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Bengals Booth Podcast: We're Going To Be Friends · Bengals Booth Podcast

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast. The I can tell that we
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: are gonna be friends. Addition, as I take an in
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: depth look at Day three of the draft before Dave
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Lapham joins me for an overview of the Bengals entire
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: draft class. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by bud
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Light Seltzer. Refresh the game, and here's a quick reminder
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: that you can have the latest edition of this podcast
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: on iTunes, Stitch, your Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: It's the greatest thing since getting to interview players right
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: after they're drafted. One of the fun things about covering
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: an NFL team is getting to interview the draft pick
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: shortly after they hear their name called. Think about it,
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: You're getting to talk to somebody within thirty minutes of
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: one of the greatest moments of their life. You can
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: feel the joy boy and the pride and the realization
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: that all of their hard work has paid off. Trust me,
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: it never gets old. The big story for the Bengals
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: on Day three of the draft was that they had
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: three fourth round draft picks, as they picked up two
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: from the Patriots for moving down eight spots in the
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: second round. The hope is that one of those fourth
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: rounders will turn out to be the next Geno Atkins
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: or Domata Peco or Carl Lawson all fourth round picks
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: by the Bengals since two thousand and six. The Bengals
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: first fourth round pick this year, which was their own,
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: was used on edge rusher Cam Sample from Tulane. He's
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: six two and a half two hundred and sixty seven
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: pounds and earned first team All Conference honors by leading
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: the American in quarterback pressures. Daniel Jeremiah had Sample ranked
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: as the eighty seventh best player in the draft, and
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: the Bengals got him with pick number one eleven. Here's
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: Tulane head coach Willie Fritz coach. The Bengals had three
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: fourth round draft picks. They use their first one. I'm
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Cam Sample, defensive end from two lane. Tell us about
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: a guy who started for you for the last three years. Well,
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: he played a ton for us. Is a true freshman,
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: you know, just really I think great overall players, super hands,
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: you know, he can get on blocks and get all
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: blocks quickly, very u you know, versatile. As far as
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: being able to play. We've played him a little bit
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: of nose guard and played him in a shade on
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: the center. We've played him in the big gap, you know,
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: both as a three technique and four eye technique. And
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: then this all the last two seasons, we started getting
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: him out on the edge on the tackles, even dropped
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: him into space a little bit. I think he's going
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: to be able to contribute in the kicking game as well. He's,
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: you know, really good movement in space and big body.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: You know, he can't have enough those guys on kickoff
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: return put pub black kickoff. You know, you can play
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: it tight end wing on extra point field goals. So
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: I think the Bengals got him a great one. And
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: he's just a fantastic person. I mean, had him for
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: four years, never had any issues with him. He's, you know,
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: just an adult. It takes care of business. Twenty four
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: to seven, we're talking to Tulane head coach Willie Fretz.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: He was first team All Conference this year. He led
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: the American in pressures and had five sacks. The Bengals
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: have struggled to find pass rushers in recent seasons. How
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: does he project as an NFL pass rusher. Well, he's relentless.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: You know, he's gonna keep coming and keep coming. You know,
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: the whole time a team started scheming against him and
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: chipping him with a back you know, he even is
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: effective rushing from a two point stance. Most of the time,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: those guys that are his size are going to have
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: their hand in the dirt and jump off the ball,
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: you know, that way. But he can do it from
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: a two point stance or a three point stands and
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: you know, you get in an obvious passing situation, I
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: think you can drop him down in there and having
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: play a three technique, get him on a guard, even
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: get him on a center on occasion, he'll be able
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: to you know, out athlete that particular guy. So he
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: can do it from a lot of different spots. He's very,
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: very versatile. He earned a Senior Bowl invitation and then
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: took advantage of it, earning top defensive lineman honors on
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: the American squad. Did you start to hear from friends
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: in the NFL after that about whoa this guy really
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: made an impression? Yeah, you know, it didn't surprise us,
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: you know, We just watched him do it every day,
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: you know, because it's so terrible, you just missed. I
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: didn't even know if he'd missed any games while they
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: played for US, you know, through four years of playing
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: week after week after week. I went to the Senior Bowl.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: We're only about a couple hours away from Mobile, and
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: they didn't allow coaches on the field this season to
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: as you know, COVID nineteen protocol. So I was helping
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: the stands and it had been in his third or
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: fourth day there, and I knew that he must be
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: doing a heck of a job because I was having
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: coaches seeking me out in the stands, you know, from
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: NFL teams wanted to talk about him because he had
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: just impressed him so much. So yeah, I heard a
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: lot of great, great things about him. I think that,
