Latest / Bengals Booth Podcast / Bengals Booth Podcast: Move On Up
Transcript
- 0:03Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Hoard and thanks for downloading
- 0:06Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth podcast. The Just Move On Up. Addition,
- 0:11Speaker 1: as I discussed the Bengals offseason moves with Pro Football
- 0:14Speaker 1: Focus salary cap and free agency expert Brad Spielberger. And
- 0:19Speaker 1: after talking to Brad, I'll do a three round Bengals
- 0:22Speaker 1: mock draft, detailing who is still on the board at
- 0:25Speaker 1: the time and why I made each of my picks.
- 0:29Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Core,
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- 0:47Speaker 1: the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a
- 0:51Speaker 1: quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of
- 0:53Speaker 1: this podcast delivered write to your phone, tablet or computer
- 0:57Speaker 1: by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest
- 1:01Speaker 1: thing since Ballpark Peanuts. I can't go to the movies
- 1:05Speaker 1: without getting popcorn, and now the baseball season is back.
- 1:09Speaker 1: I rarely go to the ballpark without getting peanuts. I
- 1:13Speaker 1: like the whole ritual, cracking them open, gobbling what's inside,
- 1:17Speaker 1: and tossing the shell under your seat. It's not only
- 1:20Speaker 1: a tasty snack, but a bag generally lasts for most
- 1:24Speaker 1: of the game, and they go well with a cold
- 1:26Speaker 1: beer too. In nineteen oh eight, when Jack Norworth wrote
- 1:31Speaker 1: the lyrics to take Me out to the ballgame, he
- 1:33Speaker 1: didn't say buy me some sushi and cracker jack. He
- 1:37Speaker 1: started with peanuts. Who am I to argue? Now, let's
- 1:43Speaker 1: get to football. For the past few years, Brad Spielberger
- 1:47Speaker 1: has been the lead salary cap analyst for Pro Football Focus.
- 1:50Speaker 1: He's the guy responsible for PFF's free agency Top two
- 1:55Speaker 1: hundred this year, and he's among the PFF experts who
- 1:59Speaker 1: publishes mock drafts. In short, he's well versed on just
- 2:03Speaker 1: about any NFL topic, and he joined me this week
- 2:07Speaker 1: to discuss the Bengals. Brad, you recently graded every team's
- 2:12Speaker 1: free agent class. You gave the Bengals a B plus,
- 2:15Speaker 1: and you don't dole out a's easily. Houston was the
- 2:18Speaker 1: only team in the AFC that was worthy of an
- 2:21Speaker 1: A in your opinion. What were the biggest reasons why
- 2:23Speaker 1: you thought the Bengals class is worthy of a B plus.
- 2:26Speaker 2: Yeah. I think the way I approach it too, is
- 2:28Speaker 2: trying to look back historically and not fall in love
- 2:31Speaker 2: with which teams made the biggest splashes, because that's not
- 2:33Speaker 2: really how you win free agency, right, we know that
- 2:36Speaker 2: over the course of history. So look, the Bengals did
- 2:39Speaker 2: lose some important players. I think DJ Reader has been
- 2:41Speaker 2: an awesome Bengal but obviously has missed time over his
- 2:44Speaker 2: Cincinnati tenure. And I was very high in Sheldon Rankins
- 2:48Speaker 2: watching his tape last year. A very good pass rusher
- 2:50Speaker 2: on the interior, I think one of the most important
- 2:53Speaker 2: positions the Bengals needed to address in free agency, and
- 2:57Speaker 2: then a couple other spots as well, getting you know,
- 3:00Speaker 2: a true deep third free safety a ball hawk did
- 3:02Speaker 2: a ton of interceptions last year for the Baltimore Ravens
- 3:05Speaker 2: like that. That was an important addition to this defense
- 3:09Speaker 2: where you know, they've been great under Luannarumo, but last
- 3:12Speaker 2: season they were I want to say, second worst in
- 3:14Speaker 2: the NFL and explosive pass play rate allowed. So I
- 3:17Speaker 2: don't think I said Geno Stone's name. So Geno Stone,
- 3:21Speaker 2: you know, look, he's not gonna be the greatest run
- 3:23Speaker 2: defender in the world. But put him back there, have
- 3:25Speaker 2: the versatility of a Jordan Battle of dax Hill these
- 3:28Speaker 2: young corners, and let him sit back there. The pass
- 3:31Speaker 2: rush gets home, he will flip the field, turn the
- 3:33Speaker 2: ball over for you. So you know, on that side
- 3:36Speaker 2: of the line or that's howe the team. I loved it.
- 3:39Speaker 2: And then you know, Trent Brown look gonna miss some
- 3:42Speaker 2: time part of the equation there, but when he's healthy,
- 3:44Speaker 2: he is still one of the better pass protecting tackles
- 3:47Speaker 2: in the entire NFL, arguably the best pass protecting tackle
- 3:50Speaker 2: besides Tyron Smith in the entire phraging class.
- 3:54Speaker 1: Was there something or someone that would have elevated the
- 3:58Speaker 1: Bengals grade to an A.
- 4:00Speaker 2: It's a good question. Probably not, you know. I think
- 4:03Speaker 2: just some of the losses were tough, you know, so,
- 4:05Speaker 2: and that happens. It's part of being a good football
- 4:07Speaker 2: team and making these big decisions and having to navigate
- 4:11Speaker 2: the t Higgins and Jesse Bates of the world. You know,
- 4:14Speaker 2: maybe more at tight end potentially, and they did make
- 4:16Speaker 2: a little move for Mike Kasicki, who I think isn't
- 4:18Speaker 2: very interesting component, even if it's just on third downs
- 4:22Speaker 2: in red zone and he's not going to offer much
- 4:24Speaker 2: as a blocker. You still just get a big body
- 4:26Speaker 2: target that, especially if Higgins is elsewhere, you know, in
- 4:30Speaker 2: twenty twenty four or later. I'm not saying he's a T.
- 4:32Speaker 2: Higgins replacement, but in those specific areas he is good.
- 4:35Speaker 2: You know, didn't get a ton of usage with the Patriots,
- 4:37Speaker 2: but I think they'll be more creative in a heavy
- 4:40Speaker 2: eleven personnel offense in Cincinnati to just get him out
- 4:43Speaker 2: there in obvious passing situations. His catch radius is ginormous.
- 4:47Speaker 2: I think guy has the longest arms maybe at the position.
- 4:50Speaker 2: So no, I think it was just tough for where
- 4:52Speaker 2: they were at to make a bunch of moves to
- 4:54Speaker 2: kind of counterbalance some of the big losses they did have.
- 4:57Speaker 1: The Bengals tight ends during the Joe Burrow a have
- 5:00Speaker 1: been c j Uzama, Hayden Hurst, dru Sample and Tanner Hudson.
- 5:04Speaker 1: Who emerged this past season is Mikeasicki the best receiving
- 5:09Speaker 1: threat at tight end that Joe Burrows had.
- 5:12Speaker 2: It's a fair question, you know, and I think also
- 5:14Speaker 2: just real quick it speaks to you know, you have
- 5:16Speaker 2: to make those tough decisions not paying Uzama, who I
- 5:18Speaker 2: know was a Bengals favorite, and you know he is
- 5:20Speaker 2: a good player, but goes to the Jets and obviously
- 5:22Speaker 2: got cut this past season. I want to say still
- 5:24Speaker 2: is not a roster and that tough decision they made
- 5:27Speaker 2: to save that money and not keep that player. It
- 5:29Speaker 2: has aged well, so as a pure pass catcher, maybe yeah,
- 5:33Speaker 2: he really could be. You know, Hurst was a good
- 5:36Speaker 2: all round player and certainly wasn't a bad pass catcher,
- 5:38Speaker 2: but more of a kind of underneath checkdown outlet that
- 5:41Speaker 2: can pick up some yards after the catch. Kasiki can
- 5:44Speaker 2: be like a vertical threat out of the slot.
- 5:46Speaker 1: You know.
- 5:47Speaker 2: He calls himself a big slot receiver, you know, and
- 5:50Speaker 2: he is, so yeah, you could probably make that argument.
- 5:53Speaker 1: Let's talk about Zach Moss. He got a two year,
- 5:56Speaker 1: eight million dollar deal, He's twenty six years old for
- 5:59Speaker 1: the Bengals. Are is he a better fit than Joe Mixon?
- 6:03Speaker 2: I think the beauty here is that his skill set
- 6:06Speaker 2: compliments Chase Brown so well. And we saw the last
- 6:08Speaker 2: what six weeks of last season where you're starting to
- 6:11Speaker 2: see more usage for Chase Brown. Was that the Jaguars
- 6:14Speaker 2: game where he had a bunch of catches and a
- 6:16Speaker 2: bunch of yards, and so Moss is your your early
- 6:18Speaker 2: down you know, between the tackles runner he can get
- 6:21Speaker 2: to the edge and obviously had a lot of great
- 6:23Speaker 2: games for the Colts. So I think that's the big thing,
- 6:26Speaker 2: is you save some money, and you also you'll use guys.
- 6:28Speaker 2: You'll use both more right, Mixon is a three down player.
- 6:31Speaker 2: That's who he is. He wants the volume, he wants
- 6:34Speaker 2: to touches, he wants to be out there, and he
- 6:37Speaker 2: has that skill set. So I like how they navigated that.
- 6:39Speaker 2: You get a trade for a player you probably were
- 6:42Speaker 2: going to cut, you know, Mixing is a good player,
- 6:44Speaker 2: and honestly, I think it got to a point where
- 6:45Speaker 2: maybe the narrative of going too far and like, oh
- 6:48Speaker 2: they got to make make him take a pay cut. Again,
- 6:50Speaker 2: I don't think his earnings were that bad, but obviously,
- 6:53Speaker 2: or you know, his pending earnings were that bad. But
- 6:55Speaker 2: obviously he wanted a new contract and he got that elsewhere.
- 6:58Speaker 2: So I like how they navigated it. Overall.
- 7:01Speaker 1: Is there anybody out there still that makes sense for
- 7:04Speaker 1: the Bengals.
- 7:05Speaker 2: It's an interesting thought. I mean, I guess you could
- 7:07Speaker 2: continue to add me some depth on the interior of
- 7:09Speaker 2: the offensive line. There are some players out there. I mean,
- 7:11Speaker 2: Dalton Risner is a starter in this league. I don't
- 7:14Speaker 2: really know why he's not on a roster at this point.
- 7:16Speaker 2: And Cordella Olsen, you know, I know, he got there
- 7:18Speaker 2: with the second most extra money performance based pay from
- 7:20Speaker 2: the pool, and I think he's shown growth. I think
- 7:22Speaker 2: he has gotten better over his time in Cincinnati. But look,
- 7:25Speaker 2: Risner would be an upgrade. There's no doubt about that
- 7:27Speaker 2: in my mind, and so he's probably not signing a
- 7:29Speaker 2: backup deal, although you know, eventually the game musical chairs
- 7:32Speaker 2: runs out for you in this league in free agency,
- 7:34Speaker 2: so maybe that's one spot you could look into a
- 7:37Speaker 2: little bit, prepare for the future a bit if you
- 7:39Speaker 2: want to, and then beyond that, not really, I mean,
- 7:42Speaker 2: they're gonna trust these young corners. Maybe a veteran corner
- 7:45Speaker 2: There are a bunch of those names out there, but
- 7:47Speaker 2: I think at this point there are more names than
- 7:50Speaker 2: than high level talents. You know, once once you've hit April,
- 7:53Speaker 2: that's kind of how it goes.
- 7:54Speaker 1: Well, let me ask you about one of those cornerbacks
- 7:57Speaker 1: in particular, Xavier Howard from the Dolphins, four time Pro
- 8:00Speaker 1: Bowler when he was younger. Obviously there's a lot of
- 8:03Speaker 1: tread that's worn off those tires, but he played for
- 8:06Speaker 1: lou Anarumo early in his career with Miami. He recently
- 8:10Speaker 1: said I already got paid. I want to win a
- 8:13Speaker 1: Super Bowl, which is music to any team's ears when
- 8:17Speaker 1: it comes to free agency. Is there anything left in
- 8:21Speaker 1: the tank with Xavier and Howard?
- 8:22Speaker 2: Yeah, I really think there is. Howard's a guy that
- 8:25Speaker 2: has been playing a lot of man coverage in Miami.
- 8:27Speaker 2: Brian Flores obviously way up there in the league over
- 8:29Speaker 2: his tenure with the Dolphins. You know, Vic Fango not
- 8:32Speaker 2: quite the same, but he's a guy that played up
- 8:33Speaker 2: in press coverage, was battling number one receivers and he
- 8:37Speaker 2: did it at a high level for a very very
- 8:38Speaker 2: long time. And we've seen some of the corners as
- 8:41Speaker 2: they age, they go to systems that play more zone,
- 8:44Speaker 2: protect them a little bit more, don't ask them to
- 8:46Speaker 2: take on a one on one assignments against the premier
- 8:49Speaker 2: players at wide receiver. And obviously there's one hundred new
- 8:51Speaker 2: ones every year, looks like, but you know, go to
- 8:53Speaker 2: an Anarrumo defense that's more zone based that has the
- 8:57Speaker 2: good pass rush and then lets those guys sit back
- 8:59Speaker 2: kind of close, come forward a little bit more as
- 9:02Speaker 2: opposed the trail technique and chasing these dudes around. So
- 9:05Speaker 2: I do I think Zavin Howard could still have a
- 9:07Speaker 2: couple more good years in his tank, all right.
- 9:10Speaker 1: You also graded the other teams in the AFC North.
- 9:14Speaker 1: In addition to the Bengals getting a B plush, he
- 9:16Speaker 1: gave the Steelers a B plush. He gave the Ravens
- 9:18Speaker 1: and Browns bees. So everybody seemed to do okay. Which
- 9:22Speaker 1: teams do you think got better? Which teams may have
- 9:26Speaker 1: gotten worse?
- 9:27Speaker 2: Yeah, so I think, you know, and the Bengals probably neutral.
- 9:30Speaker 2: I'd say the Ravens are going to get a little
- 9:32Speaker 2: bit worse. They can replace it, They've done it time
- 9:34Speaker 2: and time again. But I mean, Jadevian Clowney had a
- 9:36Speaker 2: career year last season. He was phenomenal for them. His
- 9:40Speaker 2: most pressures I want to say maybe most or second
- 9:42Speaker 2: most pressures he's ever had in a season for US
- 9:44Speaker 2: at PFF. The top three sacks season for him as well,
- 9:47Speaker 2: and he's always been a very very good run defender
- 9:49Speaker 2: on the edge. So him and Kyle van Noy, who
- 9:52Speaker 2: was an important role player for them too. We just
- 9:54Speaker 2: talked about Geno Stone, Patrick Queen. Yes, they trade for
- 9:58Speaker 2: Roquan Smith and he's an all worldline but Patrick Queen's
- 10:01Speaker 2: maybe the best blitzing linebacker in the NFL. Now. I know,
- 10:03Speaker 2: we'll get to him the Steelers in a second, but
- 10:06Speaker 2: they lost some important pieces there and then the offensive line.
- 10:08Speaker 2: You trade Morgan Moses, you get a pick cup from
- 10:10Speaker 2: Ronnie Stanley, which reflects that he was rotating some serieses
- 10:14Speaker 2: in Baltimore. Unfortunately, that ACL tear I think has slowed
- 10:17Speaker 2: him down a bit. So they got worse. Kevin Zeitler,
- 10:19Speaker 2: the left guard goes to a right guard, goes to
- 10:21Speaker 2: Detroit Lions. They're still a good organization. They'll they'll find
- 10:24Speaker 2: their way through, but they did get worse. In my opinion.
- 10:28Speaker 2: The Browns I think kind of got better. You know,
- 10:30Speaker 2: they got to actually show up and have the results.
- 10:32Speaker 2: I'm sure AFC North fans are sick of hearing about
- 10:34Speaker 2: the Browns winning in March. But you know, I think
- 10:36Speaker 2: Jerry Judy is still a talented player that can produce.
- 10:40Speaker 2: We tether do his draft stock and yeah, maybe he's
- 10:42Speaker 2: not a top fifteen pick talent, but he's a seven hundred,
- 10:44Speaker 2: eight hundred yard guy that can still separate a very
- 10:47Speaker 2: high level and is a good football player. And they
- 10:50Speaker 2: made a couple other small moves as well. I like
- 10:52Speaker 2: adding some linebacker help some veterans there is always key
- 10:56Speaker 2: for them. They didn't have a lot of talent there
- 10:57Speaker 2: last years.
- 10:58Speaker 1: The Steelers editions of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. How
- 11:02Speaker 1: much does that elevate Pittsburgh if at all?
- 11:05Speaker 2: So it is an upgrader what they had last year.
- 11:06Speaker 2: Like those guys are better than Kenny Pikett, Mitch Trubisky
- 11:09Speaker 2: and Mason Rudolph. They are. But the thing for me
- 11:12Speaker 2: that I'm curious how it goes is just kind of
- 11:14Speaker 2: the oil and water nature of what Arthur Smith wants
- 11:17Speaker 2: to do, which is get the ball up quickly, attack
- 11:20Speaker 2: the middle of the field. I mean those quarterbacks do that. Frankly,
- 11:22Speaker 2: I think Justin Fields might actually benefit from, Hey, let's
- 11:25Speaker 2: just start over, clean the slate, change your footwork, tie
- 11:27Speaker 2: your play to under center play action. It's not what
- 11:30Speaker 2: he's ever done, but I think he does kind of
- 11:32Speaker 2: just need a hard reset. So the talent is better
- 11:35Speaker 2: in a vacuum, they are better quarterbacks. How they work
- 11:38Speaker 2: with the offensive coordinator that I think is kind of
- 11:41Speaker 2: a mystery.
- 11:42Speaker 1: Rad Spielberger from Pro Football Focus is our guest. All
- 11:45Speaker 1: indications are the T Higgins will be back in Cincinnati
- 11:48Speaker 1: for at least more year. On the franchise tag figure
- 11:52Speaker 1: of twenty one point eight mil. We all assume that
- 11:56Speaker 1: ultimately they're going to pay Jamar Chase whatever it takes
- 11:59Speaker 1: more than thirty million dollars a year when it comes
- 12:01Speaker 1: time for his second contract. With that in mind, you're
- 12:05Speaker 1: a salary cap expert, what could they pay T Higgins
- 12:08Speaker 1: if they were really determined to keep them?
- 12:11Speaker 2: Yeah, I think at this point the floor is like
- 12:12Speaker 2: the Michael Pittman contract. I think that's probably the biggest.
- 12:15Speaker 2: You know, everyone talks about overall value, average per year,
- 12:18Speaker 2: all those things. The receiver trend recently where all these
- 12:22Speaker 2: deals are now three year extensions. I have to imagine
- 12:25Speaker 2: the Bengals are balking at that as much as any
- 12:27Speaker 2: other element of this contract. And you can't really push
- 12:30Speaker 2: back on these league wide trends. Everyone's doing it. Pittman's
- 12:33Speaker 2: represented by the same agency as T Higgins, So but yeah,
- 12:36Speaker 2: so right in that range of twenty four twenty five
- 12:39Speaker 2: million dollars a year. And I just wonder if they
- 12:42Speaker 2: think it's worth it to do on a three year
- 12:44Speaker 2: deal if they can't get that fourth year of control,
- 12:46Speaker 2: that's that's the number, that's the floor if anything. And
- 12:49Speaker 2: I'm I'm with you. I think he plays twenty twenty
- 12:51Speaker 2: four in Cincinnati, but probably just on that tag.
- 12:55Speaker 1: He's not thrilled with a tag. No player ever seems
- 12:58Speaker 1: to be thrilled with the tag. They have the ability
- 13:00Speaker 1: to tag them again conceivably. Now he obviously would not
- 13:05Speaker 1: react well to that happening. But that would be for
- 13:07Speaker 1: about twenty six million dollars, so two years at forty
- 13:13Speaker 1: seven million dollars whatever it would be total. Does that
- 13:16Speaker 1: make sense?
- 13:18Speaker 2: The interesting thing is it never looks great and you
- 13:20Speaker 2: want to get the extra years of control because of
- 13:23Speaker 2: course in theory it works out and then you have
- 13:25Speaker 2: more flexibility and you have kind of more leverage as
- 13:28Speaker 2: the team side. But like those numbers are what all
- 13:30Speaker 2: those guys that have talked about, you know, DK Metcalf, Deebo,
- 13:32Speaker 2: Samuel Terry McLaurin, Michael Pittman, they're all going to make
- 13:35Speaker 2: that amount over the first two years of their deal,
- 13:37Speaker 2: and as we also know in the NFL, playing through
- 13:40Speaker 2: the end of a contract isn't all that common now.
- 13:42Speaker 2: Of course, for a three year deal, it's more likely
- 13:44Speaker 2: than a four or five year extension. So I wouldn't
- 13:47Speaker 2: say it's crazy. It's certainly not going to go over well.
- 13:49Speaker 2: You know, we know that for sure, and you know
- 13:51Speaker 2: the Baits corollary also same agent. Obviously they didn't go
- 13:55Speaker 2: the second tag route there. It's interesting because Higgins is
- 13:58Speaker 2: coming off, you know, probably his worst season, and let's
- 14:01Speaker 2: say he goes crazy and pounces back and stays healthy
- 14:04Speaker 2: the whole season. Joe Burrow says, healthy the whole season.
- 14:06Speaker 2: He has better protection now and they have a great year,
- 14:10Speaker 2: and he in particular has a great year. I wouldn't
- 14:13Speaker 2: be surprised if they tag him again, especially because in
- 14:15Speaker 2: this market, Yeah, there's gonna be I think there's gonna
- 14:18Speaker 2: be three guys making thirty plus mil this offseason in
- 14:22Speaker 2: a new player. So the market's going to continue to
- 14:24Speaker 2: go crazy.
- 14:26Speaker 1: So Tyler Boyd is still out there. There reports out
- 14:29Speaker 1: there today suggesting that a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers
- 14:32Speaker 1: homecoming for Tyler is not likely. Should the Bengals consider
- 14:37Speaker 1: bringing him back.
- 14:39Speaker 2: The price point at this point is probably pretty low.
- 14:42Speaker 2: You know, I thought last season when I watched his
- 14:44Speaker 2: tape for the free agent work that I do, I
- 14:46Speaker 2: was sitting there saying, like, is this guy playing through something?
- 14:49Speaker 2: Is he hurt because he looked so much less explosive
- 14:53Speaker 2: and elusive than he has in years past, or like,
- 14:55Speaker 2: when it's to that extreme in that level, I know
- 14:58Speaker 2: he's been aging, he's played a lot of football, he's
- 14:59Speaker 2: taking place. It hits, sure, but when it's that drastic
- 15:02Speaker 2: for me, I almost like have to ask that question.
- 15:04Speaker 2: I know we haven't heard anything, but obviously we know
- 15:06Speaker 2: guys are playing through stuff all the time. So if
- 15:09Speaker 2: it's now like, you know, four or five million dollars
- 15:12Speaker 2: because I have it at eight and that's gonna be
- 15:13Speaker 2: too high, then yeah, I mean, I don't see why not.
- 15:16Speaker 2: He's been been in Cincinnati forever, obviously loves Joe Burrow
- 15:19Speaker 2: and vice versa, the receiver room. They're obviously super close.
- 15:23Speaker 2: If he circles back around, he's open to taking a
- 15:25Speaker 2: deal that is way cheaper than probably even they expected
- 15:28Speaker 2: coming into this offseason. I don't see why he closed
- 15:31Speaker 2: the door.
- 15:32Speaker 1: All right, let's turn to the draft. He came out
- 15:35Speaker 1: with a mock draft about a week ago. You have
- 15:37Speaker 1: the Bengals selecting the people's choice Georgia tight end Rock Bowers.
- 15:42Speaker 1: What's the likelihood that he's there at eighteen.
- 15:44Speaker 2: I think it's higher than people might expect. I do.
- 15:47Speaker 2: I don't think he's gonna be a top ten pick.
- 15:49Speaker 2: I know everyone loves mocking into the Jets, and maybe
- 15:52Speaker 2: the Jets now that they've added Mike Williams at receiver
- 15:54Speaker 2: and they've added both starting tackles and you know, Moses
- 15:56Speaker 2: and Tyron Smith, like, maybe they do just take that swim.
- 16:00Speaker 2: It's kind of a pick they didn't expect to have.
- 16:01Speaker 2: They obviously were hoping to be sending the Packers, you know,
- 16:04Speaker 2: the sixty fourth overall pick, and instead they send, you know,
- 16:07Speaker 2: or I guess you should say, the thirty second overall pick
- 16:09Speaker 2: and instead because the whole Rodgers condition all that they
- 16:11Speaker 2: get to keep their own first and it's a top
- 16:13Speaker 2: ten pick. So I just I don't know if I
- 16:15Speaker 2: see it though, because it's not actually a short term move.
- 16:17Speaker 2: I mean, tight ends, even the great ones they get
- 16:19Speaker 2: taken super early. They generally take a year or two
- 16:22Speaker 2: to get going. Like, let's not get Samuel Porta, you know, confused,
- 16:25Speaker 2: that's not the norm. Mean TJ. Howkinson is kind of
- 16:28Speaker 2: the most recent. I guess Kyle Pitts had a thousand
- 16:30Speaker 2: year od rookie season. But anyway, I think the thing
- 16:34Speaker 2: is after that eleven through fifteen, I don't really see it.
- 16:37Speaker 2: I see them mock to the Colts a bunch. I
- 16:39Speaker 2: don't really know why they have a bunch of tight
- 16:41Speaker 2: ends on their roster. None of them are Brock Powers.
- 16:43Speaker 2: But anyway, long answer short, I think it's more feasible
- 16:46Speaker 2: than some people realize. That Maybe they're on the clock
- 16:48Speaker 2: at eighteen and Bowers is still available, so.
- 16:50Speaker 1: You have six offensive tackles going before the Bengals go
- 16:53Speaker 1: select at number eighteen. If say the third best tackle
- 16:58Speaker 1: or fourth best tackle we're still on the board, would
- 17:01Speaker 1: you choose that guy over Brock Bowers, Or if Brock
- 17:03Speaker 1: Bowers is there, should the Bengals pounce.
- 17:07Speaker 2: I'd probably go to tackle in that scenario. For me,
- 17:09Speaker 2: the third or fourth guy you're talking about, like Troy
- 17:11Speaker 2: u Fatanu at a Washington, maybe JC Latham at Alabama.
- 17:15Speaker 2: They're all ranked differently and fit each scheme differently. But
- 17:18Speaker 2: you know Tyren Smith is a temporar. Uh, It's not
- 17:21Speaker 2: Tyrn Smith Brown. Trent Brown is a temporary solution and
- 17:25Speaker 2: again a guy that you really can't expect to play
- 17:27Speaker 2: a thousand snaps in a season. And then even if
- 17:29Speaker 2: he does, you can again and one of these guys
- 17:31Speaker 2: could be rotating in at guard or maybe even overtaking
- 17:35Speaker 2: the left guard spot, like Troy Fatan, who I think
- 17:37Speaker 2: probably comes in just starts at left guard, and you
- 17:39Speaker 2: make volsin your interior swing guy out of the gate.
- 17:42Speaker 2: So if those guys are available, I do it. I
- 17:45Speaker 2: think it's more a question of like if a Marius Mims,
- 17:48Speaker 2: who's super talented but has played like eight hundred college
- 17:51Speaker 2: snaps his entire career, Like, if those guys are there,
- 17:54Speaker 2: it becomes more of a tough question. Or you know,
- 17:56Speaker 2: the interior defensive lineman as well.
- 17:58Speaker 1: So let's say Powers is gone and tackle six, seven, eight,
- 18:03Speaker 1: whatever number you know you want to guess at, is
- 18:07Speaker 1: still available at number eighteen. Do you think that's more
- 18:10Speaker 1: likely than a defensive tackle, which is obviously still an
- 18:13Speaker 1: area of need.
- 18:14Speaker 2: See that's where it gets intering to me is that
- 18:17Speaker 2: I think the drop off from the top two guys
- 18:19Speaker 2: you know, in Byron Murphy at Texas and Johnny Newton
- 18:22Speaker 2: Gerson Newton at Illinois is pretty steep to the next players.
- 18:26Speaker 2: There's some guys I like, but I'm not sure I
- 18:27Speaker 2: would take any in the second round. They'll go in
- 18:29Speaker 2: the second round, but I think it's really a pretty
- 18:32Speaker 2: steep drop off. And so if the Bengals look at
- 18:34Speaker 2: it from that perspective and just say we can get
- 18:36Speaker 2: a talent that is well above the next tier of
- 18:39Speaker 2: players at this position, I'd probably go that round. I
- 18:42Speaker 2: think Byron Murphy's a special talent. I think he is
- 18:45Speaker 2: an incredibly shifty, bursty, quick interior defensive lineman. Yeah, he's
- 18:49Speaker 2: a little bit undersized, but look in today's NFL, they're
- 18:52Speaker 2: all under side. We probably stop saying that the league
- 18:54Speaker 2: is different. And he's also he's still a good run
- 18:56Speaker 2: defender for his size, Like it's not an issue. It's
- 18:58Speaker 2: such a strong base and anchor that he doesn't get
- 19:01Speaker 2: blown off the ball against the run. And then Johnny
- 19:03Speaker 2: Newton too, love him. I probably haven't marked a little
- 19:06Speaker 2: bit below, but go watch the the Wisconsin tape or
- 19:09Speaker 2: the Penn State tape of Johnny Newton. He's the best
- 19:11Speaker 2: player in the football field. I mean, he is undoubtedly
- 19:13Speaker 2: the best player on the field in both of those games.
- 19:16Speaker 2: And Penn State's gonna have multiple first round picks, so
- 19:18Speaker 2: I personally probably go that route.
- 19:20Speaker 1: So I think in your mock draft you had alt Waga,
- 19:25Speaker 1: Batanu Latham as the top four. If those guys are
- 19:29Speaker 1: gone and your next two were Fashu and Barton, do
- 19:33Speaker 1: you go Murphy and Newton over those guys.
- 19:36Speaker 2: I go Fashu at that point. I like Barton a lot.
- 19:38Speaker 2: But to me, and it's I guess, I don't know
- 19:40Speaker 2: my opinion is relevant. Everyone in the NFL is telling
- 19:42Speaker 2: us he's a guard center, so I'll take their word
- 19:45Speaker 2: for it, you know. And he's a good player, great player.
- 19:48Speaker 2: I think he's gonna go earlier than a lot of
- 19:49Speaker 2: people expect. But fash to me, is fascinating where I mean,
- 19:52Speaker 2: there are people saying last year or if you think
- 19:55Speaker 2: he wasn't eligible to declare, but if he did declare,
- 19:57Speaker 2: he would have been the first tackle taking was like
- 19:59Speaker 2: the consensus opinion. He had some rough outings, No question
- 20:03Speaker 2: the Ohio State game for him was not a good game.
- 20:05Speaker 2: But he is probably still the cleanest path protector in
- 20:09Speaker 2: this class at tackle, and he's a clear left tackle,
- 20:12Speaker 2: has great footwork, can handle it, can absorb power for
- 20:14Speaker 2: the most part. That was not on display against Ohio State.
- 20:18Speaker 2: So I would still take him. I would say, you
- 20:19Speaker 2: know what, he's fallen too far. He could have been
- 20:21Speaker 2: a top ten to seven pick last year as a
- 20:24Speaker 2: twenty year old. Now he's twenty one, he's gonna fall
- 20:26Speaker 2: to US eighteen. I probably take it. But if it
- 20:28Speaker 2: becomes the Bartons and the other, you know, the other
- 20:31Speaker 2: kind of flex inside outside guys, then I would go detackle.
- 20:35Speaker 1: So you still had Mims Geiden and Sue Matia Matia
- 20:41Speaker 1: from BYU going in the first round. So it seem
- 20:44Speaker 1: like you concur with the many people who seem to
- 20:47Speaker 1: think this is a historically good offensive tackle draft.
- 20:50Speaker 2: I really do. I really do like Mims. The talent
- 20:52Speaker 2: is insane. Like you watch some of the games, he's
- 20:54Speaker 2: clearly just the best athlete on the field, and like
- 20:57Speaker 2: his technique is even super sound, but it doesn't really matter,
- 21:00Speaker 2: and some of the best players get away with that,
- 21:02Speaker 2: and obviously you want to refine that and get better there,
- 21:04Speaker 2: but you do have question marks, but not only missing
- 21:06Speaker 2: time during the seasons. You then go to the combine.
- 21:09Speaker 2: He pulls up lame after I want to say a
- 21:11Speaker 2: forty and doesn't finish the combine that day. I don't
- 21:14Speaker 2: think anything's been a severe injury, if I'm not mistaken.
- 21:16Speaker 2: I don't think he's had like a ligament tear. But
- 21:18Speaker 2: you do want to see, you know, availability is the
- 21:20Speaker 2: best ability and all those things, especially at offensive line,
- 21:23Speaker 2: you need to be a durable player. So the talent
- 21:25Speaker 2: is truly undeniable. He looks like his build, he's a
- 21:28Speaker 2: freak like he's six foot eight and there's not a
- 21:30Speaker 2: bad pound of weight on his body. And there are
- 21:33Speaker 2: some games where you're like chuckling as you watch him play.
- 21:36Speaker 2: But it's certainly scary there to me guidance a total project.
- 21:40Speaker 2: My mocks are not my opinion. They're what I'm hearing
- 21:42Speaker 2: and what I'm seeing elsewhere from people I respect and trust.
- 21:46Speaker 2: I get why people like the tools. I don't think
- 21:48Speaker 2: he's a guy you want to start really out of
- 21:50Speaker 2: the gate. And then so I'm Tella, I think is
- 21:52Speaker 2: a guy that I am way high. He's probably not
- 21:54Speaker 2: going to the first round. But I just love him.
- 21:56Speaker 2: Smooth mover for his size byu tackles a little bit
- 21:58Speaker 2: scary though too. It's a system that protects their offensive line.
- 22:02Speaker 2: They don't play a lot of great pass rushers in
- 22:03Speaker 2: the Mountain West, and you know, they've had some guys
- 22:06Speaker 2: come out and not really be as good as they
- 22:07Speaker 2: were in college. But but he's awesome to me.
- 22:11Speaker 1: The Bengals had ten picks, including two third round picks.
- 22:14Speaker 1: Should they be wheeling and dealing and try to move
- 22:17Speaker 1: up in this draft, they.
- 22:19Speaker 2: Are one of the teams that Stan pat more than
- 22:21Speaker 2: anybody else. They rarely ever moved up or down. They
- 22:24Speaker 2: rarely move. But I don't know. I mean, maybe if
- 22:27Speaker 2: a guy that you think is just like can't miss
- 22:29Speaker 2: one hundred and ten percent at either tackle or detackle,
- 22:32Speaker 2: and I guess maybe Bowers. But I probably would move
- 22:34Speaker 2: up for Bowers personally. But yeah, let's say if it's
- 22:37Speaker 2: a small move up. For example, the Steelers trade last
- 22:40Speaker 2: year is probably the perfect analogy, right, They were from
- 22:42Speaker 2: seventeen to fourteen to get Broderick Jones. They also viewed
- 22:46Speaker 2: the you know, the tackle drop off from your Darnell
- 22:48Speaker 2: Wrights and those guys and Broderick Jones down to the
- 22:50Speaker 2: next tier, you know, not as a pretty steep drop,
- 22:53Speaker 2: and I would I agree with him. Last year, that
- 22:55Speaker 2: wasn't that expensive a trade. I want to say they
- 22:57Speaker 2: give a third to the Patriots for that move up.
- 23:00Speaker 2: It may have been a fourth if I'm not mistaken.
- 23:02Speaker 2: So I would do that. I'm not trying to catapult
- 23:05Speaker 2: in like the top ten or anything like that, but yeah,
- 23:08Speaker 2: you have the ability to maybe be a little bit
- 23:10Speaker 2: aggressive because you have ten total picks and he probably
- 23:12Speaker 2: don't have ten roster spots you know, available right now.
- 23:15Speaker 1: What other tight ends do you like other than Brock Bowers.
- 23:18Speaker 2: You know, the one I would say is probably Ben
- 23:20Speaker 2: Sonata Kansas State. Who is is? He set himself at
- 23:23Speaker 2: the Senior Bowl the most versatile tight end in the class.
- 23:26Speaker 2: I would agree with him. He can be an h
- 23:27Speaker 2: back in the backfield, it can be a legit just
- 23:30Speaker 2: true fullback, can play in line, he lined up out wide,
- 23:33Speaker 2: sometimes in the slot. He's a fun, versatile weapon that
- 23:36Speaker 2: you can move all over the formation do different things with.
- 23:39Speaker 2: But I still probably wouldn't take one of the first
- 23:41Speaker 2: two rounds. And then you know THEO Johnson a Penn State.
- 23:45Speaker 2: I think you didn't see a lot of him because
- 23:47Speaker 2: it's not a pass heavy offense. But his testing was insane,
- 23:51Speaker 2: and maybe he's a guy who's a developmental player. We
- 23:53Speaker 2: don't hear about him for two years and then he
- 23:55Speaker 2: kind of is that classic like third year breakout tight end.
- 23:57Speaker 2: But yeah, outside of brock Bowers, I'm probably not using
- 24:00Speaker 2: a Day two pick on any ted end in his class.
- 24:03Speaker 1: A couple more questions for Brad Spielberger from Pro Football Focus.
- 24:06Speaker 1: You did a story recently where you talked about a
- 24:10Speaker 1: team's best move in free agency or the movie you
- 24:13Speaker 1: like the most, and then the move that you liked
- 24:15Speaker 1: the least, and where the Bengals were concerned. You didn't
- 24:17Speaker 1: really criticize any of their moves, and you had a
- 24:20Speaker 1: sentence that kind of implied that that's generally how you
- 24:24Speaker 1: think the Bengals do in free agency. Is this a
- 24:27Speaker 1: team that you feel consistently does a good job in
- 24:30Speaker 1: that area.
- 24:31Speaker 2: At least in recent history, Right the last four or
- 24:33Speaker 2: five years, I think they've been great in that regard.
- 24:36Speaker 2: We'll be talking to j reader Trey Hendrickson, probably one
- 24:38Speaker 2: of the better free agent signings of the for any
- 24:40Speaker 2: team in the NFL the last five years. You know,
- 24:43Speaker 2: like you know, Nick Scott didn't totally work out, but
- 24:45Speaker 2: it's obviously a you know, one year ended up being
- 24:48Speaker 2: like four million dollars, not a huge deal. So they
- 24:50Speaker 2: don't take those swings all the time. When they do,
- 24:53Speaker 2: they've hit a lot recently. Obviously, Shelby Woozier was a
- 24:56Speaker 2: great istion Mike Hilton's been a phenomenal player still is
- 25:00Speaker 2: you know. Yeah, They've been really really good how they
- 25:02Speaker 2: navigate free agency the last couple of years, balancing kind
- 25:04Speaker 2: of the short term needs with the young, foundational draft
- 25:08Speaker 2: pick core they have. They've been great.
- 25:11Speaker 1: All right, final question for you. I reached out to
- 25:13Speaker 1: see if you were available for this podcast. You said yes,
- 25:16Speaker 1: and then shortly after that you shared the news on
- 25:19Speaker 1: social media that you are leaving Pro Football Focus. What
- 25:22Speaker 1: is next?
- 25:24Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, so glad we can squeeze this in. I
- 25:26Speaker 2: will not be doing a whole lot of media going forward.
- 25:28Speaker 2: I'm going to work at an agency to be a
- 25:30Speaker 2: contract negotiator called Grand Central Sports Management, So I'll be
- 25:34Speaker 2: negotiating the deals for all of our clients in the
- 25:37Speaker 2: NFL at least and I'm very excited for it. I
- 25:40Speaker 2: appreciate the question and looking forward to finally, you know,
- 25:42Speaker 2: getting directly involved and entering the arena, so to speak.
- 25:46Speaker 1: Is this something that you've always had a desire to
- 25:49Speaker 1: do or did it just kind of fall into your lap?
- 25:51Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I think I always knew that I
- 25:53Speaker 2: wanted to be directly involved in some capacity. Obviously I
- 25:56Speaker 2: do all the contract projections and so much work in
- 25:58Speaker 2: that space at PFF, and you know, being able to
- 26:01Speaker 2: actually apply that to the real world and also just
- 26:03Speaker 2: kind of you know, use my latter you a little
- 26:05Speaker 2: bit more for my parents are happy, I'll actually be
- 26:07Speaker 2: you know, using that a little bit more, and you know,
- 26:09Speaker 2: reading the fine print of language and truly you know,
- 26:11Speaker 2: putting those skills to work. Yeah, it's something I've always
- 26:14Speaker 2: wanted to do. I wasn't trying to leave PFF, but
- 26:17Speaker 2: but the opportunity has been phenomenal or is phenomenal, and
- 26:20Speaker 2: I just couldn't say no.
- 26:21Speaker 1: Well, you will be missed at PFF. Your salary cap
- 26:24Speaker 1: analysis and free agent rankings have always been very valuable
- 26:28Speaker 1: to those of us who love reading about the NFL,
- 26:30Speaker 1: So thank you for your hard work and best of
- 26:32Speaker 1: luck and you're a new endeavor going forward.
- 26:34Speaker 2: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
- 26:36Speaker 1: More on the draft in a moment, but first, here's
- 26:38Speaker 1: a quick reminder that the Bengals Booth podcast is brought
- 26:41Speaker 1: to you by pay Corps, Proud to be the Bengals
- 26:43Speaker 1: official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof Fiber
- 26:48Speaker 1: Internet designed to elevate your home, business and community to
- 26:52Speaker 1: a new level, and by Kettering Health the best Care
- 26:55Speaker 1: for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare
- 26:59Speaker 1: provider of the Bengals. This year, the Bengals have ten
- 27:03Speaker 1: draft picks, two in the top fifty and four in
- 27:07Speaker 1: the top one hundred. Since they have an extra pick
- 27:10Speaker 1: in the third round, I thought it would be fun
- 27:12Speaker 1: to get on a mock draft simulator this week and
- 27:14Speaker 1: take a stab at those first four picks, sharing my
- 27:18Speaker 1: options at the time, and then the rationale for each
- 27:22Speaker 1: of my selections. We start in round one with the
- 27:25Speaker 1: eighteenth overall pick going in. I'm on the lookout for
- 27:29Speaker 1: offensive tackles, defensive tackles, and tight end brock Bowers, although
- 27:35Speaker 1: there are wide receivers, cornerbacks, and edge rushers that I
- 27:38Speaker 1: would consider if they somehow fell to number eighteen. When
- 27:42Speaker 1: I started the simulator, four quarterbacks went in the top
- 27:46Speaker 1: six picks.
- 27:47Speaker 2: Hooray.
- 27:48Speaker 1: Since the Bengals aren't the market for a QB, that
- 27:51Speaker 1: means I'm going to get one of my top fourteen players.
- 27:55Speaker 1: Four tackles were off the board before I selected Joe
- 27:58Speaker 1: Alt from Notre Dame, Olufashanu from Penn State, Talisa Fuaga
- 28:03Speaker 1: from Oregon State, and JC Latham from Alabama. And the
- 28:08Speaker 1: four picks immediately before the Bengals were on the clock
- 28:11Speaker 1: were all guys worthy of consideration. Brock Bowers went fourteenth,
- 28:16Speaker 1: cornerback quin Yon Mitchell from Toledo, fifteenth, wide receiver Brian
- 28:20Speaker 1: Thomas from LSU sixteenth, and cornerback Terry and Arnold from
- 28:24Speaker 1: Alabama seventeenth. That left me and the Bengals with plenty
- 28:30Speaker 1: of great options, including offensive lineman Troy fought Utanu from
- 28:35Speaker 1: Washington and Amarius Mims from Georgia. My top defensive tackles,
- 28:40Speaker 1: Byron Murphy and Johnny Newton are still there, along with
- 28:43Speaker 1: edge rusher Leatu Latu from UCLA. It came down to
- 28:48Speaker 1: two guys for me, the offensive tackle faugh Utanu and
- 28:53Speaker 1: the defensive tackle, Murphy. Now you might be asking why
- 28:57Speaker 1: fought Utanu instead of Mims at offensive tackle. After all,
- 29:02Speaker 1: Amarius Mims looks like he was made in a right
- 29:05Speaker 1: tackle lab. He's six' eight three forty with gigantic arms
- 29:11Speaker 1: and hands. He definitely has star potential, but there's risk involved.
- 29:17Speaker 1: He missed most of last year with an ankle injury
- 29:19Speaker 1: and made a total of eight starts in his career
- 29:22Speaker 1: at Georgia. I favored Troy faugh Utanu because he's more
- 29:26Speaker 1: of a sure thing. He's big enough at six four
- 29:29Speaker 1: three seventeen and is an excellent athlete who plays.
- 29:33Speaker 2: With a mean streak.
- 29:34Speaker 1: Greg Cosel from NFL Films said the following about fa Utanu.
- 29:39Speaker 1: I wouldn't be surprised if he develops into one of
- 29:42Speaker 1: the better offensive linemen in the NFL relatively soon. That's
- 29:47Speaker 1: high praise from Greg. Fautanu played tackle and guarded Washington
- 29:52Speaker 1: and could conceivably compete with Cordell Vohlsen for the left
- 29:56Speaker 1: guard spot as a rookie before eventually kicking out to tack.
- 30:00Speaker 1: So then it comes down to him or my top
- 30:03Speaker 1: defensive tackle on the board. Byron Murphy from Texas According
- 30:07Speaker 1: to Coseel, Murphy's twitchy, almost freaky, and plays low to
- 30:12Speaker 1: the ground, maximizing his power. He's often compared to Falcons,
- 30:16Speaker 1: Pro Bowl or Grady Jarrett because he's similarly sized at
- 30:20Speaker 1: six feet tall two hundred ninety seven pounds Alas that
- 30:24Speaker 1: means he's not a three hundred and thirty pounder like
- 30:27Speaker 1: DJ Reader. So forced to choose between offensive tackle and
- 30:31Speaker 1: defensive tackle, I went with fa Utanu. This is a
- 30:36Speaker 1: historically good offensive tackle draft, and free agent right tackle
- 30:40Speaker 1: Trent Brown only signed for one year. Protecting Joe Burrow
- 30:44Speaker 1: and giving him weapons is always the number one priority,
- 30:47Speaker 1: and the Bengals can't go wrong with the offensive lineman
- 30:50Speaker 1: out of Washington. So I made that pick on the
- 30:54Speaker 1: simulator and get this. The next three picks were offensive
- 30:58Speaker 1: tackles mim at nineteen, Tyler Geiden out of Oklahoma at twenty,
- 31:03Speaker 1: and Graham Barton from Duke at twenty one. And before
- 31:07Speaker 1: the first round was over, Jordan Morgan from Arizona went
- 31:10Speaker 1: thirty first and Kingsley Sua Mattia from BYU went thirty second.
- 31:16Speaker 1: In short ten offensive tackles were selected in the first round.
- 31:21Speaker 1: If the Bengals want one of those guys, they'll probably
- 31:24Speaker 1: have to select him at number eighteen. Now, let's move
- 31:29Speaker 1: to the second round and pick number forty nine. There
- 31:32Speaker 1: are a couple of good slot receivers on the board
- 31:34Speaker 1: in Roman Wilson from Michigan and Ricky pearsall from Florida,
- 31:38Speaker 1: along with my number two tight end in the draft,
- 31:40Speaker 1: Jatavian Sanders from Texas. But my pick came down to
- 31:45Speaker 1: a pair of defensive tackles, Bryden Fisk of Florida State
- 31:49Speaker 1: and Chris Jenkins of Michigan. I went with Fisk, one
- 31:53Speaker 1: of the stars of the NFL Combine this year, placing
- 31:56Speaker 1: first among defensive tackles in the forty the broad jump
- 32:00Speaker 1: and the vertical jump. Daniel Jeremiah from the NFL Network
- 32:04Speaker 1: ranks Fisk thirty seventh overall in this year's class, making
- 32:09Speaker 1: him a good value at pick number forty nine, and
- 32:12Speaker 1: he said the following about the six four, two hundred
- 32:14Speaker 1: ninety two pound lineman. He's disruptive in every game I've studied.
- 32:20Speaker 1: Fisk is a competitive, athletic and impactful defensive lineman capable
- 32:25Speaker 1: of starting right away. So in the first two rounds,
- 32:29Speaker 1: I stayed in the trenches, going O line in round
- 32:32Speaker 1: one and D line in round two. The Bengals first
- 32:36Speaker 1: third round pick is number eighty overall. Sanders, the tight
- 32:40Speaker 1: end from Texas, went late in the second round, and
- 32:43Speaker 1: his college teammate Mammoth three hundred and sixty six pound
- 32:47Speaker 1: defensive tackle to Andre Sweat went five picks before the
- 32:51Speaker 1: Bengals round the clock at number seventy five. My best
- 32:55Speaker 1: options are offensive weapons like speedy Florida State running back
- 32:58Speaker 1: Trey Benson, our wide receivers Devontes Walker, Javon Baker, or
- 33:03Speaker 1: Malachi Corley. I went with Walker, who finished his college
- 33:08Speaker 1: career at North Carolina after starting out at Kent State.
- 33:12Speaker 1: We know the Bengals are looking to be more explosive
- 33:14Speaker 1: on offense, and Walker can fly. He ran a four
- 33:18Speaker 1: to three six forty at the Combine, and his nineteen
- 33:21Speaker 1: touchdown catches in college averaged more than thirty yards. He's
- 33:25Speaker 1: got decent size at six one and a half and
- 33:28Speaker 1: is one of the smoothest, most fluid receivers in this class.
- 33:32Speaker 1: With a likely departure of Tyler Boyd this year and
- 33:35Speaker 1: perhaps te Higgins next year, it's important to add another
- 33:39Speaker 1: receiver to the mix. Finally we get to the Bengals
- 33:43Speaker 1: second pick in the third round, number ninety seven overall.
- 33:47Speaker 1: I thought there was a chance that Benson might still
- 33:49Speaker 1: be there, but he went ninety third. Fortunately, there are
- 33:54Speaker 1: some good cornerbacks on the board and the Bengals need
- 33:57Speaker 1: one after losing chitabey O Wouje in free agent. They
- 34:01Speaker 1: have Cam Taylor, Britt and DJ Turner as the likely
- 34:04Speaker 1: starters on the outside, but they need to add depth
- 34:08Speaker 1: and I see two good options, Ronardo Green from Florida
- 34:11Speaker 1: State and Chris Abrams Drain from Missouri. I chose Green,
- 34:17Speaker 1: who has decent height and length, ran a four four
- 34:20Speaker 1: nine forty and, according to Pro Football Focus, graded number
- 34:24Speaker 1: one in Manda man coverage of any corner in this
- 34:28Speaker 1: year's draft.
- 34:29Speaker 2: So how did I do? Overall?
- 34:32Speaker 1: My first two picks, fa Utanu and Fisk got A
- 34:36Speaker 1: plus grades from PFF, my third rounder Walker got a
- 34:41Speaker 1: B plus, and my second third rounder, Green earned a B.
- 34:45Speaker 1: My overall grade was an A. So if Duke Tobin
- 34:50Speaker 1: and his staff are looking for volunteer help, they know
- 34:54Speaker 1: how to reach me.
- 34:55Speaker 2: That's going to do it.
- 34:56Speaker 1: For this episode of the Bengals Booth podcast brought to
- 34:58Speaker 1: you by pay Corp Out to be the Bengals Official
- 35:01Speaker 1: HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet
- 35:06Speaker 1: designed to elevate your home, business and community to a
- 35:09Speaker 1: new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for
- 35:13Speaker 1: the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider
- 35:17Speaker 1: of the Bengals. If you haven't done so already, please
- 35:20Speaker 1: subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute,
- 35:22Speaker 1: give it a rating or share a comment that helps
- 35:25Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde and thanks
- 35:29Speaker 1: for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast.