Speaker 1: Hi again, everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast. The Talk to Me, Talk To
Speaker 1: Me All Want is a little conversation edition that's a
Speaker 1: kiss song in case you're wondering, as we check in
Speaker 1: with head coach Zach Taylor on the Bengals eight free
Speaker 1: agent acquisitions, followed by an hour long conversation about the
Speaker 1: draft and free agency featuring me, my broadcast partner Dave Lapham,
Speaker 1: and Bengals team reporter Marissa Contapelli. The Bengals Booth Podcast
Speaker 1: is presented by Prime Sport, the official fan, travel and
Speaker 1: hospitality partner of the Cincinnati Bengals. And here's a quick
Speaker 1: reminder that you can add the latest edition of this
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Speaker 1: It's the greatest thing since Zoom Happy Hours. During the
Speaker 1: COVID nineteen pandemic, virtual happy hours conducted on Zoom or
Speaker 1: a similar platform have become very popular. This week, I
Speaker 1: took part in one with my family members in New York, Indiana,
Speaker 1: and Colorado, and a couple of weeks ago, my old
Speaker 1: college buddy Mike Tarco. Yes that Mike Tarreco organized a
Speaker 1: Zoom Happy Hour with seventeen friends that went to Syracuse
Speaker 1: University at roughly the same time and worked in student radio,
Speaker 1: including Sean McDonough, I, An Eagle, Beth Mowens, and others.
Speaker 1: I am doing some serious name dropping here. In any case,
Speaker 1: if you haven't taken part in one yet, I highly
Speaker 1: recommend the Zoom Happy Hour. Now let's turn to football.
Speaker 1: On our last podcast, I mentioned that NFL teams were
Speaker 1: not permitted to discuss free agent acquisitions until they had
Speaker 1: completed physicals and signed their contracts. The league loosened that
Speaker 1: policy this week, allowing the Bengals to announce agreements with
Speaker 1: eight unrestricted free agents, pending the players passing their physicals
Speaker 1: at a later date. I spoke to Zach Taylor about
Speaker 1: the free agent signees, six of whom could be starters
Speaker 1: this year. Zach was DJ reader, your number one targeting
Speaker 1: free agency. He was He was a player that we've
Speaker 1: thought very highly of from the gig go. You know,
Speaker 1: Nikison as known instance Hiss dayson Clemson, and so we
Speaker 1: felt like he would he would really help us up front,
Speaker 1: and it was a long process get had done. But
Speaker 1: we were very, very excited to get it done. He
Speaker 1: is a tremendous player, can really be very flexible up front,
Speaker 1: play multiple different positions. So I'm really excited to get
Speaker 1: dj DJ in the building. Linebackers seems to be a
Speaker 1: more pressing need. Why did you zero in on a
Speaker 1: defensive tackle? Well, we know that the guys up front
Speaker 1: take the pressure office backers and feel good that we'll
Speaker 1: find the solutions there. You know, there's just a lot
Speaker 1: of areas we wanted to address, and right now we
Speaker 1: focused on defensive line and corner. We felt like we
Speaker 1: really helped ourselves there. So we feel like we've we've
Speaker 1: made some moves to really help ourselves on defense and
Speaker 1: got some guys that really bring some leadership qualities as well,
Speaker 1: guys that played winning football, and so we're just excited
Speaker 1: to get pack on the field at some point. Readers
Speaker 1: three hundred forty seven pounds is an immovable man in
Speaker 1: the middle. The biggest thing you felt you needed to
Speaker 1: be better against the run. He's not only very good
Speaker 1: against the run, but he also he brings a pastors
Speaker 1: some value there and when you can find that rare
Speaker 1: combination of guys who have the size to stop the
Speaker 1: run in the interior, but also when they're one on
Speaker 1: ones and not just being big stiff guys that have
Speaker 1: the flexibility go get after the pastor and create some
Speaker 1: issues there. Then that's that's something that you've you've got
Speaker 1: to try to go obtain And so very fortunate that
Speaker 1: we got DJ again. We had him at the top
Speaker 1: of award. We were very high on him and play
Speaker 1: it all come together is it's a big one for us.
Speaker 1: Let's turn to Trey Waynes. Where do you think you're
Speaker 1: getting in him? Yeah, you're getting a starting corner, you know,
Speaker 1: very competitive. You know, he's playing in a good system
Speaker 1: there in Minnesota the last couple of years in Tangibles.
Speaker 1: He brings a lot of really good things to the table.
Speaker 1: He's a physical tackler. He's not afraid to put his
Speaker 1: nose in there, which which not every corner is willing
Speaker 1: to do necessarily. So we're excited to get him in
Speaker 1: the building. He's fired up to be here, you know.
Speaker 1: So we felt like that was a great addition for us.
Speaker 1: Did you feel like that aspect of being good against
Speaker 1: the run was needed at the cornerback position? It helps,
Speaker 1: you know, it certainly helps you know. We've got improve
Speaker 1: tackling overall on defense, and so every player we're looking
Speaker 1: to add, you know, that's that's an importance for us
Speaker 1: to continue to stress. But Trey's got good speed. You know,
Speaker 1: he's made a lot of plays on the balls over
Speaker 1: the years and played against him a couple of times.
Speaker 1: I always thought he thought very highly of him as
Speaker 1: a player. So we're just excited at him to the squad.
Speaker 1: I think a lot of us have read that he's
Speaker 1: a really good, solid player, but maybe has not lived
Speaker 1: up to being the number eleven overall pick in the draft.
Speaker 1: Does the on track that you gave him recollect untapped potential.
Speaker 1: We feel like he's an ascending player. You know, he's
Speaker 1: only been the league here, he's pushed a couple of
Speaker 1: years there in Minnesota, so certainly feel like his best
Speaker 1: days are ahead of him. And again we're just we're
Speaker 1: excited at a starting corner of the building. Then there's
Speaker 1: Mackenzie Alexander, also from the Vikings, who signed a one
Speaker 1: year deal. Does he project as your top slot corner?
Speaker 1: He does. McKinsey's again another guy that's about the right stuff,
Speaker 1: great intangibles, played a lot of football there in Minnesota,
Speaker 1: you know, he actually he played with DJ Reader in college's.
Speaker 1: He's played at Trey Waynes and so he's excited to
Speaker 1: be a part of what we're building here and so
Speaker 1: it was great to get him in the fold as well.
Speaker 1: So you know, we've we've added at two corner positions
Speaker 1: here an outside corner and Nicol an interior defensive lineman.
Speaker 1: We feel like we're really helping ourselves over there on defense.
Speaker 1: And then there's seven year veteran Xaviers to a Philo
Speaker 1: on the offensive line. Is he immediately the leading candidate
Speaker 1: to start at right guard? Yeah, that's that's exactly right.
Speaker 1: He's Um. You know, he's played more in a backup
Speaker 1: all the last two years in Dallas. Really helped him out,
Speaker 1: you know when they did have injuries up front, played
Speaker 1: really well for him. And he's a guy that when
Speaker 1: you want to watch the tape, you can watch him
Speaker 1: play against the best competition there is. You can watch
Speaker 1: him push Chicago at LA and UM, he did some
Speaker 1: really good things for him. You know. The feedback we
Speaker 1: got on him is that he's a quick learner. Um,
Speaker 1: he's got a high high mental ikey there when it
Speaker 1: comes to football and He's a big, physical guy, you know,
Speaker 1: which in this division that's that's critical. You know, just
Speaker 1: just havn't been around it for a year. These interiors
Speaker 1: he coinsive alignment at these other squads are big guys
Speaker 1: that are really hard to move with the run game.
Speaker 1: So to add a big, physical guy like Xavier is
Speaker 1: a huge benefit for us. That seems to fit the
Speaker 1: description of guys the Jim Turner likes up front. The
Speaker 1: bigger the better. Almost. Well, you know, he's got a
Speaker 1: lot of good qualities. We've thought he did a great
Speaker 1: job in past protection last year, you know, in the
Speaker 1: games he played for Dallas and um, you know, he's
Speaker 1: got the athleticism get to the second level in the
Speaker 1: run game that we really like as well. So I
Speaker 1: feel like we're adding a really solid player there, Zach.
Speaker 1: You signed von Bell to a three year deal. He
Speaker 1: was a four year starter for the Saints. Pro Football
Speaker 1: Focus ranked him as the top run stopping safety in
Speaker 1: the NFL. Where are you getting in Von Bell? Yeah,
Speaker 1: you're getting really physical safety. That's that's really good coverage
Speaker 1: as well, you know, and he's won a lot of
Speaker 1: football games of the house state and the Saints. Playing
Speaker 1: a lot of big games of both places. You know,
Speaker 1: talked to a lot of people who played with him
Speaker 1: and coached him, and just the type of person that
Speaker 1: we want on a locker room. Really excited to get him.
Speaker 1: What does his addition mean to Sean Williams, Well, it
Speaker 1: allows us to do a lot of fun things, you know,
Speaker 1: with three really talented safeties, and so again that's something
Speaker 1: that we will continue to explore. We'll have a great
Speaker 1: plant in place. Bell forced five fumbles last year, which
Speaker 1: is pretty telling. He's got a rule knack for getting
Speaker 1: the ball out and making those kind of game changing
Speaker 1: plays in that regard, and so again we're just we're
Speaker 1: really fortunate I worked out where we were able to
Speaker 1: sign him. You did eventually add a line backer and
Speaker 1: former Baltimore raven Josh Bines. He gets a one year deal.
Speaker 1: He'll be thirty one in August. You saw him twice
Speaker 1: in a four game stretch last year. Where are you
Speaker 1: getting in Josh Bines. You're getting a tremendous leader, um,
Speaker 1: a guy who's who's been a part of a lot
Speaker 1: of winning organizations and winning teams. And so again, just
Speaker 1: just doing the background on him, talking to people who
Speaker 1: were within Detroit in Arizona. You know, just a tremendous person.
Speaker 1: He's gonna make everybody around him better. He's that type
Speaker 1: of leader that we're looking for. Again, Floyd in a
Speaker 1: lot of a lot of big time football games and
Speaker 1: he knows what it looks like and so again works
Speaker 1: out of add into that linebacker room. Does that impact
Speaker 1: the draft at the linebacker position, Well, I think we're
Speaker 1: still open to a lot of different positions. But what
Speaker 1: we did in free agency allows us to take some
Speaker 1: really good football players when they're there at the right spot,
Speaker 1: and you know, that's really what you want to be
Speaker 1: doing at an end of the draft. The final two
Speaker 1: free agents that you signed our cornerback Lashawn Sims he
Speaker 1: was with Tennessee the last four years, and wide receiver
Speaker 1: Mike tom As, he spent four with the Rams. You
Speaker 1: obviously got to know him face to face. Those are
Speaker 1: two guys that have a lot of special teams experience, correct.
Speaker 1: You know, Leshaun's had a good career there in Tennessee
Speaker 1: and put against him two years ago, three years ago,
Speaker 1: and US Rams Steve Jackson has coached him. So so
Speaker 1: those guys know Leshawn really well and he's about the
Speaker 1: right stuff and again, gonna have a great character to
Speaker 1: locker room, great special team's value, be a good player
Speaker 1: for us in the secondary. And then Mike Thomas is
Speaker 1: a guy that I coached for two years in LA
Speaker 1: and again just another another really solid special teams player.
Speaker 1: But he's got some traits that are going to be
Speaker 1: really helpful for us in the receiver room. So report
Speaker 1: to see him coming in compete. I know he's excited
Speaker 1: about it, and we're just ready to get all those
Speaker 1: guys in the building. That's eight free agents. We're approaching
Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty million dollars. I think, are you
Speaker 1: done well? I don't think you ever say you're done,
Speaker 1: you know, if you always keep those options open and
Speaker 1: case something pops up. But again, we put ourselves in
Speaker 1: a good spot heading here to the draft and in
Speaker 1: two weeks areciate the information. Thank you. Now time for
Speaker 1: my conversation with Dave Lapham and Marissa Contapelli, which aired
Speaker 1: live for the first time ever this past Thursday on
Speaker 1: Bengals dot Com, the official Bengals app, Facebook, and YouTube.
Speaker 1: Our first topic the first pick in the draft, and
Speaker 1: Dave Lapham was up first. Do you have any doubt
Speaker 1: at this point that Joe Burrow will be the Bengals
Speaker 1: number one overall pick, I really don't, Dan. I think
Speaker 1: that Joe Burrow is the target, and I think deservedly so.
Speaker 1: It's uh, it's the most incredible one season over another
Speaker 1: improvement that I've ever seen, that anybody's ever seen. He
Speaker 1: had the best season in the history of college football
Speaker 1: for any quarterback with sixty touchdowns, six interceptions. And you
Speaker 1: know I've said it before that when when it was
Speaker 1: most important, the most important games the SEC Championship game,
Speaker 1: the first round of the playoffs, the National Championship game,
Speaker 1: those three games, sixteen touchdown passes, rushed for two more,
Speaker 1: didn't turn it over, no fulmost, no interceptions. That's incredible.
Speaker 1: And he had seven victories when they played those teams,
Speaker 1: they were in the top ten seven times. So you
Speaker 1: have the SEC, you have that kind of a schedule
Speaker 1: for him to play the way he did. I think,
Speaker 1: you know, merits Obviously, he won the National Championship, won
Speaker 1: the Heisman Trophy, and he's got great physical attributes. His
Speaker 1: arm is plenty of good enough for the National Football League.
Speaker 1: It's not like upper echelon, like Wouza type arm strength.
Speaker 1: But I think the thing that separates him above the
Speaker 1: neck between the years, he is a competitive learner. He's
Speaker 1: one of those guys that's got an insatiable appetite to
Speaker 1: learn about the game, first one in, last one to leave,
Speaker 1: like Tom Brady, like Peyton Manning. And he is so
Speaker 1: confident going into these big games because his preparation is
Speaker 1: impeccable and it gives him a tremendous amount of confidence
Speaker 1: to go out there and execute. And the other thing
Speaker 1: that he is is a dynamic problem solver, you know,
Speaker 1: And that's when things look easy until he sees to
Speaker 1: feel so well and when he reads it and gets
Speaker 1: it out great, But then there are going to be
Speaker 1: times when things aren't so pretty, and he figures out
Speaker 1: a way to extend to play, to climb the pocket,
Speaker 1: to manipulate the pocket and solve the problem. You know,
Speaker 1: his eyes are always down the football field. He's not
Speaker 1: looking at pass rush and all that sort of thing. So,
Speaker 1: I mean, you can go on and on and on
Speaker 1: about Joe Burrow, and I think you know, it's like
Speaker 1: when Tom Brady came out of Michigan, he was splitting
Speaker 1: time at Michigan six round pick, and then he found
Speaker 1: himself in peak. Joe Burrow didn't really have a great
Speaker 1: year till this senior year found himself in peak. So
Speaker 1: hopefully he stays at that level that Tom Brady got to.
Speaker 1: And and Joe Burrow is not a kid. Joe Burrow
Speaker 1: is twenty three years old. He's got some experience and
Speaker 1: not only football but in life. How about you, Marissa,
Speaker 1: any doubt that Burrow's going to be the guy? Now?
Speaker 1: I echo exactly what Dave just went through. And for me,
Speaker 1: there's really if the Bengal stay at one. The only
Speaker 1: way I don't see it being Joe Burrow is if
Speaker 1: a trade were to happen, and I really don't see
Speaker 1: that being the case. I think it would take a
Speaker 1: lot for the Bengals to move out of that number
Speaker 1: one pick. So I'm the same sentiment as Dave. I
Speaker 1: think it's Joe Burrow for all the reasons that he
Speaker 1: just went through and more, there's so much to like
Speaker 1: with this quarterback prospect. He absolutely, in my opinion, will
Speaker 1: be the guy the future for Cincinnati, and I agree
Speaker 1: with the two of you. I think this decision was
Speaker 1: made on November sixteenth when Tuah Tungo Violoa injured his hip,
Speaker 1: and before that he had ankle problems. So maybe before
Speaker 1: his injuries, the Bengals would be doing a really hard
Speaker 1: study of Burrow or Tuah. But I think when you
Speaker 1: factor in the injury, Burrow becomes the obvious number one
Speaker 1: overall pick. And I did a deep dive of every
Speaker 1: quarterback selected number one overall in the Super Bowl era,
Speaker 1: so we're talking about more than fifty number one overall
Speaker 1: draft picks in the first thirty three. These numbers might
Speaker 1: be a tiny bit off, but I think I've got
Speaker 1: it almost exactly right off the top of my head.
Speaker 1: In the first thirty three there are only nine quarterbacks
Speaker 1: taken number one overall. But in the last twenty two years,
Speaker 1: sixteen of the twenty two number one overall picks have
Speaker 1: been quarterbacks. So when you're in that spot, unfortunately you're
Speaker 1: there for a reason in having the number one overall pick.
Speaker 1: But if you've got the opportunity to get your quarterback,
Speaker 1: a guy that you think can be the next Super
Speaker 1: Bowl winning quarterback, a guy that can lead your franchise
Speaker 1: for ten to fifteen seasons, you pounce on it. And
Speaker 1: I think that's what the Bengals are going to do
Speaker 1: with Joe Burrow Lap. You talked about a lot of
Speaker 1: his strengths. I want each of us to come up
Speaker 1: with Joe Burrow's number one traits. You can only pick one,
Speaker 1: the number one trait that you like about him, So Marissa,
Speaker 1: you get to go first this time. Dan, it's really
Speaker 1: hard to choose just one. But for me, I absolutely
Speaker 1: love his personality and his approach to the game. He
Speaker 1: has that leadership and that confidence and something we even
Speaker 1: saw to the National championship and a little bit of
Speaker 1: swagger to him that I have just been absolutely floored with.
Speaker 1: He's someone that when you talked to his teammates, they've
Speaker 1: rallied around him. He's a guy that people are going
Speaker 1: to get behind. Everyone has fantastic things to say about
Speaker 1: his personality and the mentality that he brings. He's been
Speaker 1: around this game for so long. He's a coaches's son,
Speaker 1: so he knows how to prepare, he knows how to
Speaker 1: have that approach, and it's really spot on him when
Speaker 1: you look at the way he would prepare over this
Speaker 1: past season and just how he's improved over the last
Speaker 1: couple of years. He has the drive, he has that passion,
Speaker 1: and I really think it's going to be extremely successful.
Speaker 1: Translated into the NFL. All right, lap your term, your
Speaker 1: turn rather number one. Joe Burrow trait that you like.
Speaker 1: I liked the path that he had to take to
Speaker 1: get here. When he was in high school, he was
Speaker 1: first team All state football, basketball, big man on campus,
Speaker 1: a lot of success, goes to Ohio State, the local legend.
Speaker 1: Things don't go great for him at Ohio State. He
Speaker 1: ends up fracturing his hand. And I've talked to Luke
Speaker 1: Fickle down at the Senior Bowl, and Luke Fickle told
Speaker 1: me a story about when Joe Burrow wasn't you know,
Speaker 1: wasn't the guy rb Meyer When they were scrimmaging against
Speaker 1: the number one defense. He had number twos and number
Speaker 1: three's in the huddle and they're scrimmage again us Ohio
Speaker 1: State's number one defense and Urban Meyer stands live on
Speaker 1: the quarterback and Luke Fickle that defense was good and
Speaker 1: they are lightening him up, they're beating him to death.
Speaker 1: And Joe Burrow's dad wasn't there. He was coaching defense
Speaker 1: in Ohio you but his mom was there. And Luke
Speaker 1: Rickle said she's in tears, and so Luke Fickle goes
Speaker 1: up to her after the scrimine says, you know it's okay.
Speaker 1: You know, Urban just wants to go through this. The
Speaker 1: next weekend, the same thing, and Urban Meyer a live
Speaker 1: lights him up again. And Luke Fickle said, Joe Burrow
Speaker 1: sold me then because never complained, never got after any
Speaker 1: of his teammates, never complained to the coaches, what are
Speaker 1: you doing? So to me, he's been at the high,
Speaker 1: he's been at the low, and then he goes and
Speaker 1: transfers he gets to the high again. So he's seen
Speaker 1: every level of success. And when he got knocked off
Speaker 1: the horse a little bit, he didn't curl over and
Speaker 1: play dead. He got right back on the horse and
Speaker 1: rode to start him again. So I like the path
Speaker 1: that he's taken. I like everything about Joe Burrow that
Speaker 1: he had to go through to taste the sweet network
Speaker 1: success many times, not just once, many times in the
Speaker 1: lessons he'd learned along the way. And I think that's
Speaker 1: why all of his teammates gravitate toward him. Guys at
Speaker 1: every level he can identify with him because he's been
Speaker 1: at all different levels of success. Every single teammate of
Speaker 1: Joe Burrows you talk to love the guy, and I
Speaker 1: think that's a big reason. All right, I'm going to
Speaker 1: give you my number one Joe Burrow trait accuracy. I
Speaker 1: think it's the most important trait that a quarterback can have.
Speaker 1: I think it's in eight. I don't think you become
Speaker 1: accurate when you get to the NFL level. I think
Speaker 1: it's largely a god given thing, or at least something
Speaker 1: that's been developed all along up until you get to
Speaker 1: the point where you'd be an NFL player, and then
Speaker 1: you either have it or you don't. This is the
Speaker 1: spirit of seventy six. The dude completed seventy six point
Speaker 1: three percent of his passes in the SEC last year.
Speaker 1: You look at how accurate he was against the toughest
Speaker 1: defenses eighty percent against Alabama in that game. Stayed consistently
Speaker 1: above seventy percent against the best defense. He best defenses
Speaker 1: that he competed against. I think completion percentage translates to
Speaker 1: the NFL. I think if you look at guys that
Speaker 1: played at the highest level in college, their numbers are
Speaker 1: comparable when they go from college to the NFL. So again,
Speaker 1: I think that's the number one trait that a great
Speaker 1: quarterback has to have, and he has it in spades
Speaker 1: and lap. You know from rooming with Kenny Anderson, that
Speaker 1: was the best trait that he had, right, no question.
Speaker 1: I mean, put the football in small spots, you know,
Speaker 1: very very tight spots. And with that, great quarterbacks that
Speaker 1: throw anticipation. Normally of straighty quarterbacks, they throw with accuracy
Speaker 1: and anticipation and that gives them even more confidence in
Speaker 1: throwing it accurately. And the great ones see it before
Speaker 1: it happens. They can anticipate where a guy is going
Speaker 1: to be open, how he's going to be open, and
Speaker 1: where to put the football. And with that anticipation and
Speaker 1: when they can put it in small holes like like
Speaker 1: these guys can, it's a it's a sight to behold,
Speaker 1: There's no question. I remember I was I was working
Speaker 1: a football camp with Kenny Anderson and he would like
Speaker 1: I was twenty five thirty yards away from him and
Speaker 1: he would say, right shoulder, boom fall would hit my
Speaker 1: right shoulder, belly button, boom fall would hit the belly.
Speaker 1: I mean, it was unbelievable. It wasn't just you know,
Speaker 1: I'm just going to hit you in Europe, but he's
Speaker 1: picking body parts out and throwing the chin put it
Speaker 1: right in. Amazing how pinpoint it was. And you're right
Speaker 1: those kind of things. When you can do that at
Speaker 1: the collegiate level, that trait normally does transfer. All right,
Speaker 1: So we all agree that Joe Burrow is going to
Speaker 1: be the number one overall pick. Ninety nine point nine
Speaker 1: percent likely that the Bengals select Joe. So let's move
Speaker 1: to the second round because there's a lot more doubt
Speaker 1: where that is concerned. We don't know which guys will
Speaker 1: get selected before the Bengals have their opportunity to choose.
Speaker 1: We don't know for sure that they will stay in
Speaker 1: that spot. They could move down. We'll talk about that
Speaker 1: in just a bet. But I want each of you
Speaker 1: to give me three candidates on your draft board that
Speaker 1: you would think that the Bengals would be interested in
Speaker 1: selecting a lap will let you go first? Top three
Speaker 1: candidates at number thirty three overall? Well, you know, I'm
Speaker 1: I'm thinking that linebacker is going to be you know
Speaker 1: that that pick. I really believe that. You know, in
Speaker 1: my mind, it's it's linebacker, It's offensive line, and then
Speaker 1: maybe defensive line in terms of biggest needs. If Kenneth
Speaker 1: Murray is there from Oklahoma, a big inside linebacker, I'm
Speaker 1: not sure he will be sixty three, two hundred and
Speaker 1: forty pounds. He's a running hit guy, he closes on
Speaker 1: plays exceptionally well, he's a he's an explosive tackler. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm not sure that he would be there, but if
Speaker 1: he is, he's somebody that you know that I'd love
Speaker 1: to see. I guess my dream pick would be if
Speaker 1: chased On from LSU, if he slides somehow, you know,
Speaker 1: if you could get uh, you need the bud Dupree,
Speaker 1: the match yout On type guy the other people in
Speaker 1: the division have. If that guy would have somehow slide uh,
Speaker 1: you know that that would be Christmas all all day,
Speaker 1: every day long. Another linebacker that I would if staying
Speaker 1: at the linebacker position. Another guy that would be great.
Speaker 1: If if Patrick Queen, another LSU player, if he were there,
Speaker 1: I think Patrick Queen would give them, you know, a lot.
Speaker 1: He's got burst, he's got instincts, he's got he's great
Speaker 1: in coverage, change of direction, he can blitz. I mean,
Speaker 1: those are those are three possibilities I think Zach Bond
Speaker 1: is a is a really good player, but the more
Speaker 1: people that I talked to, Zach Bond is considered more
Speaker 1: of a late too early three. So, boy, if Zach
Speaker 1: Bond were there, if Zach Bond were there at sixty five,
Speaker 1: that dog would hunt all day every day. And addressing
Speaker 1: that linebacker position, which I think, you know the Bengals
Speaker 1: really need to a draft, Marissa your top three, so
Speaker 1: lab I am right there with you. I think linebacker
Speaker 1: is going to be the pick at thirty three. I
Speaker 1: had all those guys you just listed on my list
Speaker 1: as well, but I might disagree a little bit with
Speaker 1: Zach Bond. I think if he is there at thirty three,
Speaker 1: especially if guys like Kenneth Murray and Patrick Queen are
Speaker 1: already off the board, I think the Bengals have to
Speaker 1: move and take a guy because you need someone that
Speaker 1: can come in right away and be starting alongside Jermaine Pratt.
Speaker 1: So I have Zach Bond on my list. I also
Speaker 1: do have a receiver. I have Denzel Mims out of Baylor.
Speaker 1: I think he is a guy that could really come
Speaker 1: in year one, learn a lot from the other guys
Speaker 1: around him, and the Tyler Boyd aj green and then
Speaker 1: really be explosive and excel in a year or two.
Speaker 1: So couldn't be a little bit of a project. You
Speaker 1: did see him improve quite a bit over his time
Speaker 1: at Baylor. Did have two seasons where he went over
Speaker 1: the one thousand receiving yard mark. And he's really a
Speaker 1: guy that it's unique when he has that size at
Speaker 1: six foot three, but also has that speed. He ran
Speaker 1: a four three eight forty at the combine. I know
Speaker 1: this is a really deep receiver class, and as we're
Speaker 1: expected to have a decent amount of receivers go off
Speaker 1: the board in round one, if he's a guy that's
Speaker 1: there at thirty three, that could be a very tantalizing pick.
Speaker 1: Though I do stick by why I initially said. I
Speaker 1: do think it will be linebacker first pick in the
Speaker 1: second round. Did my thirteen year old son Sam share
Speaker 1: my notes with you two guys, because you're just stealing
Speaker 1: my material I have in order Patrick Queen. I choose
Speaker 1: him from the linebacker group because of his speed and
Speaker 1: sideline to sideline ability. I do think Murray is a
Speaker 1: great run stopper, but I think Queen might be a
Speaker 1: better guy in pass coverage, and that's become such a
Speaker 1: big priority now in the NFL. I favor Queen over Murray.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure that either one will be there. Zach
Speaker 1: Jon would be the third linebacker on my list of
Speaker 1: all the wide receivers. I did put down Denzel Mims
Speaker 1: a because I think there's a chance he'll be there,
Speaker 1: and B I want a big outside guy. Some people
Speaker 1: have suggested Justin Jefferson so that you compare Joe Burrow
Speaker 1: with one of his favorite targets from LSU, and there's
Speaker 1: some sense to that, but he's a slot guy. Tyler
Speaker 1: Boyd has signed long term. We don't know how much
Speaker 1: longer Aj Green will be with the team, at least
Speaker 1: right now. We'll talk about that in just a bit.
Speaker 1: Same is true of John Ross. So Denzel Mims intrigues
Speaker 1: me from the big, outside, speedy target perspective. I've got
Speaker 1: two other names written down that you haven't mentioned, and
Speaker 1: these are cornerbacks, and I'm sure some people are thinking, well, cornerback.
Speaker 1: Suddenly they're deep at cornerback. They've signed Trey Wayne's, they've
Speaker 1: signed McKenzie Alexander, they still have Will Jackson, they still
Speaker 1: have Darius Phillips. Well, Will Jackson's going into the last
Speaker 1: year of his deal. McKenzie. Alexander only signed a one
Speaker 1: year deal. You need depth at cornerback, and if you
Speaker 1: look at the Bengals history, they've drafted a lot of
Speaker 1: first round corners because of how they feel about the
Speaker 1: importance of the position. So I've written down two names
Speaker 1: of guys that might be there at the top of
Speaker 1: the second round. Jalen Johnson from Utah and AJ Terrell
Speaker 1: or Terrell I'm not sure how he pronounces his last
Speaker 1: name from Clemson. I'm intrigued by the cornerback group at
Speaker 1: the top of the second round. If the Bengals hold
Speaker 1: on to that pick, and let's talk about that now,
Speaker 1: I think at some point the Bengals are going to
Speaker 1: trade down for more picks. Morisso when do you think
Speaker 1: that will be? If you agree that the Bengals do
Speaker 1: it at some point, Dan, I'm with you. I do
Speaker 1: think it will happen at some point in this draft.
Speaker 1: It's so tough to try to predict something like this.
Speaker 1: A lot of people have speculated maybe they will trade
Speaker 1: back out of that spot at thirty three. I don't
Speaker 1: that's going to be the case. I think at that point,
Speaker 1: you still want to take the best player available, especially
Speaker 1: on the defensive side. I could see it more realistically
Speaker 1: happening maybe in the third or fourth rounds, potentially fifth,
Speaker 1: But I'm with you. I do think it'll happen at
Speaker 1: some point. Lap how soon to the Bengals trade down?
Speaker 1: What if? What if Jordan Love slides to the second round.
Speaker 1: What if Jordan Love on the first day does not
Speaker 1: get drafted and the Bengals are sitting there at thirty
Speaker 1: three and everybody that needs a quarterback is calling the
Speaker 1: Cincinnati Bengals because Jordan Love is on the board. What
Speaker 1: if Jerry Judy slides, Bengals probably take them. I agree,
Speaker 1: I think all these picks we're talking about at thirty
Speaker 1: three could happen. But if we all know they go
Speaker 1: by their board. You know, most teams in the league
Speaker 1: spend a lot of time putting together their top twenty five,
Speaker 1: top fifty, top one hundred, and if they have somebody
Speaker 1: that they had in the middle of the first round,
Speaker 1: no matter what position you're talking about other than quarterback,
Speaker 1: if you take them one with the first pick of
Speaker 1: the draft, you're gonna take that guy. So a wide
Speaker 1: receiver couldn't happen if one of the offensive tackles. There
Speaker 1: are four, in my mind, maybe five offensive tackles that
Speaker 1: are I mean, can't miss kind of guys. If one
Speaker 1: of those guys slides, you have to think about the
Speaker 1: offensive tackle. I mean, I think that it's it's gonna
Speaker 1: be who knows how this draft is gonna play out.
Speaker 1: There are a lot of good running backs. If a
Speaker 1: run on running backs happens in the first round, that's
Speaker 1: gonna be great for the Bengals. Somebody is gonna slide
Speaker 1: to thirty three, where they're gonna be a bunch of
Speaker 1: teams around the league saying, wow, when I reset my
Speaker 1: board after Day one, Holy mackle, that guy's still there.
Speaker 1: I got to try to move up to the first
Speaker 1: pick in the second round to get them. So I
Speaker 1: think it could happen. I think there's a possibility. And
Speaker 1: you know, if you don't have to trade back that far.
Speaker 1: All these guys were talking about, if you're at thirty
Speaker 1: three and you feel good that there are four viable
Speaker 1: options for you there at thirty three, don't hesitate to
Speaker 1: move back to thirty seven. You're still gonna get one
Speaker 1: of them, and you're gonna get an extra pick, So
Speaker 1: you know, unless there's a big disparity between some of
Speaker 1: these people were talking about where it's like, oh, I
Speaker 1: gotta take him. He's light years ahead of these other guys.
Speaker 1: But if you got a bunch, if you got a
Speaker 1: clump of six guys, you have a clump of eight guys,
Speaker 1: you'd feel good about move back. Moved back in a heartbeat.
Speaker 1: The other thing about, you know, being number one in
Speaker 1: every rounds, that's the scenario second and third round. In
Speaker 1: day two they're the first pick. Then in Day three,
Speaker 1: first pick in the fourth round. Look at how the
Speaker 1: Bengals have made moves in the fourth round themselves. First
Speaker 1: pick in the fourth round has a lot of value.
Speaker 1: They could they could be ring ring again. And the
Speaker 1: other thing, first pick in the seventh round. I think
Speaker 1: it's an advantage because you're done with the draft unless
Speaker 1: you've made trades. Now you can start calling college free agents.
Speaker 1: You got to jump on everybody else and it's grabbed
Speaker 1: the phones and it's a recruiting war, and you try
Speaker 1: to get a kid to commit to you, you know,
Speaker 1: even before other people are done drafting. So I think
Speaker 1: having the first pick in the seventh round. Depending on
Speaker 1: hau how all this plays out, could be a nice
Speaker 1: advantage as well in terms of college free agency. And
Speaker 1: you know, I mean, look at look at look at
Speaker 1: what they've they've done in college free agency, Vinnie Ray.
Speaker 1: You know, they just they signed a linebacker in this
Speaker 1: college free agent originally, and he's nine years in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Now he's playing with the Cincinnati Bengals after playing with
Speaker 1: the Baltimore Ravens and others. So, I mean, you can
Speaker 1: do damage in college free agency too. It's only seven
Speaker 1: rounds long. I mean if the draft back when Jim
Speaker 1: Cromer I was drafted tenth round pick, Bob trump E
Speaker 1: twelfth round pick, those guys wouldn't be drafted today, two
Speaker 1: of the greatest players in franchise history. That college free
Speaker 1: agency stuff is important. That the Bengals have done a
Speaker 1: good job at it here lately. Vanez perfect college free agent. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: absolutely so. I have said multiple times on this podcast
Speaker 1: that I have been predicting that the Bengals would trade
Speaker 1: down with the top pick of the second round in
Speaker 1: hopes of getting another high draft pick. I'm going to
Speaker 1: amend that slightly. I think if one of the top
Speaker 1: linebackers on their board, and I don't know how they've
Speaker 1: prioritized these guys. If it's Queen Murray, Bond, Murray, Queen,
Speaker 1: what Bond, whatever. But if one of the top linebackers,
Speaker 1: say number fifteen overall on their board, slides to the
Speaker 1: top of the second round, I think they go ahead
Speaker 1: and take him. After that, I think it's a real
Speaker 1: possibility that they'll trade down in the second round. I
Speaker 1: feel it's really likely that they'll do it in either
Speaker 1: the second or the third round. So I took a
Speaker 1: look at the old Jimmy Johnson draft chart to try
Speaker 1: to see what trading down at the top of the
Speaker 1: second round would get you. And this really applies to
Speaker 1: the top of the second round, top of the third round,
Speaker 1: top of the fourth round. It almost always equates in
Speaker 1: terms of points to another pick in that round and
Speaker 1: then a pick in the following round. So if you
Speaker 1: give up the first pick in the second round, at
Speaker 1: least according to the point chart, you're gonna get a
Speaker 1: second round pick and a third round pick. Now, I
Speaker 1: don't know if that's enough unless the second round pick
Speaker 1: is not a huge drop off and the third round
Speaker 1: pick is not at the end of the third round
Speaker 1: in the third round, I think you're a little bit
Speaker 1: more flexible. Maybe you would take a middle of the
Speaker 1: third round, middle of the fourth round kind of guy.
Speaker 1: I also took a look at all of the teams
Speaker 1: that have multiple second round picks. Indianapolis does, Houston? Does?
Speaker 1: The Bears? Do? The Ravens do the Dolphins do? So
Speaker 1: maybe there's a scenario where you could get two second
Speaker 1: round picks for the number one overall pick in the
Speaker 1: second round. That's I mean, the other team would be
Speaker 1: giving up a lot in order for that to happen.
Speaker 1: But if you got that offer, then I think it
Speaker 1: increases the likelihood that you would give up the first
Speaker 1: pick in the second round. Lap if it were Jordan Love,
Speaker 1: though I were a quarterback that slived, you know, a
Speaker 1: Christmas deal for the Bengals. Jordan Loves slides to thirty three.
Speaker 1: You may be able to get not only picks this year,
Speaker 1: but next year's draft. You may get next year's second
Speaker 1: round pick and third round pick along with this year's
Speaker 1: second round pick. If it's further back down, like you said,
Speaker 1: like I was saying before, you know, if you have
Speaker 1: to go down, your point is valid. In my opinion,
Speaker 1: Dan the same. I wouldn't make the trade back. If
Speaker 1: if there's somebody that you had rated in the middle
Speaker 1: of the first round, no matter what position, basically other
Speaker 1: than quarterback, you'd probably take it with that thirty third pick.
Speaker 1: But if you were to field calls, I wouldn't go
Speaker 1: back any further than if I feel good about a
Speaker 1: handful of guys. Don't go back any further than five picks.
Speaker 1: Don't go back past thirty eight, you know, if you
Speaker 1: don't get additional picks. So I would, I don't know,
Speaker 1: It's it's interesting. I would. I would field every call, man,
Speaker 1: I would do my due diligence and every one of them.
Speaker 1: That's gonna be the interesting thing with this zoom that's
Speaker 1: going on. How will that retard some of this? A
Speaker 1: phone calls? A phone call, I don't think. I don't
Speaker 1: think it should affect trades all that much anyway, because
Speaker 1: trades are done by phone. You know, teams are calling
Speaker 1: each other on their on their phones. I mean they'll
Speaker 1: they'll have setup and that that's an interesting dynamic too,
Speaker 1: because I know right now it people all around the
Speaker 1: league are going to various houses of head coaches owners,
Speaker 1: general managers, who has the best WiFi, who has the
Speaker 1: best set up, what's going to be ground zero? That's
Speaker 1: being determined by everybody now. And it's interesting. Everybody's everybody's
Speaker 1: worried about people hacking, you know, their systems and everything,
Speaker 1: and that's a that's a legitimate concern. The other concern
Speaker 1: is somebody says, oh, man, I'm working on a trade,
Speaker 1: but I need more time. They call I have a glitch,
Speaker 1: something's wrong in my system, you know, just to try
Speaker 1: to buy more time and be able to consummate the trade.
Speaker 1: I think a lot of that's going to be tough
Speaker 1: to police. There's gonna be some interesting dynamics through this
Speaker 1: whole thing as as it unfolds. On a pick I
Speaker 1: picked basis, I think you made a good point earlier
Speaker 1: than the Lap in that since the Bengals have the
Speaker 1: first overall pick in the second round and the first
Speaker 1: overall pick in the third round, you do have the
Speaker 1: night to discuss that with other teams. So that's a
Speaker 1: case where you are not trying to get this done
Speaker 1: in a short crunch. They'll have the opportunity after the
Speaker 1: first round is settled for all the teams to look
Speaker 1: at their boards and then negotiate with anybody that might
Speaker 1: be interested in making a trade. So I do think
Speaker 1: having the first pick after a night to think about
Speaker 1: it is advantageous when it comes to try to pull
Speaker 1: off a deal, right, I agree. I think other teams though,
Speaker 1: if you're you know, you're all of a sudden somebody
Speaker 1: makes a trade and moves in a different position and
Speaker 1: it totally changed the dynamic of the round. Then you're
Speaker 1: calling see if you can. I just wonder how as
Speaker 1: it unfolds. And I agree with you when you have
Speaker 1: a full twelve hours or whatever to you know, to
Speaker 1: set yourself. But during the course of the round, I
Speaker 1: wonder how it's going to affect. I wonder if there'll
Speaker 1: be as many trade calls as there have been in
Speaker 1: the past. It's going to be interesting, all right. You
Speaker 1: are listening to and watching our first ever live edition
Speaker 1: of the Bengals Booth podcast that is presented by Prime Sport,
Speaker 1: the official fan, travel and hospitality partner of the Cincinnati Bengals,
Speaker 1: and we will take questions from you before we are finished. Honestly,
Speaker 1: the easiest way to do that is descended to me
Speaker 1: via Twitter. My Twitter handle is Dan underscore hoard ho
Speaker 1: ar d. Some people have already sent some in. You
Speaker 1: can continue to do so, and we will get to
Speaker 1: some questions from our viewers and listeners in just a bit.
Speaker 1: Let's transition to free agency. The Bengals have obviously made
Speaker 1: a huge splash in free agency, signing eight players, spending
Speaker 1: more than one hundred thirty million dollars. That's a new
Speaker 1: all time high enfranchise history. MORESSA. I'll let you go
Speaker 1: first with this one. Who was the best free agent
Speaker 1: acquisition and who do you consider to be the most underrated?
Speaker 1: For me? No brainer, the best acquisition was DJ Reader.
Speaker 1: He was one of the tops in the league for
Speaker 1: interior defensive lineman in stopping the run. I believe he
Speaker 1: was third according to the Pro Football Focused rankings. You
Speaker 1: lose a guy like Andrew Billings, you absolutely had to
Speaker 1: fill that need. They gave him the money they paid
Speaker 1: him for a reason, and not only do I love
Speaker 1: what he brings on the field, but he's one of
Speaker 1: those guys that Zach Taylor wants to bring in because
Speaker 1: he's a high character guy who was the Houston Texans
Speaker 1: Walter Peyton Man of the Year nominee last season. There's
Speaker 1: a lot in the community, so he's going to be
Speaker 1: a great asset both on and off the field and
Speaker 1: in the locker room for this team. My most underrated addition,
Speaker 1: I'm actually going to go with Mike Thomas wide receiver
Speaker 1: from the Rams. He has that relationship with Zach Taylor
Speaker 1: worked with him over the course of a couple of seasons,
Speaker 1: so he should be somewhat familiar with the offensive mind
Speaker 1: and scheme that Zach likes to run, and I think
Speaker 1: he's going to be a big asset for this team
Speaker 1: on special teams, especially with losses like Clayton Federlum and
Speaker 1: Tony mcgrey. Mike Thomas comes in as a gunner. He
Speaker 1: has the speed, he will provide a little bit of
Speaker 1: depth at the receiver position, though he didn't see much
Speaker 1: time with the Rams, only had ten career receptions just
Speaker 1: two a season ago, so he should really be an
Speaker 1: impact on special teams. We know how important the special
Speaker 1: teams unit is here in Cincinnati, especially a guy like
Speaker 1: Darren simm And, so I am going with Mike Thomas
Speaker 1: as my most underrated player. If it was the Saints
Speaker 1: version of Michael Thomas, it really would have been an
Speaker 1: underrated pick Gun, same questions for you, lap Well, I
Speaker 1: think the best acquisition. I agree with Mercy. It's almost
Speaker 1: it's almost hard to argue. DJ Reader paid him over
Speaker 1: fifty million bucks. He's going to be a three down guy,
Speaker 1: you know. And he's going to be a three down
Speaker 1: guy playing multiple positions. He can play nose tackle if
Speaker 1: you're lining up in a three to four, he can
Speaker 1: play a one technique or a three technique if you're
Speaker 1: playing with four down lineman. He gives you a position
Speaker 1: versus Gilathy. He can even kick out and play some
Speaker 1: defensive end. He stays on his feet, he chases every play.
Speaker 1: He penetrates the pocket on the interior. I think he's
Speaker 1: one of those guys that is going to make life
Speaker 1: easier for Geno Atkins, and I think it has to
Speaker 1: be made easier for Geno Atkins. Geno Atkins kind of
Speaker 1: died in the vine last year. Physically, Gino is at
Speaker 1: the stage of his career where you know he's maybe
Speaker 1: a thirty snap a game guy. Now you know he's
Speaker 1: more of a third down guy. I would I would
Speaker 1: make Geno Atkins almost a third down player now if
Speaker 1: I can figure out a way to do it. And
Speaker 1: that's why I think they're going to address the defensive
Speaker 1: line a little bit in the draft, in college free
Speaker 1: agency as well. But reader, I think is gonna make
Speaker 1: life easier. I think, uh Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap there,
Speaker 1: their snaps should be decreased. They're at that stage of
Speaker 1: their career where they're gonna wear down every year. If
Speaker 1: you if you played too many snaps with those guys
Speaker 1: in terms of the player that is the most unsung
Speaker 1: or whatever what was your term for it, dan, underrated, underrated? Okay,
Speaker 1: you know I'm gonna say Alexander in the slot I
Speaker 1: think is a big acquisition for them, not only in
Speaker 1: coverage but being on the field for like one hundred
Speaker 1: and twenty one hundred and forty run snaps. Whatever. It
Speaker 1: wasn't never missing a tackle, that's big. That was a big,
Speaker 1: big problem last year. A lot of miss tackles on
Speaker 1: the perimeter in the secondary. You know, plays that should
Speaker 1: have been big plays turned into big plays because of
Speaker 1: miss tackles. The other one I'm going to give an
Speaker 1: honorable mention to her. A second nod would be Josh
Speaker 1: Bines because you know, to me, what the Bank. We
Speaker 1: talked about this before. The first thing you have to
Speaker 1: do to improve your defense is right up the middle,
Speaker 1: like in baseball, catcher shortstop, center field, Catcher's DJ Reader shortstop,
Speaker 1: Josh Bines center field Von Bell. And then they helped
Speaker 1: right and left field as well, you know, with the cornerbacks,
Speaker 1: and I mean they did a great job improving their defense.
Speaker 1: But Josh Bines, the linebacker position needs a leader. Josh
Speaker 1: Bines has been to the Super Bowl as a college
Speaker 1: free agent, not drafted, ninth year in the league, played
Speaker 1: on playoff teams, played on a super Bowl team. If
Speaker 1: I'm a rookie linebacker, I'm listening to this dude. This
Speaker 1: dude has instantaneous credibility to me. I mean, he's got
Speaker 1: a resume, he's got some NFL DNA to him. I
Speaker 1: think he's gonna, you know, almost automatically become kind of
Speaker 1: like the leader of the linebacker room. So I look
Speaker 1: at that and like Marissa talked about, and I feel
Speaker 1: the same way, Zach. It's about culture. I think Josh
Speaker 1: Bines will up the anti culture wise because of he
Speaker 1: knows what it's supposed to look like. He played on
Speaker 1: a super Bowl team, a lot of these guys have
Speaker 1: come to the Bengals from playoff teams. They know what
Speaker 1: it's supposed to look like. They've experienced that kind of success.
Speaker 1: They knew what they had to do, the sacrifices they
Speaker 1: had to make to get there. All that builds your culture.
Speaker 1: So I give him a little nod too. In terms
Speaker 1: of culture building, I agree that the most important and
Speaker 1: the best free agent acquisition was DJ Reader. It's a
Speaker 1: no brainer. Four years, fifty three million bucks, Pro Football Focus.
Speaker 1: His top five rated defensive tackles last year were Aaron Donald,
Speaker 1: He's good. Yeah, he's good. Cam Hayward, I know how
Speaker 1: you feel about him, Lab Yep, Grady, Jarrett Stefan too it,
Speaker 1: DJ Reader? How about getting a guy from that list
Speaker 1: stronger than Row really strong. He's twenty six years old,
Speaker 1: so you're getting him in his prime, Pro Bowl alternate
Speaker 1: just a tremendous edition. And he was the number one
Speaker 1: player the Bengals targeted in free agency. I know, going
Speaker 1: into it, a lot of us thought, well, what linebacker
Speaker 1: are they going to try to sign? And they did
Speaker 1: try to sign some of the better linebackers available, but
Speaker 1: they targeted DJ Reader as the number one guy that
Speaker 1: they wanted to sign and they were able to get
Speaker 1: their man, which is saying a lot. And then I
Speaker 1: would also say in the underrated category, I really like
Speaker 1: McKenzie Alexander for a couple of reasons. Number one, I
Speaker 1: think slot corners are underappreciated in general. NFL teams had
Speaker 1: three wide receivers on the field last year sixty four
Speaker 1: percent of the time, so that slot corner is going
Speaker 1: to be on the field about two thirds of the
Speaker 1: time depending on your defense. So you've got to have
Speaker 1: a good one. They had a good one in Darquez Denard,
Speaker 1: but he was injury prone throughout his Bengals tenure. Hopefully
Speaker 1: mackenzie Alexander will be able to stay healthy throughout the
Speaker 1: course of the season. He did last year and he
Speaker 1: did not have a mis tackle all of last year. So,
Speaker 1: as Lap pointed out, you've got to have corners that
Speaker 1: can tackle. I think they got a couple of them
Speaker 1: in Trey Wayne's and McKenzie Alexander, and the value that
Speaker 1: was great. Unfortunately telling me a one year deal. See,
Speaker 1: you may be trying to sign up again at the
Speaker 1: end of the year, but to get him a really
Speaker 1: good slot corner for four million bucks when Chris Harris
Speaker 1: is getting eight and a half million as a free
Speaker 1: agent to play the slot, that's a tremendous edition in
Speaker 1: my opinion, I agree with you, Dan, and back to
Speaker 1: DJ Reader for second. Nick Eason deserves a big tip
Speaker 1: of the cap and a big salute because he was
Speaker 1: instrumental in recruitment of DJ Reader, being a Clemson grad.
Speaker 1: DJ Reader. Unfortunately his dad has passed, but Nick knows
Speaker 1: the mother exceptionally well, has a relationship there. I mean,
Speaker 1: they've been he's been friends of that family for quite
Speaker 1: a while. And there's another guy that basically, you know
Speaker 1: a lot of people in the league saying the DJ Reader,
Speaker 1: why would you go to a two and fourteen football team?
Speaker 1: You know, do you have better options? Jonathan Joseph former
Speaker 1: Bengal teammate Houston Texans. He was supposedly pretty instrumental in
Speaker 1: DJ Reader's decision. You talked very possible to be positively
Speaker 1: about the Bengals organization, the experience that he had here
Speaker 1: in the city of Cincinnati, and everything goes along with it.
Speaker 1: So how about Jonathan and Joseph JJO helping out a
Speaker 1: little bit. Let's talk about free agency in general. As
Speaker 1: I mentioned the Bengals shelling out more than one hundred
Speaker 1: and thirty million bucks. That doesn't even count the franchise
Speaker 1: tag for aj Green of nearly eighteen million dollars lap.
Speaker 1: Why do you think the Bengals took this unprecedented plunge
Speaker 1: into free agency. You know a lot of fans are
Speaker 1: going to say, how the Reds did it? So the
Speaker 1: Bengals had to do it, you know, I mean, if
Speaker 1: they want to compete in the city of Cincinnati. The
Speaker 1: Reds laid it all on the line. And the coronavirus
Speaker 1: is upset that apple cart a little bit, unfortunately for
Speaker 1: the Reds, and hopefully it won't upset the Bengals apple
Speaker 1: cart all that much. We'll have to see, But honestly,
Speaker 1: I think that that you know, had to make the
Speaker 1: improvements off a two and fourteen season. You had to
Speaker 1: make improvements. You had to read do and reboot the
Speaker 1: football team. And I think the other thing is last
Speaker 1: year tough to do because Zach was hired kind of
Speaker 1: late in the process. A coaching staff came late to
Speaker 1: the table, so they had to basically evaluate the players
Speaker 1: that they were going to inherit on the current roster
Speaker 1: before even getting the free agency. They were just a
Speaker 1: little late. I mean, it wasn't it wasn't an easy
Speaker 1: smooth thing to get done. The timing of it was just,
Speaker 1: you know, not there. Unfortunately, now with a year under
Speaker 1: their belt and having the two and fourteen season, the
Speaker 1: coaches know exactly what they have and don't have, and
Speaker 1: I think you know, they had plenty of time to
Speaker 1: evaluate the players that played on that two and fourteen
Speaker 1: season for them. And then how about getting the chance
Speaker 1: to coaching the Senior Bowl. If there's a better year
Speaker 1: to coach and the Senior Bowl, I don't know what
Speaker 1: it is. This year is unbelievable. To have sixty guys
Speaker 1: down there from both teams that you were interviewing one team,
Speaker 1: one group of players you're practicing with every day and
Speaker 1: seeing everything about him on and off the field. You
Speaker 1: have any meetings with the North team whenever you want
Speaker 1: to and find out about all these players. And it
Speaker 1: got the coaching staff, like Zach was talking about on
Speaker 1: his press conference earlier this week, it got the coaching
Speaker 1: staff in the scouting mode early because they're right there,
Speaker 1: hands on scouting these guys at the Senior Bowl. The
Speaker 1: scouts have done it all year long, but now the
Speaker 1: coaching staff gets a big leg up on it. And
Speaker 1: here in Cincinnati, the coaches have a big, big influence
Speaker 1: in the in the draft. I don't think it's as
Speaker 1: big a deal for other teams to be zooming and
Speaker 1: all that sort of thing as it is in Cincinnati
Speaker 1: because a lot of coaches I talked to around the league,
Speaker 1: they're not in the draft room. They may get invited
Speaker 1: in the draft room if their position is going to
Speaker 1: be drafted, and Okay, we know we're going to draft
Speaker 1: this receiver, let's get the receiver coach. He has no influence,
Speaker 1: but he's just there when the guy's picked to talk
Speaker 1: to him or whatever. So the BENGALU coaching staff is
Speaker 1: utilized in a different way. So I think for them
Speaker 1: to get an early start like they did, you know,
Speaker 1: on the scouting and you know, I think that was
Speaker 1: a huge positive as well. Everything that went along with
Speaker 1: the Bengals for an advantage in the Senior Bowl is
Speaker 1: going to be a help. Plus the fact that they
Speaker 1: had time to evaluate their talent, other free agent talent,
Speaker 1: and make decisions and spend some dough and they did it.
Speaker 1: Marissa why do you think they spent so much? Again,
Speaker 1: I agree with what Laf's sentiment is. This team had
Speaker 1: a number of positions that they needed to improve upon,
Speaker 1: and that's exactly what they had to do coming out
Speaker 1: here in free agency, and especially addressing the defense, which
Speaker 1: they absolutely did with six new editions on that side
Speaker 1: of the ball. Zach Taylor has said, and he told
Speaker 1: us again yesterday, that this team is committed to winning
Speaker 1: and they want to win now. And I think they've
Speaker 1: done a really nice job of bringing in the pieces
Speaker 1: that they see fit and that won't make that impact immediately.
Speaker 1: I believe all of us were expecting this type of
Speaker 1: roster turnover going into year two of Zach Taylor and
Speaker 1: this coaching staff for laught those reasons that you pointed
Speaker 1: out last year. Because the coaching staff was brought in
Speaker 1: so late into the game, they didn't really get that
Speaker 1: chance to make as big of an impact in free
Speaker 1: agency as they would have liked to a year ago.
Speaker 1: And that commitment to winning and bringing in those guys
Speaker 1: that you're going to see fit, I really think this
Speaker 1: was the year that they had to go out and
Speaker 1: spend money and really show the fan base that we
Speaker 1: are here. We want to win in twenty twenty, There's
Speaker 1: no question they want to fill Paul Brown Stadium again.
Speaker 1: And we know we can remember when the Jungle was
Speaker 1: truly rocking fifty seven consecutive sellouts to Paul Brown Stadium
Speaker 1: from two thousand and three to two ten, forty three
Speaker 1: consecutive sellouts at Riverfront Stadium from eighty eight to ninety two.
Speaker 1: There are tremendous football fans in Cincinnati. They want to
Speaker 1: be excited about this team, and I think the free
Speaker 1: agent expended have definitely generated a lot of excitement. I
Speaker 1: don't think that was the primary motivation, but I do
Speaker 1: think it helps where that is concerned. I will throw
Speaker 1: in one other thing, strike while the iron is hot.
Speaker 1: When you have the flexibility of a starting quarterback in
Speaker 1: his first contract, So assuming that Joe burrows the pick,
Speaker 1: he's gonna get roughly thirty seven million bucks in the
Speaker 1: first four years of his rookie contract. That's about nine
Speaker 1: point two five million a year, roughly half of what
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton was scheduled to make this season. So you're
Speaker 1: gonna have payroll flexibility under the cap for four years.
Speaker 1: When Joe Burrows in his rookie contract and it's the
Speaker 1: ideal time to spend money in free agency. So I
Speaker 1: think the Bengals anticipated that and as I said, struck
Speaker 1: while the iron was hot. I agreed Dan, and I
Speaker 1: think also free agency is all about recruiting and it's
Speaker 1: all about relationships. And like we said earlier, they wanted
Speaker 1: to bring in guys from winning programs. They want to
Speaker 1: increase you know, that atmosphere in the locker room for
Speaker 1: their culture. So it's culture and it's recruiting connections culture
Speaker 1: and connections Easton connection with DJ reader Zach coach, the receiver,
Speaker 1: defensive backfield coach, coach one of the DBS. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's like they know what these guys are. They've coached what,
Speaker 1: They've had them in their in their meeting room, they've
Speaker 1: had them on the football field, they've seen what they've
Speaker 1: they're like as human beings. So when you have new coaches,
Speaker 1: you know it took a year to get it. They're
Speaker 1: all put together, but they have different tentacles to different
Speaker 1: organizations and know these guys intimately. Well, they know better
Speaker 1: than just reading their stats, you know, off of some
Speaker 1: kind of a sheet. They know exactly what these people
Speaker 1: are all about. So I take tip my cap to them.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's not the Cincinnati Bengals two and fourteen record.
Speaker 1: You know, you look at that and as teammates, players
Speaker 1: will say to their teammates, what do you want to
Speaker 1: go there for? They were two and fourteen Cincinnati? What
Speaker 1: does that city have. It's not New York, it's not Miami,
Speaker 1: it's not Atlanta, it's not this. It's not that I'm
Speaker 1: telling you. I've heard it. I've heard it for many years.
Speaker 1: I mean, recruiting players to come to Cincinnati's as we know,
Speaker 1: it's the best kept secret probably in the country. It's
Speaker 1: a great city, but it does not have the panash
Speaker 1: that a lot of these other big cities have where
Speaker 1: players think, endorsements, opportunities, all this. So a two and
Speaker 1: fourteen record and combine that with a small Midwestern city
Speaker 1: of Cincinnati, that's that's tough, tough recruiting. And they did it,
Speaker 1: and they got a lot of a lot of key
Speaker 1: players to commit and to come to Cincinnati. So I
Speaker 1: took my cap to them. I think it's a hell
Speaker 1: of an accomplishment. All right, A couple more questions from
Speaker 1: me before we get to questions from our social media
Speaker 1: A followers lap will aj Green sign an extension by
Speaker 1: the deadline July fifteenth. I don't know if he'll sign
Speaker 1: an extension, but he'll be with the team. I mean,
Speaker 1: I'd love to see him sign the extension. Hopefully the
Speaker 1: extension would be less of a salary cap hit than
Speaker 1: the eighteen million dollars you know, tag. But depending on
Speaker 1: how many years and how big the bonus is and
Speaker 1: the pro ration and all that sort of thing, you
Speaker 1: really don't know. But I will say this, I don't
Speaker 1: think aj Green's signing a long term contract before July
Speaker 1: fifteenth or not will have no bearing on if they
Speaker 1: take a receiver in the draft. I think they take
Speaker 1: a receiver no matter what, if they feel like that
Speaker 1: receiver is the best player to take on their board.
Speaker 1: The aj Green situation is a separate deal. They're not commingled.
Speaker 1: They're not in the same pot whatsoever. In my opinion,
Speaker 1: so many great receivers in this draft, sooner or later
Speaker 1: they're going to pounce on at least one. Where do
Speaker 1: you think, Marissa deal or no deal by July fifteenth, Dan,
Speaker 1: I'm not optimistic about this. We're in such a unique
Speaker 1: situation right now, not only across the world in the
Speaker 1: sports world, with this coronavirus pandemic happening, It's just such
Speaker 1: a different time. We don't know when this is going
Speaker 1: to end, when the team will be back together. I
Speaker 1: just think it would be very difficult for a deal
Speaker 1: to get done by that point. Do the Bengals want
Speaker 1: it to happen. Absolutely, you want to be able to
Speaker 1: sign Aj Green to a long term deal. I'm just
Speaker 1: not optimistic that it will get done before July fifteenth.
Speaker 1: I don't know what Aj Green is asking for. Does
Speaker 1: he want Julio Jones money. He kind of implied in
Speaker 1: one of our interview sessions with him late in the
Speaker 1: year that he wasn't necessarily expecting that. Julio Jones is
Speaker 1: now the highest paid wide receiver in the NFL three years,
Speaker 1: sixty six million bucks. You can't pay Aj Green twenty
Speaker 1: two million dollars a year after he hasn't played the
Speaker 1: last year and a half. Amari Cooper just got twenty
Speaker 1: million a year, Michael Thomas nineteen point two five million,
Speaker 1: OBJ gets eighteen million a year, Tyreek Hill gets eighteen
Speaker 1: million a year. AJ's about to get seventeen point eight
Speaker 1: six five as a franchise tag free agent. So is
Speaker 1: he looking for that kind of money over a three
Speaker 1: year deal? My guess is he probably wants something at
Speaker 1: least near the bottom of the top five eighteen million
Speaker 1: a year. Are you willing to go that high for
Speaker 1: somebody that, unfortunately has had injuries the last year and
Speaker 1: a half? I don't know if he came in a
Speaker 1: little bit lower than that. I think Michael Evans gets
Speaker 1: sixteen million a year. Would you give aj Green that
Speaker 1: much per year over a three year deal? Maybe, based
Speaker 1: on what you think he's still capable of and what
Speaker 1: he's meant to the franchise, But if he wants, you know,
Speaker 1: something closer to twenty million dollars a year, Unfortunately, I
Speaker 1: can't take the plunge just because I haven't seen him
Speaker 1: play for the last fast year and a half. Oh,
Speaker 1: I was just going to add, not only have you
Speaker 1: not seen him playing the last year and a half,
Speaker 1: you don't know exactly how that ankle looks. Because you
Speaker 1: and have an opportunity to get him in the building
Speaker 1: for OTAs or mini camps, depending on how long this
Speaker 1: is going to happen and go on. Well, I saw
Speaker 1: him up in Cleveland last year, warming up or doing
Speaker 1: his workouts with the trainers before the game. He looked
Speaker 1: like he could help watching that workout. I'll tell you what.
Speaker 1: And based on that, and I know he's a hell
Speaker 1: of a lot better now than he was then. And
Speaker 1: I looked at Bob Bicknell, we were both watching, I said,
Speaker 1: are you kidding me? This guy? This guy could go
Speaker 1: out there and help us today against the Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 1: Don't you think he's just shaking his head laughing. He
Speaker 1: is still an elite athlete. I personally think he's gonna
Speaker 1: light it up this year if he comes back on
Speaker 1: a franchise tag. He's got unbelievable pride. Unbelieved every pro
Speaker 1: athlete took. But AJ Green is one of these guys
Speaker 1: that is quiet. But he may be the most prideful
Speaker 1: player I think I've ever met, or in that top category.
Speaker 1: I think he comes back in the light sit up
Speaker 1: in that franchise tag year if that's the case. And
Speaker 1: I should point out that the Bengals would then be
Speaker 1: able conceivably to sign him at the end of the year.
Speaker 1: But as a franchise tag player, you either get the
Speaker 1: deal done an extension done by July fifteenth, or he
Speaker 1: has to play out the season before you can try
Speaker 1: to sign him to an extension. So that's why that
Speaker 1: July fifteenth date is significant. One more question for me
Speaker 1: then questions from the audience and Lap. We will direct
Speaker 1: this question just to you because of your expertise where
Speaker 1: the topic is concerned. What is your confidence level for
Speaker 1: this offensive line? I think that they will address the
Speaker 1: offensive line somewhere in the draft now, in my opinion,
Speaker 1: looking at the lineman in this draft, the top of
Speaker 1: the aft out there's four or five really good tackles
Speaker 1: and they'll go pretty much in the first round. If
Speaker 1: one slides to thirty three, you know, you may have
Speaker 1: there may be a temptation, but then I wouldn't. There's
Speaker 1: not really any need to do anything until in the
Speaker 1: Bengal situation, maybe the fourth round because they have the
Speaker 1: first pick of the fourth round, because I think there
Speaker 1: are guys like in the third, fourth and fifth round.
Speaker 1: But I'm not sure at the top of the third
Speaker 1: round because that's that's a late too basically. But I
Speaker 1: do have I do have confidence. I think I think
Speaker 1: Xavier Fielo will will help this football team. He has
Speaker 1: a nasty streak about him. I mean he he fits
Speaker 1: what they're doing with this pin and pull stuff. He's
Speaker 1: very good, uh that way, I think he's gonna have
Speaker 1: an Impactum, I think Fred Johnson, don't forget about Fred Johnson.
Speaker 1: You know obviously that you know, he came He came
Speaker 1: on real strong during the course of the at the
Speaker 1: end of the season had had a couple of starts.
Speaker 1: You know, I think he's gonna be He's gonna be
Speaker 1: one to monitor for sure. And then obviously, you know,
Speaker 1: you look at it. Jonah Williams wasn't able to play
Speaker 1: a snap. And it not not just the offensive line,
Speaker 1: but that's where talking to Jonah Williams and Xavier that's
Speaker 1: forty percent of the offensive line. That's two fists of
Speaker 1: it right there. Those two guys are projected Pennsylvania as
Speaker 1: starters that didn't take a snap for the Cincinnati Bengals
Speaker 1: last season. And you know, if I'm an offensive lineman
Speaker 1: and this is the way I approached it every year anyway,
Speaker 1: whether you started the year before or not, unless you're
Speaker 1: Anthony Muno's and you're a perennial Pro bowler and you're
Speaker 1: a future Hall of Famer. You got to think you
Speaker 1: have to earn your position every single training camp, and
Speaker 1: I know with Jim Turner as the line coach, that's
Speaker 1: the way it's going to be. You know, nobody. I
Speaker 1: don't think he's going to be ordained necessarily, but potentially
Speaker 1: you've got two new starters in there. Uh. You know,
Speaker 1: you've got a guy who in a couple of instances
Speaker 1: I saw get Pro Bowl nod Trey Hopkins at the
Speaker 1: center position. Michael Jordan, you know, had had his moments,
Speaker 1: but I think he learned a lot. He's a very
Speaker 1: young lineman. I think, you know, he's just gotta know
Speaker 1: where his arrow is going to go straight up. Fred
Speaker 1: Johnson Bobby Hart at the right tackle position. There may
Speaker 1: be a nice battle there, depending on who and what
Speaker 1: they draft. There's not a great number of guys at
Speaker 1: the guard position, particularly early the guard out the position
Speaker 1: I don't I don't think would be drafted until addressed
Speaker 1: until very late in the draft. But I have more
Speaker 1: confidence watching the offensive line and Jim Turner adapt like
Speaker 1: they did when they were struggling so mightily to run
Speaker 1: the football to junk at all and to say we're
Speaker 1: gonna change our schematic totally, and we're instead of an
Speaker 1: inside outside zone team, we're gonna be a pin and
Speaker 1: poll team. And to execute it the way they did,
Speaker 1: and to finish six in the NFL and rushing the
Speaker 1: second half of the season and then all of a
Speaker 1: sudden it was easier to pass protect. So am I
Speaker 1: saying that it's a premier group. No? Am I saying
Speaker 1: that that it could be better than people think it
Speaker 1: might be. Yeah, I am. It's all about Jannah Williams,
Speaker 1: isn't it If he's the guy he thought he was
Speaker 1: when he was the eleventh pick in the draft last year,
Speaker 1: a lot falls into place, no question. I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: you look, you look at this football team. The defense
Speaker 1: was addressed, but offensively, not just in the offensive line,
Speaker 1: but Jonah Williams at left tackle, jariously Joe Burrow, quarterback
Speaker 1: AJ Green, and wide receiver. None of those guys took
Speaker 1: a snap last year, none of them due to injury
Speaker 1: or being in college. So those are three very important
Speaker 1: positions on this football team. And they're gonna be manned
Speaker 1: by guys that did not take a single snap last
Speaker 1: season for the Cincinnati Bengals. It's gonna be a different
Speaker 1: look at offense right there alone. All right, a few
Speaker 1: questions from the audience via social media. I probably waited
Speaker 1: too long to get to these. I apologize, but I
Speaker 1: imagine we'll be doing this again at some point and
Speaker 1: we'll get the hang of the timing forgetting two audience questions.
Speaker 1: I've got a bunch of questions relating to possibly trading
Speaker 1: down from number one overall, So I'll condense it into
Speaker 1: a question from b Burrow PU R R E A
Speaker 1: U X. What would it take for the Bengals to
Speaker 1: move out on the top spot, Marissa, I'll give this
Speaker 1: one to you, Dan. I know I mentioned it briefly
Speaker 1: towards the top of but I think it's going to
Speaker 1: take a lot, and I think it's going to be
Speaker 1: more than someone saying, oh, what if Miami offers their
Speaker 1: first three rounders this year? If you are that sold,
Speaker 1: I'm Joe Burrow being your franchise guy. It's going to
Speaker 1: take a haul. I would say Miami's three first rounders
Speaker 1: this year plus two a day tional picks in future years,
Speaker 1: whether that's two second rounders or potentially even more, it's
Speaker 1: going to take a lot. And I just don't see
Speaker 1: it happening, lap, is there a price? I think if
Speaker 1: Mike Dicker returns, if if if Mike Dicka would return, possibly,
Speaker 1: you know, because he was giving up his whole draft
Speaker 1: for Ricky Williams. But I really, I really don't. I
Speaker 1: really don't think so. And if somebody like I've said,
Speaker 1: there's a bunch of times Miami or whoever else it is,
Speaker 1: if they're giving up that kind of capital, draft capital,
Speaker 1: you have to ask yourself, what do they know that
Speaker 1: we don't. Why are they given all that up to
Speaker 1: get the guy that we can get. Why don't we
Speaker 1: just make it simple, don't overcomplicate this. We know what
Speaker 1: we got, Let's draft him. Yeah, I'm with you. And
Speaker 1: I was listening to Doug Gottlieb's show the other day
Speaker 1: and he was doing this big spiel about how the
Speaker 1: Bengals have multiple needs and they should trade down and
Speaker 1: get more picks from my ami Miami has multiple needs.
Speaker 1: I mean, why does that apply to the Bengals and
Speaker 1: not apply to the Dolphins. I can't figure that out
Speaker 1: when people keep talking about, oh, the Bengals have to
Speaker 1: trade down and get a bunch of first round picks.
Speaker 1: They've got needs. Sure, they've got needs. The Dolphins have
Speaker 1: needs too. The number one need is to get the
Speaker 1: best quarterback available. There you go, yeah, you've got that opportunity.
Speaker 1: I think you take advantage of it, all right. Our
Speaker 1: next question comes from coach k all Day. Excellent Twitter,
Speaker 1: handle lap, throw this one your way. How likely is
Speaker 1: that that the Bengals will sign Will Jackson to an extension? Well,
Speaker 1: that's a This is a big year for Will Jackson.
Speaker 1: You know. The one thing the fly in the ointment
Speaker 1: in my opinion at this stage, and my observation of
Speaker 1: Will Jackson is lack of ability to find the football.
Speaker 1: Will Jackson can run, he can cover, but in a
Speaker 1: lot of instances, he does not find the ball as
Speaker 1: easily as you think he might be able to. And
Speaker 1: you know, it's that's something that can be taught, can
Speaker 1: be learned, but it's something that you know, the real
Speaker 1: great ones when they talk about ball skills, not just
Speaker 1: catching the football, finding the football, and for as much
Speaker 1: talent as he has, is not secured the pig very often.
Speaker 1: I mean, he has the big pick six against Brett Farr,
Speaker 1: the highlight of his career, but you know, I finding
Speaker 1: the football, making plays on the football, and then honestly,
Speaker 1: like we talked about before, improving that tackling, you know,
Speaker 1: get people on the ground. You don't necessarily have to
Speaker 1: blow people up, but get him on the ground. So
Speaker 1: I think this is a big year for him. And
Speaker 1: the fact that they addressed cornerback in free agency like
Speaker 1: they did and in your model, Dan, if there's a
Speaker 1: cornerback that slides, they may take a thirty three potentially
Speaker 1: if they do that. If I'm Will Jackson, it's like
Speaker 1: bring it. You know what, in competition breeds excellence. In
Speaker 1: competition should breed excellence, and nobody should be fearful or
Speaker 1: you know, afraid of competition. That's what it's all about.
Speaker 1: All right, one more question from the audience, And again
Speaker 1: this is a compilation of a wide variety of questions.
Speaker 1: People have asked in general terms, what's going to happen
Speaker 1: to this guy? Others are asking me will he be
Speaker 1: traded overnight during the draft between rounds? Between rounds one
Speaker 1: and two? And the person I'm talking about is Andy Dalton?
Speaker 1: What is going to happen with Andy Dalton? Marissa, you go,
Speaker 1: first question of the hour, right, Dan, I think it's
Speaker 1: surprised a number of people that he has not been
Speaker 1: traded to this point, especially with so many different moving
Speaker 1: quarterbacks that we've seen throughout the league so far. This
Speaker 1: is a tough one for me because you would like
Speaker 1: to get value and something out of return instead of
Speaker 1: just releasing and for the amount of money he's due,
Speaker 1: I don't think the scenario could play out where they
Speaker 1: would keep him and have him be a mentor in
Speaker 1: a backup role to Joe Burrow. I just think he's
Speaker 1: do way too much money for that scenario to play out.
Speaker 1: I think it might come to the case where they
Speaker 1: end up releasing him if something doesn't happen on draft weekend,
Speaker 1: where a team comes in and you know, you could
Speaker 1: maybe try to work something out there where they could
Speaker 1: trade him to a team. But but what team would
Speaker 1: that be? A lot of teams are kind of already
Speaker 1: set when you look at the quarterback position. Lap Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think that Andy Dalton was the victim of a
Speaker 1: glut of quarterbacks and free agency this year, and including
Speaker 1: guys that weren't necessarily free agents, but the Goat signs
Speaker 1: with Tampa Bay and Winston's let go. I mean it's like,
Speaker 1: and then all free agents that were out there, and
Speaker 1: so I think he was a tough situation because in
Speaker 1: order to get into Andy Dalton you have to give
Speaker 1: up draft capital in the form of draft and take
Speaker 1: on that salary. If you trade for him, you take
Speaker 1: on that seventeen and a half million dollars salary. So
Speaker 1: that's two big things to do when there was such
Speaker 1: a glut of quarterbacks and I think Andy got caught
Speaker 1: in that game of musical chairs and there weren't enough
Speaker 1: chairs left when the music stopped, and there's still, you know,
Speaker 1: good quarterbacks out there and Andy being amongst them, you know,
Speaker 1: and you look at it, Andy Dalton would be at
Speaker 1: great insurance policy because with the coronavirus and everything. I mean,
Speaker 1: Andy faced this in twenty eleven when they had the
Speaker 1: work stoppage and two leaders, Dome top Peco and Andrew
Speaker 1: Witworth put together team workouts to get Andy Dalton up
Speaker 1: to speed and ready for training camp, and Jay Gruden
Speaker 1: did a great job installing everything with Andy and they
Speaker 1: went to the playoffs with a nine and seven record.
Speaker 1: Where leaders do that? You know, this year, with it
Speaker 1: being such an unusual year, Will Joe Burrow would that
Speaker 1: Football IQ would be able to absorb the Bengals offense
Speaker 1: and take it away right away. The value that Andy
Speaker 1: Dalton has. He knows this system cold. You know, he
Speaker 1: could install it for Joe Burrow. And would Andy do
Speaker 1: that for Joe Burrow? You know, all these questions are
Speaker 1: are there? So do you trade them? Nobody? Everybody's waiting
Speaker 1: for the Bengals to cut them. And after the draft,
Speaker 1: you know, New England's gonna be laying in the weeds
Speaker 1: and New England's gonna try to get them for, you know,
Speaker 1: as low a pick as they can if they trade
Speaker 1: for him. But then I think it would be we're
Speaker 1: not going to pick your salary up. So if the
Speaker 1: Bengals say we'll keep you, we're not going to pay
Speaker 1: you seventeen and a half million, will Andy say, well,
Speaker 1: then cut me. I'd rather go somewhere else to take
Speaker 1: a paid cut. I don't want to stay with an
Speaker 1: organization that I started for for a number of years
Speaker 1: and took the playoffs five times and take a pay
Speaker 1: cut and be a backup. Let me go somewhere else
Speaker 1: to do that. So, man, there's all kinds of questions
Speaker 1: and how is this going to unfold for the Cincinnati
Speaker 1: Bengals and Andy Dalton. It is a massive question. There's
Speaker 1: no doubt when you look at it. Andy Dalton's salary
Speaker 1: could off set the franchise tag of ag Green almost
Speaker 1: dollar a dollar. But we'll see. Look what's still out there.
Speaker 1: Cam first pick in the draft NFL MVP took his
Speaker 1: team to the Super Bowl. Jamis Swinston, number one pick
Speaker 1: in the draft, led the NFL in passing yards last year.
Speaker 1: He did also lead in interceptions and overall giveaways. But
Speaker 1: still you're talking about two incredibly talented quarterbacks. Joe Flacco
Speaker 1: is still out there formers. Super Bowl MVP has Lap
Speaker 1: mentioned its musical chairs. There were more chairs that are
Speaker 1: more quarterbacks than chairs this year, and I think maybe
Speaker 1: we are learning what the rest of the NFL thinks
Speaker 1: of Andy Dalton. Nobody thinks he's bad. I don't think
Speaker 1: we all think that. He's proven that he can lead
Speaker 1: a team to the playoffs, did it five times in
Speaker 1: a row of the Bengals. But maybe other teams are
Speaker 1: saying he's good, but he's not great. I think a
Speaker 1: lot of people probably feel that way about him, and
Speaker 1: as a result, like you're saying, they don't want to
Speaker 1: pay him more than seventeen million dollars when they see
Speaker 1: the possibility that he would be cut and then could
Speaker 1: conceivably be signed for a much lower price as a
Speaker 1: free agent. So I don't know if the Bengals had offers.
Speaker 1: I thought that the Bears were a realistic possibility. They
Speaker 1: chose Nick Foles instead and were willing to give up
Speaker 1: a fourth round draft pick for him. But I do
Speaker 1: think everything seems to be pointing toward Andy ultimately being
Speaker 1: released and signing as a free agent with somebody else.
Speaker 1: The only thing we talked about this before Dan is
Speaker 1: Jake Gruden is down with the Jaguars. Jake Gruden was
Speaker 1: the first coordinator Andy Dalton had great relationship, worked well together.
Speaker 1: Falls left the Jaguars. I mean, would Jake Gruden say,
Speaker 1: you know what if we can get you know, for
Speaker 1: seventh round pick or something. Let's see if we can
Speaker 1: get him, because if he gets waived, you know, will
Speaker 1: somebody before us pick him up on the on the
Speaker 1: waiver wire or if Bill Belichick's interested, But he would
Speaker 1: not be subjected to the waiver process. Terminated he'd be terminated, right,
Speaker 1: He'd be terminated. So yeah, I mean it's and you
Speaker 1: look at it. Jameis Winston two thousand and eleven number
Speaker 1: one pick in the draft, Andy Dalton two thousand and eleven,
Speaker 1: thirty third pick in the draft. You know, they they
Speaker 1: their careers careers have been very similar in fact, you know,
Speaker 1: taking their teams to successes. Cam Newton obviously at a
Speaker 1: higher level of the Super Bowl and MVP and all that.
Speaker 1: But here they are now, at this stage of their career,
Speaker 1: is coming too the league at the exact same time,
Speaker 1: being in the virtue of the same place after doing
Speaker 1: what they did for their respective franchises. It's crazy. My
Speaker 1: watch says, that's been an hour that went fast. This
Speaker 1: was fun, It did all right. We'll do it again
Speaker 1: something time. I'm thank you so much for doing this.
Speaker 1: We hope everybody that watched and listened enjoyed it. We
Speaker 1: will try to get to more questions via social media
Speaker 1: the next time we do one of these live Bengals
Speaker 1: Booth podcasts. For lap for Marissa, for Seth Tanner who
Speaker 1: helped put it together. I'm Dan Horde. We remind you
Speaker 1: one more time that the Bengals Booth podcast is presented
Speaker 1: by Prime Sport, the official fan travel and hospitality partner
Speaker 1: of the Cincinnati Bengals. Thanks so much for tuning in,
Speaker 1: and we'll do it again. I'm the Bengals Booth Podcast