It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day looking ahead to the twenty
twenty four NFL Draft. Let's discuss what we hope the Bengals will do,
what we hope they won't do, what we hope they've learned from recent years.
You are Locked On Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast, part of
the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day Bengals fans and welcome to another
episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. I'm your host, Jake. Let's go.
He's your host, James Rapine. Today we are joined by Jogo Berry
as we discuss and get into some things we hope about this Bengals draft in
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who make us here. First listening, guys, Let's talk about some nightmare,
some dreams, some hopes, some fears and some lessons learned. And
the reason that this is particularly pertinent today is with the Bengals getting together for
their off season program, a lot of discussion going on both on this podcast,
on yesterday's episode and on social media and an analysis circles everywhere about Dax
Hill. And it's not just Dax Hill, but there's a broader conversation that
we can kind of center around Dax Hill, and it's not all about him
and what the Bengals plan was there. But when we talk about hopes and
fears and lessons learned, I think that is a starting point because there's a
few things that we can take away from that selection where there's a big projection
for Dax Hill and say, Okay, what do we hope they've taken away
from that pick? But Joe, you've also tweeted about hopes and dreams and
nightmares. What are the like the top things that you're hoping the Bengals take
away from that Dax Hill pick and apply this year. Yeah, So the
Daks thing in particular, I think there's a lot of lessons to be learned
there. I think the overarching thing, if it was a book, it
would start by let's have a plan throughout the organization from the top down,
right, You hear about organizational vision from not just the personnel people, the
guys that are doing the evaluating and the scouting, but to the coaching staff.
In Dax's case in particular, he was always a slot box defender.
Right at Michigan, they wanted to take a guy to replace Jesse Bates,
knowing they'd lose him in a year as their deep free safety, and they
forced him into that role. Right, So, if you know he's this,
if the scouting staff knows he's this, but yet the I guess I'm
of management with the with the Baits situation, and then the coaching staff maybe
doesn't understand how to use that or how to get him there because, let's
face, he already had Mike Hilton, so you're not going to put him
in the slot anyway. But in year two to say, okay, now
you are free safety with very little experience, I mean, he's had less
experience there than Jordan battle right coming out of Alabama last year, and more
snaps at free safety taking his first step on an NFL field, if you
include college snaps, it just didn't make a lot of sense to force him
there and say, all right, your free safety now, oh you weren't
very good. Now we're going to bury you on the depth chart and keep
it moving and I get cutting your losses as quick as possible. There is
some something there. But at the same time, having a plan for what
the guy does in college and what he can do for you and executing that
and having that from the scouting to the people making the picks to the coaches
needs to be one of the things they focus on. I think one of
it was we could go to the Jackson Carmen pick. Who was Is he
a tackle? Is he a guard? You know what I mean? Is
he even worth this pick? From the scouting staff to the front office management?
Right? But having a plan, and I think there's a few guys
in this class where we need to be put a little red flag on,
like, hey, if you are moving this player's position and want to do
something else with them, maybe we should lower the grade just a little bit
for that little bit of unknown. Yeah, I think Dax, there's a
couple of things. One, if the scouting staff did view him as the
future Jesse Bates, then the coaches needed to be on board with putting him
back at a deep safety even after Jesse Bates comes back, and he didn't
play there at all. After Bates came back, he played there and during
camp and then it didn't happen. And so you're right, they have to
be on the same page. I think back to a Luanna Roumo quote during
Dax's rookie are like, yeah, hopefulay when he's ready, these young defensive
backs, and it was going on and on, and I do wonder,
like, all right, well, we're people above him saying, hey,
can you get the first rounder on the field. Sub And he talked about
not wanting to play young guys a ton because they make mistakes. Well,
Tax needed to make mistakes if he was going to switch positions and and it
work out. And so yeah, when you apply it to this year's especially
early, right, the first rounder for Dax this year, I would say
it's the first four picks. You want to have a plan for these guys,
whether it's Fatanu, whether it's Malachai Corley, whether it's some of these
guys that aren't obvious, Oh, this is where you put him and they're
going to play that position. Because Daxhil's talented, and we're not going to
know what he is unless there's injury. We're not gonna know what he is.
