Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast. Uh what would you say? Addition,
Speaker 1: as we put Dave Lapham on the clock and on
Speaker 1: the spot and get his prediction for what the Bengals
Speaker 1: are going to do in the NFL Draft, and I
Speaker 1: know what you're thinking. We already know what they're going
Speaker 1: to do. Well, that's true in the first round. So
Speaker 1: this year, I'll get laps prediction for their first pick
Speaker 1: of the second round and it's not one of the
Speaker 1: most frequently mentioned names. Plus, I'll talk to the Bengals
Speaker 1: first round draft pick for last year, offensive lineman Jonah
Speaker 1: Williams as he prepares to protect his new quarterbacks blind side.
Speaker 1: The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Prime Sport, the
Speaker 1: official fan, travel and hospitality partner of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 1: And here's a quick reminder that you can have the
Speaker 1: latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,
Speaker 1: or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's
Speaker 1: the greatest thing since bows noise canceling headphones. On Thursday night,
Speaker 1: the first night of the draft, we invite you to
Speaker 1: join us for the Bengals Pre Draft Party presented by Bows.
Speaker 1: It's a thirty minute show that starts at seven thirty
Speaker 1: and will stream live on Bengals dot Com and all
Speaker 1: of the team's social media platforms, and fans in the
Speaker 1: Cincinnati area can also tune in on TV on Local
Speaker 1: twelve leading right up to first ground coverage. Since Bows
Speaker 1: is the sponsor, we receive their noise canceling headphones to
Speaker 1: conduct interviews from our respective homes, and they're phenomenal. I'm
Speaker 1: fairly certain that I could be standing next to a
Speaker 1: jet engine at takeoff and not hear that noise at all.
Speaker 1: They're also great looking, although if you watch the show tonight,
Speaker 1: you'll notice that I look a lot like the Scott
Speaker 1: van Pelt logo that ESPN uses while wearing my new
Speaker 1: Bows headphones. So check it out on the pre Draft
Speaker 1: Party presented by Bows Thursday at seven thirty as we
Speaker 1: count down to the number one pick. It's a tradition
Speaker 1: on this podcast just before the draft for Dave Lapham
Speaker 1: and me to play prognosticators, but this year we had
Speaker 1: to change things up a bit, all right, lap Over
Speaker 1: the years, you have become legendary for your ability to
Speaker 1: predict the Bengals first round draft pick. Nostradamis like over
Speaker 1: the years, Kevin Zeitler in two twelve, when the world
Speaker 1: was saying David de Castro, Tyler Eifford in two thirteen,
Speaker 1: even though the Bengals still had Germaine Gresham at the time,
Speaker 1: John Ross with the ninth overall pick in two seventeen.
Speaker 1: So your track record is very good. I'm positive you're
Speaker 1: going to get that first round pick right this year. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't think. I don't think many you're gonna miss
Speaker 1: miss this one. It's uh. Joe Burrow obviously is going
Speaker 1: to be the guy, and he's been the guy I
Speaker 1: think for quite a while. I think they've made the
Speaker 1: decision on that a while ago. You have people like
Speaker 1: Chris Simms saying it's to clean his tape he's ever
Speaker 1: seen of a collegiate quarterback. And you know Chris Simms,
Speaker 1: I respect I did to cover to his games when
Speaker 1: he played at University of Texas. His dad, Phil obviously
Speaker 1: we know well and he understands quarterback play. Chris does
Speaker 1: as well. So when guys say somebody like that says
Speaker 1: gives that kind of an evaluation and meaning something that
Speaker 1: you know, well, how about the year he did have
Speaker 1: went to national championship, the Heisman going to be the
Speaker 1: number one pick in the entire draft. That's a triffect
Speaker 1: that not many people cann claim. Plus, he holds records
Speaker 1: sixty touchdown and passes in a single season accounted for
Speaker 1: sixty five total touchdowns. Those are both records. I mean,
Speaker 1: that's that's a resume that is just unbelievable. But you
Speaker 1: know what's kind of weird since the coronavirus were last year,
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow offers twenty eighteen season where by the way
Speaker 1: LSU receivers led the country and drops. So Burrow wasn't
Speaker 1: as bad as people think by his numbers in twenty
Speaker 1: and eighteen, But Joe Brady would not be offensive coordinator Carolina.
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow would not have been able to show the
Speaker 1: season if in fact, there is no college football. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's it's it's unbelievable how fate can can can be
Speaker 1: the biggest factor in anybody's career right time, right place.
Speaker 1: With respect to Joe Burrow transferred to LSU, you know,
Speaker 1: avoiding a pandemic. As it turns out that it's it's
Speaker 1: not the year that he has the season that he has,
Speaker 1: or he wouldn't have had it. It would have been necessarily,
Speaker 1: it would have been totally different. And it's crazy when
Speaker 1: you think about about that. But I think Joe Burrow
Speaker 1: is is the guy that's going to be the first
Speaker 1: pick of the draft, and deservedly so. Lap. I'm glad
Speaker 1: you mentioned Joe burrows junior year because a lot of
Speaker 1: people keep talking about his astronomical grow from junior year
Speaker 1: to senior year. And there's no question that statistically, his
Speaker 1: senior year stats are far better. But if you go
Speaker 1: back and look at his last four games of his
Speaker 1: junior year, you could see what was coming. He started
Speaker 1: to do what he did as a senior in the
Speaker 1: last four games. And if you look at his Fiesta
Speaker 1: Bowl performance in particular against UCF that's a team that
Speaker 1: had a twenty five game winning streak at the time.
Speaker 1: He got blindsided by a three hundred thirteen pound defensive
Speaker 1: lineman after throwing an interception early in that game might
Speaker 1: have killed another quarterback. He bounced us right up, fires
Speaker 1: up his teammates throw us for three hundred ninety four
Speaker 1: yards in four touchdowns. The Joe Burrow that the world
Speaker 1: saw as a senior was starting to materialize in the
Speaker 1: last four games of his junior year. Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: that toughness we've talked about before started up in Ohio.
Speaker 1: Statement rber Meyer decided when he wasn't, you know, the
Speaker 1: number one quarterback, he was down the ranks a little bit.
Speaker 1: He decided that he was a scrimmage. Joe Burrow with
Speaker 1: twos and threes against your house state number one defense,
Speaker 1: and he got brutalized, brutalized, you know, his mothers and
Speaker 1: tears watching it in a squad scrimmages two saturdays in
Speaker 1: a row. And all he did is, like you said,
Speaker 1: get up, dust himself off, never you know, complained to
Speaker 1: his teammates, to his coaches. All he did was play.
Speaker 1: And I think he won a lot of guns over.
Speaker 1: I mean, his teammates at Ohio State paying their own
Speaker 1: way to get to the National Championship game. To watch
Speaker 1: Joe Barrow in a national championship says everything I need
Speaker 1: to know about Joe Barrow. He was on Goal Like
Speaker 1: and Wingo this week on ESPN Radio, and I found
Speaker 1: it very interesting. They're asking him about what he's been
Speaker 1: able to do during these stay at home times, and
Speaker 1: he actually said that he thinks it might be an
Speaker 1: advantage for him. He's had no distractions. He hasn't been
Speaker 1: flying around the country going from team to team for interviews.
Speaker 1: He's been basically working out where he can find patches
Speaker 1: of grass, throwing to old high school buddies. And I
Speaker 1: just like the fact that boy you talk about not
Speaker 1: making excuses to say that in his personal development, this
Speaker 1: actually could be advantageous. And it also gets back to
Speaker 1: something you said on one of our previous podcasts. You
Speaker 1: were hoping he wouldn't throw too much in the weeks
Speaker 1: and months leading up to the draft, going from team
Speaker 1: to team and doing workouts. Well, he's been able to
Speaker 1: control that because of these stay at home restrictions. And
Speaker 1: the reason that you know, I was hoping that Dan
Speaker 1: is a lot of these first year of quarterbacks. You know,
Speaker 1: they're not used to the length of the NFL schedule,
Speaker 1: and it might not be that long this year, so
Speaker 1: it might not be as big an adjustment for Joe Burrow,
Speaker 1: who knows who knows what is in store. But other
Speaker 1: other quarterbacks, I mean, they get on they have problems.