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: you know, Bengals got to steal in the fourth round.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: He said in his conference call with the Cincinnati media
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: that he is far from a finished product. Do you
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: feel the same way, Yeah, you know, because he was
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: played more inside for US early and I had a
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: great high school career, but we were really is one
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: of his only Division one offers that he had, and
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: we got him in the last week or two, and
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: you know, he uh, I think there's a lot of
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: room for improvement. You know, you got to figure out
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: how big he wanted to get, because I think in
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: another year or two he could two hundred and eighty
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: five pounds, you know, and to handle that with him effectively,
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: I think he's you know, he's just only going to
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: get better as an edge rusher, you know, because most
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: of his career he played either in the in gap
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: or the p gap. So yeah, I think he's definitely
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: got run for improvement and he'll do it. He's a hard,
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: hard working guy. The last couple of weeks he was
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: here in town and I have my balcony right outside
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: of my office and I'll go out there and make
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: phone calls, like walking when I'm talking on the phone,
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: like a lot of people. And I don't know how
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: many times I go out there and he was out
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: there on the sled or you know, doing things by himself,
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: you know, just trying to perfect his craft. Well, it's
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: an exciting day for Cam and his family, and it's
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: also an exciting day for the people that helped him
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: along the way, including you and your coaching staff. So
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: congratulations and I appreciate your time. Thank you, thank you.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: With their second fourth round pick number one twenty two overall,
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: the Bengals selected Hugh Guess defensive tackle Tyler Shelvin out
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: of LSU. He's six two and three hundred and fifty pounds,
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: depending on what he had for his last meal. Shelvin
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: opted out last year after playing a gigantic role pun
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: intended on LSU's national championship team in twenty nineteen. Here's
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: the voice of the Tigers, Chris Blair. All right, Chris,
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: I have heard Tyler Shelvin described as an immovable object
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: and a tree stump. How would you describe the big
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: defensive lineman of the Bengal selected in the fourth round?
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: Those are pretty good, two pretty good descriptive terms and phrases.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: I mean, he's he's a space eater. But I'll tell
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: you what I enjoyed about watching Tyler Shelvin play at LSU, Dan,
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: and that was the fact that, you know, to be
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: as big as he is, six three sixty four, three
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: hundred forty six pounds whatever those numbers are, you don't
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: see a lot of humans walking around at that size.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: I was always fascinated by his quick feet. You know
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: he was able when you know, you don't see it
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: so much in real time, but when you go back
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: and watch plays where he was disruptive or he was
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: taking a double team on you know, the way he
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: moved his feet very quickly. Now, he's not going to
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: outrun you in a forty yard dash, but in those
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: first couple of steps allows him to get the pad
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: leverage he needs with his size that he becomes a
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: nightmare for offensive linemen up front. And you know that
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: allows your defensive ends and linebackers to have a chance
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: to get back there and disrupt things. And you know,
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: he's kind of the he's kind of the head of
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: the spear. Large head of the spear, but he's kind
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: of the head of the spear. Especially when you look
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: back to the twenty nineteen defense. How important was he
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: to the national championship team? I think, you know, Tyler
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: is a great story and I'm just you know, being
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: around him some I'm very pleased to see him make
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: it to this level because again, as I said, you
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: come out of high school bigger than everybody else, You're
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: gonna draw the attention not only of college football, coaches
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: and recruiters, but Power five football coaches and recruiters took
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: a little while to kind of learn the preparation and
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: the work off the field forward Tyler, which resulted in
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: a red shirt year. I think LSU did a great
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: job in developing, you know, his off the field habits,
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: you know his nutrition and how he trained trying to
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: build up his stamina, and I think we saw the
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: culmination of all that and the dedication by Tyler to
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: really put the work in. On the back end of
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: the twenty nineteen season. He got to be in on
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: more plays, he was in longer during series, and he
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: was just disrupted for a defense that had a number
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: of players around him who would make the play and
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: make the tackle. But you go back and look play
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: after play after play, it all started with what Tyler
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: Selvin did to just totally disrupt whatever the offensive line
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: had in mind, they had to keep in mind Tyler
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: Selvin and I thought that, you know, he opted out,
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: which which again we understood during the pandemic year. But
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: to me, what was going to be great to see
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: should he have played in twenty twenty was him building
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: up that stamina and again just being just reaking havoc
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: on every snap of the football. We didn't get to
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: see that, but we saw shades of it on the
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: back end of twenty nineteen. I thought he was more
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: of the more improved players for the entire team in
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: that championship run. We're talking to the voice of the Tigers,
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: Chris Blair. He battled weight issues early in his career.
