Speaker 1: Higain everybody, I'm Dan Horden. Thanks for downloading The Bengals
Speaker 1: Booth Podcast, the Listen.
Speaker 2: Edition.
Speaker 1: As we get great insight into the Bengals twenty twenty
Speaker 1: five draft class from their new position, coaches and or
Speaker 1: former college teammates. Then it's my one on one conversation
Speaker 1: with the team's director of college Scouting, Mike Potts. The
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Speaker 1: the greatest thing since finishing a great book. I don't
Speaker 1: read nonsports stuff as often as I should, but I
Speaker 1: recently finished the book Killers of the Flower Moon, and
Speaker 1: I'm so glad I picked it up. It's a book
Speaker 1: about a series of murders in the nineteen twenties, and
Speaker 1: the research done by author David gran to explain exactly
Speaker 1: what happened and why is nothing shorter remarkable. I know
Speaker 1: it was made into a movie a couple of years ago,
Speaker 1: but in my experience, the book is almost always better
Speaker 1: than the movie. So if you're looking for something interesting
Speaker 1: to read, Killers of the Flower Moon gets a draft
Speaker 1: grade of A. Now let's get to my first guest.
Speaker 1: Now that the twenty twenty five draft is in the
Speaker 1: rearview mirror, I thought it would be interesting to learn
Speaker 1: more about the Bengals six picks from guys who either
Speaker 1: already know them or are about to work with them
Speaker 1: very closely. First round pick Shamar Stewart was one of
Speaker 1: three Texas A and M defensive linemen selected in the
Speaker 1: first two rounds this year. Nick Gordon and Shamar Turner
Speaker 1: were the others. Furthermore, Walter Nolan, the player selected one
Speaker 1: spot ahead of Stuart by the Arizona Cardinals, was his
Speaker 1: teammate for two years at A and M before playing
Speaker 1: his final college season at Ole Miss. All of those
Speaker 1: guys looked up to fellow defensive lineman and two time
Speaker 1: captain McKinley Jackson, who had some interesting things to say
Speaker 1: about Stuart's low sack total with the Aggies. How do
Speaker 1: you describe your former teammate Shamar Stewart.
Speaker 3: First of all, he's a great individual, willing to learn
Speaker 3: and listen. Never had proud of by itself, never uh,
Speaker 3: just never been afraid to learn, always been a student
Speaker 3: of the game. And you know he's he's a specimen.
Speaker 3: And I honestly like guys like six six to AE
Speaker 3: send it by to eighty is freaking nature. I mean
Speaker 3: you've seen the numbers. I mean there's a lot of
Speaker 3: speculations about production all that, but I mean ton of
Speaker 3: tape on and you'll see, matter of fact, turn of
Speaker 3: two and watch every prospect that was on the tape
Speaker 3: with him. I mean there's the other first round. These
Speaker 3: guys want to take a round. I mean between Shamon
Speaker 3: Stule and Walston Noland for their days, Samar Turner, guys
Speaker 3: on on so forward.
Speaker 4: Like it's hard to.
Speaker 3: Make those plays when guys like that are playing around you,
Speaker 3: Like it was hard to get those numbers like that
Speaker 3: when guys like that are playing around you. But like
Speaker 3: from a collective standpoint, I mean we did. We did
Speaker 3: some well, and I give all the props to our coaches,
Speaker 3: Terry Price with the Lajah Robinson, because I mean, look
Speaker 3: at them, like I said, look at the numbers, like
Speaker 3: look at the tape, like it's this draft pick at
Speaker 3: the draft pick each year and we go to those guys.
Speaker 3: But chamorro Chamar's gonna be special tenant for us.
Speaker 1: As the seventeenth pickers approaching. And you're I assume you're
Speaker 1: following the drafts were you're getting excited about the possibility.
Speaker 3: Walter got drafted to the Cardinals. I mean, I haven't
Speaker 3: played with them. I didn't play with them this past year.
Speaker 3: Of course I'm in the NFL and he went to
Speaker 3: all missed, but you know, it's still support and love
Speaker 3: with my end.
Speaker 4: So I was glad then.
Speaker 3: And then I figured we was on the clock next saying,
Speaker 3: I was like, damn, I heard I have seen Mi
Speaker 3: dres about some more stoud getting dragged to us, and
Speaker 3: I'm like, damn, I hope, I hope it's him right here.
Speaker 4: And I'm watching it and I got and I've seen
Speaker 4: it like everybody ever seen it.
Speaker 3: And I was like, Damn, I'm parut of this kid,
Speaker 3: because I love the work he put it in. And
Speaker 3: I'm just more so power because because I was a
Speaker 3: guy he looked up to and learned from. And I'm
Speaker 3: glad he's part of his journey and I'm glad I
Speaker 3: can help him, help him out at his next level.
Speaker 4: It's from an experience I got being here for a year.
Speaker 3: I might not have much knowledge, but you know I
Speaker 3: got I got some jewels to drop for him.
Speaker 1: As you mentioned, we've all seen the combine numbers and
Speaker 1: some of the crazy stuff that he did in terms
Speaker 1: of this athleticism. What was the craziest thing you ever
Speaker 1: saw that that made you think, Holy cow, this guy's
Speaker 1: a different cat.
Speaker 3: I mean, the first day he walked on campus, like
Speaker 3: seventeen eighteen years old, looked like a full mon secuity guard.
Speaker 3: I'm just like, damn, I'm like, how dore you just
Speaker 3: with a big baby face, a big smile full of golds,
Speaker 3: And he's just like, I'm madteam, I'm like, damn, So.
Speaker 4: You ready to work? He said, of course?
Speaker 3: And every since then, even Boughting started off with you
Speaker 3: know kind of like you know, just like young, young natured, uh,
Speaker 3: just your football capability, just god giving ability, and you know,
Speaker 3: just didn't have to take mequ but like as we
Speaker 3: started getting older and started learning and start learning how
Speaker 3: to use what God gave us, that's when we're seeing
Speaker 3: those this production in the sec like we did.
Speaker 1: It sounded like you were a little bit annoyed by
Speaker 1: how much people are focusing on the low stat or
Speaker 1: low sack number in his college career.
Speaker 3: I mean from the blind eye where you don't turn
Speaker 3: the tape and watch the tape. I could I could
Speaker 3: get while you say that, you know, it's kind of
Speaker 3: disturbing for someone that plays.
Speaker 4: The sport and actually.
Speaker 3: See what's going on and knows what's going on and
Speaker 3: just beyond their level. I know it's going on the
Speaker 3: second level, third level, a lot of things to go
Speaker 3: in to play.
Speaker 4: So you know, I'm just I'm.
Speaker 3: Looking at the tape rather than looking at the numbers,
Speaker 3: and the tape is freaking immaculate.
Speaker 4: Like this guy's special.