Speaker 1: The last quarter of the season. You know, it's just like,
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, through so much in preparation for the drafts,
Speaker 1: then the draft, then the OTAs, then the mini camps,
Speaker 1: then this then that man, my arms hanging off my shoulder,
Speaker 1: and Joe won't experience of that. I mean, I do
Speaker 1: think that this, this uh kind of time coming up
Speaker 1: is tough though. When the OTAs and mini camps were
Speaker 1: going to take place, Joe Burrow to get his timing
Speaker 1: and rhythm down with you know, Aj Green and other receivers,
Speaker 1: and just to familiarize himself at the Bengals offense and
Speaker 1: start to establish relationships with his teammates and just a
Speaker 1: bonding that goes on. I remember, you know, way back
Speaker 1: the day the first mini camp I went to. It's like,
Speaker 1: oh boy, these guys are good. This is an adjustment.
Speaker 1: I mean, all of a sudden, you've better crank your
Speaker 1: miles per hour up with your movement. You know, a
Speaker 1: bunch of miles per hour. You're in the Audubon now
Speaker 1: You're not on just a regular highway in the United
Speaker 1: States of America. This stuff is fast, unfolds fast. So
Speaker 1: I do think that there's a little bit of of
Speaker 1: a of an issue with regard to that, because there's
Speaker 1: no way you can mimic it. You know, he Joe
Speaker 1: can't on his own, you know, virtually assimilate you know
Speaker 1: what you would assimilate with with on the field experiences
Speaker 1: that you would there are OTAs and mini camps and
Speaker 1: you know, sinking up the timing and everything with utter
Speaker 1: back on the National Football League. So with that in mind,
Speaker 1: does it make sense to try to hold on to
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton if you can afford him as a mentor.
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton experienced something similar but different his first year
Speaker 1: in the league as a rookie because there was a
Speaker 1: work stoppage, so there wasn't an opportunity to install with
Speaker 1: coaches like like Joe Burrow is going to experience virtually.
Speaker 1: I mean he's gonna be every single day, you know
Speaker 1: with Zach with the coaching staff installation, all the mental
Speaker 1: reps will be there, but it's more important in my
Speaker 1: mind for the physical reps. And what the Bengals did,
Speaker 1: courtesy of Andrew Worth and Domant Peco being the two
Speaker 1: leaders eat side of the football, basically established their own
Speaker 1: little mini camps as such, with these workouts and the
Speaker 1: installation of the offense. These guys you know, looked at
Speaker 1: that down. Pecco had the defense down and they made
Speaker 1: it work. Andy Dalton got the timing down with his
Speaker 1: guy drafted with him aj D Green and other receivers
Speaker 1: and goes on to have a nine and seven record
Speaker 1: once he gets back with Jay Gruden, and he's a
Speaker 1: quick learner, um, you know, and goes to that nine
Speaker 1: and seven record. So that that, in my mind is
Speaker 1: a little bit better scenario than what Joe Burrow may
Speaker 1: be facing. So yeah, I guess to have Andy Dalton
Speaker 1: m right there in case Joe has issues, which I
Speaker 1: don't anticipate, because the big thing on Joe Burrow, you know,
Speaker 1: his wonder List score comes out at thirty four, amongst
Speaker 1: the highest of the quarterbacks. He's very smart in general
Speaker 1: as well as football like you, and he's he's a
Speaker 1: very competitive learner. And that's the thing about him. He's
Speaker 1: the first guy in and the last guy to leave.
Speaker 1: And his preparation is like his teammates are in awe
Speaker 1: of al Brady and Peyton Manning and people like that.
Speaker 1: So um, you know, it's it's it's going to be
Speaker 1: an interesting, an interesting adjustment for all involved. You know,
Speaker 1: Joe borrowed the player of the coaches, his teammates, and
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton's a He's a term insurance policy, is what
Speaker 1: he is. He's a one year insurance policy if in fact,
Speaker 1: he decides that it's okay with him to do that,
Speaker 1: if that's his best option. But he's not going to
Speaker 1: do it at seventeen point seven million, that's for sure.
Speaker 1: I thought it was interesting in his recent interview with
Speaker 1: Mike Silver from NFL dot Com that really, for the
Speaker 1: first time he said there was a scenario where he
Speaker 1: could come back to Cincinnati. I think up until then,
Speaker 1: every bit of body language and anything he had said
Speaker 1: in interviews before he left town at the end of
Speaker 1: last season indicated that he was fully convinced that he
Speaker 1: would be moving on and getting his chance somewhere else.
Speaker 1: And I still think that's probably likely. But at least
Speaker 1: he opened the door to potentially being the veteran mentor
Speaker 1: slash backup right. And I think if he decided, if
Speaker 1: he gets his mind right in that regard, he'd be
Speaker 1: as good as there is in the league, because you know,
Speaker 1: he's he's not only a quality player, he's more than
Speaker 1: quality human being. I mean he's he's up across human
Speaker 1: being and um, you know, to have Andy Dalton as
Speaker 1: somebody for Joe Barrow to bounce things off of, or
Speaker 1: if in fact he is struggling, you know, to to
Speaker 1: observe and watching Andy. Andy Dalton could install the Bengals
Speaker 1: offense to Joe Barrow as well as anybody in the organization.
Speaker 1: So to have, you know, to have that as in
Speaker 1: as a COVID charge policy would not be bad. And
Speaker 1: like we've talked about, I mean, he's the victim of
Speaker 1: the musical chairs. The music stopped, and there's more guys
Speaker 1: than chairs. Two of the guys that are former first
Speaker 1: picks in the NFL draft, you know, you get Cam
Speaker 1: Newton and you get Jameis Winston out there. The teams
Speaker 1: can sign when they if they so desire for no compensation,
Speaker 1: no trade, and they can do new contracts. In Andy's case,
Speaker 1: if the trade we're talking about draft capital and you're
Speaker 1: talking about assuming a seven teen point seven million dollar contract,
Speaker 1: those are two inhibitors. For sure. The Patriots did pick
Speaker 1: up an extra fourth round pick for Gronk, I'm sure
Speaker 1: the Bengals would happily take it in exchange for Andy Dalton.
Speaker 1: It's interesting you look at the two teams that have
Speaker 1: the most text in the draft of Miami Dolphins fourteen,
Speaker 1: I think that gives the Patriots at East doesn't maybe
Speaker 1: more They were number two and a dozen, I think,
Speaker 1: and this one might give them thirteen. So both teams,
Speaker 1: you know, in need of quarterback others late lated mock drafts,
Speaker 1: and so if it have the Patriots trying to make
Speaker 1: a move for tah because you know, obviously Bill Belichick
Speaker 1: and Nick Saban have a very very close relationship. You'd
Speaker 1: get more information from Saban about two than anybody and
Speaker 1: I think he does have a high respect for to it.
Speaker 1: But if he can't get to it. In my mind, Dan,
Speaker 1: like we talked about earlier, I think the guy that
Speaker 1: could slide his love and you know, you see love
Speaker 1: anywhere from some were in the top ten in some
Speaker 1: mock drafts, not even being draft in the first round
Speaker 1: another mock drafts, and I think he is. He's the
Speaker 1: one that there's a big divergence of opinion on and
Speaker 1: if he's there at the end of the first round,
Speaker 1: the Kansas City Chiefs, you know, with the with the
Speaker 1: teams that have the most draft capital, now, the Miami
Speaker 1: Dolphins would have already had their first three pick their
Speaker 1: three first rounds beyond they still have eleven picks though,
Speaker 1: left to work a deal with Kansas City. The Patriots
Speaker 1: would still have a dozen picks or so themselves to
Speaker 1: work a deal if Kansas City doesn't want to work
Speaker 1: a deal. And the reason the teams wouldn't want to
Speaker 1: work the deal is like to them, Lamar Jackson thing
Speaker 1: trade up to the end of the first round. Get
Speaker 1: the fifth year in the rookie contract. Instead of four years,
Speaker 1: you get him for five and you can build accordingly
Speaker 1: around him and make it a better football team. But
Speaker 1: if Kansas City doesn't want to do it, it it takes
Speaker 1: two to tango. Who's the next team? You know, a
Speaker 1: few twelve hours later, the Bengals are around the clock,
Speaker 1: and you've got two teams that Okay loves are the
Speaker 1: last option, the Patriots and the Dolphins, both in the
Speaker 1: same division. We want to get them. We don't want
Speaker 1: the other team to get them. I mean, there may
Speaker 1: they have all kinds of draft capital left. There may
Speaker 1: be an opportunity there. It's going to be interesting. I
Speaker 1: think Kansas most slides Kansas City and the Bengals are
Speaker 1: going to be getting a lot out of phone calls
Speaker 1: at the end of day one in the beginning of
Speaker 1: day two, depending on how it all unfolds. All right,
Speaker 1: so you have extended your streak of nailing the Bengals
Speaker 1: first pick, selecting Joe Burrows, and now let's have some
Speaker 1: fun this year. We want a definitive prediction. Will each
Speaker 1: give one a definitive prediction for the Bengals selection at
Speaker 1: the top of the second round if they wind up
Speaker 1: choosing thirty third overall, what do you say, Dave Lapham,
Speaker 1: My dream pick would be Kenneth Murray, but that's a
Speaker 1: pipe dream. He's not going to be there. Patrick Queen
Speaker 1: would be another dream pick, but he's I don't think
Speaker 1: he's going to be there. Dan that those guys I
Speaker 1: think are just you know, Chase On, Patrick Queen, Marma.
Speaker 1: We've talked about those guys in the past. I'd be
Speaker 1: if any one of those guys are there, man run
Speaker 1: up to Santa Claus and give it a turn in
Speaker 1: the card because it's Christmas. But I do think, you know,
Speaker 1: Zach Bonn could could be there. He's more of an
Speaker 1: outside guy. I think the guy that they need a
Speaker 1: little bit better fit. I've talked about Jordan Brooks, and
Speaker 1: I've seen he's starting to get a little bit more,
Speaker 1: a little bit more buzz. And I've seen him, you know,
Speaker 1: in some mock drafts, moving up, moving up pretty significantly.
Speaker 1: I like the guy. I mean, he's this kid is
Speaker 1: six feet, two hundred and forty pounds, ran a four
Speaker 1: to five three. I mean, you've got two hundred and
Speaker 1: forty pound linebackers running like cornerbacks. It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous
Speaker 1: how these guys are our genetic freaks. You've got thirty
Speaker 1: four thirty five inch length arms. I mean, he is,
Speaker 1: he can come downhill, make plays, He'll run sidelines to sideline.
Speaker 1: He's a he's a contact ratio guy. He just watch him.
Speaker 1: He just impacts the game. He impacts the game on
Speaker 1: a snap by snap basis. So you know, I'm wondering
Speaker 1: the thirty three is a little bit too rich for him.
Speaker 1: But he's a he might be a little bit better
Speaker 1: fit because he's a he's a space linebacker, space stack
Speaker 1: linebacker and off the line of scrimmage, you know, a linebacker.
Speaker 1: And I think I do think, you know, I think
Speaker 1: Zach Bond would get some consideration. I think it might
Speaker 1: be a little bit too rich for Zack Bond potentially,
Speaker 1: and it might be a little bit too rich for
Speaker 1: Jordan Brooks. But you know, would they go offensive lineman
Speaker 1: at that point? Dan, I mean, it's one of the
Speaker 1: top four tackle slides. You know, they may have to
Speaker 1: think about that. And as we've talked about, I mean,
Speaker 1: this dis draft is interesting in that last year, twelve
Speaker 1: defensive lineman went in the first round. Twelve people panic
Speaker 1: there were defensive lineman being drafted at the end of
Speaker 1: the first round that a lot of people had rated
Speaker 1: as third round picks. But when the run started, people panicked.
Speaker 1: You know, will the run be? It could be as
Speaker 1: balanced the first round. Could be four quarterbacks taken, at
Speaker 1: least four receivers, at least four linebackers, at least four
Speaker 1: offensive line at least four cornerbacks. Okay, which one of
Speaker 1: those position groups is going to get the run? And
Speaker 1: that's what's going to be interested in for the Bengals
Speaker 1: if the run happens somewhere else. But instead of wide receiver, man,
Speaker 1: if you got a wide out there game that you
Speaker 1: had rated the middle, you know, fifteen to twenty in
Speaker 1: the first round. How the hell do you not take
Speaker 1: the guy at at thirty two. So it is going
Speaker 1: to be a very interesting, interesting draft for the Bengals,
Speaker 1: and to have that first pick in the second round,
Speaker 1: Like we've talked about the phone calls they might get,
Speaker 1: irrespective of that, it doesn't matter about that. They're going
Speaker 1: to be the first one to be able to take
Speaker 1: the slider. Well, whoever the slide guy is, the Bengals
Speaker 1: are in position to say, bone, that's my guy. What
Speaker 1: if aj Taro is there from Clemson, this kid, I mean,
Speaker 1: a cornerback could slide that. You know, people really like.
Speaker 1: It's fast, he's long, he's fluid. I mean, the guy
Speaker 1: can play and you know you'd think, wow, how about
Speaker 1: if a cornerback like that is still there at thirty three?
Speaker 1: And that's that's a premost spot for the Bengals to be.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's why I think, I really do think
Speaker 1: that there's there. They'll be maybe a handful of guys,
Speaker 1: maybe a half a dozen guys that they'd be good
Speaker 1: with at thirty three. So if somebody wants to trade up,
Speaker 1: you know, just don't trade back. More than you know,
Speaker 1: five or six spaces. Make sure you're still in the thirties.
Speaker 1: Don't trade out of the thirties. You'll still get a
Speaker 1: guy that you've you've evaluated, okay at thirty three and
Speaker 1: still and then pick up another pick. I would like
Speaker 1: to see the Bengals. I don't think this is a
Speaker 1: great year again to have twelve to fourteen draft picks
Speaker 1: because of the coronavirus. Hell, how many you're gonna make
Speaker 1: the kick? How can you evaluate how many you're gonna evaluate?
Speaker 1: How many draft picks and how many college fusions. I
Speaker 1: don't think teams are gonna bring ninety players in. Why
Speaker 1: the hell would you bring ninety players in. You might
Speaker 1: only bring in seventy seventy five eighty players because instead
Speaker 1: of evaluating these guys and thinking, oh, this guy might
Speaker 1: be one of my best you know, fifty one, fifty two,
Speaker 1: fifty three, and my roster. Hell, with that, you know
Speaker 1: you got you gotta start really working on your team,
Speaker 1: putting your team together. The whole process is going to
Speaker 1: be sped up. If you're cluttered with ninety players. I
Speaker 1: think that's going to be an interesting dynamic too. So
Speaker 1: to move it makes sense to the Dolphins, the Patriots
Speaker 1: to get off some of their picks, and I'd like
Speaker 1: to see the Bengals maybe pick up a couple, you know,
Speaker 1: maybe have nine draft choices instead of seven. I mean,
Speaker 1: seven wouldn't be terrible, particularly where they're picking them, But
Speaker 1: you know, nine picks, you know, you start to get
Speaker 1: up to double dig digits in this year of the coronavirus.
Speaker 1: How the hell you're going to evaluate an everybody? Anyway?
Speaker 1: You may not have a training camp, much of a
Speaker 1: training camp to evaluate these guys. They've already cut one
Speaker 1: preseason game off, but down in the three preseason games,
Speaker 1: you know, I don't know, it's it's just I don't think.
Speaker 1: I don't think this is the best year years to
Speaker 1: have all those draft picks accumulated because of the coronavirus.
Speaker 1: All right, So if they wind up choosing at number
Speaker 1: thirty three overall and Murray and Queen aren't there, Jordan Books,
Speaker 1: Jordan Brooks, rather, linebacker from Texas Tech, four year starter,
Speaker 1: is your guy? All right? I'm gonna cheat a little
Speaker 1: bit on my guy. Peter King came out with his
Speaker 1: mock draft on Monday. He said that Queen is still
Speaker 1: going to be there, So I will say, Queen, now,
Speaker 1: I know you would do the same thing if you
Speaker 1: thought he was there. So it's it's cheating a little
Speaker 1: bit on my part, but I'll go ahead and predict
Speaker 1: that he'll be the guy. And again, if he's there,
Speaker 1: they'll sprint to the podium. I would think there's no doubt.
Speaker 1: I mean, if Queen is there, Um, you know they're
Speaker 1: gonna be a King's feel like kings run that cart
Speaker 1: off as best they can to take the queen with
Speaker 1: the being the king. Uh, there's no doubt about it. Um.
Speaker 1: And also in Peter King's mock, he's another one that
Speaker 1: had Love sliding out of the first round. Love was
Speaker 1: not picked in Peter King's draft in the first round.
Speaker 1: So it's like the thirty three and Love slit in
Speaker 1: Peter King's estimation. Um, it's to be that is. That's
Speaker 1: the one thing that I'm going to be most interested
Speaker 1: in is watching love how much love Love get Because
Speaker 1: we've seen we've seen great quarterbacks, you know, Aaron Rodgers,
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, slides down at the twenties. We've
Speaker 1: seen all kinds of quarterbacks that people thought were gonna
Speaker 1: go high. But in this era, of you know, the
Speaker 1: emphasis even more so on the passing game. It makes
Speaker 1: you think, you know, how can how can a guy
Speaker 1: that some people have as a potential top ten pick
Speaker 1: not even get picked in the first round based on
Speaker 1: you know what goes on in today's National Football League?
Speaker 1: All Right, So I've I've made the Queen election, even
Speaker 1: knowing that it's a little bit of a cheat. I'm
Speaker 1: using Peter King's mock draft as my rationale for being
Speaker 1: able to select Patrick Queen. But just to be a
Speaker 1: little bit more fair, I'll pick another guy my one
Speaker 1: A selection, and this is somebody I mentioned on a
Speaker 1: previous podcast, Utah cornerback Jalen Johnson. I think he's got
Speaker 1: what you're looking for at the position. He's tall, he's
Speaker 1: about a six footer, about two hundred pounds, had a
Speaker 1: great career at Utah, and I think it will reflect
Speaker 1: the fact that Will Jackson's going into the final year
Speaker 1: of his deal. They only signed Mackenzie Alexander for one
Speaker 1: They have prioritized cornerbacks high in the draft in the past.
Speaker 1: So if I can't get Queen my official prediction, I
Speaker 1: will move to my one A selection. Utah cornerback Jalen Johnson.
Speaker 1: My one a selection would be if all these linebackers
Speaker 1: get taken and quarterbacks Coultie, what if one of the
Speaker 1: better offensive tackle slides. It's it's a pretty it's a
Speaker 1: pretty deep draft in offensive tackles. But I mean there's
Speaker 1: there's a little bit of a drop between, you know,
Speaker 1: the first handful and the next level. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: people say wills Worth, you know, the Flipplop, which one
Speaker 1: they think is number one? They've got to Becton in
Speaker 1: that in that mix, the monster out of Louisville. They
Speaker 1: have Andrew Thomas from Georgia, you know in that mix.
Speaker 1: Um to me, Johnston from USC has got tremendous movement.
Speaker 1: Jackson would be a great pass protector in the National
Speaker 1: Football League. But I mentioned this guy, Isaiah Wilson, and
Speaker 1: I saw I think Cougar King had Isaiah Wilson in
Speaker 1: the first round. I'm not mistaken. I think I saw
Speaker 1: Isaiah Wilson at the end of the first round in
Speaker 1: Peter King's mock. Guys seven three hundred fifty pounds the
Speaker 1: other tackle at Georgia. I'm not you know, Law needs
Speaker 1: some work, but he will mull you now. He doesn't
Speaker 1: have the movement that Jackson has. So it's like, do
Speaker 1: you want the is big behemoth out there who will
Speaker 1: you know, eclipse the sun and be hard to get around,
Speaker 1: or do you want you know, more of an athletic
Speaker 1: movement guy that isn't quite a stout. You know, it's
Speaker 1: just pick, you know, pick your poison. And I do
Speaker 1: think the Bengals covered that, you know, the big monster's guy,
Speaker 1: so Isaiah Wilson might be again, might be a little rich.
Speaker 1: That's why I think if they can trade back guys
Speaker 1: like we're talking about, yeah, you know, could still be
Speaker 1: there and they pick up another draft pick, I think,
Speaker 1: you know, that's the home run obviously, but it takes
Speaker 1: two to tango. You have to have, you know, somebody
Speaker 1: that's willing to pull a trigger with. And I think
Speaker 1: if you trade out of the first pick in the
Speaker 1: second round, you are looking for a third round pick,
Speaker 1: so a second and a third, or maybe somebody's second
Speaker 1: and high fourth. That would be a realistic expectation. If
Speaker 1: you give up the first pick in the second round,
Speaker 1: and that's the sweet spot of the draft. I mean
Speaker 1: this draft that I was talking to John Lynch at
Speaker 1: the Senior Bowl, And I'm like, John, you got the
Speaker 1: thirteenth pick in the draft at you know, have another
Speaker 1: draft choice till the fifth round. And he's like, yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, we're you know, we're thinking, you know, we're
Speaker 1: going to work hard, suit we can how valuable that
Speaker 1: thirteenth pick in the first round is did There's no
Speaker 1: doubt about that. He goes, but we feel comfortable that
Speaker 1: there's a starting wide receiver for us in the fifth round.
Speaker 1: That's how deep the wide receiver position is. They think
Speaker 1: that toward the middle of the of the you know,
Speaker 1: of the fifth round, middle toward you know, middle or
Speaker 1: back third of the first round, they can still get
Speaker 1: a starting caliber wide out. That's how much value there
Speaker 1: is every single round, you know, at the at the
Speaker 1: wide receiver position. And uh, you know that's not the
Speaker 1: I mean, it's it's it's very very deep at wide receiver,
Speaker 1: the deepest obviously, but fortunately for the Bengals, it's deep
Speaker 1: at linebacker. It's deep at offensive tackle. There's a half
Speaker 1: a dozen cornerbacks, you know, and then it kind of drops.
Speaker 1: It's it's a questionable draft for for tight ends, defensive tackles.
Speaker 1: There are some, you know, real good ones at the top,
Speaker 1: but it's not quite as deep at the interior defensive lineman.
Speaker 1: So this draft couldn't hit the Bengals, you know, with
Speaker 1: some of their needs pretty darn well, particularly you know
Speaker 1: when you're talking about getting extra you know, second or
Speaker 1: third or even early fourth round picks. All right, we're
Speaker 1: gonna move on to our next topic, and this is
Speaker 1: sort of along the prediction line. I want you to
Speaker 1: give me a few names for guys later in the
Speaker 1: draft that you would love to see wind up in
Speaker 1: a Bengals uniform. Here's the guy that's split up into
Speaker 1: the first round in some mock drafts. LK and Wilson.
Speaker 1: Kid that I've been talking about, saw him at the
Speaker 1: Senior Bowl. Played at Wyoming. He was one hundred and
Speaker 1: ninety five pound wide receiver, defensive back in high school.
Speaker 1: Three year captain at Wyoming, First All American at Wyoming
Speaker 1: since like nineteen ninety seven. Very intelligent guy. We're gonna
Speaker 1: sup four to six at six two two forty five,
Speaker 1: two fifty issue. He's twenty three years old though, so
Speaker 1: you know he's he'll be twenty four shortly. He's he's
Speaker 1: not He's not you know, a kid which you can
Speaker 1: look at as a positive and negative. He has more
Speaker 1: more years on him, obviously, but but he's mature and
Speaker 1: at the Senior Bowl then this dude was serious as
Speaker 1: a heart attack. Now. I mean he he was all
Speaker 1: business down there. I'm watching, you know, I tried to watch,
Speaker 1: not just because he can't watch, can't go in the meetings,
Speaker 1: but I'm watching guys, all right, who's gravitating to who
Speaker 1: Who's you know, Who's who's the the uh, you know,
Speaker 1: the big person personality, Who's the guy that people want
Speaker 1: to hang with and talk football or whatever? And this guy, man,
Speaker 1: he wanted none of that stuff. I mean, he was
Speaker 1: just on time. He was the first guy there, you know,
Speaker 1: totally serious. Look, never cracked a smile. I'm here. This
Speaker 1: is a business trip, and I'm treating it as such.
Speaker 1: And man, I'll tell you what. If he's done in
Speaker 1: the third round, got gotta think about him a little bit. Um,
Speaker 1: you know, he's he's he's definitely definitely an interesting, you know,
Speaker 1: interesting guy. Um, there's a guy that in the third
Speaker 1: round caliber player offensive lineman to play that the senior
Speaker 1: Bill Matt Kurt from Connecticut six seven, three hundred and
Speaker 1: eighteen pound guy or another you know another uh you know,
Speaker 1: uh mature guy. Um you know that. I think that
Speaker 1: that I'm not sure even third round, even with the
Speaker 1: first pick in the fourth round, he could very well
Speaker 1: be there for you, There's no question he can very
Speaker 1: well be there, um third round. I mean if from
Speaker 1: the wide receiver position, what if a guy like Ragar
Speaker 1: or Pittman or are you what if those one of
Speaker 1: those guys is there at the very beginning of the
Speaker 1: third round as possible, because if they're a second round,
Speaker 1: you know, second round rated person, it could easily slide
Speaker 1: to the first pick of the third round. So I think,
Speaker 1: you know, guys like that. I just really think that
Speaker 1: with the depth of some of these positions that the
Speaker 1: Bengals would have no problem taking another player at um man,
Speaker 1: They're they're in a good position there. Don't think it's
Speaker 1: going to be picking for the time one hundred players
Speaker 1: in the country the ninety seventh pick in the draft.
Speaker 1: But a guy, you know, it's interesting you look at
Speaker 1: Logan Wilson like I was talking about. I've seen him
Speaker 1: rated as a player anywhere from twenty ninth best in
Speaker 1: the country to like in the one thirties or almost
Speaker 1: one forty because you'd swing and it's it's it's you know,
Speaker 1: it's funny how to each their own. Everybody has different opinions,
Speaker 1: and and but it only takes one you know, only
Speaker 1: takes one team to rate a kid twenty ninth best player.
Speaker 1: And if he's there at the end of the first round,
Speaker 1: you haven't need a linebacker. You know, he could get taked,
Speaker 1: or he could be there early in the second round,
Speaker 1: or you know, uh, if it's more like people that
Speaker 1: haven't rated, uh, you know, and let's let's split the difference,
Speaker 1: haven't rated in the in the sixties or seventies, you
Speaker 1: could be there for in the third round, and it'd
Speaker 1: be a great pick in the third round. And I
Speaker 1: think that's where a guy like Logan Wilson or you know,
Speaker 1: a guy like Kurt or people like that, you know,
Speaker 1: might be available. So I'm interested that you identified Wyoming
Speaker 1: linebacker Logan Wilson and didn't mention a Keen Davis Gaither,
Speaker 1: because that's the guy who, it seems to me, pops
Speaker 1: up most often as a third round potential Bengals linebacker selection.
Speaker 1: And he's I saw him at the Senior Bowl. He
Speaker 1: was on the South team Dan and he's like he's
Speaker 1: a little laundersized and runs about like the other He's fast.
Speaker 1: I like him. I like him a lot. I mean
Speaker 1: I could see him maybe third might be a little
Speaker 1: rich as high in the third round as they are,
Speaker 1: but if they get an additional third or that, definitely
Speaker 1: he's in the fourth round. If he's there on the
Speaker 1: fourth round, boom, no hesitation, I'm taking that kid in
Speaker 1: the fourth round, no doubt about it. All right. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna give a few names now that I would love
Speaker 1: to see wind up with the Bengals at some point
Speaker 1: later in the draft. I'll actually start with a third
Speaker 1: round possibility. And this gets back to something you were saying.
Speaker 1: One of these highly touted widery evers that's a first
Speaker 1: round grade on somebody's board is going to be there
Speaker 1: at the top of the third round because of the
Speaker 1: depth of this year's class. And the guy that I
Speaker 1: am going to identify as a potential top of the
Speaker 1: third round wide receiver is Laviskas Chenault from Colorado. And
Speaker 1: the reason why I could see him sliding is his
Speaker 1: injury history. He was hurt at the combine. He needed
Speaker 1: surgery after the combine. I think it was something like
Speaker 1: a sports hernia, so it's something he should bounce back from.
Speaker 1: But it's just one more factor for why he might
Speaker 1: be there at the top of the third round. So
Speaker 1: I'm going to throw out Laviska Chenault as the holy cow,
Speaker 1: that guy's still on the board selection and say that
Speaker 1: I would love to see him still there at the
Speaker 1: top of the third round. As for other guys I
Speaker 1: would love to see at some point, we're talking like
Speaker 1: fifth to seventh round. Got a soft spot for UC
Speaker 1: tight end Josiah Deguara, having watched him play for the Bearcats.
Speaker 1: Six two, two hundred forty two pounds, so he's a
Speaker 1: little bit shorter than you would like at tight end,
Speaker 1: but he crushed at the combine. Ran a four seven
Speaker 1: forty had the sixth best forty time among the tight ends,
Speaker 1: number one of the bench press among the tight ends
Speaker 1: with twenty five reps. It's a guy that was about
Speaker 1: two hundred ten pounds when he got to UC, added
Speaker 1: thirty five pounds during his Bearcat career. He would be
Speaker 1: great on special teams. He played special teams at UC,
Speaker 1: had more catches as a UC tight end than anybody
Speaker 1: in school history, including Travis Kelsey or a Brent Sellek.
Speaker 1: So I would love to see Josiah Deguara wind up
Speaker 1: with the Bengals late in the draft. He was Jonah
Speaker 1: Williams high school teammate in Fulsome, California, so they are
Speaker 1: fast friends. So I've got a soft spot in my
Speaker 1: heart for Josiah Deguara. I also would love to see
Speaker 1: Michael Warren wind up with Cincinnati at the end of
Speaker 1: the draft. The great you see running back former mister
Speaker 1: football in the state of Ohio. But let me throw
Speaker 1: out one non Bearcat, and this is a guy that
Speaker 1: you would have seen at the Senior Bowl. Colorado linebacker
Speaker 1: Davian Taylor, who's a total wild card because of his
Speaker 1: family's religious beliefs. He was his family as a Seventh
Speaker 1: day Adventist. He did not basically play high school football,
Speaker 1: then went to junior college, wound up at Colorado. Crazy athlete.
Speaker 1: Ran the one hundred and the two hundred at Colorado
Speaker 1: even though he's an undersized linebacker, then ran a four
Speaker 1: three nine at his pro day the same as Isaiah Simmons.
Speaker 1: Totally raw. Doesn't know what he's doing at this point
Speaker 1: at linebacker but he would be that to take a
Speaker 1: chance on a guy type of late draft pick. I'll
Speaker 1: tell you there are so many linebackers that can run.
Speaker 1: But chan that you mentioned another guy, are you the
Speaker 1: same type of guy? They're they're good um run after
Speaker 1: catch receivers, so they play receiver like a running back,
Speaker 1: and I think their style of play can lead to injury,
Speaker 1: you know, because they're so physical. I mean the they
Speaker 1: basically they covered contact, you know, and the physical part
Speaker 1: of the game is is big with them. And the
Speaker 1: Bengals coached at the at the Senior Bowl like them,
Speaker 1: like them a lot, and uh, Luke Fickle came over
Speaker 1: to see him and visit him at practice. Uh you know,
Speaker 1: when he was recruiting down there in Alabama, MIDI recruiting
Speaker 1: trip out of it to stop over and see the kid.
Speaker 1: And they love them jan Dan As you know obviously
Speaker 1: he's he's a he's a great kid. And Darren Simmons,
Speaker 1: you know, uh thought that he could obviously make an
Speaker 1: impact on special teams as well. But there are there
Speaker 1: are so many linebackers that in this year's draft that
Speaker 1: run like cornerbacks. I mean they're running the fourth three.
Speaker 1: If you don't run if you're if you're four six
Speaker 1: or more, you're man, You're you're you're pokey. I mean,
Speaker 1: you can't run. You can't with these guys. It is unbelievable.
Speaker 1: There's a there's a kid named Gay that ran like
Speaker 1: a four you know, sub four four forty Will Gay,
Speaker 1: linebacker from Mississippi State. Yeah, that kid, he ran a four.
Speaker 1: He ran a four four six with a thirty nine
Speaker 1: and a half inch vertical leap. And this kid is
Speaker 1: you know, look you look at it and it doesn't
Speaker 1: really translates a football player yet. He's ras rock and B.
Speaker 1: But you look at some of the physical things that
Speaker 1: these guys did, It's like, god, Lee, man, what are
Speaker 1: they eating? How are they working out? What the heck
Speaker 1: are these genetic freaks doing. It's the forty times, you know,
Speaker 1: and I know they know you can make so much
Speaker 1: money at the combine. They have tracked coaches, you know,
Speaker 1: teaching them all if we trick of the trade, that
Speaker 1: run the best forty times they can possibly run, and
Speaker 1: the best get offf they can get for, you know,
Speaker 1: playing twenty splits and then the forty's. It's turned into
Speaker 1: a cottage industry on its own. But the fact that
Speaker 1: they can get themselves and you know, trained to be
Speaker 1: able to run like that is incomprehensible. And then you
Speaker 1: look at almost a forty inch vertical. I mean, that's
Speaker 1: your sheer explosion. Now you have, guys, you have an
Speaker 1: offer works at three hundred and thirty. Some old pounds
Speaker 1: had a thirty six inch vertical and ran a four
Speaker 1: eight five forty Are you kidding me? That's that's ungodly.
Speaker 1: I mean that that's ridiculous. That the numbers that some
Speaker 1: of these guys put up at the combines these days,
Speaker 1: it is crazy. What was your reaction to Gronk to
Speaker 1: the Bucks? I mean not shock, miles, surprise, but when
Speaker 1: Gronk had that emotional presser where he said, you know, um,
Speaker 1: I was losing the joy in my life. Bottom line
Speaker 1: is here here, here's here's in the nutshell. In my opinion,
Speaker 1: Bill Belichick grinds you to dust and you can you go,
Speaker 1: and Bill Belichick will always have player they want to
Speaker 1: go to the winning because they want to win a
Speaker 1: Super Bowl. But staying there for Gronk was there for
Speaker 1: nine years, Brady for twenty. Brady is the most mentally
Speaker 1: tough guy. I think there isn't the history of the
Speaker 1: world for him to put up with Bill Belichick for
Speaker 1: twenty years, nine super bowls, win six of them. You know,
Speaker 1: Gronk won a bunch of Super Bowls as well. You
Speaker 1: pay a serious price, though, at some point in time,
Speaker 1: even winning super Bowls becomes, oh my god, this is dredgery,
Speaker 1: this is this is no fun. And Gronk's whole thing
Speaker 1: at that press was, you know, I just I'm struggling.
Speaker 1: He was almost crying. He was almost tears, and I
Speaker 1: don't have a joy in life that I need. Bottom
Speaker 1: line is, as it turned out, he had just burnt
Speaker 1: out mentally with the grind of Bill Belichick, and he
Speaker 1: physically felt like he could still, you know, get it done.
Speaker 1: I heard he's already back up to about two sixty,
Speaker 1: had lost a ton of weight. He's back up to
Speaker 1: about two sixty and uh, you know, I'm sure he'll
Speaker 1: be a situational guy down red zone. Um, you know
Speaker 1: those types of things. I don't think they're gonna grind
Speaker 1: him like the like the Patriots did. But Dan, when
Speaker 1: he was playing, even even the last the last season
Speaker 1: he played, his numbers were down in terms of but
Speaker 1: he was like a third tackle, the best blocking tight
Speaker 1: end in football. So I mean, the guy is a
Speaker 1: complete player. Does he have anything after being off for
Speaker 1: the amount of time? Is his body recovered or is
Speaker 1: it where it's well, that's too much, Like I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna be able to get back to the level of
Speaker 1: play that I was able to play out. I mean
Speaker 1: that's the big question. You know, Brady and Rock, it's
Speaker 1: gonna be a you know, a side show down there
Speaker 1: in U in Tampa Bay with Bruce arians allowing Ron
Speaker 1: to eat Rock. And that's gonna be matrid. You know,
Speaker 1: that's gonna be a Matriot Garden reality TV deal down there. Um.
Speaker 1: And I think that's the reason he's gonna do it.
Speaker 1: Is the antithesis of Bill Belichick is Bruce arians Ea
Speaker 1: likes is fun. PA's gonna be Pa is going to
Speaker 1: have a good time. He's gonna have himself an adult beverage,
Speaker 1: is going to have his He's gonna kick back and relax.
Speaker 1: I mean, and he's gonna he's gonna have a different
Speaker 1: relationship with as players. It's not gonna be drudgery. It's
Speaker 1: gonna be fun. And I think that's a big thing
Speaker 1: I think that's Grady and Cronk. I think that's what
Speaker 1: they're both looking for at this stage of their careers.
Speaker 1: Could guys have played ten to twenty years for Forrest Greg,
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, that's that's that's a very that was a
Speaker 1: meat grinder, you know. And with collective bargaining, the union
Speaker 1: being so much stronger, and um, you know, the safety
Speaker 1: is a supposed priority of players. Uh, Forrest, Greg would
Speaker 1: have to adapt to today's football. I mean the training
Speaker 1: camps we have, the forest, Greg, mana chevits Now, you
Speaker 1: slept well at night, you know, you woke up from
Speaker 1: morning swamp. You slept well at night. I'm telling you that.
Speaker 1: And uh, you know you started training camp but a
Speaker 1: little over sixty four and finished at about sixty three.
Speaker 1: You're looking so much he netcut shortened, you know. I
Speaker 1: mean it was one of one of those kinds of deals.
Speaker 1: But again, you know, Lombardi he had credibility with us
Speaker 1: because he did everything Lombardi asked him, and Lobarti asked
Speaker 1: him to do every bit that he was asking us
Speaker 1: to do, and maybe even more so. But the bottom
Speaker 1: line is, I'm not sure there's I don't think there's
Speaker 1: any way you could play twenty years with that type
Speaker 1: of pace, you know, that type of a pounding and
Speaker 1: a grinding that went on physically, that if you made
Speaker 1: ten there was a big deal. Twenty would have been like,
Speaker 1: are you kidding me? That's incomprehensible. All right. I don't
Speaker 1: know about you, but I am really excited about this draft.
Speaker 1: I'm always excited about the draft. I love it. I
Speaker 1: love reading about these guys in the days leading up
Speaker 1: to it. But we are so starved for some sort
Speaker 1: of live sporting event right now. I just think it's
Speaker 1: going to be awesome to watch. I do too, you know,
Speaker 1: I think that, like we were talking about, you know,
Speaker 1: almost kiddingly, they could have made an exception this year
Speaker 1: and done an entire week and had each round you know,
Speaker 1: take and probably less time round one, you know, maybe
Speaker 1: the first three rounds two hour shows. Maybe give each
Speaker 1: team ten minutes for each pick, so the networks could
Speaker 1: run all every all kinds of things about every player
Speaker 1: that they could run and have the country just absorb,
Speaker 1: you know, every story. And there's there's some amazing stories,
Speaker 1: you know. I mean, it's it's incredible every year, not
Speaker 1: just from football standpoint, but what these guys you know,
Speaker 1: had to be exposed to, uh, you know, in their lives.
Speaker 1: I mean some of the some of the things that
Speaker 1: some of these players had to overcome, you know, Uh
Speaker 1: Murray for example, the linebacker from Oklahoma. UM. They saying
Speaker 1: that at the UH when he interviews with people, it's
Speaker 1: the best they've ever been around. Multiple teams have said that.
Speaker 1: I mean, he's got he's got three special needs siblings.
Speaker 1: He helps his parents with three special needs siblings growing
Speaker 1: up his whole life. You know, stories like that. It's like, man,
Speaker 1: So I think they could have They could have made
Speaker 1: the draft probably you know, the first three three rounds
Speaker 1: two hours and then an hour each from that point
Speaker 1: forward to finish it off, and would have had huge numbers.
Speaker 1: Seven million people watched the Last Dance, the first episode
Speaker 1: of Last Dance. What kind of numbers is the draft
Speaker 1: going to get? The live draft? What kind of numbers?
Speaker 1: It's going to be crazy? It definitely will be. And
Speaker 1: let the record show that if the Bengals select Jordan Brooks,
Speaker 1: linebacker out of Texas Tech, and round two, Dave Lapham's
Speaker 1: legend will grow. Well. I honestly, I hope Queen's there
Speaker 1: because I'd like to select him. That's kind of what
Speaker 1: happened last year. As I recall, you had predicted that
Speaker 1: Andre Dillard would be their first round pick, but you said,
Speaker 1: if Jonah Williams is there, you didn't expect him to be,
Speaker 1: but if he was there, the Bengals would run to
Speaker 1: the podium to make the selection. And that's basically how
Speaker 1: it played out right right, And that you know, I
Speaker 1: think I do think that you know, Queen Is is
Speaker 1: somebody that you have to you have to give high
Speaker 1: regard this another guy. These guys run like deers. I'm
Speaker 1: telling you though, the more you watch Chase and you know,
Speaker 1: I know, I know it's a clear cut situation. You know,
Speaker 1: with the Washington Redskins, you know I would not There's
Speaker 1: no way they're not taking Chase Young. That this guy
Speaker 1: is like a you know, it's like a superhero physically,
Speaker 1: I mean, it's gets ridiculous. Chase on No. I telling you, now,
Speaker 1: this guy can pass rush and the thing that he
Speaker 1: can do when he gets the edge, he can almost
Speaker 1: put his right shoulder when he dips, you know, to
Speaker 1: the quarterback or his left shoulders. He's rushing them from
Speaker 1: right end and they have to, you know, dip and bend.
Speaker 1: This guy bends, I'm telling you, Ben, his elbows almost
Speaker 1: on the ground. His shoulders looks like it's almost like
Speaker 1: a foot and a half two feet off the ground.
Speaker 1: The dude can bend like like Gumby. It's the athletes
Speaker 1: in the physical abilities of these athletes on a on
Speaker 1: a year by year basis is confounding and astounding. All right,
Speaker 1: we'll be doing videos for the Bengals website night after
Speaker 1: the pick start rolling in, so looking forward to getting
Speaker 1: your thoughts on the guys they ultimately wind up selecting.
Speaker 1: Same here. Dan looks forward to it as well. It'll
Speaker 1: be a lot of fun to the draft. Couldn't come
Speaker 1: at a better time, because Ben, I've had enough these
Speaker 1: groundhog days, you know, every day being almost to say
Speaker 1: it's how how can you change it up? Well, the
Speaker 1: draft will change it up, so Thursday, Friday, Saturday won't
Speaker 1: be quite like the groundhog days of the last month
Speaker 1: or so. And we invite you to frequently check Bengals
Speaker 1: dot com throughout the draft. Lap and I will be
Speaker 1: joined by Bengals dot Com editor Jeff Hobson for video
Speaker 1: recaps every day and we'll post a new in depth
Speaker 1: podcast after the draft is completed. The Bengals only have
Speaker 1: one first ground draft pick this year, at least so far,
Speaker 1: but when they take the field this season, it's going
Speaker 1: to feel like they have two. That's because their number
Speaker 1: one pick from last year, Alabama offensive lineman Jonah Williams,
Speaker 1: fine he gets to play after missing his entire rookie
Speaker 1: season due to injury. I spoke to Jonah on Wednesday.
Speaker 1: The Bengals will be adding two first round draft picks
Speaker 1: this year, and no, I am not breaking news about
Speaker 1: an upcoming trade, and Joe Burrow will be one and
Speaker 1: offensive lineman Jonah Williams will be the other, the first
Speaker 1: offensive lineman picked in last year's draft, number eleven overall,
Speaker 1: who unfortunately could not play last year due to a
Speaker 1: shoulder injury. Jonah, thanks for joining me. Let's start with
Speaker 1: the obvious. How is the shoulder. It's great, It's really good.
Speaker 1: You know, unfortunate what happened, and you know, it sucks,
Speaker 1: but I'm trying to make the most of it. And
Speaker 1: I've been feeling, you know, pretty much one hundred percent
Speaker 1: since the very beginning off seasons, so haven't had any
Speaker 1: hitches with my training and just just continuing to you know,
Speaker 1: try to get better and feel better than I was
Speaker 1: even before any of this happened. If and when some
Speaker 1: sort of team training begins ends, will you face any limitations. No,
Speaker 1: I'm one hundred percent go to go. That is great
Speaker 1: news for you and the Bengals and Bengals fans. Jonah.
Speaker 1: Right now, guys have to be creative when it comes
Speaker 1: to training. And I saw a video recently if you
Speaker 1: pushing a truck, tell me about that workout. Oh, it's
Speaker 1: funny because, uh, you know, obviously with with what's going on,
Speaker 1: you know, the a lot of gyms are clothes and
Speaker 1: everything's just kind of kind of weird. And so some
Speaker 1: of my my other old lineman buddies um started pushing,
Speaker 1: you know, trucks. My friend jac Hastenaur was pushing trucks
Speaker 1: in Minnesota to get a little bit of work in.
Speaker 1: And then one of our other friends there's like a
Speaker 1: skinny guy was pushing the tahoe and he challenged me
Speaker 1: and I'm like, I can't let you know, the skinny
Speaker 1: guy push the car and I don't do it. You know,
Speaker 1: I gotta I gotta rise to the challenge, So, uh yeah,
Speaker 1: I pushed the truck around a little bit, and you know,
Speaker 1: I felt like football for your second Jonah, when you
Speaker 1: were twelve or thirteen years old, you started building a
Speaker 1: weight room and your parents' basement. So I think you
Speaker 1: are uniquely qualified to be resourceful when it comes to
Speaker 1: finding ways to train. Yeah, i'd like to think. So,
Speaker 1: I think it's paying off. What else can you do
Speaker 1: right now in terms of studying, game, film, training, et cetera,
Speaker 1: everything that you would normally be doing this time of
Speaker 1: the year. What can you do well? The goals, you know,
Speaker 1: to make everything as normal as possible. I think me
Speaker 1: and most football players are people who kind of thrive
Speaker 1: with a routine and a schedule and some structure. And
Speaker 1: so you know, we're starting this virtual this virtual period
Speaker 1: next week we will be doing you know, zoom meetings
Speaker 1: and that type of thing. And just received my iPad
Speaker 1: earlier and they're going to start pushing film and playbooks
Speaker 1: and all that to it. So kind of the goal
Speaker 1: for me is to you know, obviously I'm not physically
Speaker 1: in that setting, but I think it works best my
Speaker 1: brain to treat it like, all right, this is my
Speaker 1: work day. You know, I'm and do my physical exercise
Speaker 1: training drills, everything I can do, and then study my
Speaker 1: film playbooks kind of get into all that. So, you know,
Speaker 1: just trying to make everything smooth. Whenever we do go back,
Speaker 1: it's a it's a smooth transition that doesn't feel like,
Speaker 1: you know, a jarring change or anything. We are visiting
Speaker 1: with the first offensive lemon picked in last year's draft,
Speaker 1: Jonah Williams. The anticipation is you'll be able to step
Speaker 1: right in and play left tackle this year. Are there
Speaker 1: any uncertainties in your mind about your ability to step
Speaker 1: right in and do that after missing last season? No,
Speaker 1: I mean I feel good. I appreciate, you know, the
Speaker 1: coach's confidence in me, you know, to to allow me
Speaker 1: to go compete for that role. But I feel great,
Speaker 1: and honestly, I feel I feel better than I did
Speaker 1: before before any's injuries and stuff, just because you know,
Speaker 1: it's not college anymore. We're not training to run forties
Speaker 1: and do all those drills and stuff like that, all
Speaker 1: the kind of non football stuff, like just every hour
Speaker 1: of every day has been dedicated to a rehabing the shoulder,
Speaker 1: getting that right. And then now that that's one hundred
Speaker 1: percent has been for a few months. It's just all about,
Speaker 1: you know, taking care of my body. I've been working
Speaker 1: on flexibility, moving and all that stuff on top of
Speaker 1: obviously strength, and so I feel like I'm moving better,
Speaker 1: i feel quicker, more athletic, and that's kind of the
Speaker 1: feedback I'm getting from the people I'm working with too, So,
Speaker 1: you know, a full confidence. I could have done it
Speaker 1: last year, but I feel I feel better and I
Speaker 1: was last year for sure. Janah, you were in every
Speaker 1: meeting last year and you practiced on a limited basis
Speaker 1: in December. How much did that help? It helped a lot.
Speaker 1: I mean, obviously it's it's tough, and it was hard
Speaker 1: going to work every day and just feeling like you're
Speaker 1: kind of letting people down or disappointing. It's, you know,
Speaker 1: just the situation that's out of my control, you know,
Speaker 1: which isn't which was an ideal, But I you know,
Speaker 1: my goal was to make the most of it. And
Speaker 1: you know, I think the coaches were great and letting
Speaker 1: me come to every meeting and you know, spending some
Speaker 1: time with them outside of that too, just like you know,
Speaker 1: continuing to invest in me even though I couldn't perform
Speaker 1: for them last year. So I mean, I feel like,
Speaker 1: despite having not played, I feel like kind of the
Speaker 1: wurky seasons out of the way. I know what the
Speaker 1: NFL's like, I know what to expect. I know kind
Speaker 1: of the level of professionalism that's expected, something really comfortable in.
Speaker 1: And so I think that, yeah, you know, going back,
Speaker 1: it's going to feel like I have a little bit
Speaker 1: of experience. And obviously you know that'll change as I
Speaker 1: start to actually take game reps and all that. But
Speaker 1: I do feel like kind of that that novelty has
Speaker 1: kind of gone, and it's it's a it's just you know,
Speaker 1: work in business. We are visiting with Jonah Williams. It's
Speaker 1: been a very eventful offseason for the Bengals, and that's
Speaker 1: before we get to the selection of Joe Burrow and
Speaker 1: the other players that the Bengals wind up taking. This weekend,
Speaker 1: they signed eight unrestricted free agents. They spent more than
Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty million dollars, including the addition of
Speaker 1: a potential start around the offensive line and Xavier Sue
Speaker 1: of Philo. What was your reaction as those names kept
Speaker 1: rolling in. It's exciting. I mean, I think there's a
Speaker 1: lot of there's a lot of new blood in the building.
Speaker 1: You know, obviously the new coaching staff coming in. Have
Speaker 1: a lot of faith in them, Um, and I have
Speaker 1: a lot of faith in the vets that are here
Speaker 1: and that are staying. And you know, the guys that
Speaker 1: were bringing in all seem like great players. I'm looking
Speaker 1: forward to get and know him and you know, UM
Speaker 1: getting on his teammates and friends and all that. So,
Speaker 1: you know, it's exciting. I think that it's just I
Speaker 1: don't know, I mean, it's it's it's always exciting to
Speaker 1: come to work and to come play the sport. But
Speaker 1: when you have all this new blood and all this
Speaker 1: new new talent around you, you know, you kind of
Speaker 1: want to you kind of want to try out the
Speaker 1: new toys. Joe. It's no secret at this point that
Speaker 1: the Bengals are going to select Joe Burrow number one
Speaker 1: in the NFL Draft. You faced him a couple of
Speaker 1: years ago when you were at Alabama and he was
Speaker 1: just getting started at LSU, and it did not go
Speaker 1: particularly well for Joe in that game. That Crimson Tide
Speaker 1: shut him out. But then this year in Tuscaloosa, Burrow
Speaker 1: and the Tigers put forty six points on the board,
Speaker 1: which doesn't happen to Alabama period very often, especially at home.
Speaker 1: You're an SEC guy, I imagine you were watching. What
Speaker 1: are your thoughts on your future teammate and quarterback Joe Burrow.
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, it was pretty incredible what he was
Speaker 1: able to do the whole season. And I think that,
Speaker 1: you know, obviously else he's always been a great team
Speaker 1: and they're always a challenge for us, but you know
Speaker 1: that challenge was never offensively, you know, that wasn't really
Speaker 1: what else he was known for. Their great defense, you know,
Speaker 1: just being a physical, mauling team, and so what they're
Speaker 1: able to do this year, obviously beating US at Alabama,
Speaker 1: all the other big games they won, and how they
Speaker 1: perform in the playoffs and stuff like that, and it
Speaker 1: was it was impressive. And honestly, you know, I feel
Speaker 1: like there's always kind of I always felt I was like, well,
Speaker 1: you know, they're great, but maybe someone will stop them,
Speaker 1: you know, like just wait till they play so and so,
Speaker 1: and then they just kept doing they just kept winning.
Speaker 1: I think it says a lot about that team, their coaches,
Speaker 1: and obviously what Joe was doing at quarter back. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean it's I haven't really seen a better, uh
Speaker 1: college season from a quarterback than that. So that was
Speaker 1: pretty impressive. Did you watch the semi final win over
Speaker 1: Oklahoma winning through seven touchdown passes in the first half,
Speaker 1: and then the national championship game against Clemson and think, huh,
Speaker 1: this guy might work on our team. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: it's it was incredible he was able to do. And um, yeah,
Speaker 1: Clemson's obviously a great defensive team. That the team that
Speaker 1: we faced and a couple of times and there were
Speaker 1: always a great defense. And you know, I think that
Speaker 1: they came out hot and unless you kind of struggled
Speaker 1: on their first drive maybe two driss so and then
Speaker 1: all of a sudden they just started clicking and you know,
Speaker 1: it just looked like no one could stop them. So
Speaker 1: really really impressive what they did. Are there any former
Speaker 1: Alabama teammates that you are hoping will wind up in Cincinnati? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'd take any of them. You know, they're all great guys.
Speaker 1: I'll do to you know, obviously, I think you're are
Speaker 1: great football players, and you know, obviously it's to the
Speaker 1: coaches what they think our team meets are. But you know, Hopefully,
Speaker 1: if they're picking between Alabama guy and an Alabama guy,
Speaker 1: they'll take the Alabama guy. Well done. I have an
Speaker 1: opportunity earlier today to speak to your former high school teammate,
Speaker 1: former UC tight end Josiah Deguara, as he prepares for
Speaker 1: the NFL Draft. What do you think of his NFL prospects.
Speaker 1: I think he's great. I mean, he's he's an incredible player.
Speaker 1: He was in high school and he wasn't Cincinnati. UM,
Speaker 1: so you know, I was kind of like joking with
Speaker 1: him during the season. I'm like, dude, you gotta you know,
Speaker 1: you gotta come down and play with us next year,
Speaker 1: Like he gotta, um come join the team. I think
Speaker 1: he's a He's a great tight end, really versatile guy.
Speaker 1: He's physical, so he can play h or y or
Speaker 1: wherever anyone wants to put him. Um, good hands, all
Speaker 1: that stuff, everything you want to see from the tight end. UM.
Speaker 1: So I think, you know, whatever team gets him is
Speaker 1: going to get a hell of a player. And you know,
Speaker 1: I hope it's us, but I don't really gonna say. Jone,
Speaker 1: Let's turn the clock back one year when you walked
Speaker 1: up on that stage, shook Roger Goodell's hand got the
Speaker 1: Bengals number one Jersey. What are your most vivid memories
Speaker 1: of your draft experience? It was just pure you know, excitement,
Speaker 1: like just an awesome feeling sitting there and you know,
Speaker 1: getting the getting the phone call off from the five
Speaker 1: one three number, you know, and when the Bengals were
Speaker 1: on the clock and talking to a coach Taylor and
Speaker 1: coach Turner and everyone, and obviously an old experience, it
Speaker 1: just kind of feels like a blur, you know, kind
Speaker 1: of like a dream. Um. But yeah, I mean it's
Speaker 1: it's a reminder I guess of it coming around of
Speaker 1: like how grateful I am for for the opportunity that
Speaker 1: they gave me and obviously wasn't able to really capitalize
Speaker 1: on it with what happened with my shoulder and OTAs.
Speaker 1: So I think that you know, just that reminder plus
Speaker 1: like my excitement and everything everything that's been going on,
Speaker 1: just like how eager I am to get back and
Speaker 1: get to work, and um, kind of prove that they
Speaker 1: made the right decision. I don't think anybody has a
Speaker 1: doubt that they did make the right decision and that
Speaker 1: you are going to have a great NFL career. I
Speaker 1: appreciate your time today. Stay safe when you push those trucks,
Speaker 1: be careful with your back, and when we're all allowed
Speaker 1: to be back together again, we look forward to seeing
Speaker 1: you here in Cincinnati. I appreciate that. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1: That's going to do it for this episode of The
Speaker 1: Bengals Booth Podcast brought to you by Prime Sport, the
Speaker 1: official fan, travel and hospitality partner of the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Speaker 1: I'm Dan Horde, and thanks for listening to The Bengals
Speaker 1: Booth Podcast