Guys, probably after three seasons, not even two after three, which
is kind of wild, And that's scary because you have to pick up his
fifth year option after this season. So if he's buried behind Mike Hilton,
even if he ends up playing some boundary corner, which to me is also
a worst case scenario, So you're gonna move him again to another position if
it's boundary that he has never played. So okay, So in my opinion,
if you want to salvage him, it's as a strong safety, box
slot defender, right you kind of just Tyron Matthew, Kyle Hamilton, Buddha
Baker. The guy who was very similar, who had a similar arc to
his career, Jimmy Ward from about like twenty fifteen, I want to say,
struggled between corner in slot and is he a safety? I was looking
at a snap breakdown earlier on PFF and it wasn't until Robert Salad got there
and said, Okay, you're a basically a box slot safety, and those
guys are hybrid players in today's NFL. You can do that with these guys
where you're not really sure. Like if people said Tyron Matthews a safety,
that's fine, but he also was a slot corner for a lot of his
career in the NFL and made a lot of plays there. Kyle Hamilton,
same draft, if the Ravens would have drafted Kyle Hamilton and the reason he
fell probably ten spots later than he should have. Remember, Jake, we
had him super high on our draft spreadsheet is because he ran slow. And
team said, well, he's not a corner now and that's what he played
at Notre Dame, so we're gonna have to move him to safety. The
raven said, screw that, this is what he's good at. We're gonna
play him where he's good at, and we're going to make him a box
slot defender. And imagine if Hamilton was still there for the Bengals and the
Bengals said, yeah, we can't let him do that. We're going to
play him as a free safety to replace Jesse Bates.'re playing him at
a different safety position to instead of playing slot corner. They'd be ruining an
All Pro Pro Bowl player right now just as well. So it's more about
the plan than it is the player and the execution of getting them in position
to be their best. Yeah, it's about the plan and being in lockstep
between the people making the pick, the front office and the coaching staff.
That's something that Duke Tobin and Zach Taylor sold us on and when they hire
Zach Taylor. Go back to those episodes show way back in the day.
One of the things that Zach talked about and Duke talked about was how much
they saw the game the same way. And I wonder how true that is
with some of the draft picks. I wonder if they really have been on
the same page. The two biggest examples of this seem to be Jackson Carmen
and Dax Hill, where you really wonder what the plan was for those guys
coming in, But well, I was gonna throw him in. He was
changing positions. I think that's a slightly different thing. Maybe they were on
the same page there, they knew they were drafting a guy who's gonna have
to change positions. But that's another issue here, is like why are we
drafting guys that need this crazy projection and how does that apply when we look
at this year's draft, where there are some guys like Troy Fetanu, for
example, who might have to change position. I think that they had a
I think they were on the same page with Daks. Dax was eleventh on
their board. I don't think Zach I remember the night of the draft.
I think he was all about drafting dacks same moving them in the free safety
though right now that's the plan is If that is the plan, then Lou
has to be willing to play him some. But Jesse played ninety nine percent
of the snaps like that's that's what's really hard, and then you can't pull
him the moment he has bumps that Jesse took when they stunk in twenty eighteen
and no one remembers as a rookie and in his first year back there,
even though he did play that free safety spot at wake for so, I
think that's that's part of it, too, is being on the same page,
because they might have had the plant been in lockstep plan wise from a
free safety standpoint, But the moment there was Jesse, Bates and Von Bell,
it was like, okay, yeah, you're you're going to play three
different spots at least a little bit as a rookie and you're really not going
to see the field outside of special teams. Well, lose part of being
on the same page. It's not just Zach and Duke. It's Zach and
Duke and his top assistants and having everybody on the same page to execute that
plan right. And what I'm saying is is he may say that on draft
night and then it change in September when it matters and it can't. That's
the big difference executing the plan. The one other thing here is this isn't
all the coaching staff's fault. I'll just say that again. If Dax Hill
was able to execute what they asked him to do last year when he had
the opportunity, and maybe it wasn't the best fit for him, but if
he was able to do what they asked them to do, then we wouldn't
be having this conversation at all. So it's not just the coaches. But
I think it's clear that our primary issue here is with getting your premium picks
into position to succeed, using them to their strengths and having a plan.
And that will apply this year, and we'll apply to some specific players this
year. We'll talk about that in some more detail here coming up next spoiler
alert. And Joe and Jake both know this. I'm competitive and that's why
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Greig is usually a fan of water cooler talk, but it's draft season and
that's all anyone wants to talk about. The Athletic has loads of articles about
this year's draft, but Greg doesn't have the athletic. So now he's filling
up his water bottle in the bathroom sink, which, to remind you,
is the sink people use after they use the bathroom. Get the athletic and
get the info you need to speak draft fluently. So, Joe James,
let's take that conversation. Let's apply it to some players this year. I
mentioned Troy Patana as probably the big biggest example I can think of in the
first round as a guy who would need to have a very specific plan,
and we've gotten back and forth on that plan. When we look at this
draft, there are a few things I think that we're all hoping for.
One, have a plan, like we just discussed. Two instant impact.
I think that we're all sick of waiting since the Jamar Chase Draft for the
first round player to come in here and make an instant impact and contribute in
year one. It's also the last time they picked early in the draft,
so maybe that's a complication for this front office. What are some of the
other hopes, Joe, that you're holding out for here is we talked about
some of the early picks for the Bengals in this year's draft, So I
hope they take advantage of the trenches in the first two rounds, the opportunity
to draft those players. Those impact players typically happen in rounds one, round
two, right, So getting the first defensive tackle would be awesome. The
history there looks pretty fun of those guys turning into good players, whether that's
Byron Murphy or Johnny Newton at eighteen. But also getting an offensive tackle at
eighteen would be something I don't think they've been in position to really do too
often. Yeah, the Jackson Carman year, we always point to that as
you could have spent that pick better, but it was on interior offensive line
mostly. Getting a first round tackle typically with those guys who are hitting most
of the marks, they're going in the top ten. And because this class
is so strong, I really hope they are presented with an opportunity to get
one of the guys I really like. Now, Troy Fatana is not one
of the guys I really hope is one of the options at eighteen because of
some of the risks there, because of some of the you're gonna have to
move them move him. Some team see him as a guard I do as
well, So if he plays left guard, if they are willing to move
the eighteenth pick to guard, that could be an upgrade, immediate upgrade on
the offensive line. But at the same time, then you're going to say,
in the future, I think the Bengals would all, right, let's
move him to right tackle. And then now we've moved to his position twice
and he's already at an advanced age twenty five year old, let's move a
second time to be our right tackle. So that puts up a red flag
for me in a lot of ways, and other than the film, and
I've done breakdowns of his game, but I think position and fit there scares
me just a little bit. I think the Byron Murphy thing is another one
we can talk about as a guy that hey, on tape, he's playing
a lot of no's at Texas. Let's be honest, he's not that in
the NFL. But the Bengals don't have a nose. So could we see
this situation where the Bengals like, you know what, take Murphy, that's
how we'll get him on the field right away, and that we're eight weeks
in and they're wondering why he's getting killed by double teams and it's like Yeah,
well, you gotta let him rush the pass or get him out to
the three tech and four I and get him out there and let him do
his thing. I could see that being a scenario. But I think of
Miles Murphy last year a little bit, and they kind of did the right
thing in promoting his development because we knew he would only played right defensive end
at Clemson, so they made sure they activated him, they made sure he
played, They made sure he played a lot of left defensive end, even
though he didn't look as comfortable there in his rookie season and Joseph Saide was
inactive and things like that. So they put forced forth the effort rather than
what they did with that. So they put the effort to say, hey,
we're gonna sprinkle you into the snaps, so we know we're probably gonna
need you in a couple of years. Let's make sure Miles Murphy gets that.