Speaker 3: I mean he's like a freaking a foot freaking bullet train,
Speaker 3: like just running through through the get I mean, I mean,
Speaker 3: turn the Arkansas game, turn it on from twenty twenty
Speaker 3: three and twenty twenty four, and you to me, like
Speaker 3: the one year difference for him, and he still looks
Speaker 3: exposed from both. Well, I'm just glad. I guess I'm
Speaker 3: glad to see like the traditioner he had this year
Speaker 3: and just understanding his place that and the capability he has.
Speaker 1: Later on the podcast, I'll talk to scouting director Mike
Speaker 1: Potts on the Bengals plan for making Stewart a better
Speaker 1: pass rusher. But now let's turn the second round pick
Speaker 1: Demetrius Knight, who could be in the mix to start
Speaker 1: next to Logan Wilson at linebacker. Here's this new position
Speaker 1: coach and a newcomer to the Bengals coaching staff. Mike Hodges.
Speaker 1: What impressed you most about Demetrius Knight on tape?
Speaker 5: The speed, the running hit, Uh, there's some there's some
Speaker 5: flash plays with him that are really exciting to watch.
Speaker 5: And you know this game is a speed game and
Speaker 5: so he fits right into it.
Speaker 1: After meeting him in person, it's impossible not to root
Speaker 1: for the guy. His personality lights up the room. How
Speaker 1: important are intangibles at linebacker?
Speaker 5: I think if anybody goes through an evaluation process without
Speaker 5: weighing that part of the process or using that data point,
Speaker 5: they're they're felling the system because it is critical because
Speaker 5: at the end of the day, like it or don't
Speaker 5: like it, they're gonna end up being the captains of
Speaker 5: the defense and or at least the most vocal person.
Speaker 5: So the way they carry themselves, the way they do
Speaker 5: those things, really it can really heighten the defense as
Speaker 5: a whole. And so if you bring those types of
Speaker 5: guys in, you know, hopefully the tide rises and we're
Speaker 5: all rising together. So those are the I mean, the
Speaker 5: character in the makeup of the linebacker room right now
Speaker 5: is really in a good place, and I'm excited about it.
Speaker 1: He spent six years in college football, but really only
Speaker 1: played linebacker full time the last couple of years. How
Speaker 1: much upside is left for a guy who will be
Speaker 1: twenty five in July.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think that there is some growth there. There's
Speaker 5: always areas for growth, myself included, and so we're always
Speaker 5: going to identify those. And so there's clear I see,
Speaker 5: I don't see his best football yet. I see I
Speaker 5: hope that that's with us, and so we're going to
Speaker 5: work to maximize him from day one.
Speaker 1: Night spent last year at South Carolina and the year
Speaker 1: before at Charlotte Prior to that, he was mostly a
Speaker 1: special team stand out at Georgia Tech, where his teammate
Speaker 1: for one season was Bengals offensive lineman Devin Cochrane. You
Speaker 1: were with Demetrius kind of before his career took off.
Speaker 1: What do you think of what he's become over the
Speaker 1: last couple of years.
Speaker 6: Oh, man, If I had to put in a one word,
Speaker 6: I'd just say resilience. You know, I've seen him when
Speaker 6: I was at Tech. I saw the work ethic he had.
Speaker 6: I saw just the type of guy was. You know,
Speaker 6: I think he's married with kids now too, just family guy.
Speaker 4: You know. Honestly, it didn't surprise me.
Speaker 6: You know, I knew that a guy like him would
Speaker 6: would excel wherever he went, and that's exactly what he did.
Speaker 1: He seems like a really easy guy to root for.
Speaker 1: I would imagine as a former teammate, you had to
Speaker 1: be thrilled.
Speaker 6: Absolutely, it was awesome to see that he got picked
Speaker 6: up here. And then now I have to think about
Speaker 6: blocking him. So that's another thing, you know, because I
Speaker 6: remember just how hard he went, you know, in practice
Speaker 6: and every day just his day to day grind.
Speaker 4: You know, he's a guy who he's gonna bring it,
Speaker 4: so you gotta be ready for.
Speaker 2: Is he a culture center?
Speaker 6: Absolutely yeah, talked about her hit on it earlier. Just
Speaker 6: him being a family guy, not really something you see.
Speaker 6: And then you know on the defensive side of the
Speaker 6: ball too. You know, for him to be as a
Speaker 6: stink in stincschool as he is as a linebacker, but
Speaker 6: then to be rooted in something that's bigger than you
Speaker 6: know himself, is pretty is gonna be.
Speaker 4: I think he's going to be a guy to look for.
Speaker 2: He was a high school quarterback.
Speaker 1: Did you at the stage that you played with him,
Speaker 1: was he still developing the skills to be a linebacker?
Speaker 4: Absolutely?
Speaker 6: I mean I would imagine so I had no idea that,
Speaker 6: But I mean I think seeing him, you know, body
Speaker 6: type framework, you know what he the way he lifted
Speaker 6: when we would work with coach Lewis Carroll.
Speaker 4: Again, I'm not surprising at all.
Speaker 1: Later, Mike Potts discusses the reasons for choosing Night number
Speaker 1: forty nine overall. In the third round, Cincinnati chose six five,
Speaker 1: three hundred and twenty five pound Dylan Fairchild. Offensive line
Speaker 1: coach Scott Peters traveled to Georgia for a hands on
Speaker 1: workout with the Bulldogs starting left guard for the past
Speaker 1: two seasons. Coach, what sold you on Dylan Fairchild?
Speaker 7: Oh, it's a number of factors, you know, Dylan.
Speaker 8: We did obviously did a lot of work in the
Speaker 8: draft looking at, you know, every guard that was conceivably
Speaker 8: available for the draft, and one thing that really stood
Speaker 8: out with Dylan is is his just his size, athletic ability,
Speaker 8: in his play, strength, He's he's one of the strong
Speaker 8: people I've ever tied up with. Very strong. He's a
Speaker 8: great kid. He's humble, you know, he works very hard.
Speaker 8: He's extremely tough, and I think, you know, all that
Speaker 8: stuff with his dimensions, his physical nature, the way he
Speaker 8: plays extremely hard, those are the things that we you know,
Speaker 8: really stood out to me.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 8: I think he can set a firm anchor in there.
Speaker 8: He's got the tools to play long, which is something
Speaker 8: we emphasize as in protection.
Speaker 7: He's got good feet to move.
Speaker 8: And I think, you know, he's got all the tools
Speaker 8: you're looking for in a player, especially a guard.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 8: So I think for for us, it was a no
Speaker 8: brainer at that point in time just to take Dylan
Speaker 8: because I think, you know, like I said, he has
Speaker 8: all the traits so that you're looking for in an
Speaker 8: elite guard.
Speaker 1: You referenced tying up with him. One of the most
Speaker 1: famous draft stories in Bengals history involves Anthony Munyo's and
Speaker 1: you may know this Forest Greg goes out to California
Speaker 1: to work them out. Forrest gives him a little pass
Speaker 1: rush move. Anthony jams him and knocks him on his butt,
Speaker 1: and Forrest was convinced, all right, I've got my guy.
Speaker 1: When you tied up with Dylan, how instrumental was that
Speaker 1: in making you think, Okay, I've got my guy.
Speaker 7: It was actually very big. It's so it's funny that
Speaker 7: that happened.
Speaker 8: I I have heard that story from Jim McNally, and
Speaker 8: you know, I like to put hands on guys because
Speaker 8: you get a sense for how strong they are. The
Speaker 8: biggest thing for me is understanding, like how quickly can
Speaker 8: they learn not just the things that they learn on
Speaker 8: the playbook, you know, that's very important too, to understand
Speaker 8: the offense and what we're trying to do.
Speaker 7: And they're they're kind of.
Speaker 8: Their collective football IQ, But how quickly can they put
Speaker 8: that mind body connection together when they learn a new skill?
Speaker 8: And uh, when I got with Dylan. I was, I
Speaker 8: was very imps I left very impressed. I thought, you know,
Speaker 8: this is a guy that can learn. He can physically
Speaker 8: apply things from you know, the classroom right to the grass.
Speaker 8: He can make those micro adjustments with his body, you know,
Speaker 8: when he's told to do that.
Speaker 7: I think it was I.
Speaker 8: Was, I was thoroughly impressed, and I thought, you know,
Speaker 8: in fact, I kind of pushed to pull on him
Speaker 8: in a drill and I wasn't budgeing this guy. And
Speaker 8: I can't say that that's the first time I've actually
Speaker 8: had a player that strong, honestly and in the many years.
Speaker 7: I've been doing this. So to me, uh yeah, it
Speaker 7: was kind of a it was.
Speaker 4: It was.
Speaker 8: It was exciting because I thought I'd love to get
Speaker 8: this guy, and so it just happened to work out
Speaker 8: that way that we picked him.
Speaker 7: So so I'm really real pumped about it.
Speaker 1: I think he gave up one sack in more than
Speaker 1: eight hundred pass blocking snaps at Georgia. Obviously most of
Speaker 1: those games are in the SEC. Is that his strength
Speaker 1: right now? His past protection ability.
Speaker 8: I'd say that Dylan is a raw player still, so
Speaker 8: you know, his strength is his are the attributes he
Speaker 8: has and and his strengths are really the character, the person,
Speaker 8: the football character. That's that's really how you project a guy,
Speaker 8: because you say, well, he has the physical tools to.
Speaker 7: Do all this stuff that we wanted to do.
Speaker 8: And of course, like you know, everybody's different in college,
Speaker 8: I mean, players are trained differently. So I would say
Speaker 8: that the strength that he has is his ability to
Speaker 8: learn techniques and you know, the raw canvas that he brings,
Speaker 8: it's it's a really solid foundation.
Speaker 7: He's strong, he's long, Like I said, he can anchor.
Speaker 8: He's powerful, he's got, you know, a good head on
Speaker 8: his shoulders, and he really wants to be great at football.
Speaker 8: So those are the things I look at right now.
Speaker 8: I think from everything else is kind of a process.
Speaker 8: We're gonna train him, we're gonna develop him, get him
Speaker 8: doing the things that we do here. So I'm reluctant
Speaker 8: to say his strength is passed pro I'm gonna say
Speaker 8: his strength is all the traits that we like about
Speaker 8: him right now. And I think as he grooms, as
Speaker 8: we groom him and build him, I think we'll start
Speaker 8: to see a lot of these things start to shine through.
Speaker 2: Later.
Speaker 1: I'll ask Mike Potts if there were so many good
Speaker 1: guards in this draft that the Bengals figured they would
Speaker 1: be able to get a starter in the first three rounds.
Speaker 2: In the fourth.
Speaker 1: Round, the Bengals doubled down on the linebacker position with
Speaker 1: a selection of Barrett Carter, a team captain last year,
Speaker 1: who one NFL scout describes as follows a total slam dunk.
Speaker 1: Not the biggest or longest guy, just a super tough, competitive,
Speaker 1: physical leader. Once again, here's linebackers coach Mike Hodges.
Speaker 5: Well, he's a really smart player. He's been a cat
Speaker 5: and for a long time. He's he's probably as more
Speaker 5: of one of the more instinctual players in this draft class,
Speaker 5: and so that pays dividends for him in a lot
Speaker 5: of ways like it would anybody. But again, another high
Speaker 5: character guy like you mentioned. I think he's gonna come
Speaker 5: in here and he's gonna compete, and he's gonna be
Speaker 5: able to be a swing guy if we need him
Speaker 5: to because of his intelligence. So he's gonna give us
Speaker 5: some flexibility. But he's a really good ad for our room.
Speaker 1: He never came off the field at Clemson, whether it
Speaker 1: was on defense for every snap or special teams. The
Speaker 1: overall value that he brings to a team strikes me
Speaker 1: as being extremely high.
Speaker 4: That's right.
Speaker 5: I think everybody that we bring in has to have
Speaker 5: some sort of value outside of just playing linebacker. And
Speaker 5: so if they don't fit into Darren's room or they're
Speaker 5: not the number one guy, they're not really the right fit.
Speaker 5: So they got to be one of those two things.
Speaker 5: They either need to be a guy that could play
Speaker 5: all four downs or at least early downs in fourth
Speaker 5: down or early downs and third down. You know that
Speaker 5: that formula has to add up, and he has proven
Speaker 5: to do that. And it's interesting because in college football
Speaker 5: there's so much rotation. You're like, why is this guy
Speaker 5: coming off? Demetrius is a perfect example of that. He
Speaker 5: played less than seventy five percent of the snaps, but
Speaker 5: this guy, they didn't want to take him off the
Speaker 5: field and had They had a hell of a run
Speaker 5: the last couple of years, particularly this last year, so
Speaker 5: he's a big part of that. And you can't find
Speaker 5: a person in that building that says anything negative about
Speaker 5: this player.
Speaker 7: So excited to get him in the room.
Speaker 1: Ales Murphy was Barrett Carter's teammate for two years at Clemson.
Speaker 1: You obviously know Barrett Carter describe him on the field.
Speaker 9: Easy one is gonna give it his all, honestly, go
Speaker 9: one hundred and ten miles an hour, every single play,
Speaker 9: regardless of where he's at, one.
Speaker 2: Of the linebacker, the special teams.
Speaker 9: Rushing the pass, and dropping in coverage.
Speaker 4: He's gonna let it, put it.
Speaker 9: He's gonna put his body on the line.
Speaker 2: That's for sure.
Speaker 9: Coachable, respectable dude, most a lockable persons up. I feel
Speaker 9: like he's a just a great all around player in
Speaker 9: my opinion.
Speaker 1: I saw some comments from coaches and other guys that
Speaker 1: played with him last year. It sounds like a really
Speaker 1: high character guy, captain qualities, a good person for culture.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I say that's spot.
Speaker 9: On, right on, right on, a hit right on the head.
Speaker 4: Honestly.
Speaker 9: Uh, play with him for two two seasons when I
Speaker 9: was at Click Clemson and about I can attest to
Speaker 9: all of those comments, and but that's that's just who
Speaker 9: he is.
Speaker 1: Played a lot of special team snaps in college. Obviously,
Speaker 1: when you're drafted kind of middle of the draft, you're
Speaker 1: expected to contribute in that area right off the bat.
Speaker 1: Is that something he'll embrace in your opinion.
Speaker 4: I mean, I think so.
Speaker 9: Like I said, like, regardless of where you put him
Speaker 9: on the field, as long as he's on the field,
Speaker 9: he's gonna put his body on the line and go
Speaker 9: all out ever reason could play.
Speaker 4: So I do feel like he's a I feel like
Speaker 4: he's a player that's.
Speaker 9: Gonna make just make his Martin, just put his put
Speaker 9: his name on the map, honestly.
Speaker 1: Later, Mike Potts tells us why the Bengals doubled down
Speaker 1: at linebacker at that stage of the draft. Cincinnati doubled
Speaker 1: down again in the fifth round, this time on offensive
Speaker 1: line by picking six to six, three hundred and twenty
Speaker 1: pound Jalen Rivers. Once again, I discussed him with offensive
Speaker 1: line coach Scott Peters. I'm not sure that I've ever
Speaker 1: read about an offensive lineman at the college level that
Speaker 1: played so many snaps at tackle and guard in.
Speaker 2: The same game.
Speaker 1: It's one thing to see a guy okay, in this
Speaker 1: game he's needed to tackle, the next game, he's needed
Speaker 1: at guard. He was playing twenty plus snaps at both
Speaker 1: positions in just about every game he played in last year.
Speaker 1: How unusual is that it is.
Speaker 8: Highly unusual, and it's but it's also highly attractive to
Speaker 8: us because you know, you get a player that can
Speaker 8: just make that transition and seamlessly, you know, jump from
Speaker 8: one position to the.
Speaker 7: Next in the middle of a game. That takes a lot.
Speaker 8: And I think it really speaks to what Jalen brings
Speaker 8: here too. I think he's got a you know, another
Speaker 8: kid with a great head on his shoulders, an upstanding person,
Speaker 8: good football IQ really wants to be great, works at it,
Speaker 8: and you know nothing's too big for him. You just
Speaker 8: he'll jump in and jump out and and again. Like
Speaker 8: when you're you're looking at players in the draft, you know,
Speaker 8: one of the biggest things that you're looking for is
Speaker 8: position flexibility. And so that's one thing that Jalen has
Speaker 8: going for him and I think he'll bring that to
Speaker 8: us here in Cincinnati.
Speaker 1: What are his best football traits.
Speaker 8: Jalen's got, I'd say this, we talk about strengths. I
Speaker 8: think pass protection is clearly the best thing he does.
Speaker 8: He's got great length, He's got a great build for
Speaker 8: pass pro. He moves well. You know, he has good
Speaker 8: hand placement, really good strikes. I think he can anchor,
Speaker 8: he can do all the things you're looking for in
Speaker 8: both a guard and a tackle, So you know, I
Speaker 8: think for him, you know, those are the things we're
Speaker 8: going to build on that foundation. So yeah, he's got
Speaker 8: great traits there and you know, looking forward to gett
Speaker 8: our hands on him too.
Speaker 1: He shared the story about how his father, his stepfather,
Speaker 1: and his mother all spent more than thirty years in
Speaker 1: the Navy. So it sounds like that discipline that you're
Speaker 1: looking for as a coach has been something that's been
Speaker 1: part of his life since he was an infant.
Speaker 8: That really does help, you know. I mean we're obviously
Speaker 8: we run a regimented program here and being a professional,
Speaker 8: those are things that come naturally to him.
Speaker 7: He you know, he's a.
Speaker 8: He's a great worker, a great kid, very smart, very diligent,
Speaker 8: detailed and and respectful and I think he's just a
Speaker 8: good person all around. I think he'll do well here,
Speaker 8: you know. So definitely, I think the military influences that
Speaker 8: definitely had a positive effect. A lot of times you
Speaker 8: get players that come from backgrounds like that, and you know,
Speaker 8: it really is very similar in a sense. It's with
Speaker 8: the regimented programs that we run, So you know, those
Speaker 8: are those are nice things you don't have to worry
Speaker 8: too much about a kid like that showing up on
Speaker 8: time and and and doing the things that he needs
Speaker 8: to do.
Speaker 7: To, you know, to be a pro.
Speaker 8: And that's where, you know, one of the things again,
Speaker 8: when you get rookies in the building, sometimes it's a
Speaker 8: it's a it's a process to get them just to
Speaker 8: learn how to be a professional. Uh, that's all separate
Speaker 8: from the things that they got to do on the field.
Speaker 8: So but Jalen, great kid, great character, Super excited to
Speaker 8: get the chance to work with them.
Speaker 1: Matt Lee was drafted in the seventh round by the
Speaker 1: Bengals last year. The previous season, he started on the
Speaker 1: University of Miami's offensive line with Rivers. What are the
Speaker 1: Bengals getting in your former Miami teammate Jalen Rivers.
Speaker 10: Jalen's a a lot of stuff, man. He's a first off,
Speaker 10: high character guy in and out of the building football
Speaker 10: and his own personal life. Super high character, really good friend,
Speaker 10: really good teammate. He's versatile. He can even could take
Speaker 10: some snaps if you wanted to at center. Obviously played
Speaker 10: guard and tackle. He's played both of those a bunch
Speaker 10: in college. Strong, physical, smart.
Speaker 4: Is gonna know the offense. He's a I think he'd
Speaker 4: be good. It'd be good.
Speaker 1: Yeah, sounds like you could have been a Bengals scout.
Speaker 2: With that rave review.
Speaker 4: Yeah, dude, No, And he's a.
Speaker 10: Jalen is out of everyone I've played with, one of
Speaker 10: the highest character dudes and one of the dudes that
Speaker 10: just prepares himself for success. You know, his body and
Speaker 10: knowing what he's got to do for the most part
Speaker 10: on the skimatite and how he comes in and works,
Speaker 10: and how he treats his teammates and coaches. And I
Speaker 10: know he's in Miami for five years. I was only
Speaker 10: there with him for a year, but it was that
Speaker 10: times ten. You know, captain leader in the room and
Speaker 10: one of the leaders, and I think that'll help him
Speaker 10: really well transition into this level.
Speaker 2: He mentioned versatility.
Speaker 1: I was really surprised by how many times he played
Speaker 1: a lot of snaps at tackle and guard in the
Speaker 1: same game last year. I know you weren't with him
Speaker 1: last year, but is his versatility unusual in the sense
Speaker 1: that he seems like he's good at both, not like
Speaker 1: really good at one and could do the other in
Speaker 1: a pinch.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think.
Speaker 10: I mean he originally I think went to college really
Speaker 10: to play guard, and then because of personnel and stuff
Speaker 10: like that, I ended up playing a lot of tackle,
Speaker 10: and last year playing guard and tackle.
Speaker 4: Two. I know when I was with him he played
Speaker 4: exclusively left tackle.
Speaker 10: Based on what he looks like and what I know
Speaker 10: about him, I think he'd probably be better suited to
Speaker 10: play on the inside, but he's tall enough, big enough,
Speaker 10: long enough, strong enough, quick enough to play outside as
Speaker 10: well well. I think his physical attributes and his strength
Speaker 10: and stuff is probably playing guard, but I don't see
Speaker 10: why he couldn't do it outside too.
Speaker 1: In my upcoming conversation with Mike Potts, I'll ask him
Speaker 1: if Scott Peters has a type whenen't choosing offensive lineman.
Speaker 1: The Bengals final pick was running back Taj Brooks out
Speaker 1: of Texas Tech, the fourth leading rusher in Big Twelfth history,
Speaker 1: behind three guys that played at least eight years in
Speaker 1: the NFL, Cedric Benson, Ricky Williams, and Darren Sprolls. Here's
Speaker 1: Bengals running backs coach Justin Hill. Coach, you've got a
Speaker 1: history with Taj Brooks, apparently going back to when he
Speaker 1: was like in ninth grade.
Speaker 11: Yeah, yeah, going all the way back to my days
Speaker 11: at Tulsa as they recruited him. I think we were
Speaker 11: his first offer, and he committed to us pretty early
Speaker 11: and started our strong, but couldn't finish it. Obviously obviously
Speaker 11: went to Texas Tech. He had a great career. He's
Speaker 11: a guy that I'll followed just because I spent so
Speaker 11: much time with him and his family, his mom and dad,
Speaker 11: him his little sister. They come up to campus, had
Speaker 11: toldso quite a bit, so got to know them pretty well.
Speaker 4: I followed his career and.
Speaker 11: It's pretty cool, cool weekend, pretty cool, just everything, watch
Speaker 11: everything come back full circle.
Speaker 4: Get a chance to actually work with him.
Speaker 1: This was a really deep running back class, and of
Speaker 1: all of these great running backs, Taj had some of
Speaker 1: the greatest production of them all. Fifteen hundred plus yards
Speaker 1: last year, fifteen hundred plus yards the year before, top
Speaker 1: one hundred yards in every game last season in a
Speaker 1: different year. Does he go much higher in the draft?
Speaker 11: I mean yeah, you could say he could. I mean
Speaker 11: you can make arguments for a lot of these guys.
Speaker 11: I think it all comes down to fit, and we're
Speaker 11: just fortunate that he fell to us when he did.
Speaker 11: But love the fit, Love the guy high character. He
Speaker 11: checks a lot of boxes. So yeah, you could absolutely
Speaker 11: make that argument that in a different class maybe he
Speaker 11: does go higher. But I'm just excited that we got
Speaker 11: a chance to get them, get a chance to work
Speaker 11: with them.
Speaker 1: Describe his running style, his skill set, and what he
Speaker 1: adds to your room.
Speaker 11: Yeah, he's extremely versatile. I'm excited about him because you know,
Speaker 11: as you turn on the tape and you watch guys,
Speaker 11: you watched all these all these guys in this draft class.
Speaker 11: You're looking for fit and you're looking at what are
Speaker 11: their skill sets, what are their strengths, what are their weaknesses?
Speaker 11: And Tiz has got he checks a lot of boxes.
Speaker 11: As a back in this league, it's not just about
Speaker 11: how would you run the ball on first and second down?
Speaker 11: You gotta add value in other ways too. It's about,
Speaker 11: especially in all offenses, what do you do in the
Speaker 11: past game? What are you doing past protection? Obviously, how
Speaker 11: would do you run the ball? Do you do you
Speaker 11: add value as a short short artist back as well?
Speaker 11: And then on top of that, do you have can
Speaker 11: you add value on special teams? That's a big part too.
Speaker 11: You know, if we've got three guys up on game day,
Speaker 11: two of those guys are probably gonna have to play
Speaker 11: pretty of a role on special teams. So those all
Speaker 11: things that factor in. I think Tis he checks a
Speaker 11: ton of boxes for us. Extremely versatile, he's tough to tackle,
Speaker 11: He's got great lateral quickness and body control. He can
Speaker 11: make miss anywhere on the field, and so that was
Speaker 11: that's something really exciting to watch him as he plays.
Speaker 11: And then the past protection piece too. I mean, not
Speaker 11: every guy is gonna be a finished product. None of
Speaker 11: these guys. I mean there was a ton of them
Speaker 11: that were really good in protection. But rarely do you
Speaker 11: see a college running back transition to the NFL and
Speaker 11: immediately make an impact on third down. As far as
Speaker 11: past protection goes, that takes time. That's that's tough for anybody.
Speaker 11: But the one thing you are looking for is willingness.
Speaker 4: Uh.
Speaker 11: Do they have the want to techniques not gonna be
Speaker 11: great always, but but is he willing?
Speaker 4: Does he step up?
Speaker 11: Does he have some traits that you can work with?
Speaker 11: And like I said, Tis he checked a ton of
Speaker 11: boxes for us, So I think he's a guy that
Speaker 11: can can step in and fill a ton of different
Speaker 11: roles for us. Uh, And they just kind of see
Speaker 11: how his career progresses, but I think he's gonna have
Speaker 11: a really good career here.
Speaker 1: When it comes to protection for running back, what is
Speaker 1: more important will or skill?
Speaker 4: I think it's the one two personally.
Speaker 11: I mean, you can you can talk about scheme and
Speaker 11: talk about technique.
Speaker 4: All you want to, but when it's.
Speaker 11: Third down and we're playing these divisional games and you
Speaker 11: get some tough looks, it's all about want two as well.
Speaker 11: And it's not even third down. That's about first and
Speaker 11: second down. To a simple plug pressure, you gotta be
Speaker 11: willing to step up and take on a bull rush
Speaker 11: or an athletic guy that might try to cross your face.
Speaker 11: So there's a ton of different things that go into it,
Speaker 11: but the one thing I look at is how unselfish
Speaker 11: are you? And how well do you play without the
Speaker 11: ball in your hands? How well do you run routes
Speaker 11: when you know you might not be the primary target,
Speaker 11: And then how well do you block for your quarterback?
Speaker 4: Do you take pride in that?
Speaker 11: And some guys you can tell right away what type
Speaker 11: of guy they are in TAJ when you turn on
Speaker 11: the tape, and a lot of these guys in this class,
Speaker 11: and I think the guys that we have on this
Speaker 11: roster right now, talking about Chase, talking about Samaje uh,
Speaker 11: and then adding times to the mix as well. Those
Speaker 11: guys know the value and pass protection, especially in our offense.
Speaker 11: We're gonna be a dropback team. That's that's what we do.
Speaker 11: We're gonna throw the ball around. We've got the greatest
Speaker 11: quarterback in the universe. We've got the greatest receivers in
Speaker 11: the universe. So we're gonna give them their opportunities. So
Speaker 11: with that being said, we got to do our job
Speaker 11: as backs and step up and protect. It's not just
Speaker 11: Ted in the line. You know, they got to keep
Speaker 11: Joe healthy, it's us too. We got to keep them
Speaker 11: up right. And so we take a lot of pride
Speaker 11: in that in the running back room.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 11: And I think we've got we've got a room full
Speaker 11: of guys that take pride in that as well. And
Speaker 11: then where that is a badge of honor.
Speaker 1: My conversation with Mike Potts is next. But first, here's
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Speaker 1: of the Bengals. Now Here's director of college scouting Mike Potts. Mike,
Speaker 1: let's start with first round pick Shamar Stewart. Was his
Speaker 1: combine performance among the best you have ever seen by
Speaker 1: a man his size?
Speaker 12: Yeah, it was outstanding.
Speaker 13: There's not too many people that have those type of
Speaker 13: measurables that he has, and it was really impressive to see.
Speaker 13: But the good thing is you see those measurables show
Speaker 13: up on tape in terms of his size, explosiveness, speed,
Speaker 13: and then also what stands out about him is just
Speaker 13: how hard he plays and how violent he plays. So
Speaker 13: the measurables certainly show up, and then when you go
Speaker 13: to the combine and see him put those numbers up,
Speaker 13: it's really impressive.
Speaker 1: It's been portrayed as a traits more than production pick,
Speaker 1: but I want to push back a little bit on
Speaker 1: the word production because he had the fifth best run
Speaker 1: stopping grade in the country for edge people according to
Speaker 1: Pro Football Focus. He had a bunch of pressures. He
Speaker 1: was top ten in the SEC in terms of quarterback pressures.
Speaker 1: What he didn't have were sacks. So it's not production,
Speaker 1: it sacks. How can the Bengals help him in that area?
Speaker 13: Yeah, you're right, he was very disruptive. He shows up
Speaker 13: all over the tape. I think our coaches have a
Speaker 13: plan for him. They want to work with this guy.
Speaker 13: They're eager to work with him and develop them. Our
Speaker 13: coaches have worked with guys with similar backgrounds in the
Speaker 13: past to Schmar, so that makes you feel good about it.
Speaker 13: We had a ton of discussions on him. I think
Speaker 13: part of what you like about him is how hard
Speaker 13: he plays. Sometimes maybe we can reel him back in
Speaker 13: a little bit. You never want to rhal them in
Speaker 13: too much in terms of that effort and high motor
Speaker 13: that he plays with. But if you can come under control,
Speaker 13: he may may give him a better chance to finish
Speaker 13: some of those sets that you're talking about. But again,
Speaker 13: he is a very disruptive player. He shows up all
Speaker 13: over the tape, plays with violence, and I'm glad that
Speaker 13: we ended up with him, and he's got a ton
Speaker 13: of upside to keep getting better and better.
Speaker 1: Were there's several people in play when you were on
Speaker 1: the clock at number seventeen or with Stewart's significantly higher
Speaker 1: on your board than anybody else still available.
Speaker 13: There were a number of people in play at every
Speaker 13: draft slot that we were at.
Speaker 12: You're always constantly talking to other teams.
Speaker 13: We had a lot of potential trades sketched out with
Speaker 13: other teams, whether it was to move back or move up,
Speaker 13: and you just constantly talk through it. We're always prepared
Speaker 13: for every possible scenario. We discuss the pick leading all
Speaker 13: the way up to it, from seventeen picks in advance
Speaker 13: and then all the way up until three to one
Speaker 13: picks prior, and we have a board hashed out and
Speaker 13: it's up there. There's no panic at the last minute,
Speaker 13: and the communication is excellent in our draft room. So
Speaker 13: I commend everybody that was in there in terms of
Speaker 13: that process, and we're glad with the result.
Speaker 1: In the second round, you took linebacker Demetrius Knight. NFL
Speaker 1: dot Com projected him to go in the second.
Speaker 2: Or third round.
Speaker 1: I saw some other gurus that said maybe the third.
Speaker 1: Did you have reason to believe that he would not
Speaker 1: be there if you waited?
Speaker 13: That was a risk at the end of the day
Speaker 13: that Duke has to make the final decision on. You know,
Speaker 13: he's in that decision maker chair. And he was a
Speaker 13: guy that we had consensus on between our coaches and
Speaker 13: our scouts that looked at him. We had a vision
Speaker 13: for him as a player as scouts before Al and
Speaker 13: some of the new defensive coaches even got here, and
Speaker 13: then their vision aligned with our vision for the player.
Speaker 12: We all really liked them.
Speaker 13: We had consensus and conviction on them. So, yeah, you
Speaker 13: always weigh the different scenarios of you could take this
Speaker 13: guy and then run the risk that this guy could
Speaker 13: be there later. Could you possibly make a trade here
Speaker 13: or a trade there. So we talked through all of
Speaker 13: those scenarios and at the end of the day, all
Speaker 13: of those options were presented to Duke and he made
Speaker 13: the final decision. And I commend him for the discipline
Speaker 13: and the patients that he showed throughout the process to
Speaker 13: take the player that he felt was the best player
Speaker 13: for us.
Speaker 1: How much did Al Golden's input influence the guys that
Speaker 1: you chose on defense?
Speaker 13: Al certainly had a strong voice in the process. We
Speaker 13: had a prior relationship with Al, so it was a
Speaker 13: very easy transition in terms of this process and getting
Speaker 13: on the same page with him, and he was great
Speaker 13: to work with, so I think that's a good thing
Speaker 13: about our process. Everybody has a strong voice in the room.
Speaker 13: Everybody is really good listeners and really open minded to
Speaker 13: everybody's thoughts and opinions, and Al was certainly a big
Speaker 13: part and a guy that had a strong voice in
Speaker 13: those discussions.
Speaker 1: He went offensive lineman in round three with Dylan Fairchild,
Speaker 1: PFF's number one graded past blocking guard in this draft.
Speaker 1: Is that the most important skill that you were looking
Speaker 1: for when it came time to choose a guard.
Speaker 13: I think with the amount of times that we throw
Speaker 13: the ball in our offense, certainly pass protection is at
Speaker 13: the forefront and very important. Dylan is a really athletic player.
Speaker 13: He's got all the size, strength, measurables that you could
Speaker 13: ask for. They speak about him like he's the strongest
Speaker 13: person in their program. I'm sure you've seen the wrestling
Speaker 13: background with sixty seven to zero heavyweight wrestler, state champ,
Speaker 13: all of those things. I think you see that element
Speaker 13: in his game on tape as well, just with the
Speaker 13: strain and the finish that he plays with in his
Speaker 13: hand use. You know you can see the wrestling background
Speaker 13: on his tape, But yes, to answer your question, we
Speaker 13: think he's got a lot of upside in pass pro.
Speaker 13: He's far from a finished product right now. He is
Speaker 13: a good player as it is, but I think his
Speaker 13: upside is as good as most offensive linemen in this draft,
Speaker 13: and we're really excited about what he can become working
Speaker 13: with our coaches.
Speaker 1: We're visiting with Bengal scouting director Mike Potts. Zach Taylor
Speaker 1: and Dan Pitcher said right after the Dylan Fairchild pick
Speaker 1: that it's pretty clear that the left guard job is
Speaker 1: his to win as a rookie. Did you go into
Speaker 1: this draft thinking there are enough good guards will be
Speaker 1: in a good position to potentially take a starter in
Speaker 1: the first three rounds.
Speaker 13: I think we thought that, but you never know, so
Speaker 13: you have to play the board. You have to put
Speaker 13: values on guys, you have to be ready to take
Speaker 13: another position if your guys get wiped out at a
Speaker 13: certain spot. We felt good about Dylan being a guy
Speaker 13: that we targeted there in the third round. There were
Speaker 13: some other guys that were in the discussion in the
Speaker 13: top three rounds as well, so you never know. It's
Speaker 13: a hard process to pin down and predict at times,
Speaker 13: but all we can do is have our discussions from
Speaker 13: every different angle, evaluate every possibility, and put our board together.
Speaker 13: And at the end of the day, the board speaks
Speaker 13: to you. And we thought the value met the need
Speaker 13: there at that round in the third and we're happy
Speaker 13: that we ended up with Dylan Fairchild.
Speaker 1: In the fourth round, you doubled down at linebacker, taking
Speaker 1: Clemson's Barrett Carter. Dabosweeney raves about him both in terms
Speaker 1: of his playing ability and his character, having already taken
Speaker 1: a linebacker. Was this a case of a guy that
Speaker 1: was simply too good to pass up at that point?
Speaker 13: Yeah, he was the top guy on our board there.
Speaker 13: And again there's different scenarios that you can play. You
Speaker 13: can take different positions, you can potentially explore a trade,
Speaker 13: and at the end of the day, all of the
Speaker 13: options and opinions were discussed. Everybody voiced their opinions and
Speaker 13: thoughts leading up to that pick, and Duke's in the
Speaker 13: chair to make that final decision, and he decided that
Speaker 13: we go with this top guy on our board. Once
Speaker 13: he does that, everybody's on board with it. We're very
Speaker 13: happy that Barrett Carter, who's a guy that you could
Speaker 13: argue maybe we could have even taken earlier than the
Speaker 13: fourth round. For sure, he could have been a target
Speaker 13: in earlier rounds for us. But at the end of
Speaker 13: the day, he was still there. We did not think
Speaker 13: he would last much longer than that if we didn't
Speaker 13: take him there in the fourth round. So we ended
Speaker 13: up revamping that linebacker room with Barrett and Demetrius as well.
Speaker 13: So I'm really excited about the young talent that we
Speaker 13: added to that room.
Speaker 1: Barrett rarely came off the field at Clemson, between defense
Speaker 1: and special teams. He played nearly twenty five hundred snaps
Speaker 1: in his college career. Do you expect a big special
Speaker 1: teams role from him right away?
Speaker 13: Yeah, Darren had a high regard through him for him
Speaker 13: throughout the process. He's very athletic, he can run, He's
Speaker 13: played on special teams throughout his career there at Clemson.
Speaker 13: He is a physical guy who's a good tackler. So
Speaker 13: he's going to really help Darren in whatever role Darren
Speaker 13: has carved out for him, and he's going to help
Speaker 13: our defense as well. So he's a really well rounded
Speaker 13: player that can help on all four downs.
Speaker 1: In the fifth round, he went back to the offensive
Speaker 1: line and took the University of Miami's Jalen Rivers. Last year,
Speaker 1: he played twenty or more snaps at left tackle and
Speaker 1: left gold in the same game six times. I'm not
Speaker 1: sure that I've ever seen that before. You might have
Speaker 1: a guy that played left guard one year, left tackle
Speaker 1: the next, but to do it for many snaps in
Speaker 1: the same game and basically half of their games is
Speaker 1: highly unusual. How big a factor was his versatility in
Speaker 1: selecting him when you did.
Speaker 12: That was a huge factor.
Speaker 13: It's unbelievable the ability he had to bounce back and
Speaker 13: forth between two positions in almost every game. Like you said,
Speaker 13: series to series, he may not know the next series
Speaker 13: where he was going to end up lining up, but
Speaker 13: that just shows you the trust that Miami staff had
Speaker 13: in him, his football intelligence, his instincts, his makeup. We
Speaker 13: had him in here on a visit. His character is exceptional,
Speaker 13: and I think you see elements of that in his
Speaker 13: game when you flip the tape on. He's a very
Speaker 13: instinctive player, very aware. He's got long arms, and he's
Speaker 13: really good in pass protection. So that kind of circles
Speaker 13: back to what you had originally asked about Dylan Fairchild
Speaker 13: and upside element of his game. So he's another guy
Speaker 13: that we were a little surprised was still there in
Speaker 13: the fifth round at that point. Offensive Line is a
Speaker 13: position that is of the utmost priority for most teams,
Speaker 13: but our team for sure, and that's a spot that
Speaker 13: we wanted to address, and again the need met the
Speaker 13: value there in the fifth round.
Speaker 1: You've got a new offensive line coach this year in
Speaker 1: Scott Peters. Does Scott have a type and is it
Speaker 1: different from Frank Pollock's type.
Speaker 12: I don't know if Scott has a type.
Speaker 13: I wouldn't want to speak for him, but it's been
Speaker 13: great to get to know him. It's been great to
Speaker 13: spend a lot of time with him. I was with
Speaker 13: him out on the Pro day circuit several different places
Speaker 13: and had a ton of discussions in the office, in
Speaker 13: person and or over the phone about you know, just
Speaker 13: getting on the same page with guys that he liked,
Speaker 13: different techniques that he's.
Speaker 12: Going to use.
Speaker 13: So it's been great to work with him. It's been
Speaker 13: great to see him get hands on some of these players.
Speaker 13: Just being with him at the Pro days, and working
Speaker 13: with these guys. So I wouldn't want to speak for
Speaker 13: him in terms of his type, but he was a
Speaker 13: huge asset to us in this scouting process and I'm
Speaker 13: looking forward to working with him moving forward.
Speaker 2: You had one more pick.
Speaker 1: It was in the sixth round Texas Tech running back
Speaker 1: Taj Brooks. Anybody that watched him last year against UC
Speaker 1: likes this pick. He had thirty two carries for one
Speaker 1: hundred and seventy two yards in that game. In a
Speaker 1: really talented running back class. What jumped out to the
Speaker 1: Bengals about Taj Brooks.
Speaker 12: We really liked the running back class this year. We
Speaker 12: thought it was really deep.
Speaker 13: Again, I was a little surprised that he was there
Speaker 13: in the sixth round, but I think that just speaks
Speaker 13: to the depth of the draft class at that running
Speaker 13: back position. He's a guy that we had targeted throughout
Speaker 13: the process. You absolutely love his production, his makeup. I mean,
Speaker 13: going for over fifteen hundred yards each of the past
Speaker 13: two seasons, all of the touchdowns that he had, He
Speaker 13: catches the ball well. He's got upside and ability and
Speaker 13: pass protection, so he's really a well rounded player. He
Speaker 13: could potentially help Daron as well. On special teams units.
Speaker 13: So there's really not a whole lot to dislike about
Speaker 13: Taj Brooks. And again, if you're not talking about such
Speaker 13: a high quality running back draft class, he's probably a
Speaker 13: guy that goes earlier than where we were able to
Speaker 13: select him there in the sixth round. So he's another
Speaker 13: guy that we're really excited about. Running Back is a
Speaker 13: position that we went into the draft at multiple different
Speaker 13: levels with the potential to address that position, and we
Speaker 13: waited till our last pick in the sixth round.
Speaker 12: And again, we were really excited.
Speaker 13: That he was still available in the sixth round because
Speaker 13: he's a guy that we could have Sawn could have
Speaker 13: could have potentially saw going earlier in the draft.
Speaker 1: The Bengals have not announced the college free agents that
Speaker 1: are likely to join the Bengals, so I can't ask
Speaker 1: you about specific names yet. But only having six picks
Speaker 1: did that make it a little bit easier to sell
Speaker 1: opportunity to some of the guys that went undrafted?
Speaker 12: For sure, we're.
Speaker 13: Really excited about some of the college free agents that
Speaker 13: we've agreed to terms with. We can announce those later
Speaker 13: once the contracts are officially finalized.
Speaker 12: But yeah, when you only have.
Speaker 13: Six picks, two of them on the O line and
Speaker 13: two of them are in the linebacker room. So that
Speaker 13: leaves only two other positions that we actually addressed in
Speaker 13: the draft. So some of the positions that we didn't
Speaker 13: didn't address. That's an attractive spot for some of these
Speaker 13: undrafted players and their agents as well. So that's part
Speaker 13: of the selling point that we get on the phone
Speaker 13: and sell those guys on in terms of the opportunity here.
Speaker 13: And like I said, we're really excited about some of
Speaker 13: the players that we've agreed to terms with and I
Speaker 13: think they've got a chance to really help us.
Speaker 2: You didn't draft to safety.
Speaker 1: Is that just the way the board fell or is
Speaker 1: it a reflection of how you feel about the guys
Speaker 1: that are already here.
Speaker 12: It's a combination of both.
Speaker 13: Safety is a position that we valued a number of
Speaker 13: guys in this draft at different levels, and there were
Speaker 13: a lot of guys that were in the discussion in
Speaker 13: almost every round that we could have addressed that safety position.
Speaker 13: Like you said, it didn't work out that way. That's
Speaker 13: just not the way the boards shook out for us.
Speaker 13: So we do like the safeties that we have on
Speaker 13: the roster right now, and we think, you know, some
Speaker 13: of our guys even have more upside to potentially ascend
Speaker 13: and get better than what they've been so far. So
Speaker 13: that's a position that will continue to monitor throughout the offseason.
Speaker 13: But we do like the guys that we have in
Speaker 13: the room right now. But it's an ongoing process leading
Speaker 13: all the way up until Week one of the season
Speaker 13: in terms of evaluating the options that are out there
Speaker 13: to upgrade the roster.
Speaker 1: Similar question about defensive tackle. You re signed BJ Hill,
Speaker 1: you signed TJ.
Speaker 2: Slayton.
Speaker 1: You drafted two defensive tackles high last year, Chris Jenkins
Speaker 1: in round two the Ckinley Jackson in round three. How
Speaker 1: did that impact your approach to the defensive tackles in
Speaker 1: this draft.
Speaker 13: Yeah, it was a really good defensive tackle class as well.
Speaker 13: Similar to the safeties, that just didn't shake out perfectly
Speaker 13: for us there with only six picks and not making
Speaker 13: any trades and adding additional picks, we weren't able to
Speaker 13: address that defensive tackle position.
Speaker 12: Unfortunately.
Speaker 13: There definitely were guys, Like I said with the safety,
Speaker 13: there was guys in almost every round at defensive tackle
Speaker 13: that were in the discussion. It just didn't break that
Speaker 13: way for us, and again we'll continue working through all
Speaker 13: the defensive tackle options. You mentioned some of the undrafted
Speaker 13: guys that could be options for us to help out
Speaker 13: the roster and then other avenues as well. But that's
Speaker 13: definitely something that we have our eyes on.
Speaker 1: Who do you view as the best candidates to give
Speaker 1: you an inside pass rush from the guys that you
Speaker 1: already have on the roster.
Speaker 13: Well, a lot of our guys in that defensive end
Speaker 13: room have a lot of versatility. You saw Joseph Osai
Speaker 13: kick inside there last year camp sample has done a
Speaker 13: lot of it in the past. Miles Murphy maybe is
Speaker 13: a guy, and then also Shamar Stewart. I think all
Speaker 13: of those guys have some potential versatility. I'm not going
Speaker 13: to speak for Al Golden and our defensive staff in
Speaker 13: terms of their vision on it, but I do think
Speaker 13: they have a plan to move some guys around and
Speaker 13: have some different versatility through different spots. But again, our
Speaker 13: two young draft picks in the defensive tackle room from
Speaker 13: last year, we think are going to continue to develop
Speaker 13: and get better and better, and again we'll continue to
Speaker 13: monitor what's out there, and that interior pass rush is
Speaker 13: definitely something that we want to upgrade this season, and
Speaker 13: there's going to be a lot of different ways that
Speaker 13: we can attack that.
Speaker 1: Like I said on this podcast after Round three or
Speaker 1: Day three rather on Saturday, that reminds me a little
Speaker 1: bit of the twenty twenty draft. Not that there's a
Speaker 1: Joe Burrow that doesn't happen very often, but in twenty twenty,
Speaker 1: every guy you picked, except for T Higgins was a
Speaker 1: college captain, and he would have been had he stayed
Speaker 1: for another year at Clemson. Similarly, it seems like every
Speaker 1: guy in this draft class was loved by his college
Speaker 1: coach and his college teammates. Was that character piece by
Speaker 1: design or again just kind of the way it fell.
Speaker 12: A little bit of both in that regard.
Speaker 13: We definitely went into that, and it's interesting we even
Speaker 13: had discussions about the parallels to that twenty twenty draft.
Speaker 13: I know a lot was made of the captains coming
Speaker 13: out of that. It sounds like an exaggeration, but all
Speaker 13: six of these guys that we drafted are excellent character
Speaker 13: guys that are completely raved about by our scouting sources
Speaker 13: at their respective colleges. So we're really excited about the
Speaker 13: guys that we added to the locker room. The board
Speaker 13: did fall great that way in terms of taking those
Speaker 13: high character guys, but we did go into this draft
Speaker 13: with the intention of adding guys that add to our
Speaker 13: locker room in a really positive way, bring leadership, have
Speaker 13: the right type of makeup that we want to help
Speaker 13: impact our team.
Speaker 1: I've met three in person, I've talked to the other
Speaker 1: three on the phone. They all seem like great guys
Speaker 1: that I think we are going to easily be able
Speaker 1: to root for going forward and hopefully they're very successful
Speaker 1: in Bengals uniforms. Appreciate your time. Congratulations on a great draft.
Speaker 12: Thanks Dan, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: That's going to do it for this edition of the
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