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: He admits that he had to mature. Do you think
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: that those things are behind him? Did he more or
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: less learn his lesson early in his LSU career? Yeah,
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: I think so, And a lot of credit goes to
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: ed Ojoan. He used to give Tyler a lot of
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: trouble that he could have the gumbo, just leave the
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: rice the rice, you know, And that's how that's how
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: ed He did it in a playful but you know,
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: teaching way. And I think what he showed Tyler was
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: the number one, guess what you're in on more plays,
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: which gives you an opportunity to shine. And when you
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: do these things, it's going to better yourself. And I
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: really because of the way he consistently got better, consistently
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: was able to play more, and that's why he stood
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: out on the back end of that twenty nineteen season,
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: which I'm talking about regular season, probably the last five
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: to six games, and then of course the three postseason games.
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: So I think, you know, it was kind of an
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: eye opener. You know, you talk about a kid who
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: obviously growing up was was head and shoulders bigger than
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: anybody he was around, but it just came naturally to
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: show up and two or three kids just can't move. You.
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: You get older, you get to a place like LSU,
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: and you realize, Wow, there's pretty big boys over here,
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: and they're able to go more and more and more.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: So I think it was it was a good move
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: on Ed's part at the nutrition staff at LSU to
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: you know, teach him what it means that his particular
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: body needs to fuel itself and at the same time
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: keep him an optimum performance. So I give a lot
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: of credit to LSU and their nutrition program, and I
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: think he's got the lesson, and Goodness knows, he's going
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: to be able to carry that in with the with
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: the facilities that that Cincinnati will allow for him. So
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: I think he did learn his lesson, and that's why
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: I'm excited about what he's gonna do because even in
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: the NFL. There's not a lot of guys. There's there's
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: more than the average population, Still not a lot of
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: guys as big as he is. Final thing for LSU
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: broadcaster Chris Blair, We've got Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, now
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: Tyler Shelvin. They signed Thaddeus Moss as a free agent
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: in the off season. What do you make of the
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: Bengals adding one LSU player after another from that championship team. Well, one,
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: I think there may be more Bengals jerseys in the
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: state of Louisiana than Saints if it keeps up. Secondly,
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: it seems that LSU has become the farm team for Cincinnati.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: But you know, having grown up in the state of Kentucky,
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: Cincinnati was my team growing up. I still have a
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: lot of family in the Cincinnati area. So it's fun
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: for me because now I really have a solid reason
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: to go back and root for the Bengals. But you know,
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: I think so far, so good. You know, hopefully Joe
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: Burrows stays healthy. I think Thaddius Moss is a prototypical
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: guy who can have a good career in the NFL,
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: and Jamar Chase is just he's unbelievable. And you know,
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: to add a guy, I think Tyler's going to feel
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: right at home. Grew up in Laffy at Louisiana, which
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: is about an hour and a half from Patton Rouge,
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: so moving to Cincinnati will take a little adjustment for him.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: But I think he's gonna look to it. And as
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: I said, there's gonna be a lot of Bengals jerseys
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: sold in the state of Louisiana. They sold a bunch
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: of last year. They're gonna sell it even more this year. Chris,
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: the Bengals have five picks left. Don't turn your phone off. Okay,
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: I'll be ready. I may have to do it between innings,
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: but I'll be ready hopefully if another Tiger joes that way.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: Appreciate your time as always. Thank you, you gotta Dan,
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: thank you. With her third fourth round pick number one
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: thirty nine overall, the Bengals selected a player who has
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: ranked number one hundred on Daniel Jeremiah's Big Board. Offensive
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: lineman Deontae Smith out of ECU. He's six five, three
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: hundred five pounds and has thirty five inch arms. He
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: had the largest wing span of any offensive lineman at
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: the senior ball. Smith missed most of last year with
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: a knee injury, after starting twenty six consecutive games before it.
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: I got the lowdown on Smith from the Pirates offensive
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: line coach Steve shank Wiler. Coach, what are the Bengals
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: getting and Deontay Smith, Well, you're getting a guy that
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: has got tremendous upside. I'm sure it's well documented. He
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: didn't get to play this year except the first game,
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: and uh, he's uh, he was really the staff we
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: got back here or I got back here, the staff
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: got here two years ago, and uh, you know, really truthfully,
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: the place was not in good, you know, good shape,
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: and so we've you know, recruiting it so futh and
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: developing and Deontay as a guy that was kind of
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: like a you know, kind of a huncle Clay. I
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: mean you could you could develop him, and you could
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: teach him, and he got better and better every week.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: And uh, it was just unfortunate with a co the thing.