So I could see that being a situation with Byron Murphy too, where
he's playing nose, but yet in nickel, we're gonna let you play where
you're probably gonna make your money in the NFL. Yeah, I hope that
there is the plan there, and that's why. I think they'll double dip
at defensive tackle, and even if they take one like Byron Murphy, they'll
take hopefully a nose at some point late, just to have someone there that
can take some of those snaps. Not that I don't want Byron Murphy on
the field, but you want him to get as many snaps at what he's
going to ultimately be. I think there are some hopefully our listeners know it
by now, but Byron Murphy isn't replacing DJ Reader. It is not that
that cut and dry. Neither is Johnny Newton. Neither is probably any guy
that you're thinking of on day two either, unless you're thinking of Debentre Sweat,
which isn't happening with the Bengals. I do want to ask you.
I asked Dane about Amarus Mimsey yesterday and I you know this, Joe,
I've text you about him. I'm in love lust. Whatever you want to
say with the idea of having a Marius mim someone who has such a high
ceiling, how concerned are you about him? Because I get the lack of
playing time or lack of experience. At the same time, it's not like
he's coming off of an ACL or these super serious injuries. I don't think
he's anywhere near the prospects Cedric of Waey he was, even though Bengals fans
think back to him, I think it would be a heck of a pick
at eighteen. Yeah, I don't think the I think the injury part is
overblown. He's had an ankle issue and then got rolled up on again and
it kind of doubled down and extended his some of his durability issues. And
they had two draftable tackles. One went in the first round. One was
what a fifth rounder last year at Georgia, So it's understandable why he didn't
play right away. But at the same time, I see the upside.
I'd be like, if he went back or had another year at Georgia and
was healthy, played the whole year, and played the weight we see in
the small set of snaps we do get, he'd be a top ten bi
easy and maybe even top five. If you were doing two early twenty twenty
five mock drafts and he was in that class, he'd be a top six
pick. And I think you're at that opportunity to get someone there at eighteen
is completely worth it and worth the gamble. Now the gamble is and what
are the red flags there? Is that the limited snap set eight hundred and
three snaps in his career, four hundred and two of them in past blocking,
which means that was a fifty to fifty rate at Georgia, which means
you know he was protected and it's true. The true pass sets are about
twenty five percent of his total snaps. Bengals are usually running in the forty
five to forty eight range of true pass sets, meaning they're not protecting their
offensive line. I think believe Orlander Brown was at three hundred and six true
passe sets last year. Amarius Mims was around forty. They're talking about if
he had to play, if Trent Brown went down. That is a huge
amount of pressure you're putting on this guy who does not have the experience doing
it. So when people say, yeah, his film looks good, it
looks good in an offense that's not going to resemble the Bengals. So it's
very hard to say what he's going to look like. When the other guy's
like jac Latham, right, like forty true pass sets like that, I
can see him fitting completely into the Bengals offense. I can see Tali Fuonga,
even though he I think you've fit a wide zone team more that power
running, climbing to the second level. I think you can do a lot
more with him run blocking, and you can expand what your offensive line can
do. So I have those guys before I have Mims. But the upside
is definitely worth it. If you nail it, everyone's going to call you
a genius and you're bold, You're It's worth it to take that risk because
now you've got a probably the freakiest best athlete at right tackle in the NFL.
It's one of those players, like we've talked about in this episode,
where they need to have a plan. They need to have. It's a
different kind of plan, like he's going to play right tackle, that's not
really a question here, but you need to have a plan to acclimatize him
to what the Bengals want to do on offense. You need to have a
plan to play to his strengths in the run game and in the past game.
And that's something that we've talked that we think the Bengals want to do.
We want we we think they want to be a little bit less straight
drop back. We saw a little bit of that with Jake Browning. We
saw an emphasis on play action and RPO stuff last year in the offseason around
starting around not quite this time of year, but right after this when media
was able to see any sort of reps from the team in practice for the
first time. So maybe that's part of it too, is if you draft
a guy like Amarusmins, you have a plan for your offense as well,
if this is going to be a centerpiece for you in terms of development and
in terms of scheme fit for a younger player who they had the top visit
with that the top thirty visits, Zach Taylor still conted a top thirty,
so I'm still conted to top thirty. They had the top thirty visit with
Amerius Mims. He played in big college football playoff games, you played for
a big program. These are a lot of things the Bengals like to use
their first round pick on, and you can see that again with Amarus Mims.
But to your point, Joe, that true passet projection is something that
Bengal have to figure out, and I think that's hard for all college offensive
linemen at this point with the way college defenses are playing. But let's wrap
up the conversation with some things we're hoping the Bengals will avoid. And I
want to bring up a point about how long they've gone without drafting a defensive
tackle and kind of tie that into the Dax conversation as well as far as
lessons learned and do the Bengals react to that this year or not. We'll
finish the show there coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by
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com. Let's wrap up the conversation, hopefully not to negatively. Here some
things that we hope the Bengals have learned and where I was going with this
James Yesterday after our show, I mentioned Bengals probably aren't going to draft a
first round safety for thirty years, like they haven't drafted a first round defensive
tackle for thirty years. Do we think that there's actually a reason to believe
the Bengals will change their first round pattern of not drafting a defensive tax since
Dan Wilkinson in the nineties. Is there a reaction to the way their run
defense played last year, to the loss of DJ Vader, to the need
for depth? There is that a lesson we think they've learned that maybe they
should be open to top end defensive tackle talent in the first shoft Well,
yeah, I think they're go ahead. I thought you said Mae. No,
I didn't know which way Jake was going with it. It was pretty
open end to go ahead, Joe. I was going to say, well,
they drafted Mouths Murphy last year after not taking a defensive end since what
Justin Smith or if you want to consider David Pollock. Right, So they've
done it, and that's right after taking a safety for the first time in
thirty years, as you mentioned, Jake. So yeah, there's a precedent
there for them to break that a little bit and go defensive tackle. Yeah,
I think they're open to it. I think that the reality is is
that there's probably one, maybe two that they're seriously considering at eighteen versus five
offensive tackles, and so is defensive tackle higher on their board than corner?
Sure, but where does that defensive tackle? And Byron Murphy fall does he
make it to eighteen? That's it. I think they're open to it for
sure, and it's just a matter of the board following the right way and
then them taking them. But I still don't think that they're taking Johnny Newton.
I would be surprised at this point, if they take Newton at eighteen,
not that they couldn't take him, Maybe they take him at twenty five
if they trade down. I just I'm not sure they would take him at
eighteen. And is that something that ties into some of our fears and some
of our things that Bengals should avoid this year? Why is the league so
low on Johnny Newton? Why wouldn't the Bengals pick Johnny Newton? Why have
the Bengals drafted Geno Atkins, this all decade player who played at a Hall
of Fame level and never gone back to that archetype? What gives there?
Is that something that we should be afraid of or hope they changed this year?
Joe, Yeah, that is one of my fears actually, that they
don't address the trenches until it's too late. And they've spent a lot,
a lot of trench picks in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth rounds
right and they have nothing to show for it other than Korda Bolson right now.
And I think that's I mean, you're taking low risk picks or low
chance of hitting right when you're spending picks in day three. These trench guys
go earlier typically unless you're draft on a nose tackle. Nose tackle is different.
That can be a Day three pick. I have got no issue with
it. Tyler Shelvin is what it is. But it's fourth round pick.
That's fine. I think they have tried to recreate the geno Atkins and just
in don't tap Eco fourth round pick as well, right, but they've done
it in the wrong ways. The Ryan Glasgow picks, the Andrew Billings picks.
Who actually is a really good nose tackle right now, maybe they should
have found a way to keep him and a whole onto that a little bit
longer. But Zach Carter things like that. When you spend these picks in
at best third round, your chances of hitting there are not very high.
And this goes for offensive offensive line too, whether it's Akiema dna Ge or
Trey Hill or Deontay Smith or who remembers Rod Taylor, these picks are oh
chance of hitting. Spend them early. So my fear is, hey,
it didn't work out. We took a corner, and then my next fear
won't get to it is going to be what they can do in round two.
We took a wide receiver in round two and forced that pick because we
wanted to force these needs and get guys that could play right now and then
now we'll hit the trenches. And they've done this before, so I hope
this isn't the year. This is the year that they correct and hopefully the
board lines up. I'm not saying just take any trench player. Hopefully it
lines up that you can address both in the first two or three rounds.
Just want to list really quick the trench players they've used those Day three picks
on in the last I don't know, five years. So we got Renel
Red, who I'm surprised he didn't bring up in the fourth round trying to
find the defensive tackle. There you got KLi Kareem, who I think was
a pretty successful fifth round pick, and he came it Energy in twenty twenty,
came a d Energy started for you and played a lot of meaningful games.
But nobody's hanging their hat on that pick. Those are the best case
scenarios though, right for fifth round, and they've dubbed better with edge than
with defensive tackle. To be clear, Cam sample a Day three pick,
but that draft also featured Tyler Shelvin, Deontay Smith, Trey, Trey Hill
and Wire Hubert who had to have a medical retirement, and don't hold that
against him. Then you come back and is Zach Carter, Cordell Volson,
Jeff Gunter and none of those guys are huge success stories. So just just
to put some names and picks to the conversation you were having there, Joe,
Sorry, James, go ahead with your point. No, no need
to apologize. You need to apologize to Cordell Volson because this backs up the
point. If you start as many games as he started, he's already a
success. He is for the expectations in the fourth round. And Joe said,
he's a success story. I'm talking about you one of you group Cordell
with those other guys, and well, he's just one of the picks.
He's actually one of their day three trench picks. He was the most successful.
That's great, but he's just one of the guys that they picked.
That's why. But if that's the best case scenario, correct, he's a
home run at that spot. If you would have told me that they were
getting this two years ago and they drafted him, I would have taken it
all day long. But there's obvious questions about him in his long term future.
It's not like you're for sure saying, oh, he's going to sign
an extension and be their left guard for the next eight years. And so
that's the point that I think Joe's trying to make, is if you wait
on the trenches, especially this year where offensive tackle, it's really hard to
have this many offensive tackles, and it's realistic to think one's there. And
I think that's what they are hoping, is there or it worth case,
and it'd be a great worst case. I think if you take Byron Murphy
at eighteen, if it's something like that, you're sitting pretty if all of
those guys are gone, then it could get worriesome, and so that I
think that is a reasonable fear. I just want to say, it's so
funny to me that there's this perception of Cordel Wolson. Then you compare it
to the perception of Russell Boating, who came in and started his entire career
in Cincinnati's a fourth run into your offensive lineman was hated the entire time time.
But when I but I'm a but, I'm a I'm a Quarto Wolson
hater, even though I try to be pretty neutral on Vulson. I just
was listening them there as one of the recent Day three picks. But it's
funny to me the disparity and the perception of Bulson versus Bodine given the similarities
in their draft position and what they were asked to do for the Bengals and
the limited competition they faced when they arrived in Cincinnati. I do know,
let's mistake again, right, Yeah, there's another lesson you're challenging, courtA
Wilson, if you, if you, if the opportunity arises, because where
there is later in this draft is on the interior offensive yes, point.
Yeah. The fear is is that they ignore interior offensive line until round six.
That would be the fear right is not getting because at worst I want
to leave with a Ted Kerris, Quordo Volson, Alex Kappa backup who can
back up all three spots. And I think they could do that in the
mid rounds of this draft. You can get your tackle. Really talked to
Dan yesterday. He does think that there are some solid defensive tackles on Day
two. I think we all agree with that. And so if you could
get your offensive tackle round one, land the right defensive tackle round two or
three, and you could double down later in the draft. I think that's
one of the more ideal scenarios for sure. If they miss on an offensive
tackle in the first round, do we hope they go back to offensive tackle
in the second round? What do we think there? Like, let's talk
about a hope there. In one final scenario for the show, they can't
get one of their favorite six tackles at eighteen, they picked the defensive tackle
instead. Are we just punting on letters on non a letter receive run offensive
tackle at that point? No, I think there are a couple options.
You need to be fortunate, you need to get lucky, I think.
But I think Roger Rosengarten is a good enough prospect to draft at forty nine.
He's young, he's been productive, he's got the athleticism, he's got
the size. These guys typically, I like if he goes top forty,
let's say like thirty eight, I'd be like, yeah, that makes look
at his prospect profile. He hits everything to be a Brian O'Neil if you
will, for the Vikings. Right. So, there are a couple guys
that can be there is Blake Fisher. I wouldn't touch him until the third
round. You got to get fortunate, and I think, like Kingsley,
Sue Mattea is going to be gone. I think Jordan Morgan's gonna be gone.
And even so, Morgan's probably a guard anyway. So it gets risky
for sure if you have to go Byron Murphy at eighteen, because the run
happens just before you. I think I just saw Peter Schrager's mock. It
pretty much had a run right up to where the Bengals picked, and the
only guy there was Mims, who, summer speculating, is a little bit
lower on board. So maybe the Bengals stay fine, we'll take Byron Murphy
here, which is what Peter Schreger had them doing. Makes a ton of
sense, I would hope. So here's a dream. I would hope they
get really aggressive in round two, get up, be one of those teams
that get into the top forty and get the one of the tackles that still
remains. And I don't even care if Roger rosenbaren there, because I do
think he could potentially be a starter. Yeah, that makes sense, It
really does, because the drop off is so significant, and then if there
is a run. And you don't feel comfortable with Blake Fisher at forty nine,
what if he goes fifty eight just because the team's like, hey,
he's not going to be around the next round. And now you're looking up
and it's this historical at least early on offensive tackle class and you don't get
one. It's one thing to not get a tight end in a tight end
class that's really deep like last year. It's a whole another to not be
able to get the offensive tackle. And that's why I think, deep down,
if you gave them truth serum, unless someone crazy fell that we don't
expect to fall offensive tackles the way they're hoping to go at eighteen. Yeah,
we've been saying for a while now we think that's probably plan A and
talking about getting aggressive in round two. I'm all about trading up in round
two if there's somebody that falls that you don't expect to fall. And part
of the reason I'm saying that is because of mel Kiper and Field Gates's alternating
draft on ESPN with Johnny Newton in the second round, and to go with
that reporting from Jeremy Werner, who is covering the ALNI Pro. He works
for the Aluni Inquire. Johnny Newton isn't going to do any testing. He's
going to do his positional bills drills, but he's not going to test.
And that falling into the second round scenario is real. If teams care about
that, and some do, could be on the table, and if it
does happen, I think all three of us agree that the Bengal should be
very aggressive in moving up to get him. All right, let's do this
scenario a little more. And we've talked about it before. But forty nine
and ninety seven to move up to you call Brian Callahan and say, hey,
thirty eight, we'll give you forty nine and ninety seven. You doing
that for Johnny Newton there, Okay, just making sure I give up eighty.
I give up forty nine and eighty if if that's what required, you
got the extra thirunde. We're gonna play hardball here. I'm calling him about
ninety seven. It must us know that, I say, okay, eighty,
Yes, Newton's gonna end up a top fifteen player on our board.
Even that's with assuming he's only a seven point five aries athletic testing. Because
he's not gonna test. That puts him in top fifteen, which I wouldn't
have been surprised if if he was healthy, if that foot was healthy,
and he could have tested if he was a ninetieth plus percentile athlete, and
would have been a top ten player on our board. So yes, I
move up and I get him because I think he's a future Pro Bowl defensive
tackle. He was doing some freaky stuff playing through that foot injury at Illinois,
which is pretty mind boggling to think about. That's going to do it
though. For this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. The next time you
hear from us, we'll be reviewing a Bengals big board that you will have
seen us put together, potentially on Cincinnati Bengals Talk. And until then,
thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Who day and
have a good one. Hey Prime members, You can listen to this Lockdown
podcast a free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today