Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody on Dan Hord and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast.
Speaker 2: The rest is still unwritten.
Speaker 1: On addition, as we discuss a crucial off season for
Speaker 1: the Bengals with draft guru Dane Brugler from The Athletic
Speaker 1: and NFL analyst Pete Prisco from CBS Sports. The Bengals
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Speaker 1: quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of
Speaker 1: this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer
Speaker 1: by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest
Speaker 1: thing since. Sam Hubbard, the Bengals defensive end, announced his
Speaker 1: retirement on Wednesday after a great seven year run with
Speaker 1: his hometown team. The Bengals struck gold when they drafted
Speaker 1: him in the third round in twenty eighteen. Sam was
Speaker 1: a productive and durable player, a universally respected team leader
Speaker 1: and a tremendous ambassador for the franchise, twice, being nominated
Speaker 1: for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award
Speaker 1: for his charitable efforts in the community. Sam is also
Speaker 1: responsible for two of the most important plays in franchise history. First,
Speaker 1: a red zone sack of Patrick Mahomes in the final
Speaker 1: minute of regulation in the AFC Championship game that forced
Speaker 1: Kansas City to settle for an overtime forcing field goal.
Speaker 1: The Bengals then won the game in ot to advance
Speaker 1: to the Super Bowl, and one year later, what I
Speaker 1: would consider to be the most iconic play in Bengals history,
Speaker 1: the fumble in the Jungle. Here's how those plays sounded
Speaker 1: on the race, plus a memorable moment that happened ten
Speaker 1: days before Christmas last year.
Speaker 2: On third and goal from.
Speaker 3: The nile, Mahomes catches the shotgun snap, retreats back to
Speaker 3: the eighteen. Looking around in the end zone, nobody opened,
Speaker 3: yet no pressure at all. Now Here comes the rush
Speaker 3: Mahomes way back at.
Speaker 4: The twenty times they lose it at all.
Speaker 3: The Chiefs fall on it at the twenty six, and
Speaker 3: this makes it a much more difficult field goal try.
Speaker 3: It will be a forty four yarder with all sorts
Speaker 3: of pressure on Harrison.
Speaker 5: Butker, I'll tell you what. They rushed three and dropped eight.
Speaker 5: They blanketed everybody. Sam Hubbard forced the funnel.
Speaker 2: Jane Tooney recovered it. Huber loss of seventeen.
Speaker 5: How about back to back snaps by Sam Hubbard. I
Speaker 5: mean he makes the play on second down, makes the
Speaker 5: play on third down. About the Moller High School house,
Speaker 5: state product, local kid in just making huge.
Speaker 3: Plays third down and goal. The line hand sticks the
Speaker 3: ball out. The Bengals have the ball. They are running
Speaker 3: it back, Sam Hubbard.
Speaker 6: We had blockers behind him, Hubbard of the Ravens forty,
Speaker 6: the thirty, the twenty, the ten, the Bob touchdown Bengals
Speaker 6: who Tyler Hunley tried to extend the ball over the
Speaker 6: goal line.
Speaker 2: It got poked away.
Speaker 6: Sam Hubbard scooped it up and ran the length of
Speaker 6: the field for a go ahead Bengals touchdown.
Speaker 5: He tried to pull at Trevor Lawrence and the Bengals
Speaker 5: said no.
Speaker 4: They slapped it.
Speaker 6: Out of there.
Speaker 3: Logan Wilson punched the ball out of the hands of
Speaker 3: Tyler Huntley.
Speaker 5: And right into the hands of Sam Hubbard and boy
Speaker 5: Logan Wilson others.
Speaker 4: Everybody was swarming it at at.
Speaker 5: That football and Sam Hubbard says, I'll take it to
Speaker 5: the house. And boy who threw the block for Sam
Speaker 5: Hubbard down the football field his escorts service. Final block
Speaker 5: was necessary and it was made for him.
Speaker 3: Burrow fakes a handoff, throws a pass Sam.
Speaker 6: Hubbard fake with the catch, Saton touchdown Bengals.
Speaker 4: Sam Hubbard raising.
Speaker 6: The football over his head and spiking at Gronk style
Speaker 6: after the first catch of his NFL career.
Speaker 4: Sam Hubbard started his career at Mowler High School.
Speaker 5: Is a tight end, Sam Hubbard is an athlete, Sam Hubbard.
Speaker 4: That's a great fingertip catch.
Speaker 1: Sam actually suffered a season ending knee injury on that play,
Speaker 1: so on the final snap of his NFL career, he
Speaker 1: caught a touchdown pass from an old college buddy who
Speaker 1: became one of his closest friends, Joe Burrow. It's kind
Speaker 1: of like Ted Williams hitting a home run in his
Speaker 1: final at bat. Coming up later on the podcast of
Speaker 1: fun Facts Flashback, as Sam discusses the thrill of playing
Speaker 1: for his hometown team. Now, let's get to my first guest.
Speaker 1: If ESPN's mel Kiper was the first person to become
Speaker 1: famous for being an NFL draft expert, the best guy
Speaker 1: doing it now, in my opinion, is Dane Brugler from
Speaker 1: The Athletic. His annual draft guide, The Beast, annually contains
Speaker 1: more than four hundred in depth player profiles. I caught
Speaker 1: up with Dane at the NFL Scouting Combine dayan. The
Speaker 1: Bengals need to address their defensive line. I keep hearing
Speaker 1: from various draft gurus, and I have you at the
Speaker 1: top of the list that it's a good defensive line draft.
Speaker 7: Is that the case, There's no doubt, and I think
Speaker 7: it's true in the first round, it's true once you
Speaker 7: get to Day two and then even into Day three,
Speaker 7: both on the edge and on the interior. So and
Speaker 7: there's different styles, different types, different sizes. Like I think
Speaker 7: there is a little bit of everything depending on what
Speaker 7: you really want. If you're looking for more of the
Speaker 7: proven production, you know, there's that guy in this draft.
Speaker 8: If you want someone.
Speaker 7: That's got all the time cools, that's in this draft
Speaker 7: as well. So I think it depends on It'll be interesting.
Speaker 7: Every team's going to stack their boards a little bit
Speaker 7: differently with this defensive line class, where some teams are
Speaker 7: gonna look at the promise of a Michel Williams from
Speaker 7: Georgia and say they they don't make them like that
Speaker 7: very often, and so let's get that, let's coach him up,
Speaker 7: and we've got something where other teams might look at
Speaker 7: it and say.
Speaker 8: You know, like that, we like him.
Speaker 7: That's a little rich for us because he's a little
Speaker 7: bit of a project. He's a little bit more of
Speaker 7: an idea than a polished player at this point. So
Speaker 7: I think teams are going to be all over the
Speaker 7: map with how they stack these the defensive linemen this year.
Speaker 7: And part of it is because of what I just said.
Speaker 7: There's so many of them, there's so many different types.
Speaker 1: Glad you mentioned Williams because on your first mock draft
Speaker 1: you had Cincinnati selecting him number seventeen overall, so obviously
Speaker 1: would be a good match. They need somebody to rush
Speaker 1: the quarterback other than Trey Hendrickson, and clearly you think
Speaker 1: there's a chance he'll be there at seventeen.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean, he could go top ten.
Speaker 7: I wouldn't be surprised, because again, he's just a freaky,
Speaker 7: freaky dude. But if he did fall a little bit
Speaker 7: into the mid first, I think that that would make sense.
Speaker 7: And I don't want to make it sound like he's
Speaker 7: a true project that he's not going to see the
Speaker 7: field right away, because I think obviously Bengals fans they
Speaker 7: want some help right away. They don't want someone to
Speaker 7: have to sit. And you know, they've seen that from
Speaker 7: a few other draft picks recently, where you know, they
Speaker 7: want someone that's going to be able to come in
Speaker 7: and impact the team, and I think Became Williams could
Speaker 7: do that.
Speaker 8: He just he was hurt. He was banged up this year.
Speaker 7: You know, he the ankle injury played him throughout the
Speaker 7: entire year. But I would say, just watch the Texas tape.
Speaker 7: Watch what he does against a pretty good offensive line,
Speaker 7: and you see the talent and it's not just I'm bigger,
Speaker 7: longer than you.
Speaker 8: I'm just it's not just quicker than you.
Speaker 7: He showed a better understanding this year of you know,
Speaker 7: using the length of his advantage. So he's leveraging the
Speaker 7: point of attack, plays very well against the run, different
Speaker 7: euro steps and the ways that he can win the corner.
Speaker 7: So he's you know there's progression there. It's not just
Speaker 7: a ball of clay that you're trying to mold into something.
Speaker 7: So I think with Michel Williams, it's a little bit
Speaker 7: of both, where you have a guy who's gonna come
Speaker 7: in and help out right away as a part of
Speaker 7: that rotation, but also someone that you'll love the upside
Speaker 7: and say, yeah, he's good now, but he has a
Speaker 7: chance to be truly a difference maker down the road.
Speaker 1: We're talking draft with Dame Bugler from the Athletic let's
Speaker 1: focus in on the defensive tackles a little bit. I
Speaker 1: assume Mason Graham will be long gone by the time
Speaker 1: the Bengals select, even if they had thoughts of trading up.
Speaker 1: But let's talk about some of the other guys that
Speaker 1: could be there. Walter Nolan from Ole miss Tyleek Williams
Speaker 1: from Ohio State, Kenneth Grant from Michigan, Derek Harmon from
Speaker 1: Oregon who stands out in that group from guys that
Speaker 1: you think would have a chance to be there at seventeen.
Speaker 7: I really like Derek Harmon, you know, Michigan State transfer
Speaker 7: went to Oregon. He's he's really disruptive. I mean you
Speaker 7: think about interior pressure. Nobody pressured created more pressure from
Speaker 7: the interior of the defensive line this year in college
Speaker 7: football than Derek Harmon, and that translates last year, the
Speaker 7: guy that did that the most was Byron Murphy and
Speaker 7: he was the first defensive tackle drafted last year. I think,
Speaker 7: what's sixteen overall by the Seahawks. So Harmon is kind
Speaker 7: of in that, in that mold where he can disrupt
Speaker 7: what the offense wants to do, and he does it
Speaker 7: with power. He can win with his quickness through the gaps.
Speaker 7: You know, there's there's a lot to like there with Harmon,
Speaker 7: and especially as a guy that's still figuring things out,
Speaker 7: another guy that you know, he's not a finished product
Speaker 7: by any means, but he's still able to be productive
Speaker 7: with what he knows right now. So I really like
Speaker 7: Derek Carmon in that mix. I'm a big Tyley Williams
Speaker 7: fan too, especially against a run. He's one of the
Speaker 7: best run defending defensive tackles in his class, and he
Speaker 7: doesn't necessarily look like it, you know, like he doesn't
Speaker 7: look like a hulking nose tackle, but he's so good
Speaker 7: with the stack shed I'm not going to lose the runner,
Speaker 7: which he's so good with his eye.
Speaker 8: And you know there's a lot of those guys in
Speaker 8: this drive.
Speaker 7: And Alfred Collins from Texas I would throw in that
Speaker 7: mix as well. He's gigantic and he's six five over
Speaker 7: six five thirty five inch arms and he's another one
Speaker 7: that controls the point of attack and he's going to
Speaker 7: good luck running at him because he is going to
Speaker 7: clog things up, just like you know, Tallier Williams does
Speaker 7: the same thing. TALLI Williams a little bit smaller, has
Speaker 7: better range. Walter Nolan, he's your one gap penetrator, classic,
Speaker 7: gonna win with quickness. Some stuff that he's you know,
Speaker 7: they need to figure out with him, just making sure
Speaker 7: they get the best version of him. It's, you know,
Speaker 7: the nicest way to say it, but you know, he's
Speaker 7: there's a lot to like about him because again he
Speaker 7: can create that interior disruption and it's it's harder to
Speaker 7: find those guys.
Speaker 2: Let's move to edge guys that could be there.
Speaker 1: Mike Green from Marshall, Shamar Stewart from Texas A and
Speaker 1: m James Pierce from Tennessee. The Boston College Kid as
Speaker 1: a root as a. I don't know how much print
Speaker 1: out you can tell me, but in any case, how
Speaker 1: about that group and and how you feel about them?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 7: As a rock who is Yeah, he's he's a lot
Speaker 7: of fun to watch. He's he's longer, like he doesn't
Speaker 7: look very big, but he's really long, and he uses
Speaker 7: that well. He's a two way go guy where he
Speaker 7: can win with speed, but he can also, uh you know,
Speaker 7: win with counters inside.
Speaker 8: He can go right at you and and go speed
Speaker 8: to power.
Speaker 7: As a rock who can win in different ways, and
Speaker 7: I think that's you know, the the production really stands out.
Speaker 7: So you know, teams draft trades over production, but when
Speaker 7: you have both, it's like, okay, that's even better. And
Speaker 7: that's the same thing with Mike Green. Mike Green leadon
Speaker 7: FBS and sacks this year. I think the biggest knock
Speaker 7: on him will be he did it against Sunbelt competition,
Speaker 7: you know, playing up Marshall and playing that schedule.
Speaker 8: But you throw onto Ohio State tape and you see
Speaker 8: him win.
Speaker 7: So his game is built all on violence and play speed.
Speaker 7: I just NonStop and versus the run and versus pass.
Speaker 7: So Mike Green is a fun player. Yeah, with James Pierce.
Speaker 7: He's he's still very much learning. I think he is
Speaker 7: a guy that the talent is tremendous, but you need
Speaker 7: to figure out, Okay, what makes him tick? How long
Speaker 7: does it take before we get him to a point
Speaker 7: where you know, we trust him setting an edge, you know,
Speaker 7: being a true three down player. But the talent is
Speaker 7: so exceptional that he still is very much and it
Speaker 7: has a chance to go top twenty. So he's gonna
Speaker 7: be one of the teams really spend a lot of
Speaker 7: time with to figure him out.
Speaker 8: What was the fourth one?
Speaker 2: You said, Stewart from Texas, I am.
Speaker 8: That's just wait till he works out today.
Speaker 7: He's the freakiest of the freaks, two six and eighty
Speaker 7: pounds and I mean maybe runs in the four fives.
Speaker 8: It's gonna be crazy.
Speaker 7: I think his ten yards split, like his burst is
Speaker 7: so great, the ten yard split could be in the
Speaker 7: one fives. And to put that in the context, Von
Speaker 7: Miller is a one five to nine ten yards split,
Speaker 7: so wouldn't be shocked at all. I mentioned trades over
Speaker 7: product Schmar Stewart, I want to have sacks this year.
Speaker 8: But when you watch.
Speaker 7: His film, you're like, Okay, he's getting home like he's
Speaker 7: he's winning.
Speaker 8: He actually led Texas a and.
Speaker 7: Him and pressures, so even though he was farther down
Speaker 7: the list on sacks, he led the team in pressure.
Speaker 7: So he is getting there. He just needs to be
Speaker 7: a better finisher. And ideally, yes, you want him to
Speaker 7: get the sacks. But if I'm making the quarterback move
Speaker 7: his feet, I'm doing my job. You know, I'm creating
Speaker 7: that disruption. And so Schmart Stewart, I think I think
Speaker 7: he was number eight on my top one hundred. Like
Speaker 7: I'm already I'm already factoring in the fact that he's
Speaker 7: a freak athlete, and I think I'll show it here
Speaker 7: at the combine. And you know, the lack of reduction
Speaker 7: isn't ideal, but I'm not as much worried about it
Speaker 7: as other people are.
Speaker 1: Dan Brugler is our guest. His draft guide, the beast
Speaker 1: that you can get if you are a subscriber to
Speaker 1: The Athletic is unlike anything else for people that are
Speaker 1: interested in the draft. It is really must reading if
Speaker 1: you were interested in the players that the Bengals are
Speaker 1: going to be looking at in the draft this year.
Speaker 1: The Bengals are in the market for a guard. I'd
Speaker 1: be surprised if they took one in the first round.
Speaker 1: It's not out of the question. They've done it once
Speaker 1: before with Kevin Zeitler, but that's the only time in
Speaker 1: franchise history they've taken a guard in round one. Can
Speaker 1: you give me a Day two and a Day three
Speaker 1: guard or a couple of them that you like?
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think on Day two Tate Ratlie from from
Speaker 7: Georgia's he fits the bill. He's ready to go strong
Speaker 7: at the point of attack, he can win with torque.
Speaker 8: And I really Miles Fraser from LSU. Both these guys
Speaker 8: are right guards.
Speaker 7: Fraser he's maybe the nastiest lineman in this draft. You
Speaker 7: can make that argument where the competitive toughness is off
Speaker 7: the charts. Maybe not the best athlete of the group,
Speaker 7: but he's not deficient in that area and he wins with.
Speaker 8: Just the physicality, the competitiveness.
Speaker 7: And so Miles Fraser, he had a good week at
Speaker 7: the Senior Bowl kind of helped himself as well. He's
Speaker 7: gonna be right there in that Day two mix as well.
Speaker 7: It's a good, pretty good guard group. A couple will
Speaker 7: go in the first round. Tyler Booker and I think.
Speaker 8: Kelvin Banks from Texas is a guard.
Speaker 7: And then on day two it's there's gonna be more
Speaker 7: than a handful of names that I think will be
Speaker 7: in play for the Bengals.
Speaker 8: And on day three Anthony Belton from Enci State.
Speaker 7: He's a college left tackle who I think is going
Speaker 7: to be better moved inside. Gigantic guy, mammoth guy, and
Speaker 7: getting him away from having to play on an island,
Speaker 7: I think will help him and just help him with
Speaker 7: his timing, with a setup, the ability to use his hands.
Speaker 7: But I think Anthey Belton for you know, fourth fifth round,
Speaker 7: he would make.
Speaker 1: Some soundse Have you studied Luke Candra from the University
Speaker 1: of Cincinnati as Cincinnati kid as a possible third a
Speaker 1: third day guard prospect, Yeah.
Speaker 7: No doubt, And I think he should do pretty well
Speaker 7: for himself here. Like I, not the best athlete, but
Speaker 7: a good athlete. And you know, seeing his background by
Speaker 7: Louisville and then going to Cincinnati, you know he's he's
Speaker 7: played a lot of football. You know, he's a experienced guy,
Speaker 7: and you know, I was impressed with him this year.
Speaker 8: I think he's he's a guy that technically is a.
Speaker 7: Further along than some of these other players and might
Speaker 7: give you a little bit of versatility on the interior.
Speaker 2: Let's talk tight ends.
Speaker 1: It sounds like people are enthused about this group. The
Speaker 1: Bengals have Mike Kasicki as a free agent, not sure
Speaker 1: if he'll be back. Unfortunately, Eric All, who is so
Speaker 1: impressive before he got hurt last year, is likely to
Speaker 1: miss the entire season. What about this tight end group
Speaker 1: and some of the guys you like is loaded?
Speaker 7: Absolutely, And if you want to go that direction in
Speaker 7: the first round, you know, to Tyler Warren or Colson Lovelin,
Speaker 7: are they still available for you in the first Possibly,
Speaker 7: But it's not like it's you know, you're worried if
Speaker 7: they're not. Because on Day two, Mason Taylor from LSU,
Speaker 7: Elijah Royo from Miami, I'm a big fan of Gunner
Speaker 7: Helm from Texas. I think that, you know, that'd be
Speaker 7: a nice fit on day two in the second round
Speaker 7: for the Bengals. He can be kind of that mismatched
Speaker 7: weapon where yeah he'll block a little bit, but his
Speaker 7: ability to win down the field at the catch point.
Speaker 7: He's a good athlete. He stands out and and then
Speaker 7: even in the Day three there's name. So I think
Speaker 7: this is a tight end class that it's it's good
Speaker 7: in the first round with those top two guys, but
Speaker 7: then it stretches.
Speaker 8: Day two, day three.
Speaker 7: Plenty of guys that you see can or can come
Speaker 7: in and compete for jobs and try to make something.
Speaker 1: A year ago, at this time, I was asking you
Speaker 1: about offensive tackles. The Bengals obviously took one an a
Speaker 1: Marius Mims.
Speaker 2: I believe your quote.
Speaker 1: At the time was looks like he was built in
Speaker 1: a lab to play right tackle.
Speaker 2: What'd you think of his play as a rookie.
Speaker 7: Yeah, you know, and maybe even a little bit better
Speaker 7: than I expected, because he was, you know, he had
Speaker 7: missed so much time with the injury.
Speaker 8: You know, he was so good the year before.
Speaker 7: Against Ohio State in that playoff game, and it was
Speaker 7: just like, oh wow, this guy is for real. And
Speaker 7: then he missed time the next year because of the
Speaker 7: ankle injury, and so you just weren't sure, like you
Speaker 7: knew the size, strength, the ability, but just mindset wise,
Speaker 7: where was he going to be?
Speaker 8: Technique wise? Where would he be?
Speaker 7: And I thought he was even a little bit He's
Speaker 7: still raw in areas, still green in areas but I
Speaker 7: thought he was further along than what most people expected,
Speaker 7: and he held his own for a good chunk of
Speaker 7: when he was out there, which was awesome to see,
Speaker 7: especially you know, in the AFC North. So I think
Speaker 7: if you're a Bengals fan, you have to be encouraged
Speaker 7: by the what you saw in year one and then
Speaker 7: what's to come in year two.
Speaker 1: On the flip side, there were concerns character wise with
Speaker 1: Jermaine Burton.
Speaker 2: The Bengals rolled the.
Speaker 1: Dice in the third round, at least so far, it
Speaker 1: hasn't worked out when that happens.
Speaker 2: Do you think that a team is really.
Speaker 1: Reluctant to take any risks in the near future.
Speaker 7: Well, the Bengals haven't been scared off of those guys,
Speaker 7: So I don't you know, you have to have a
Speaker 7: process when you're talking about you know, because all these
Speaker 7: guys aren't choir boys, you know, and that doesn't mean
Speaker 7: you don't draft them.
Speaker 9: You know.
Speaker 7: There have been plenty of guys with issues that have
Speaker 7: turned out to be really solid pros and haven't been
Speaker 7: issues behind the scenes, and so you just have to
Speaker 7: understand what makes him tick, you know, how big is
Speaker 7: this an issue that's gonna come with them, or is
Speaker 7: this something where we give him structure, we give him
Speaker 7: the support that he needs. All of a sudden, you know,
Speaker 7: we have a what's a locker room, like we have
Speaker 7: the veteran locker room that's gonna be able to take
Speaker 7: him under their wing.
Speaker 8: So every case is different.
Speaker 7: You know, I don't want to paint a broad brush
Speaker 7: because every case is so unique, and it no different
Speaker 7: than last year with Burton. You know, there the character
Speaker 7: was definitely a question mark and a lot of teams.
Speaker 7: He was off the board for a lot of teams
Speaker 7: and Bengals rolled the dice and.
Speaker 8: You know it didn't work out.
Speaker 7: But you know, you don't you know, you're not throwing
Speaker 7: dirt on the on the coffin just yet.
Speaker 8: You know, we'll see.
Speaker 7: They have made it known exactly where they stand with
Speaker 7: them and what they need to see from him if
Speaker 7: you want to stay on the roster. And so hopefully
Speaker 7: this is kind of the wake up call and say,
Speaker 7: all right, we'll be better this year.
Speaker 8: We'll show improvement.
Speaker 1: Your description of the process was perfect for what the
Speaker 1: Bengals were thinking of with Jermaine Burton.
Speaker 2: A group of hard working, talented players like Jamar Chase
Speaker 2: and t Higgins.
Speaker 1: They thought that the group and the coach would elevate
Speaker 1: him and unfortunately, at least there's a rookie, it didn't
Speaker 1: pan out.
Speaker 7: Yeah, and that's why the draft is always going to
Speaker 7: be more of an earth than a science. You know,
Speaker 7: you can't you can like the fact that he had
Speaker 7: he struggled is not a huge surprise because of the
Speaker 7: warning signs and the red flags. But at the same time,
Speaker 7: you know, Devandre Sweat was had all these types of
Speaker 7: issues and the Titans shocked a lot of people and
Speaker 7: they drafted him top forty. Still, you know that some
Speaker 7: teams took him off the board. Some team said, well,
Speaker 7: maybe if he's there in the third or the fourth,
Speaker 7: Titan said, you know, no, we're going to take a
Speaker 7: chance here. And Sweat was awesome as a rookie, and
Speaker 7: at least at this point, nothing's popped up, you know,
Speaker 7: as being an issue for him. So you know, there's
Speaker 7: examples on both sides of guys that had some red
Speaker 7: flags character wise who were able to mature and work out.
Speaker 7: And I mean your point is I think dead on.
Speaker 7: When you drop the player like that, you feel like,
Speaker 7: all right, we're bringing him to a wide receiver room
Speaker 7: that has some proven guys that you know are prime
Speaker 7: examples of Hey, if I have the talent, if I
Speaker 7: work and I do what's needed of me was asked
Speaker 7: to me, and I listened to the coaching, maybe I could.
Speaker 8: Be on their level someday.
Speaker 7: And so I think you understand the reasoning, but you
Speaker 7: also understand maybe why it hasn't worked out yet.
Speaker 1: Visiting with Dame Brugler from the Athletic I mentioned defensive tackles,
Speaker 1: defensive ends, guards, and tight ends.
Speaker 2: Let's talk running back.
Speaker 1: Chase Brown is emerging as perfect fit for the Bengals offense,
Speaker 1: but we don't know about the future of Zach Moss.
Speaker 1: I suspect they're probably going to add to that group
Speaker 1: at some point. What do you think about guys after
Speaker 1: round one? And they wouldn't take one that early, but
Speaker 1: day two, Day three, at running.
Speaker 8: Back, it's a loaded position this year.
Speaker 7: I mean, you you feel really good about who's gonna
Speaker 7: be available round two, round three, round four. I think
Speaker 7: I gave draft well grades to thirty two running backs.
Speaker 7: I mean, there's just a lot of them, and they're
Speaker 7: gonna go. They're all probably gonna go later than they should,
Speaker 7: you know, just because there's only so many teams that
Speaker 7: are gonna consider a running back in a second round
Speaker 7: or the third round, and so it just pushes everybody
Speaker 7: back a little bit. But you know, it depends what
Speaker 7: type of runner they want. They want, you know, someone
Speaker 7: that can come in and be a more of a
Speaker 7: three down guy, or not three but like a third
Speaker 7: down type of back. Then you're looking at like a
Speaker 7: LeQuinn Allen out of Syracuse, who is a really good
Speaker 7: pass catcher, He blocks well, he can play on special teams.
Speaker 8: If you want someone that's.
Speaker 7: More of an early down guy, like a Damien Martinez
Speaker 7: from Miami who is gonna run with power and violence
Speaker 7: and try to run over you, that would fit. So
Speaker 7: there's just there's so many running backs in his class
Speaker 7: that I think would fit my One of my favorites
Speaker 7: probably around three for the Bengals, Jordan James from Oregon,
Speaker 7: who is.
Speaker 8: Not a home run hitter, but he's going to lead
Speaker 8: the league of doubles.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 7: He's that type of guy where thirty five point six
Speaker 7: percent of his carries last year resulted in a first
Speaker 7: down or a touchdown, so he might not rip off
Speaker 7: a sixty yarder, but he's going to get six consistently,
Speaker 7: and so I think Jordan James, he's going to be
Speaker 7: a steal at wherever the third round, fourth round Rover
Speaker 7: ends up going.
Speaker 8: He's one of my favorite backs this year.
Speaker 1: There's another since he Cincinnati kid at the combine, Corey Kiner.
Speaker 1: He started his college career at LSU, wound up back
Speaker 1: home in Cincinnati, Cincinnati high school kid. Is he one
Speaker 1: of your running backs with a draftable great?
Speaker 7: Yeah, Roger Bacon, right, Yeah, Yeah, he's he's honestly, he's
Speaker 7: right on the cusp. He's like, I could see why
Speaker 7: he would go in the sixth, seventh round, or I
Speaker 7: could see why he'd be a PFA.
Speaker 8: He's one of the borderline guys. But you know he's here.
Speaker 7: You know he's he was at the Shrine Bowl too,
Speaker 7: got you to see him there. He'll be here at
Speaker 7: the combine a chance to you know, is he gonna
Speaker 7: be a.
Speaker 8: Four to four guy, four or five guy in the
Speaker 8: four yeard dash.
Speaker 7: You'll have a chance to kind of make his statement
Speaker 7: why he should be drafted. And it's tough class because
Speaker 7: it's so loaded, so many names, so anything you do
Speaker 7: to stand out.
Speaker 8: That'll be key for these guys.
Speaker 1: We've got a couple more minutes with Dame Brugler. The
Speaker 1: Bengals only have six picks. I think they would love
Speaker 1: to trade down at some point to get more.
Speaker 2: What would be a good time to do.
Speaker 7: That, Yeah, and I think it's you have to see
Speaker 7: ow the first what sixteen picks play out in the
Speaker 7: first round.
Speaker 8: If they would do that, entertain that in the first round.
Speaker 7: This is also a draft where I'm just I'm not
Speaker 7: confident how many teams are gonna want to trade up,
Speaker 7: you know, like you have to have a dance partner
Speaker 7: in order to get those extra picks, and in this class,
Speaker 7: I'm just not sold that. You know, we see trades
Speaker 7: every year, so it's not like we're not going to
Speaker 7: have any trades. Of course we will, but I'm not
Speaker 7: sure that the phone will be ringing maybe as much
Speaker 7: as in past years.
Speaker 8: And it's interesting.
Speaker 7: Because there's I think players thirteen team to forty five
Speaker 7: in this draft. Like there's for one team, a player
Speaker 7: might be fifteen. That same player might be fifty for
Speaker 7: a different team. I think the grades are very similar
Speaker 7: in that range, which means the boards are going to
Speaker 7: look wildly different, and so I don't know that we'll
Speaker 7: have teams maybe clamoring the hey, we got to go
Speaker 7: up and get this guy.
Speaker 8: We have a trade up.
Speaker 7: They might be feel fine saying and we probably like
Speaker 7: more than other people, will stay put and be able
Speaker 7: to get our guys. So ideally, yeah, I think that
Speaker 7: makes sense. You trade back, you get an extra third
Speaker 7: round pick, fourth round pick. You know, those are so
Speaker 7: valuable in terms of filling out your roster and adding depth.
Speaker 7: I just think it might be a little bit tougher
Speaker 7: to do that this year.
Speaker 1: Final question, Really appreciate your time. We assume the Bengals
Speaker 1: are going to have one of the top offenses in
Speaker 1: the NFL. As long as you've got a healthy Joe Burrow,
Speaker 1: Jamar Chase, et cetera, you should be able to score points.
Speaker 1: They didn't make the playoffs because their defense wasn't good enough.
Speaker 1: Between the draft and what they might be able to
Speaker 1: do in free agency, can they improve the defense enough
Speaker 1: in one year to be back in the is a
Speaker 1: Super Bowl contender?
Speaker 8: There's no doubt because the offense is that good.
Speaker 7: I mean, you don't have to be tremendous on defense
Speaker 7: for this team to make the playoffs, you have to
Speaker 7: be passable, you have to be average, and I think
Speaker 7: they can get there. It's just, yeah, you have to
Speaker 7: make a few key decisions, and it's getting better on
Speaker 7: the defensive line. It's getting better on the back end
Speaker 7: and being more consistent the linebacker level.
Speaker 8: And I'm not.
Speaker 7: Saying it's easy to do that, but I think it's
Speaker 7: definitely possible that they can get there this offseason through
Speaker 7: the draft, making some key moves in free agency, as
Speaker 7: long as you have borrow quarterback and the offense that
Speaker 7: they have, because it's not like they went five and
Speaker 7: twelve this year.
Speaker 8: They were right there knocking on the door of the playoffs.
Speaker 7: So you make a few key adjustments on defense and
Speaker 7: get close to average, I think they'll be right back
Speaker 7: in the mix and have a chance to knock down
Speaker 7: that door.
Speaker 1: I enjoy coming to the Combine every year, and one
Speaker 1: of the biggest reasons is the opportunity to pick your brain.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for the time. And I can't
Speaker 1: wait for the beast.
Speaker 8: Any Tom can't wait.
Speaker 7: I look forward to it too. It's like, Okay, I know,
Speaker 7: I gotta talk to Dan. That's part of my process
Speaker 7: of coming to the combine every year.
Speaker 1: By the way, since our conversation, Dane has come out
Speaker 1: with a new mock draft. Michel Williams, the edge rusher
Speaker 1: he had going to the Bengals in his first mock
Speaker 1: was gone this time around, going to San Francisco at
Speaker 1: number eleven Overall. Dane now has Cincinnati selecting Michigan cornerback
Speaker 1: Will Johnson with a seventeenth pick. Johnson is generally considered
Speaker 1: to be one of the top two cornerbacks in this draft,
Speaker 1: along with Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, the cornerback slash
Speaker 1: wide receiver. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you
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Speaker 1: Up next, a national NFL reporter who is never shy
Speaker 1: about expressing his opinions. Great to catch up at the
Speaker 1: combine with Pete Prisco from CBS Sports. Duke Tobin spoke
Speaker 1: to the media on Tuesday, he referred to the Bengals
Speaker 1: as quote a championship caliber team. They missed the playoffs
Speaker 1: the last couple of years. Do you agree with Duke?
Speaker 1: Are the Bengals a championship caliber team or close to it?
Speaker 9: Well, they can be a championship caliber offense. I wouldn't
Speaker 9: call their defense a championship caliber defense.
Speaker 10: So they have work to.
Speaker 11: Do on that side of the ball.
Speaker 9: But obviously, when Joe Burrow's playing like he's playing, they're
Speaker 9: going to stay in a lot of games and win
Speaker 9: a lot of games.
Speaker 10: But they have to fix that defense.
Speaker 1: Is it fixable in one off season between the draft
Speaker 1: and whatever room they have left over in free agency
Speaker 1: after they try to extend t Higgins, Jamar Chase, and
Speaker 1: Trey Hendrickson, If they can do.
Speaker 9: It well, I think that's the biggest challenge first, and look,
Speaker 9: I would do everything I could to try and keep all.
Speaker 11: Three of those players.
Speaker 9: I think if you take Higgins out of the lineup,
Speaker 9: it changes the dynamic of the offense. If you take
Speaker 9: Hendris out of the lineup, it changes the defense in
Speaker 9: a big way. So that's number one priority for me.
Speaker 9: And then because you can only there's only so many
Speaker 9: stars that you could have, and if you have those guys,
Speaker 9: you have stars.
Speaker 10: So I would say, get those.
Speaker 9: Guys signed, then use the draft to fix the try
Speaker 9: and fix the defense, and whatever money you have left over,
Speaker 9: depending on how you structure the contracts, maybe aut.
Speaker 2: A guy in free agency, Pete.
Speaker 1: I think a year ago, a lot of people, myself included, said,
Speaker 1: all right, T Higgins will be a Bengal for one
Speaker 1: more year in the franchise tag. It's tough to pay
Speaker 1: two receivers that kind of money. They'll move on after that. Then,
Speaker 1: with about five weeks to go in the season, Joe
Speaker 1: Burrow very publicly said, we need to do it. I
Speaker 1: think we can do it, and it changed to a
Speaker 1: lot of people's opinion, including my own. Did Joe Burrow's
Speaker 1: talk of the importance of keeping both change your opinion
Speaker 1: on the subject at all?
Speaker 10: You know what changed my opinion on it is the.
Speaker 9: Way they play together, and when one's not there, it's different.
Speaker 9: It's Higgins adds a different dimension of the offense. You know,
Speaker 9: when you have Chase and you don't have Higgins, it's
Speaker 9: not the same offense.
Speaker 10: So I think that's what Joe Burrow.
Speaker 9: Came out and said it, and that's I kind of
Speaker 9: changed my mind, and not based on what he said,
Speaker 9: just on what I saw when they're on the field together.
Speaker 1: Trey Hendrickson has led the NFL led the NFL in
Speaker 1: sacks with seventeen and a half this year. He also
Speaker 1: had seventeen and a half the year before. He's got
Speaker 1: one year left on his deal. As you've already said,
Speaker 1: you think the Bengals should try to extend him. Do
Speaker 1: you view Trey as one of the best overall defensive
Speaker 1: ends in the league or just an elite pass rusher.
Speaker 9: No, He's one of the best overall defensive ends in
Speaker 9: the league, and for whatever reason, he doesn't get the
Speaker 9: credit he deserves for being such a really good player
Speaker 9: and he plays hard all the time. Yeah, I think
Speaker 9: he's a great player. I think they have to do
Speaker 9: everything they can to extend him, get that contract done,
Speaker 9: make him the priority on defense.
Speaker 1: The Bengals have the seventeenth pick in the first round.
Speaker 1: I think most people would consider defensive line to be
Speaker 1: their biggest need. Keep hearing from Draft Guru's great year.
Speaker 1: If you need a defensive lineman, is that your belief?
Speaker 10: I think it's a great.
Speaker 9: Year for interior defensive lineman, which they you know, they
Speaker 9: could use a big body in there.
Speaker 10: And and yeah, you could.
Speaker 11: Get a guy like Grant from Michigan down there.
Speaker 9: I think he'd be a possibility, but they you know,
Speaker 9: it's it's funny because how cyclical this league is. Everybody
Speaker 9: watched the Eagles and they win the Super Bowl? And
Speaker 9: how do they win the Super Bowl with the great
Speaker 9: offensive line and the great defensive line and a defensive
Speaker 9: line that can get after the quarterback and have a
Speaker 9: dominant interior player like Carter and then build it around
Speaker 9: him and then they're a great offensive line.
Speaker 11: So now what's everybody trying to do?
Speaker 9: Look for interior defensive linemen and great offensive lineman.
Speaker 11: So yeah, they can get a guy at that spot.
Speaker 11: In this draft.
Speaker 1: They probably need a guard. They probably need a tight end.
Speaker 2: Are those guys out there in this draft?
Speaker 9: The tight end class is actually pretty good. There are
Speaker 9: some guards, but I think there are some guards in
Speaker 9: free agency, veteran guys that might not cost a lot
Speaker 9: of money that you can plug in and play for
Speaker 9: a year or two. You know, Daniels from Pittsburgh, he's
Speaker 9: coming off an injury, but a good player, relatively young.
Speaker 9: You might be able to Will Fries from Indianapolis.
Speaker 11: You know, relatively young coming off an injury.
Speaker 9: Maybe you get those guys on a team friendly deal
Speaker 9: and plug them in and play.
Speaker 2: Pete Prisco is our guest.
Speaker 1: Any thoughts on the hiring of l Golden, bringing him
Speaker 1: back from Notre Dame, the former linebackers coach, to be
Speaker 1: their defensive coordinator following Luanna Roumo.
Speaker 11: Yeah, I think it needed a fresh set of eyes
Speaker 11: over there.
Speaker 9: It kind of got a little stale, I think, and
Speaker 9: sometimes when it gets that way, players kind of tune
Speaker 9: it out, and so you get a new guy in there.
Speaker 9: He's been there, but you get a new guy calling
Speaker 9: the defense, and I think that changes the outlook as
Speaker 9: a unit.
Speaker 11: So yeah, I think that's a good move on their part.
Speaker 1: The Bengals were four and eight with five games to go,
Speaker 1: ran the table, needed a little help on the final
Speaker 1: Sunday to get into the playoffs, and didn't get it
Speaker 1: when Denver beat Kansas City.
Speaker 2: Were you of the belief that had they.
Speaker 1: Snuck in, they were going to be a problem for
Speaker 1: other teams in the AFA?
Speaker 9: I said for the last four weeks of the season,
Speaker 9: nobody wants to see the Bengals in Everybody in the
Speaker 9: AFC was rooting against the Bengals getting.
Speaker 11: Into the playoffs.
Speaker 9: They really were because Joe Burrow is Joe Burrow. He's
Speaker 9: so dangerous, that offense is so dynamic. Nobody wanted to
Speaker 9: see them in the playoffs.
Speaker 1: Here at the combine where everybody's evaluating prospects, and that
Speaker 1: generally begins with quarterbacks. Has Joe kind of become the
Speaker 1: benchmark in how you evaluate some of these prospects coming along.
Speaker 9: Well, it's interesting because he was such a late bloomer,
Speaker 9: you know, and then exploded that last year and everybody said, well,
Speaker 9: where'd he come from? Well, where he came from. He
Speaker 9: should have been playing probably before that. That's where he
Speaker 9: came from. Joe Burrow makes it look so easy, and
Speaker 9: we always look for quarterbacks to make it look easy.
Speaker 9: You know who else made it look easy? Jayden Daniels
Speaker 9: makes it look easy.
Speaker 11: He should have been the number one pick last year.
Speaker 10: I thought he was the best quarterback in the draft
Speaker 10: last year. So we got to look at these guys who.
Speaker 9: Makes it look easy And the answer to that is
Speaker 9: neither one of them. At the top two and that's
Speaker 9: always a concern to me. You know, there's a lot
Speaker 9: to like about camp Mord. He can whip it around,
Speaker 9: but doesn't make it look easy. Shador Sanders doesn't make
Speaker 9: it look easy. So I always gauge my quarterback play
Speaker 9: by who makes it look easy.
Speaker 10: Joe Burrow came out. He made it look easy. He
Speaker 10: makes it look easy.
Speaker 9: Now it's almost like they're you know, like what Joe cool,
Speaker 9: He's cool doing it.
Speaker 11: Jay Daniels is the same way.
Speaker 10: That's what I look for my quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: It's really interesting you would say that because I chatted
Speaker 1: with Greg Cosell earlier today and he was talking about
Speaker 1: the same thing, and he shared an anecdote that Kurt
Speaker 1: Warner said, that is the best compliment a quarterback.
Speaker 2: Can receive because it's so hard.
Speaker 1: If somebody tells you you make it look easy, that
Speaker 1: is the kindest thing you can say to a quarterback.
Speaker 10: And indeed it is.
Speaker 11: And Kurt Warner made it look easy at times.
Speaker 10: So he knows what that's like.
Speaker 9: But yeah, I think you know, Bengal fans and I
Speaker 9: know there was a lot of concern about the defense
Speaker 9: and everything, but you have that guy throwing the football around.
Speaker 11: If he's healthy, you're going to be in the division race.
Speaker 9: You're going to be considered a threat in the AMC
Speaker 9: and with that, which is why I think it's important
Speaker 9: to keep t Higgins. You are always going to be
Speaker 9: in games because teams can't put you away.
Speaker 1: The Bengals had a long stretch of successful drafts that
Speaker 1: really fueled that stretch of five straight years where they
Speaker 1: made the playoffs under Marvin Lewis. In recent years, it's
Speaker 1: been a little more hit and miss. I think last
Speaker 1: year they actually did pretty well, but there were some
Speaker 1: drafts before that that haven't been all that productive. Is
Speaker 1: that just the nature of the draft or is there
Speaker 1: anything about what Cincinnati has done in recent years that's
Speaker 1: been a bit of a red flag for you?
Speaker 9: Well, I think one of the things that they've done
Speaker 9: a little bit of is you chase your mistakes. Sometimes
Speaker 9: in defensive line, they've kind of chased their mistakes.
Speaker 11: A little bit.
Speaker 9: When you chase your mistakes, you tend to overdraft the position.
Speaker 9: Maybe in some of those scenarios, they've overdrafted some of
Speaker 9: those guys.
Speaker 11: So where are they right now? They're still looking for
Speaker 11: some of those guys.
Speaker 10: So I think that gets teams. That catches up with
Speaker 10: you a little bit.
Speaker 9: If you make a mistake, you're apt to go back
Speaker 9: and try and fill it, and then you overdraft the
Speaker 9: guy maybe you know a rounder or you know fifteen
Speaker 9: spots higher than he should go, and that comes back
Speaker 9: and hurt you. So I think they've been guilty of
Speaker 9: that a little bit.
Speaker 1: Last thing for Pete Prisco. We are a long way
Speaker 1: from week one of the season. We got free agency
Speaker 1: in the draft to look forward to. But what does
Speaker 1: your gut tell you at this early stage about the
Speaker 1: Bengals in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 9: They'll be back in the mix in the division. I
Speaker 9: don't think there's any question about that. I think it's
Speaker 9: a two team division. Look, the Steelers have major questions
Speaker 9: at quarterback.
Speaker 2: I think they have.
Speaker 10: Questions at other spots.
Speaker 11: They were kind of steel.
Speaker 9: Fans don't like hearing this, but they were kind of
Speaker 9: a mirage less if you could look inside their numbers.
Speaker 11: They didn't run the ball very well, they didn't stop
Speaker 11: the run very.
Speaker 9: Well, they didn't get after the quarterback very well, and
Speaker 9: somehow they were there at the end.
Speaker 11: I don't have no idea. It's a tribute to Mike
Speaker 11: Tomlin as a football.
Speaker 10: Coach because a quarterback play wasn't very good.
Speaker 9: So I think it's a two team division. I think
Speaker 9: it'll be the Ravens and the Bengals in the division.
Speaker 2: Always a treat to pick your brain. Really happy. I
Speaker 2: ran India here in Indy. Thanks so much, Pete got it.
Speaker 2: You got it.
Speaker 1: It's one of my favorites. You can follow him on
Speaker 1: x at Prisco CBS. That's p Isco CBS. We end
Speaker 1: this episode by turning the clock back to twenty eighteen
Speaker 1: and a conversation I had with a twenty three year
Speaker 1: old rookie out of Ohio State. Time for some fun
Speaker 1: facts with defensive ends, Sam Hubbard from Ohio State by
Speaker 1: way of Mohler High School. According to your bio, Sam
Speaker 1: Buckeye's coach Urban Meyer, first notice you playing dodgeball in
Speaker 1: gym class. True story or Urban myth.
Speaker 12: True story.
Speaker 13: So my high school football coach was our gym teacher
Speaker 13: as well, and coach Meyern Kerry Combs came in one
Speaker 13: day to visit him and you see the town at
Speaker 13: Moller and I happened to be in the gym class
Speaker 13: when he walked in the building and got introduced to
Speaker 13: him after playing a game of dodgeball, and that's how
Speaker 13: it all started.
Speaker 1: Were you just like drilling kids on the opposite side
Speaker 1: of the court.
Speaker 13: Yeah, I mean the last person you expect to walk
Speaker 13: into your gym class is Urban Meyer, but once you
Speaker 13: see him, you expect to go a little bit harder.
Speaker 1: Sam, five years ago, you're sitting in class at Moeller
Speaker 1: High School. Now you're playing for your hometown NFL team.
Speaker 2: How surreal is that.
Speaker 13: That first home game on that Thursday night was a
Speaker 13: special moment, especially looking up into the stands and seeing
Speaker 13: my family and friends in my jersey. All I wanted
Speaker 13: to do was just make him proud, and that was
Speaker 13: a special moment. And I'm gonna continue to represent and
Speaker 13: do what i can to make the city proud.
Speaker 1: We're doing fun facts with Sam Hubbard. You're a great
Speaker 1: athlete in high school. But what else were you interested
Speaker 1: in as a kid.
Speaker 13: There's a lot of things, you know. I was always
Speaker 13: interested in history. You know, my dad's a history buffs.
Speaker 13: He knows everything Roman Empire, all that stuff. And eventually
Speaker 13: I came out of college with a minor in history,
Speaker 13: you know, taking EP classes in history in high school.
Speaker 13: I was interested in sports obviously, and hanging out with
Speaker 13: friends and having a good time.
Speaker 1: You also earned a finance degree in three and a
Speaker 1: half years at Ohio State. How did you juggle football
Speaker 1: in school?
Speaker 12: It was tough.
Speaker 13: I think I was raised very well by my mom
Speaker 13: and dad, learning time management and you know, how to
Speaker 13: be successful, working hard and doing all the right things
Speaker 13: all the time. I think I had a great foundation
Speaker 13: from them, and then I got to Moeller learned how
Speaker 13: to do stuff right in the classroom and on the field,
Speaker 13: and just enhance it once I got to Ohio State.
Speaker 13: So I was very fortunate with the people around me
Speaker 13: that showed me the right way to do things.
Speaker 1: We're doing fun facts with Sam Hubburn. We're going all
Speaker 1: over the map. Tell me the story of getting Rudy
Speaker 1: Johnson's autograph at a Cincinnati mall.
Speaker 13: Yeah, me and my friends. I can't even remember what
Speaker 13: grade we're in, but it was around Halloween and we're
Speaker 13: going to Halloween Express got dropped off by our parents
Speaker 13: to get a costume and ran into Rudy Johnson. I
Speaker 13: forget who who he was with, but we ran inside,
Speaker 13: got a piece of paper, asked them to sign I
Speaker 13: so got to hang in my room to this day.
Speaker 1: Nice choice, Rudy, great player in his Bengals days. You
Speaker 1: were a great lacrosse player at Moler. You almost went
Speaker 1: to Notre Dame to play lacrosse before playing college football
Speaker 1: at Ohio State.
Speaker 2: Was it hard to give up lacrosse?
Speaker 12: It was hard.
Speaker 13: I think the hardest thing was not playing lacrosse my
Speaker 13: senior year of high school. I didn't play so that
Speaker 13: I could spend extra time in the weight room gaining
Speaker 13: weight and getting ready to play college football. But you know,
Speaker 13: I love the sport equally as much as I loved football,
Speaker 13: and you know, it's a sacrifice I had to make.
Speaker 13: But I really like where I'm at now and what
Speaker 13: I'm doing, so I can't complain.
Speaker 1: There's footage of you playing lacrosse on YouTube. You're about
Speaker 1: six inches taller than most of the other guys on
Speaker 1: the field. Did you scare opponents in that sport?
Speaker 13: Yeah, one on YouTube's my freshman year. If you want
Speaker 13: to see my real highlights, watch the junior ones on huddle.
Speaker 13: Those are more fun. But yeah, I was bigger than
Speaker 13: most of the guys I played against.
Speaker 12: There's just that's how lacrosse is.
Speaker 1: When you got to Ohio State, put on a lot
Speaker 1: of muscle to go from being a safety to being
Speaker 1: a defensive end. How much did you eat and what
Speaker 1: did you eat?
Speaker 12: It was a process.
Speaker 13: I you know, first I was eating anything inside I could,
Speaker 13: just to get the weight on me so I could
Speaker 13: compete at the high level. And over the years, especially
Speaker 13: now I've learned how to eat right, how to eat properly,
Speaker 13: and really you know, gain the right kind of weight,
Speaker 13: replace that whatever it was fat with muscle.
Speaker 12: Just try to lean out.
Speaker 13: But I till I felt sick every meal for six
Speaker 13: months until I gained forty pounds and then ever since then,
Speaker 13: just trying to maintain and stay stay in the weight
Speaker 13: room extra.
Speaker 1: You never lost to Michigan in four years at Ohio State.
Speaker 1: How obnoxious are you when you are around Michigan people?
Speaker 12: Pretty obnoxious?
Speaker 13: Rightfully, So we uh we don't have any love for
Speaker 13: that stayed up north, but uh, you know, I can
Speaker 13: I feel like I can say whatever I want because
Speaker 13: they got no bragging rights.
Speaker 2: We're doing fun facts. That's Sam Hubbard.
Speaker 1: I mentioned your finance degree from Ohio State. You had
Speaker 1: internships at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan in New York.
Speaker 2: What'd you learn?
Speaker 12: I learned a lot.
Speaker 13: I learned how you know, how competitive the business world is.
Speaker 13: It's just as competitive as a football field. You know,
Speaker 13: there's a special type of you know, people that are successful.
Speaker 13: You know, they're determined, they're driven, and they're experts in
Speaker 13: their field. And if I want to be successful one
Speaker 13: day when I'm done with football in the business world,
Speaker 13: I got to take the same approach I took with football.
Speaker 13: And that's really the biggest thing I took away from it.
Speaker 1: We're talking to Sam Hubbard after you got drafted your
Speaker 1: family and friends about one hundred and sixty four customized
Speaker 1: Hubbard number ninety four jerseys from the Bengals Pro Shop.
Speaker 1: I know you love them to death, but was it
Speaker 1: a little embarrassing?
Speaker 12: Oh no, not at all. That was awesome.
Speaker 13: I thank my aunt Emily and my sister Madison that
Speaker 13: organized the whole thing, and everyone just wanted to be
Speaker 13: involved and be supportive.
Speaker 12: I'm so thankful for it.
Speaker 1: Sounds like the tailgates are pretty legendary in the Hubbard family.
Speaker 12: Yeah, well, no, I've never been to one.
Speaker 2: Even postgame. Don't you get to go over there and
Speaker 2: say hello? When you're done.
Speaker 13: Oh yeah, but the party usually is died down by then.
Speaker 13: But now they they have my friends go. People that
Speaker 13: have never been to a House State or Bengals game
Speaker 13: go and they tell me that it's the best fun
Speaker 13: they've had in the life. So shout out to my
Speaker 13: parents for bringing their a game every week.
Speaker 2: Nice.
Speaker 1: What are you do when you have free time?
Speaker 12: A lot of things?
Speaker 7: You know.
Speaker 13: I like to watch movies. I'm gonna consider myself a
Speaker 13: movie critic. I like to cook, go out to eat, relaxed, swim, fish,
Speaker 13: play golf. I got a lot of hobbies, but pretty
Speaker 13: much whatever I'm feeling.
Speaker 1: Does the movie buff have an all time favorite?
Speaker 13: I got a couple of all time favorites. I don't
Speaker 13: think I can pick one off the top of my
Speaker 13: head right now. Maybe Good Fellas, Oh good choice?
Speaker 4: All right?
Speaker 12: Final thing?
Speaker 1: Great athlete, great student, but nobody's perfect. What do you
Speaker 1: stink at basketball?
Speaker 12: Really can't shoot.
Speaker 13: All I can do is rebound and pass it off.
Speaker 13: That's always been My uncle played basketball at Michigan. You know,
Speaker 13: I've always wanted to be good at basketball, but just
Speaker 13: wasn't my sport.
Speaker 1: Can't be good at everything, right, Appreciate the time, best
Speaker 1: of luck this year.
Speaker 12: Nope, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2: That's Sam Hubbard.
Speaker 1: Sam plans to continue his work in the community through
Speaker 1: the Sam Hubbard Foundation and his annual Fowling tournament featuring
Speaker 1: current and former Bengals, is coming up on May fifteenth.
Speaker 1: Registration opens tomorrow, Friday, March seventh, at nine am. That's
Speaker 1: going to do it for this episode of the Bengals
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Speaker 1: I'm Dan Horde and thanks for listening to The Bengals
Speaker 1: Booth Podcast.