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: And then he you know, had some issues where a
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: couple of things come up where he had to miss
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: so much this year. He was really starting to come
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: on to be a really really excellent college a lineman.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: So I think the future for him is I think
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: he's only got a lot more upside than maybe some
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: other guys because of the fact that he didn't get
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: to play. So I'm excited for him, and I would
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: I would really be excited for the Bengals because I
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: think he's going to be a good project for him.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: How versatile is he he is? Uh? You know, we
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: only played him at left tackle, but I'm you know,
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: especially after shrine Bolt uh practices. Uh, he could he
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: can play any position up front, right or left guard
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: or tackle. Uh, I'm I'm I'm I'm ninety eight percent
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: sure you can make a center out of here. He's got.
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: He's got an excellent hip bend. Uh. You know, he
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: can play with a good bass he's got obviously, anybody
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: has seen him on tape. He's got a great change
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: of direction. Uh. And so he's He's a guy that
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: I think would be a as a role player, would
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: be a guy that could play multiple positions. He has
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: thirty five inch arms and an incredible wingspan. How how
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: significant is that in his ability? Well, you know, obviously
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: length is huge, uh in all sports, but especially for
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: an offensive tackle. Uh, you know, and if if he
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: is moved inside, not many guards or centers have that
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: kind of length. Um, you know, he's got he's he's
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: some things he's still got to develop. He's got to
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: he's got to get a little bit bigger. Uh you know,
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: his his strength levels not near what it will be
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: as he you know, he's you know, as he as
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: he's the tourist physically, but his arm length is certainly
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: something that has has really allowed him to be a
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: really good pass blocker. And uh, you know, I'm sure
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: they will continue to develop that way. What's Deante like
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: as a teammate and as a team leader, Well, the
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: best way I can describe that is if you were
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: sitting here and if I could pull up practice film
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: from when he was on the injury reserve, so to speak,
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: this season, and you can see him running up and
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: down the sideline during teen periods against the defense, waving
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: a towel and and just being doing whatever he can
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: to help. And so he he is a team guy.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: And like I said, you know, things didn't go right
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: for him this year to be I mean, I think
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: everybody knows that, but it's it shows up on video
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: all the time. Him running up and down the sideline
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: in my drills. He was a guy that was back
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: there coaching the freshman, coaching the guys, helping him in
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: the meetings on game plan. He does a really good
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: job of studying, studying film, and he is a you know,
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: he's in the role he had to play this year. Uh,
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: he was really kind of like an assistant coach, and
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: he's got really good football IQ. He sees things and
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: he was a real big help to me with the
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: younger guys. Dane Brugler, the draft expert for the Athletic,
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: had him number eighty nine overall on his big board,
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: which is a third round draft pick. The Bengals got
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: him late fourth. Would you classify this as something of
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: a steel for Cincinnati? Well, you know, everybody's got opinions
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: on those rankings. Uh. You know, I I thought that's
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: probably where he would go because just the fact he
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: only played one game this year. So the guys I
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: talked to that called you know, there was always that question,
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: you know what, you know, what's the story? You know,
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: the same question you used to asked you how did
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: he respond as a teammate when he wasn't playing? So,
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: you know, I think he's right, probably where he should
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: have been. But I think what will happen to him
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: as he gets into a system and he gets back
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: in the weight room the way the Bengals wanted to
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: and learned their system. His value his You will rise
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: way above a fourth round guy here in the next
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: two years. This is your first day off in months,
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: so I appreciate your time. Thanks for the information about Deonta.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: You bet, good luck, you gasp. The Bengals Booth podcast
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: is presented by Bud Light Seltzer. It's light and refreshing
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: with a hint of fruit flavor. Now here's the rundown
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: on the bengals remaining draft fix. In the fifth round,
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: they selected kicker Evan McPherson from the University of Florida,
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: the first kicker taken in this year's draft. He was
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: the Gators kicker for the last three years, making eighty
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: five percent of his attempts with a long of fifty
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: five yards. He'll go to training camp as the Manda
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: beat for the starting job. The Bengals had two picks
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: in the sixth round, using the first on Georgia offensive
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: lineman Trey Hill, who was the Bulldogs starting center for
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: the last two seasons. They used their other sixth round
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: pick on Chris Evans Or, running back from Michigan. The
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: highly touted recruit from Indianapolis had great freshman year, averaging
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: seven yards to carry, but his production tailed off after that,
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: and two years ago he got suspended for the entire
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: season for academic misconduct. He returned to the team last
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: year and didn't get the ball much, but he put
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: himself back on the NFL radar by performing well at
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: the Senior Bowl and at Michigan's Pro Day. The Bengals
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: final pick in the seventh round was edge rusher Wyatt
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: Hubert from Kansas State. He's sixty three, two hundred and
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: fifty eight pounds and had eight and a half sacks
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: last year and seven the year before. Draft guru Dane
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: Bruegler describes him as a productive, football obsessed rusher. So
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: that's the rundown on the Bengals seven picks on Day three.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: Now time for an overview of the draft with my
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: broadcast partner Dave Lapham. All Right, lap to twenty twenty
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: one draft is completed for the Bengals. They wound up
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: with ten picks. They went for five offensive players, four
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: defensive players, and one specialist. How did they do? I
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: think pretty well, you know, you look at you look
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: at what they did in terms of it perceived weaknesses,
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: and that's at the line of scrimmage. Offensive and defensive
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: line got to beef those up. They basically were riddled
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: with injury last year and they found out they didn't
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: have good enough players as as depth players, and they
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: were literally signing guys off the street, and uh and
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: it didn't work out well. So four defensive linemen, three
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: offensive linemen out of their ten draft picks in the
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: same draft. In the twenty twenty draft, they went three linebackers.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: So they have in the last two drafts, you know,
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: given given heavy loads in terms of picks to specific
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: positions on their on their football team. And I think
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: lou and Rumo when when he talked to us very well,
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: you know, free we addressed the back end in the draft. Here,
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: we've addressed the front end. And obviously in twenty nine,
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: the year before a draft, the linebacker position addressed the
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: linebacker position the draft. So I mean it's time it's
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: time to hopefully, you know, benefit from the fruits of
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: all that labor, that's for sure. Let's talk about the
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: big trade they made in Round two, dropping back eight
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: spots and picking up two seconds two extra fourth round
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: draft picks from the New England Patriots. Right now, that
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: looks like the key to this entire draft for the
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: Bengals because they got three players that were all ranked
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: in Pro football focuses top one O nine. Jackson Carmen
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: was forty nine according to Pro Football Focus. They got
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: him with a forty sixth pick. Tyler Shelvin, the massive
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: nose tackle from LSU, is ninety six according to Pro
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Football Focus. They got him at number one twenty two.
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: Deante Smith, the offensive lineman from East Carolina, number one
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: O nine according to Pro Football Focus. They got him
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: at number one thirty nine. So all of that for
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: moving back eight spots. Yeah, and Dan, I you know,
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: I was okay, you trade down with number five. Well,
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: you know, you don't necessarily want to give up one
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: of the premier players in the draft. And they probably
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: didn't have much activity where they would move down to
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: because they weren't going to move very far they want.
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: They had three players identified. One of them went before
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: their fifth pick, but the other guys they didn't want
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: to trade down out of being able to get one
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: of them, so they did it in the second round.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: And it's and I thought it was why because they
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: traded down to get two additional picks part and soul
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: of the draft, right where the meat and potatoes were,
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: where the rubber meets the road, you know, in the draft,
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: and to get the players that they got. I think
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: it's going to work out well. I mean, obviously we
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: don't know until they put shoulder pads and helmets on
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: to start playing. But you look at that and if
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: they hadn't made that trade, they identified a kicker that
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: they were very comfortable. And when Darren Simmons speaks, I
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: think he's got enough credibility built up for all these
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: years that people are going to listen. And you know
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: when he said, McPherson's the real deal. There are a
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: few teams. We're going to spend a sixth round pick
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: on him. The Bengals, because of the three four US
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: used a fifth round pick on him. And wouldn't have
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: shocked me if they said, hey, you know what, we
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: have the kicker and another player rated about the same.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: But the kicker is going to put points on the board.
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: We'd really like to have them. We have a need there.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: Let's let's let the chips fall as they may. Maybe
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: they got the player later on in the draft, maybe
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: they didn't who they had rated equal to him. But
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: it happens every year. You have two players, you choose one,
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: and the following round you get that guy that you
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: had rated right up there with the other player. And
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: it happens with a lot of teams throughout the entire league,
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: up and down. So I think that that trade, you know,
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: gave them a lot of flexibility during the course of
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: the heart and soul of the draft. For sure. I
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: think if Jamar Chase stays healthy, everybody expects him to
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: excel in the NFL. He's just seems to be such
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: a can't miss type prospect. I think a lot of
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: people are going to wind up evaluating this draft based
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: on how Jackson Carmen turns out, since you've got the
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: obvious need on the offensive line and he was their
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: first offensive lineman selected. You interviewed former Bengals offensive line
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: coach Paul Alexander on your podcast a few weeks ago.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: I spoke to him after the selection of Jackson Carmen
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: on Friday night. Here's the quote from Paul Alexander. I
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: saw him as a first round pick. I know that
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: mel Kiper and friends probably had him lower, but too bad.
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: I think it's legitimate. I think he's a steal. The
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: more that you learn about Jackson Carmen, what do you think.
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: Not only Paul Alexander had that comment to me when
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: I asked about Jackson Carmen, other people around the league
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: that I trust had that comment as well. Late you know,
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: later first round, worst case are very early second round.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: And that was a big consensus. I mean, you know,
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: not just majority by one boat. That was a consensus
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: of with quite a few people and two others that
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: aren't you know, affiliated with team in the league or
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: whatever that do Sims Boys Christ and Phil Simms. They
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: both felt the same way about Jackson Carmen, and that,
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: you know, the people that they had talked to around
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: the league, which would be different people and I talked
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: to around the league. I'm sure they felt like Jackson
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: Carmen was that type of a prospect. So a guy
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: that big to have that kind of agility and that
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: kind of athleticism. I think I think that he's a
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: he's a plug in play right guard, and I think potentially,
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: depending on what happens with Riley Reef, he's only under
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: contract for a year. Wouldn't shock me if in twenty
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: twenty two kicks out the right tackle like Andrew Whitworth
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: did in the early stage of his career left guard
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: they had Levi Jones League, he gets hurt, kicks out.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: You know, Carmen maybe starts at the right guard spot
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: initially and god forbid injury, but there's an injury that
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: may may change. Or if he plays the whole year
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: at right guard and then he's ready maybe to assume
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: the right tackle position the following year, you know, and
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: then I think you go and you say, hey, Deante Smith,
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: what about that guy. I think he's a developmental prospect
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: of the left tackle position. I think that's his best position.
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: And I'm not saying he can't play right but you know,
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: it's it's best man wins. You know, It's it's like
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: I hope General Williams goes out and has an All
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: Pro year. You need to have at least three tackles.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: They've got to love to have four. But you know,
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: every game day as we know, Dan, there's a few
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: as seven offensive lineman activated, and you know, if you
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: get up to nine, that's a huge number. It's usually
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: seven or eight. So guys have to have position versatility
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: and that The interesting thing is the common denominator with
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: all these guys that they drafted for defensive line and
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: three offensive lineman, with the exception of the of the
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: behemoth that they dropped it out of LSU to play
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: nose tackle. He's not gonna Shelbon's not gonna play, you know,
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: a defensive end for you, that guy, that guy's pretty
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: much a he's a one technique or a three technique
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: guy though potentially. But you've got a lot of position
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: versatility with your offensive and defensive line and edge rush
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: guys that can drop a linebackers. I think that they
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: did it. They did a pretty good job in that
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: area twelve as well, in the players showing that they
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: can play more than one position, and that's a must
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: in today's NFL. It really is. They treated edge rusher
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: this year exactly the way they treated linebacker last year.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: Third round last year, Logan Wilson this year, Joseph Asai
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: fourth round last year, a Keem Davis Gather this year,
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: Cam Sample last pick last year, Marcus Bailey this year.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: Why at Hubert So, I don't know if there's a
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: direct correlation. We did it, it worked, Let's do it again.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: I don't think, you know, it's it's a direct formula
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: that they were following. But it is interesting that they,
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: you know, devoted thirty percent of the draft of that position.
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: I agree with that, Dan, and I think that the
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: one thing that they did something. They may have different
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: body types and different kinds of strengths, weaknesses or whatever
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: within the body types, but the one thing they all
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: have they all play like their hairs on fire. You know,
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: we talked about it before. They wanted guys like Sam
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: Hubbard and Hendrickson, who are effort guys. I mean, they're
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: gonna empty the effort bucket every single snap, and the
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: three guys they've added are going to do that. I mean,
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: if they get beaten, it's not going to be lack
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: for lack of trying. You know, I can tell you
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: that right now. There may be a mistake made or
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: whatever the case may be, but it's it's not going
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: to be because it was lack of one hundred percent
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: all out given everything you've got. If you're gonna make
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: a mistakes, as the old coaching saying goes, make sure
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: you make it one hundred percent and so you can
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: live with those kind of mistakes. And that's what that's
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: what they're going to have in that on that edge.
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: But Mark Dufferin did an awesome job I think in
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: in quote recruiting these guys as such or laying the foundation,
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: because every guy that talked to talk to us on
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: their zoom pressors after they were drafted, they all talked
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: about how impressed they were with coach Duffner, you know,
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: when they were dealing with him. So he did a
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: nice job in terms of identifying, in laying the found
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: work foundation and groundwork to get these guys in the
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: fold and uh, you know, start to teach him some
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: of the concepts that are important here in Cincinnati. So
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: it's going to be very interesting. I think there at
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: various stages. I think some have more ability. It's interesting
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: to me. I think Aside probably obviously has the most
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: row ability and he got drafted where he got drafted
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: with that reason. But Hubert Hubert's got a plan. Hubert
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: Hubert is a is a is a football junk. He's
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: possessed by the game, and he looks at he breaks
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: tight down, he finds Frank's witnesses. He has multiple moves,
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: he's got a game plan, and the coach is basically
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: the last year the hu was plan. They said, you
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: just figured out, you find what you think you know,
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: the mismatch up and down the line school, We'll let
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: you rush anywhere. So I think this kid's pretty darn
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: advanced as far as those things go. I may be
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: in the minority, but I love the selection of Evan
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: McPherson the kicker in the fifth round. It's been so
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: long since the Bengals had an elite kicker, maybe early
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: Mike Nugent, maybe have to go back to Shane Graham.
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: But when you're in a division where you see Justin
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: Tucker twice a year and you realize the difference that
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: a great kicker can make, it makes you want one
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: that much more. And who knows if he'll turn out
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: to be that good, but certainly, based on his track
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: record with the Florida Gators, they've got a chance at
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: least to have an elite kicker for the first time
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: in a long time. You know, it gives you and
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: as a teammate, when you've got a guy that's got
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: a Howardser hanging off his right hip, as soon as
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: you cross the midfield, if you're on offense, you're like, yeah,
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: we're in range. Let's see what we can get done here.
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: We're already in. It takes so much pressure off because oh, yeah,
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: we're good, we're in range already. Let's let's try to
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: finalize this. Somebody go make a play. Let's let's let's
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: make sure we get seven instead of three. We got
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: three on the board right now. And you know, talking
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: talking about the cold weather and that sort of thing.
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: You know, when you when you have a guy that's
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: a dominant kicker, no no doubt, it affects the ball.
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's pure science. The cold weather, you know,
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: it compresses the football, affects the ball. He expands the football.
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: The cold weather compresses the football, and it's like kicking
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: a rock, you know, the colder it gets. But a
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: guy that's got the lake strength, you don't lose as
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: much distance with a guy like that. You know, It's
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: it's not like you fell off a cliff. In terms
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: of boy our range with our kicker is from the
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: fifty one yard line. Uh, you know, when it's at
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: the end of the preseason or early stage age of
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: the regular season. But boy man, we start to get
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: into November and December, maybe forty five yardline if we're lucky.
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: I mean, that's that's a tough thing to deal with.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: So yeah, when you have a guy that's uh, you
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: know that that much better, You know that that much
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: better physically, it's a big factor. It affects field position,
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: it affects decision making, it affects all that stuff. And
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: not to mention kickoffs. I mean, Tucker can intimidate you
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: the way he can boom it through the end zone
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: for a touchback, or he can hang it up to
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: Pluto and the kickoff coverage team is and you know,
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: if you can't fair catch it, you can't take a
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: chance to let to hit, so you have to return it.
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: And you know they're gonna opinion inside the twenty yard line,
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: you know. And so the kickers that have that type
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: of an effect on a football game, that affect you know,
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: how many first downs you have to get, how close
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: you have to get before you decide you're going to
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: try and attempt the field goal. I mean, there's there's
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: a big ripple effect when you have a guy that good.
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: I agree, there are no cornerbacks in this draft. There
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: are no safeties in this draft. There no linebackers. There
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: was only one wide receiver. Running backs drafted late. So
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: certainly those positions will be addressed among the undrafted free agents.
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: But was there anything lacking out of those spots. Did
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: you feel like, wow, and they probably should have used
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: draft capital on one of those positions, you know, not
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: really because it was it would hit so hard, you know,
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: in free agency, and I mean they remade the back
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: end twice two years in a row, basically in free agency.
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: Yet I just think the one thing I'm sure they're
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: going to sign in terms of a college free agent,
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: if it's a wide receiver or a running back or
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: a corner whatever it is, is a guy that has
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: kick return abilities. I think, you know, Darren's gonna want
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: to have a little competition, you know, as far as
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: as far as that's concerned back, there a punt return,
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: kick return, particularly return with Ericson you know signing with
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: the Houston Texans, so you know, I think that that's
• 35:06
  Speaker 1: going to be a little bit of a factor in
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: terms of who they bring in from a college free
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: agent standpoint, but I you know, Giovanni Bernard moving on,
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: they made the decision to make the picks that they made, uh.
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: And Chris Evans is a guy that is was the
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: best player available on the board at that time in
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: the sixth round. And he's a guy that can run
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: routes and catch the football and maybe be you know,
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: the next generation of Giovanni Bernard. So they were really
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: high on him. You know, obviously he had had his issue,
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: self inflicted issue that he had to deal with from
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: a diversity standpoint, but he stood up and like a
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: man and said, you know, he didn't try to blame
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: it on anybody else and curl up and assume the fish.
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: And he just went to work literally three jobs and
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: you know, doing everything he could to make sure that
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: that he did right by everybody. And now here he
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: is in the National Football League getting this chance. So
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: you root for guys like that. We're a second chance
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: society and this guy obviously is his atone for his
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: mistake and I'd like to see him have a hell
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: of a career. And that was apparently an academic issue
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: at Michigan, So it was not a drug suspension or
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: a legal problem. Apparently it was academic related, so certainly
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: not something that would be a huge red flag. Yeah,
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: my understanding was a plagiarism deal. And you know that's
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: even you make mistakes. Young people make mistakes, and you
• 36:33
  Speaker 1: know you and that, but you know, to me, that's
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: a mistake. Cheating is a mistake, there's no question about it.
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: But it's not something that you end the guy's life for,
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: you know, his professional careers, professional life, and he's learned
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: from it, and he's moved on and he's he's in
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: a much better place right now. Obviously, that's for sure.
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: You know who I think might be a winner out
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: of this draft for the Bengals, Josh Bines. They didn't
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: take any linebackers. He's still unsigned. I wonder if this
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: increases the likelihood that they bring him back for another year. Yeah,
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: that's a good point, Dan, because you talk to any
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: one of the young linebackers and they just they rave
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: about you know, he's like an assistant coach on the field.
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: So the guys, a lot of these young linebackers they
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: drafted last year year one to year two. Again, it's
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: not for everybody, but I can atone a test of
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: the fact that you do start to see the game
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: a little bit differently. The game is a lot more clear,
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: it slows down, there's there's a lot of things that
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: you know, you take from your rookie year experience built quickly.
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: So did they feel like they still need that influence? Probably,
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: you know, And unless they feel players just dropped off
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: the face of earth, I think you're right. I think
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: you'll probably benefit from that. I would not be surprised though,
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: to see college free agent or at that position group.
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: I don't think there's any question about that. Whatever positions,
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: they didn't draft anybody four, they will go out and
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: sign at least one undrafted free agent. Yeah, there will,
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: there's no question. And you know, and that includes the
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: tight end position, safety and includes all of them, just
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: if for nothing else, to have bodies out there. I
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: can remember one year where Mike McCormick got up in
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: front of us as an offensive line because we looked
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: around the room at training camp and there are only
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: nine of us, you know, and it's and he stands out.
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: I think it was nine, maybe it was eight, might
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: be eight. And he stands up, he goes, congratulations, men,
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: you've all made the team. That's the good news. The
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: bad news that's when we had two days full pads.
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: I mean, it was brutal. As bad news is. You
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: guys are. It's gonna be survival of the best. The finish,
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: It's gonna be Darwini. Isn't matter the best whoever can
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: make it through training camp and hopefully have all you
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: guys to the start of the regular season because there's
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: no reps being divided out to anybody else. You guys
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: were taking them all. And that was a long, tough
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: training camp, you know, was brutal. So it has been
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: an eventful stretch for Bengals fans. The uniforms were revealed,
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: the draft has now completed. Pretty soon there will be
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: voting for the other two members of the initial Ring
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: of Honor class and then before you know it, training camp.
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: I'm telling you it's it's going to be upon us
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: before anybody can blink twice. And the numbers, the participation
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: in the viewership and the number of hits in terms
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: of social media television however you digital, how have you
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: got your draft information? I guess the numbers were crazy.
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: Commissioner Goodell kept saying, you know that there are stupid
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: numbers in terms of interest in the draft and the
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: number of people that showed up at Cleveland to witness
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: it and to be outside and and be part of
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: the draft of the National Football League. It was turned
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: into quite an event. There's no doubt about it. Man.
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: I know we've talked about it a lot. Dan, would
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: you like the Roger Goodell chair for your family room
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: or living room after after I disinfected? Take it through
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: the car wad. There were so many different butts that chair, man.
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: I don't think my wife's limb, but let me bring
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: it in the house. That's going to do it. For
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, brought to you
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: by bud Light, Seltzer refreshed the game. If you haven't
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: done so already, please subscribe and if you have a minute,
• 40:41
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• 40:44
  Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde, and
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: thank you for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast.