Speaker 4: know their strength after contact, their vision.
7:29
Speaker 3: Things like that, right, And it's not like all.
7:32
Speaker 4: Those ten categories are just okay, it's one out of ten,
7:35
Speaker 4: it's one out of ten. It's one out of ten,
7:37
Speaker 4: and then we get to one hundred. That's a fine
7:38
Speaker 4: way to do it. But as I've been scouting over
7:40
Speaker 4: the years, I find tune in a little bit to say, like,
7:42
Speaker 4: you know what, actually, visions the most important part for me,
7:46
Speaker 4: and so I give it a little bit higher of
7:48
Speaker 4: a weight, a higher percentage. So maybe out of ten
7:50
Speaker 4: points instead, now vision might be out of sixteen or eighteen,
7:54
Speaker 4: so there are more points to be gained, because I
7:56
Speaker 4: think that that trait is more valuable if you can't
8:00
Speaker 4: see the field the way that you need to. No
8:01
Speaker 4: matter how fast yard, no matter how strong you are,
8:04
Speaker 4: you're just gonna flame out in the NFL.
8:06
Speaker 3: Trent Richardson is a great example of that.
8:07
Speaker 4: Look how incredible Trent Richardson was when he was at Alabama,
8:11
Speaker 4: and yet he gets to the NFL. He just could
8:14
Speaker 4: not read blocking schemes the way that he needed to.
8:16
Speaker 4: He did not have that running back vision to match
8:19
Speaker 4: the athletic traits. Taj Brooks a little bit of the opposite.
8:22
Speaker 4: I'm not sure that he is the best caliber athlete
8:25
Speaker 4: for the position, but man, can he see it? He
8:27
Speaker 4: is patient, He knows where these blockers are going to be,
8:30
Speaker 4: he knows where his aiming points are. He knows when
8:32
Speaker 4: he needs to arrive to get past them, past the
8:34
Speaker 4: line of scrimmage and into.
8:35
Speaker 3: That second level.
8:36
Speaker 4: So it might not be a big home run hitter
8:38
Speaker 4: for you, but I think there are going to be
8:39
Speaker 4: a handful of plays throughout practice preseason whenever he gets
8:42
Speaker 4: his chances to showcase his stuff. The Bengals could look
8:45
Speaker 4: at him and say, man, all right, is he gonna
8:47
Speaker 4: be the dynamic.
8:48
Speaker 3: Early down back for us all the time? No, but
8:50
Speaker 3: especially if there are some.
8:51
Speaker 4: Injuries, we feel good about the high football IQ this
8:54
Speaker 4: guy has and putting him in the lineup. So that's
8:55
Speaker 4: just sort of an overview of when I'm looking at
8:57
Speaker 4: the names in their class, of this class some of
9:00
Speaker 4: the thoughts that I had of them pre draft.
9:02
Speaker 2: Trevor Sikramuff from Pro Football Focus is our guest. I
9:05
Speaker 2: want to circle back to Shamar Stewart for a second.
9:07
Speaker 2: Everybody is focused on the fact that he only had
9:09
Speaker 2: four and a half sacks, and that's fair. It's certainly
9:12
Speaker 2: a major point of discussion. I've made the case though,
9:15
Speaker 2: that saying that he wasn't productive just because of that
9:19
Speaker 2: stat is an overstatement because he was good against the run.
9:22
Speaker 1: He had a lot of pressures.
9:24
Speaker 2: Am I right?
9:25
Speaker 1: Is that how you felt about Shamar Stewart?
9:28
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I agree with you.
9:30
Speaker 4: He his tape looks different from a player that you
9:35
Speaker 4: would say, like, oh, just you know, one and a
9:37
Speaker 4: half sacks every single year. Like when you see a
9:39
Speaker 4: player who has three years of either rotating and contributing
9:43
Speaker 4: snaps or even starting snaps for them to have that
9:45
Speaker 4: little production, I think that your mind immediately goes to like, Okay,
9:49
Speaker 4: this guy can't play.
9:50
Speaker 3: He's not gonna make it, and you know, a.
9:53
Speaker 4: Little bit of a puff in our chest here, I'd
9:55
Speaker 4: say that this is all Shamar Stewart's a good example
9:57
Speaker 4: of why PFF exists, in my opinion, because you get
10:00
Speaker 4: to go beyond just the common stats there. And sometimes
10:03
Speaker 4: the stats do tell the story correctly, but sometimes they don't,
10:07
Speaker 4: and I think you need a little bit more context there.
10:09
Speaker 4: In that regard, I will say this, The pass rush
10:12
Speaker 4: metric that I like to lean on so much more
10:15
Speaker 4: so than sacks is a passers win percentage, and for
10:21
Speaker 4: Schmar Stewart that passor's win percentage of And just to
10:25
Speaker 4: give people a barometer here, you know, like twenty five
10:29
Speaker 4: to thirty percent of a pastor's win percentage how often
10:32
Speaker 4: you're winning one on one against your matchup that is
10:35
Speaker 4: in front of you, whether or not you make it
10:36
Speaker 4: to the quarterback or not. Right, because it's independent of that.
10:39
Speaker 4: Let's say that the offense is running a play where
10:41
Speaker 4: the ball's coming out of his hands within two point
10:44
Speaker 4: five seconds. Well, even if you're Trey Anderson, right, A
10:48
Speaker 4: great example of somebody who wins one on one a
10:50
Speaker 4: lot very quickly, even if he wins within the first
10:52
Speaker 4: two seconds, well, he's not going to get a sack,
10:54
Speaker 4: he might not even get a pressure because the ball's
10:56
Speaker 4: coming out so quick.
10:57
Speaker 3: But he still did his job. He's still won.
10:59
Speaker 4: And so pastors win percentage is something that's a little
11:01
Speaker 4: bit more concrete. It's something that's a little bit more
11:03
Speaker 4: stable that we can predict that we like to lean
11:06
Speaker 4: on a little bit more. If you have a twenty
11:08
Speaker 4: five to thirty percent pass or twin percentage, that's crazy.
11:11
Speaker 4: That's like defensive player of the year type of category.
11:13
Speaker 4: Twenty to twenty five is normally that tier one of
11:16
Speaker 4: edge rusher's, the Trey Henderson's, the Miles Garretts, the Michael Parsons,
11:19
Speaker 4: the TJ. Watts like those guys, a lot of them
11:21
Speaker 4: in their best years, they're in that range fifteen to
11:24
Speaker 4: twenty really good starting edge rusher. You get down to
11:26
Speaker 4: ten to fifteen percent, it's like, okay, it's not bad.
11:29
Speaker 3: Maybe a starter, rotational guy.
11:31
Speaker 4: And if you're below ten percent, you're probably your team's
11:34
Speaker 4: probably looking to upgrade your spot if that's how you
11:36
Speaker 4: are consistently playing. Shamar Stewart was right around that fifteen
11:40
Speaker 4: percent pass or twin percentage this past year. So it's
11:44
Speaker 4: much more indicative of what this guy can do as
11:46
Speaker 4: a pass rusher rather than just looking at the one
11:48
Speaker 4: and a half sacks that he had. So he still
11:50
Speaker 4: needs to put it together. I still think he needs
11:52
Speaker 4: a better pass rush plant, specifically before the ball is snapped,
11:56
Speaker 4: but at least that physical ability was able to show
11:59
Speaker 4: out in that sort of metric. So that's the way
12:01
Speaker 4: that I viewed Shimar Stewart. And you're right, strength wise,
12:04
Speaker 4: length wise, overall body type, really good run defender as well.
12:08
Speaker 4: You picked this guy because you hope that he has
12:09
Speaker 4: a high floor because of his athletic and strength gifts,
12:13
Speaker 4: and then also because of high he has a high ceiling.
12:16
Speaker 4: Those are the types of first round picks that you
12:18
Speaker 4: love to make, and hopefully we get to see him
12:20
Speaker 4: on the field soon.
12:21
Speaker 2: One more draft related question before I changed the subject.
12:25
Speaker 2: After the draft, the Bengals signed center Seth McLaughlan from
12:28
Speaker 2: Ohio State and defensive tackle Eric Gregory out of Arkansas's
12:32
Speaker 2: college free agents. Did you like either or both? And
12:38
Speaker 2: did anybody else that they signed in the undrafted category
12:41
Speaker 2: catch your eye?
12:42
Speaker 4: So I haven't seen their entire undrafted free agency list,
12:46
Speaker 4: so I'll kind of like go down their their depth
12:49
Speaker 4: chart and see if I recognize any names here. I
12:50
Speaker 4: don't know a lot about Gregory, but I do know
12:52
Speaker 4: a lot about McLaughlin, who, before he got hurt, man
12:55
Speaker 4: he was playing very very well. And this is somebody
12:57
Speaker 4: that before he even went to Ohio State, when he
12:59
Speaker 4: was an Alabama he wasn't consistent.
13:02
Speaker 3: The way that he needed to be yet.
13:04
Speaker 4: But I watched him and I go, Okay, I mean
13:06
Speaker 4: we've got something here. We've got something where very clearly,
13:09
Speaker 4: whether it was as a sophomore or a junior, before
13:11
Speaker 4: he got hurt and before he transferred over to Oiowa State,
13:15
Speaker 4: he showed signs of like, all right, this guy kind
13:16
Speaker 4: of plays the game like a pro, you know, like
13:18
Speaker 4: the movement skills, they're quick, they're precise, He's thinking about
13:22
Speaker 4: things the right way. Now, there are times when, okay,
13:24
Speaker 4: it might show up he's not the most physically gifted
13:27
Speaker 4: interior offensive lineman. Okay, he might get knocked off of
13:30
Speaker 4: his balance and off of his feet a little bit.
13:33
Speaker 4: Maybe it takes him a little bit more and asking
13:35
Speaker 4: him to reach completely across the body. If you're talking
13:38
Speaker 4: about an inside zone or an outside zone rushing play
13:41
Speaker 4: like that's a little bit difficult for him, but he
13:43
Speaker 4: does a lot of the really solid things well. And
13:46
Speaker 4: I think it's traits like that when when you hear
13:48
Speaker 4: stuff like that about an interior offensive lineman, you don't
13:50
Speaker 4: have to worry as much as you would maybe if
13:52
Speaker 4: you heard those exact same things about an offensive tackle,
13:54
Speaker 4: because if you're an offensive tackle, you've got to kind
13:57
Speaker 4: of be left on an island.
13:58
Speaker 3: A little bit.
13:58
Speaker 4: Well, when you're on the interior, actually when you were
14:00
Speaker 4: at center, so much of what you're able to do
14:03
Speaker 4: is chemistry based. It's so much around you know, Okay,
14:06
Speaker 4: not only do I have to know my own strength
14:09
Speaker 4: and weaknesses very well, because I.
14:10
Speaker 3: Talk about I feel like I talk about that all
14:12
Speaker 3: the time.
14:12
Speaker 4: Interior offensive linemen have to self scout as good as
14:17
Speaker 4: as good as anybody can, because you not only have
14:19
Speaker 4: to know your own strength and weaknesses, you've got to
14:22
Speaker 4: know the strength and weaknesses of the two guys next
14:23
Speaker 4: to you, whether it's a tackle or in the center's case,
14:25
Speaker 4: whether it's the two guards. So you got to know, like, okay,
14:27
Speaker 4: well you know I got Let's say Fairchild wins the
14:30
Speaker 4: starting gig right and and McLaughlin might be able to
14:34
Speaker 4: go like, Okay, I got Fairchild next to me.
14:35
Speaker 1: All Right.
14:36
Speaker 4: He's a little bit lighter, but he is quick. So
14:38
Speaker 4: if we're ever in a situation where I need him
14:40
Speaker 4: to bounce off of one defensive tackle and help me out,
14:42
Speaker 4: I know he's going to be able to do it.
14:44
Speaker 4: So all that to kind of say, I hope that
14:46
Speaker 4: he gets back to that pre injury form Seth McLachlin,
14:49
Speaker 4: because I thought he was. He was playing at a
14:51
Speaker 4: really high level before he ended up getting hurt. And
14:53
Speaker 4: I just think that you already saw the baselines, whether
14:55
Speaker 4: it was at Alabama or Ohio State of him preparing
14:58
Speaker 4: and playing like a pro.
14:59
Speaker 3: So I think that he was a really nice undrafted
15:01
Speaker 3: free agent.
15:02
Speaker 2: Dad, I actually have one more draft related question. It
15:05
Speaker 2: goes back to last year's draft. The tackles last year
15:09
Speaker 2: were thought to be historically good. Eight were taken in
15:11
Speaker 2: the first round. A Marius Mims was the fifth tackle selected.
15:16
Speaker 2: One year later, how high would a Marius Mims be
15:20
Speaker 2: on that tackle list based on his rookie year?
15:23
Speaker 3: Oh wow?
15:24
Speaker 4: Okay, so the twenty twenty five class, let's take a
15:27
Speaker 4: look at the offensive tackles and the guys that were
15:29
Speaker 4: drafted there, Uh you had.
15:33
Speaker 3: Will Campbell obviously went four harmon Membugo seven nine.
15:37
Speaker 1: I meant last year's class.
15:39
Speaker 2: So if the eight taken last oh oh, okay, Marius
15:42
Speaker 2: was fifth. And I'm wondering based on the fact that
15:45
Speaker 2: he got to play, he played well if if it
15:49
Speaker 2: were done again, now, you know, would he be in
15:52
Speaker 2: the top two or three? Would it be Joe Alton
15:54
Speaker 2: then him, or would he be at the top.
15:57
Speaker 4: Yeah, Like I so, I think the all still still
16:00
Speaker 4: that top guy there. But man, it's basically anybody's It's
16:06
Speaker 4: basically anybody to take that second offensive tackle spot.
16:08
Speaker 3: It really is.
16:09
Speaker 4: I mean, like Leatham obviously got some playing time. He struggled,
16:11
Speaker 4: but he moved from left to right. The same exact
16:13
Speaker 4: situation with Tolise Fuanga. Both of those guys. I like
16:16
Speaker 4: the decent amount, but anytime you're throwing them on the
16:18
Speaker 4: other side of the line of scrimmage, it's hard enough
16:20
Speaker 4: as a rookie, and then when you're switching everything, it's
16:22
Speaker 4: sort of tough to think about. But I think a
16:24
Speaker 4: Marius at least like to your point, like he looked
16:27
Speaker 4: as advertised when he was out there, Like, yeah, okay,
16:29
Speaker 4: he's a little bit raw, but we knew that was
16:32
Speaker 4: going to be the case with his experience coming out
16:34
Speaker 4: of Georgia and him missing that the time at Georgia
16:36
Speaker 4: due to injury. I think I think Olu Fashonu probably
16:40
Speaker 4: is still well. I guess not still he was the
16:43
Speaker 4: third offensive tackle taking he's probably the second guy. But
16:47
Speaker 4: then yeah, I mean, Mims could very well have been
16:49
Speaker 4: right there, picked within the top ten. I think that
16:51
Speaker 4: he had a year where you feel good about it
16:54
Speaker 4: moving forward. You know, did he like the world on fire?
16:56
Speaker 4: Was it as good as Joe Alt?
16:57
Speaker 5: No?
16:57
Speaker 4: Okay, but that's why Alt's going is the first defensive
17:00
Speaker 4: tackle here in this discussion. But I really do think
17:03
Speaker 4: that he gets picked eighteenth. You could very well make
17:06
Speaker 4: a case for him to go fringe top ten if
17:08
Speaker 4: this is sort of this redraft and be that second
17:11
Speaker 4: or third offensive tackle take and probably, I would say
17:13
Speaker 4: in the conversation for that third offensive tackle take in.
17:16
Speaker 2: Trevor Sikoma from Pro Football Focus is our guest as
17:19
Speaker 2: PFF's lead draft analyst. I'm sure you watched a lot
17:22
Speaker 2: of Notre Dames defensive players over the last couple of
17:25
Speaker 2: years and therefore saw Al Golden's defenses. What did you
17:29
Speaker 2: think of the higher and do you expect significant improvement
17:34
Speaker 2: in the Bengals defense specifically tied to Al Golden taking over.
17:38
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I like Al Golden. I liked what I
17:41
Speaker 3: saw from.
17:41
Speaker 4: Him last year at Notre Dame. You know, an aggressive
17:45
Speaker 4: style of defense, specifically in coverage, and I think that's
17:48
Speaker 4: where you would really want to focus things for the
17:51
Speaker 4: Bengals when you're sort of like looking at what could
17:54
Speaker 4: be this season. I think specifically there is one player.
17:57
Speaker 4: Dal Washerman did a really good job of pointing this
17:59
Speaker 4: out as well my coast on the PFFNFL show.
18:02
Speaker 3: Al Golden likes to play a lot.
18:04
Speaker 4: Of single high stuff, you know, and he had a
18:06
Speaker 4: really good safety to be able to do it in
18:08
Speaker 4: Xavier Watts last year. So you know, Wats is somebody
18:11
Speaker 4: who I'm very excited about with him being in Atlanta
18:15
Speaker 4: now getting to pair with Jesse Bates, who Bengals fans
18:18
Speaker 4: obviously know very well. When you look at their current
18:21
Speaker 4: situation with Al Golden coming over to Cincinnati, Geno Stone
18:25
Speaker 4: is the player that I would want to highlight because
18:26
Speaker 4: Geno Stone comes over from Baltimore, he does not have
18:30
Speaker 4: a good season. In his first year in Cincinnati, his
18:32
Speaker 4: coverage grade went from an eighty five point seven all
18:35
Speaker 4: the way down to I believe it was a fifty
18:36
Speaker 4: two point two or fifty two point three.
18:38
Speaker 3: It just was not. It was a career low in
18:40
Speaker 3: coverage grade.
18:41
Speaker 4: Now, Luana Rumo was doing a lot of too high stuff,
18:44
Speaker 4: like Cincinnati's sort of been leaning into that they've got
18:46
Speaker 4: these two high safety looks, and Geno Stone was Yeah,
18:49
Speaker 4: I think he was much more valuable when he was
18:51
Speaker 4: in more of that single high situation, whether it was
18:54
Speaker 4: with him as the free safety or sometimes as the
18:56
Speaker 4: strong safety, the Robbert type over the middle.
18:58
Speaker 3: Golden leans more into that.
19:00
Speaker 4: Golden is more of a Cover one, Cover three, single
19:04
Speaker 4: high safety type of a defensive shell, at least from
19:07
Speaker 4: what we saw at Notre Dame. I think the best
19:09
Speaker 4: coaches will always tell you, oh, you build the scheme
19:11
Speaker 4: around the players.
19:12
Speaker 3: So maybe it looks a little bit different.
19:14
Speaker 4: Maybe it's not as aggressive because he's going from having
19:16
Speaker 4: Watts at the Notre Dame college level to now, okay,
19:19
Speaker 4: it's the NFL. These guys are bigger, faster, stronger, I
19:21
Speaker 4: think at every single position. But if they do lean
19:24
Speaker 4: more into that. I think that gets more out of
19:27
Speaker 4: Stone certainly as somebody who can then play as that
19:30
Speaker 4: center fielder, free safety and coverage. I like Jordan Battle
19:33
Speaker 4: in that situation as well, because when I watched him
19:35
Speaker 4: at Alabama, he was very high at Football IQ all
19:38
Speaker 4: the way back to his freshman season, as somebody who
19:41
Speaker 4: could call things out, he control the middle of the field,
19:44
Speaker 4: he could play in that robber role, he could play
19:45
Speaker 4: down in the box. So I think that fits both
19:47
Speaker 4: of those guys a little bit more. And then when
19:49
Speaker 4: you were playing single high on the outside, sometimes it's
19:52
Speaker 4: cover three, sometimes it's cover one, but a lot of
19:54
Speaker 4: times it's man match, its zone match stuff. You still
19:57
Speaker 4: have to be aggressive, think quickly, and get the mo
20:00
Speaker 4: most out of some very agile, elusive and explosive corners.
20:03
Speaker 4: That's what Dax Hill is, That's what DJ Turner is,
20:05
Speaker 4: right like, That's why you drafted those guys so specifically.
20:09
Speaker 4: I think a lot of times when you think about,
20:11
Speaker 4: all right, well, new defense coming in, you know, what's
20:13
Speaker 4: it gonna look like?
20:14
Speaker 3: Is it you know? Is it three four? Is it
20:15
Speaker 3: four to three? That kind of stuff.
20:17
Speaker 4: A lot of people talk about the box in the front,
20:19
Speaker 4: with new defensive coordinators coming in, I am more focused
20:22
Speaker 4: on what Golden is going to change for them on
20:24
Speaker 4: the back end, because I feel like there were inconsistencies
20:27
Speaker 4: there for the Bengals over the last couple of years really,
20:30
Speaker 4: since they haven't had Jesse Bates back there to be
20:33
Speaker 4: able to play that impactful safety role. And now with
20:37
Speaker 4: the signing of Stone and him still being there, him
20:40
Speaker 4: being a more advantageous situation, I think from the top down,
20:43
Speaker 4: it's going to help this defense feel like those guys
20:46
Speaker 4: are in their more proper spots.
20:48
Speaker 1: If you will.
20:49
Speaker 2: We've got a few minutes left with Trevor Sikomuff from
20:51
Speaker 2: Pro Football Focus, what are your biggest Bengals question marks?
20:56
Speaker 2: Roughly a month before the start of training camp.
20:59
Speaker 4: I think often line has to be the big one, right.
21:01
Speaker 4: I think this unit really struggled along the interior offensive
21:04
Speaker 4: line with Carris and Kappa and voltson last year, and
21:08
Speaker 4: Carris was solid. I think I think it wasn't his
21:12
Speaker 4: best year, but I feel like he did kind of
21:13
Speaker 4: as well as he could, you know, with with some
21:15
Speaker 4: of the injuries of the offensive tackles and the the
21:17
Speaker 4: inconsistencies with the guys that were standing next to him.
21:19
Speaker 4: Obviously they don't have Alex cap anymore, and he got
21:21
Speaker 4: a handful of guys that are fighting for those guard spots.
21:23
Speaker 4: But figuring out what the best starting three is on
21:26
Speaker 4: that interior is paramount for them heading into training camp,
21:30
Speaker 4: heading in the preseason, because there are so many teams
21:35
Speaker 4: in the NFL that are leaning into interior pressure. Now
21:38
Speaker 4: you know before and I look, the big money still
21:41
Speaker 4: goes to the Miles Garretts, the Micah Parsons, the Nick Bosas,
21:45
Speaker 4: it still goes to a lot of those edge rushers.
21:47
Speaker 4: But there are a lot of defensive coordinators that realize
21:51
Speaker 4: the shortest distance to the quarterback is right up the
21:54
Speaker 4: middle in a straight line, and if you can disrupt
21:56
Speaker 4: the center, if you can disrupt the guards, and if
21:58
Speaker 4: you can get in those a gaps, that really causes
22:01
Speaker 4: a lot of a fuss for quarterbacks, especially a guy
22:04
Speaker 4: like Burrow, who are for as elite as he is,
22:06
Speaker 4: you know, heast doesn't have He's not the best scrambler,
22:09
Speaker 4: and so if you really pressure him immediately up front,
22:12
Speaker 4: that's something that's going to kill the play I for
22:13
Speaker 4: you're the Bengals, and so for a team that has
22:15
Speaker 4: two phenomenal wide receivers in Jamar Chase and t Higgins.
22:21
Speaker 3: The Bengals really are.
22:22
Speaker 4: A team that I feel like are going to be
22:23
Speaker 4: in a lot of shootouts every single year if they
22:25
Speaker 4: are every single game, if those guys are fully healthy,
22:27
Speaker 4: because it's basically a matter of can you protect Joe
22:30
Speaker 4: Burrow for three seconds. If you can protect Joe Burrow
22:33
Speaker 4: for three seconds the majority of the game, I will
22:36
Speaker 4: tell you I will bet on those two receivers to
22:38
Speaker 4: win more often than they lose. And I think the
22:39
Speaker 4: Bengals are scoring, you know, twenty five thirty plus every
22:43
Speaker 4: single game, so they're going to be led, in my opinion,
22:45
Speaker 4: by their offense.
22:46
Speaker 3: I think that's always going to be the case.
22:47
Speaker 4: For as much as I like the Al Golden Higher,
22:50
Speaker 4: I think it is going to take a little bit
22:51
Speaker 4: of time. They're still obviously going to be fixing things
22:53
Speaker 4: on the defensive line. Getting Trey Hendrickson out there is
22:56
Speaker 4: paramount because he felt like he was a man alone
22:59
Speaker 4: last season. Getting Shamar Stewart out there by week one
23:02
Speaker 4: of the regular seasons so that the second half of
23:04
Speaker 4: the season and hopefully the playoff run, he is more
23:07
Speaker 4: acclimated to what NFL speed and NFL life is when
23:10
Speaker 4: the game is going on.
23:11
Speaker 3: So I think that certainly.
23:13
Speaker 4: On the defensive line, you have those questions to get
23:15
Speaker 4: those guys out there as well. But as long as
23:17
Speaker 4: Hendrickson's out there and as long as Shamar Stewart are
23:19
Speaker 4: out there, as long as those contract things get worked out,
23:22
Speaker 4: I'm not as nervous about that. I'm still nervous about
23:24
Speaker 4: that interior offensive line because if it is as ineffective
23:28
Speaker 4: as it was last year, it's just such a killer.
23:31
Speaker 4: So we saw this team come on and still overcome
23:33
Speaker 4: things like that and really make a playoff push towards
23:35
Speaker 4: the end of last year. But the interior offensive line,
23:38
Speaker 4: that is the biggest question mark that I have for
23:40
Speaker 4: the Cincinnati Bengals, because if it's good, I think this
23:43
Speaker 4: can be one of the highest scoring teams in the NFL.
23:45
Speaker 4: But if it's not, it could be a reason that
23:47
Speaker 4: keeps them out of the playoffs in a tough division.
23:50
Speaker 2: All Right, that's a perfect segue to my last topic.
23:52
Speaker 2: Baltimore's won the AFC North each of the last two years.
23:55
Speaker 2: No team has ever wanted three years in a row.
23:58
Speaker 2: So how do you handicap bau More, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and
24:01
Speaker 2: Cleveland at this stage.
24:03
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that Baltimore has to be the favorites,
24:06
Speaker 4: not that Cincinnati can't spoil them. I think they're right
24:08
Speaker 4: there competing for what I would call is they're right
24:11
Speaker 4: there with one of those wild card teams. Now, of
24:13
Speaker 4: course it's the NFL. Crazy things happen all the time.
24:16
Speaker 4: Maybe that race is closer than we think. At this point,
24:19
Speaker 4: I'd feel like it's all I think the Ravens are
24:21
Speaker 4: probably going to be two wins better than the Cincinnati Bengals,
24:24
Speaker 4: whatever number that is, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, whatever that is.
24:27
Speaker 4: I feel like they're going to be two wins better
24:30
Speaker 4: than the Bengals this upcoming season. I think the Browns
24:35
Speaker 4: are in for a long season, and I look at
24:39
Speaker 4: the Browns long term out looking. Man, I have a
24:42
Speaker 4: lot of respect for Kevin Stefanski as a coach, Tim
24:44
Speaker 4: Schwartz a defense coordinator, but that roster has only been
24:49
Speaker 4: getting worse.
24:49
Speaker 3: I feel like as time has gone on.
24:51
Speaker 4: Outside of a couple of the stars, certainly Miles Garrett,
24:54
Speaker 4: they paid to be around there for a long time.
24:55
Speaker 4: But man, just look at their offensive line I mean
24:57
Speaker 4: Joel Buttonio White Teller, their former All pros. Both of
25:00
Speaker 4: those guys didn't play well last year. Now they're both
25:02
Speaker 4: above the age of thirty. Ethan Postics to undrestricted free
25:05
Speaker 4: agent this upcoming season, so is Jack Conklin to want
25:08
Speaker 4: Jones struggled and he's probably gonna start for them at
25:10
Speaker 4: offensive tackle so very quickly. I think three years ago
25:13
Speaker 4: Cleveland was thought of as one of the best offensive
25:15
Speaker 4: lines in the NFL, and now I think that it's
25:17
Speaker 4: bottom half of the league, maybe bottom ten, bottom five
25:19
Speaker 4: in the league, depending on how those veterans are able
25:21
Speaker 4: to play into their thirties. So it's tough there, especially
25:24
Speaker 4: with the quarterback situation.
25:25
Speaker 3: I don't know.
25:26
Speaker 4: I have a lot of faith in the Cleveland Browns
25:29
Speaker 4: to be super competitive. I feel like I've been trying
25:32
Speaker 4: to hedge the Steelers like every year, but Mike Tomlin
25:35
Speaker 4: just keeps winning enough to keep the five hundred Street going,
25:38
Speaker 4: you know, with Rogers there, I think the defense is
25:42
Speaker 4: still gonna be good.
25:43
Speaker 3: The offense, I just I don't know what the identity is.
25:47
Speaker 3: I just don't like, you.
25:48
Speaker 4: Go out and you trade for DK Metcalf and he's
25:52
Speaker 4: sort of the same thing that George Picking was. It
25:53
Speaker 4: doesn't really change your offense a lot. And now you
25:56
Speaker 4: bring in a quarterback in Rogers, who, yeah, okay, I
25:59
Speaker 4: think that just by nature he's going to be better
26:02
Speaker 4: than a rookie and Will Howard and Mason Rudolph, who's
26:05
Speaker 4: proven to not be a starting quarterback.
26:06
Speaker 3: In this league.
26:07
Speaker 4: But look at what Rogers has been the last two years.
26:10
Speaker 4: This is like what Tom Brady was in the back
26:12
Speaker 4: end of the Buccaneer years. He's trying to get the
26:14
Speaker 4: ball out within two seconds. He's trying to hang onto
26:16
Speaker 4: the ball. Now you have wide receivers where DK metcalf,
26:19
Speaker 4: his whole thing is hold onto the ball for two
26:21
Speaker 4: three seconds to throw it to me. Deep Rogers didn't
26:23
Speaker 4: have as good of an arm as he used to,
26:25
Speaker 4: and he doesn't want to hold onto the ball because.
26:26
Speaker 3: He's forty one, forty two years old. So I just
26:31
Speaker 3: there's good players in Pittsburgh.
26:32
Speaker 4: Obviously I have a ton of respect for Mike Tomlin
26:34
Speaker 4: as a head coach, but I think their offensive philosophy
26:37
Speaker 4: is just, certainly on paper, it's not very cohesive. So
26:41
Speaker 4: I really do think it's a two team race, and
26:43
Speaker 4: we'll see how close the Bengals can can get to
26:46
Speaker 4: whatever win total the Ravens end up putting up this year.
26:49
Speaker 2: Trevor, this has been great. I really appreciate your time.
26:52
Speaker 2: Keep up the good work.
26:53
Speaker 3: Appreciated that anytime.
26:55
Speaker 2: Trevor obviously knows his stuff. If you would like to
26:58
Speaker 2: hear more of his content, you'll find him on the
27:00
Speaker 2: PFF NFL Podcast and the NFL Stock Exchange Draft Podcast.
27:06
Speaker 2: You can also follow him on x at Tampa Bay Trey.
27:11
Speaker 2: Now here's a quick reminder that the Bengals Booth Podcast
27:14
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Speaker 2: the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future
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Speaker 2: community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the
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Speaker 2: best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the
27:30
Speaker 2: official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now time for five
27:35
Speaker 2: observations and the topic on this edition of the pod
27:38
Speaker 2: is first round draft pick Shamar Stewart. As of this recording,
27:42
Speaker 2: the twenty one year old defensive end out of Texas
27:45
Speaker 2: A and M has not signed a contract or a
27:47
Speaker 2: waiver that would cover him in the event of injury
27:50
Speaker 2: and allow him to practice until a deal is done.
27:53
Speaker 2: Observation number one involves the coverage of this negotiation nationally.
28:00
Speaker 2: It's being portrayed like the Bengals are cheap or trying
28:04
Speaker 2: to insert a crazy and unusual clause that is somehow
28:07
Speaker 2: holding up the deal. That's simply not true. The clause
28:12
Speaker 2: is reportedly standard among other NFL teams. However, the language
28:18
Speaker 2: is slightly different from the bengals last two first round picks,
28:22
Speaker 2: and Stuart and his agent are fighting those changes. And
28:26
Speaker 2: now some people are floating doom and gloom scenarios, including
28:30
Speaker 2: the idea that Stuart could skip his rookie year and
28:33
Speaker 2: re enter the draft next year. That is so far
28:37
Speaker 2: fetched that it really doesn't deserve our attention. The second
28:41
Speaker 2: pick in the draft, Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, is
28:45
Speaker 2: also unsigned, and I haven't heard anybody bring up that
28:48
Speaker 2: possibility with him. History tells us that the Bengals and
28:53
Speaker 2: Stuart will eventually reach a deal, hopefully in time for
28:58
Speaker 2: the first practice of training camp. Here's defensive coordinator Al Golden.
29:02
Speaker 6: I've been around long enough to know these things. Sometimes
29:05
Speaker 6: they take some time, or they're more complicated than they
29:07
Speaker 6: are on their face, and we're hopeful to get this
29:13
Speaker 6: resolved in the next five six weeks and get him
29:15
Speaker 6: out there and really looking forward. I love the young man.
29:18
Speaker 6: He's had a great attitude, he learns really well, he's
29:22
Speaker 6: a tentive. He asked good questions, So from that standpoint,
29:26
Speaker 6: he's doing everything we're asking.
29:27
Speaker 2: Observation number two involves the notion that Stuart's status is
29:32
Speaker 2: a big distraction. Here are Ted Carris and Zach Taylor.
29:36
Speaker 7: I don't think it's been a distraction. I think it's
29:39
Speaker 7: more been a distraction for the fans mostly. I mean,
29:43
Speaker 7: I know Twitter, Twitter's hot right now, and since he
29:47
Speaker 7: Twitter doesn't mess around, and you know, obviously you don't
29:50
Speaker 7: want that to be.
29:52
Speaker 3: You know, carry into you know, when it gets real.
29:56
Speaker 3: This is uh, you know, like I said, I thought
29:58
Speaker 3: of Produglis ring.
29:59
Speaker 7: This is a different time, and you know, I think
30:03
Speaker 7: it's you know, how it's how it's played out has
30:06
Speaker 7: been probably unfortunate for both sides.
30:10
Speaker 8: It gets a lot of attention to the media and
30:12
Speaker 8: not as much attention in the locker room, and so
30:13
Speaker 8: I think it's very easy for us isolate ourselves in
30:15
Speaker 8: these walls. We spend a lot of time here you
30:18
Speaker 8: get asked questions about it, but you just learned to
30:21
Speaker 8: continue to keep it moving. So I think our players
30:23
Speaker 8: are doing a great job just focusing on what's important
30:25
Speaker 8: inside the walls. Getting our reps down to practice certainly
30:27
Speaker 8: gets a lot of headlines and stories and all that,
30:29
Speaker 8: but we don't worry about any that stuff. And it
30:31
Speaker 8: could be a contract, it can be an injury, it
30:34
Speaker 8: can be any sort of adversity that can strike all
30:36
Speaker 8: thirty two teams in this league. It's all going to
30:38
Speaker 8: come in different shapes and forms. It's how your team
30:40
Speaker 8: handles adversity the best, and this team's got a history
30:43
Speaker 8: of doing a great job handling adversity the right way.
30:45
Speaker 2: If Stewart had a sore hamstring and was around every day,
30:49
Speaker 2: sitting in on meetings but watching practice from the sidelines,
30:53
Speaker 2: would that be viewed as a big distraction. No, So
30:58
Speaker 2: what's the difference? And that leads to observation number three,
31:01
Speaker 2: his lack of practice time. I don't want to be
31:04
Speaker 2: a homer and say that it's insignificant. Every practice is meaningful,
31:08
Speaker 2: and Chamar would benefit from getting reps. But there are
31:12
Speaker 2: still six weeks of practices in three preseason games before
31:17
Speaker 2: the regular season opener in Cleveland. Here's Shamar's former college
31:21
Speaker 2: teammate who now has the locker next to him in Cincinnati,
31:25
Speaker 2: McKinley Jackson.
31:26
Speaker 9: I don't focus on contracts and all that stuff. I
31:29
Speaker 9: just tell him like staying the playbook and stay in shape.
31:32
Speaker 9: And I care for him very very much beyond football,
31:35
Speaker 9: Like he's a special guy, special person. Stands background. That said,
31:39
Speaker 9: where he came from, and I know where you can go.
31:41
Speaker 9: I know what he can do for this team. Like
31:44
Speaker 9: I said, he's really special. So just I'm hoping that
31:47
Speaker 9: all that gets figured upstairs. How all the time goes.
31:50
Speaker 9: He's ready and he's stuck, he's died, ain't locked in
31:53
Speaker 9: because he's the first runner for us. He's gonna have
31:55
Speaker 9: to he's gonna have to play. So he's going to
31:58
Speaker 9: get in and I have I have a bunch of
31:59
Speaker 9: faith in him. Take four of a push every day.
32:02
Speaker 2: Observation number four involves a possible silver lining. The Bengals
32:07
Speaker 2: have a lot of young defensive linemen, and since Shamar,
32:11
Speaker 2: Trey Hendrickson, and b J. Hill weren't on the field
32:15
Speaker 2: during OTA's and Mini gamps in BJ's case dudo minor injury.
32:19
Speaker 2: Guys like Miles Murphy, Chris Jenkins, Cedric Johnson, and McKinley Jackson.
32:24
Speaker 2: We're getting extra reps here are Al Golden and Zach Taylor.
32:28
Speaker 6: It affects us in a positive way. As ironic as
32:31
Speaker 6: that is, because you're already preparing for that injury when
32:34
Speaker 6: it when it exposes itself. During the year, you forced
32:38
Speaker 6: guys into playing multiple positions. H you know what we call,
32:41
Speaker 6: you know, basically just horizontal depth. You know, ends playing tackle,
32:46
Speaker 6: tackles playing end, some linebackers playing on the edge, those
32:49
Speaker 6: type of things. So I think from that standpoint, we
32:52
Speaker 6: always see the we always see the good in it
32:54
Speaker 6: and the opportunity. Uh And I'm being serious on that.
32:57
Speaker 6: Some guys have really taken advantage of their reps in
33:00
Speaker 6: their opportunity and obviously I think will be more formidable
33:03
Speaker 6: when those guys come back.
33:04
Speaker 8: It's been really good for guys as we build that depth.
33:08
Speaker 8: Guys were fighting for opportunity in that way. It's been
33:11
Speaker 8: a very positive thing. I think Al and our staff
33:14
Speaker 8: has done a great job, especially on outside of the ball,
33:18
Speaker 8: practicing with intent every single day. The install what we're
33:21
Speaker 8: trying to achieve holding guys accountable, and the players have
33:25
Speaker 8: really bought in and that's been exciting for me to see.
33:27
Speaker 2: My fifth and final observation is about what we're going
33:29
Speaker 2: to see when Schamar gets on the field. As I
33:33
Speaker 2: mentioned in my conversation with Trevor Sikkima, I think there's
33:36
Speaker 2: been too much focus on what Chamar didn't do well
33:39
Speaker 2: in college than where he excelled. Pro Football Focus graded
33:44
Speaker 2: him number five in the country among defensive ends at
33:48
Speaker 2: stopping the run and had him tied for twenty fifth
33:51
Speaker 2: in the Power Conferences in most quarterback pressures, even though
33:56
Speaker 2: he only had one and a half sacks last year.
33:59
Speaker 2: Here's Bengal defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery.
34:02
Speaker 5: We're literally talking about him missing sacks. But the guy
34:09
Speaker 5: with his violent in the run game, he affects the
34:12
Speaker 5: quarterback at a high rate. When I say affected, he's
34:15
Speaker 5: back there right first year playing, truly starting, so he's
34:20
Speaker 5: just got to learn how to finish. But more importantly,
34:23
Speaker 5: he's beating up on tight ends. He is destroying tackles
34:29
Speaker 5: run in pass. His effort and play style is phenomenal.
34:33
Speaker 5: Like his his effort to the ball is he leaked. Okay, Now,
34:38
Speaker 5: like I told everybody, if if he just finishes on
34:42
Speaker 5: let's let's just say he gets I don't know, you
34:46
Speaker 5: call it six seven sacks. You know what, he's not.
34:49
Speaker 1: A Cincinnati bank.
34:51
Speaker 5: That's that to me is the biggest thing. And so
34:56
Speaker 5: people judged him off of that. But you got to
34:58
Speaker 5: remember it first time doing it. When I say first
35:00
Speaker 5: time doing it, it was a first year start. So as
35:04
Speaker 5: he grows and develops as a player, I think the
35:07
Speaker 5: skies are the limit. And like I always compare similar
35:12
Speaker 5: deal to Rashaun Gary when he was coming out. You know,
35:15
Speaker 5: he had all the traits, but he had he had
35:19
Speaker 5: good pressure productions, but he didn't have the sac production. Well,
35:24
Speaker 5: he gets to the league, he gets goes up, he's
35:27
Speaker 5: on an edge more than he's been in college. And
35:31
Speaker 5: then all of a sudden he he has two productions,
35:35
Speaker 5: THENDO too, Bowl, those type of things. So but again,
35:38
Speaker 5: like I said, if he had the numbers would have
35:41
Speaker 5: been long gone. I'm saying top five, he was by
35:45
Speaker 5: far the most explosive player in the draft.
35:49
Speaker 2: You heard it. Jerry Montgomery says that Stewart has the
35:53
Speaker 2: talent worthy of a top five NFL draft pick, and
35:58
Speaker 2: I'll repeat what I said earlier. It's only a matter
36:01
Speaker 2: of time before he's under contract. That's going to do it.
36:04
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