Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody.
Speaker 2: I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading the Bengals Boot Podcast.
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Speaker 2: from Pro Football Focus about what it's going to take
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Speaker 2: greatest thing since Knockout Roses. My stepfather was a wholesale florist,
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Speaker 2: to football. According to ESPN bet, at this point of
Speaker 2: the off season, Cincinnati is tied for having the seventh
Speaker 2: best odds of winning the Super Bowl. This week, I
Speaker 2: discussed the roster and some key off season question marks
Speaker 2: with Trevor Sikama, an analyst and podcaster for Pro Football Focus. Trevor,
Speaker 2: you've probably been on a bunch of podcasts where the
Speaker 2: host near the end says, tell us where people can
Speaker 2: find you or find your work, And I want to
Speaker 2: start with that because it seems to me that, in
Speaker 2: addition to your written content, you are doing more and
Speaker 2: more podcasts and Pro Football Focus, so fill us in.
Speaker 3: Pro Football Focus.
Speaker 4: They keep you busy, but I'm glad that they do
Speaker 4: because I work with a lot of great people, get
Speaker 4: to do a lot of different shows. The main one
Speaker 4: that I do is the PFFNFL show that I get
Speaker 4: to do with mainly Dalton Washman, but we have a
Speaker 4: lot of other great people who are in on that
Speaker 4: show as well. Max Chadwick is a familiar face there,
Speaker 4: those guys doing the college show also dabbling in the
Speaker 4: NFL world. I also cover the NFL Draft three sixty five.
Speaker 4: That's my true passion, is the lead draft analyst for
Speaker 4: Pro Football Focus, and I do that over the NFL
Speaker 4: Stock Exchange show with my good friend and co host
Speaker 4: Connor Rogers. So it definitely keeps us busy, even here
Speaker 4: in the middle of the offseason. It gives us things
Speaker 4: to think about, and we're already thinking about that twenty
Speaker 4: twenty six NFL Draft class to win some summer scouting.
Speaker 4: So the work never stops, the podcast never stopped.
Speaker 3: But I love it. I love what I get to do,
Speaker 3: so it's always great when I get the turn.
Speaker 1: Of my gun.
Speaker 2: So with the title NFL Draft Analyst. Let's discuss the
Speaker 2: Bengals draft. They had six picks. The top three were
Speaker 2: Shamar Stewart, Demetrius Knight, and Dylan Fairchild.
Speaker 1: How did they do?
Speaker 4: I look, I actually really liked what the Bengals were
Speaker 4: able to do in the draft. I think that the
Speaker 4: Shamar Stewart pick, obviously, I think that what's going on
Speaker 4: with him and the contract situation, it.
Speaker 3: Put the dark cloud over it.
Speaker 4: Honestly, though, the way that I saw this is this
Speaker 4: is kind of what they really wanted Miles Murphy to be,
Speaker 4: except for just maybe like a higher ceiling type of
Speaker 4: version of that. Not that Miles Murphy can't find a
Speaker 4: place on the defensive line, whether it's on the interior
Speaker 4: or the edge, but I think they were hoping that
Speaker 4: he'd probably find more of a home and be more
Speaker 4: dominant as an edge rusher. And I think they think
Speaker 4: the same now of Shamar Stewart, who I think is
Speaker 4: like Miles Murphy just almost super charged a little bit, right,
Speaker 4: taking a super Mario mushroom or something with the size,
Speaker 4: to strength, the explosiveness, all that good stuff. So I
Speaker 4: know that the contract situation that he's currently in kind
Speaker 4: of clouds that a little bit. But this is a
Speaker 4: very talented football player and one who is a highly
Speaker 4: regarded recruit for a reason, somebody who at texts A
Speaker 4: and M really had to get on the field over
Speaker 4: the last couple of years and develop him in any
Speaker 4: way that he could.
Speaker 3: And then of course you have this year starting with Nick.
Speaker 4: Scorton there on that team, So I think it's still
Speaker 4: going to be a little bit of time and development.
Speaker 4: It's going to take a little bit of time for him,
Speaker 4: but he's got an incredibly high ceiling.
Speaker 3: I like the Dylan Fairchilds selection as well.
Speaker 4: This is an interior offensive line that really just had
Speaker 4: to get a lot better from what it was last season.
Speaker 4: And there's some familiar faces there, Ted Carris obviously one
Speaker 4: of them playing at that center spot.
Speaker 3: But then it.
Speaker 4: Feels like those two guard spots are up for grabs
Speaker 4: and it's sort of going to be a training camp
Speaker 4: battle of who's going to come out and win those
Speaker 4: and I think that Dylan Fairchild could very well. You know,
Speaker 4: he's coming from such a highly successful program at Georgia.
Speaker 4: He's faced some of the best interior defensive linemen in
Speaker 4: the SEC over the last couple of years. So I
Speaker 4: like the fact that they've either got him his depth
Speaker 4: or maybe as an early starter. Here, Demetrius Knight was
Speaker 4: somebody who you know, when I was looking at night,
Speaker 4: I didn't get to him until sort of late in
Speaker 4: the process. I didn't really know a lot about him.
Speaker 4: And it kind of makes sense, right, I mean, he's
Speaker 4: a Georgia Tech for all those years, plays but sort
Speaker 4: of sparingly. Okay, maybe as one year left or I
Speaker 4: think he had two years left of eligibility. But he
Speaker 4: goes to Charlotte, so he kind of goes down in
Speaker 4: competition a little bit, but he shows out really well.
Speaker 4: So then all right, well, Charlotte to Columbia South Carolina.
Speaker 4: That's not too far away. They've actually been able to
Speaker 4: see me play. Let me go to South Carolina. And yes,
Speaker 4: he is an older prospect, but man, you love what
Speaker 4: he's able to bring to the table, in my opinion,
Speaker 4: especially as a will linebacker, which is perfect for what
Speaker 4: the Bengals need. Right They've got Logan Wilson in the
Speaker 4: middle to be able to play that mike linebacker role
Speaker 4: as the centerpiece of that second level of the defense.
Speaker 3: Now Demetrius Knight.
Speaker 4: He's a player who you know, when I watched him
Speaker 4: and I first looked at his measurables, I was like, man,
Speaker 4: you know, he's big enough to be able to play Mike.
Speaker 4: I actually kind of like him as a Mike backer,
Speaker 4: and I still think that he could be a good
Speaker 4: Mike linebacker.
Speaker 3: But really it's that run and chaseability.
Speaker 4: It's his fluidity and coverage and the potential that he
Speaker 4: has there that really gets me excited. And so I
Speaker 4: think he landed in a perfect spot where he can
Speaker 4: play more as that in space linebacker. You know, Logan
Speaker 4: Wilson's the one who's calling things out, He's getting the
Speaker 4: run fits set everything like that, and then Demetrius can
Speaker 4: play a little bit more in space and run and
Speaker 4: chase a little bit more. So I think that that
Speaker 4: gets a lot out of what he brings to the table.
Speaker 4: I think Breck Carter kind of the same way, coming
Speaker 4: from Clemson, another athletic linebacker to bring in that depth
Speaker 4: and kind of get that same player there. And then
Speaker 4: I'll just shout out Tis Brooks as well. You know,
Speaker 4: when I was watching Tis Brooks, he had some of
Speaker 4: my favorite vision of any running back in the class.
Speaker 4: Now that is my as people ask me all the
Speaker 4: time kind of about how I scout and what I'm
Speaker 4: looking for and things like that, generally not to give
Speaker 4: away too much of the secret sauce.
Speaker 3: I don't really care. I love talking about it.
Speaker 4: But I have about ten categories for every single position,
Speaker 4: and there are things like for running backs, for example,
Speaker 4: it's you know, like how often they can make guys
Speaker 4: miss elusiveness, you know what they are after contact, you
Speaker 4: know their strength after contact, their vision.
Speaker 3: Things like that, right, And it's not like all.
Speaker 4: Those ten categories are just okay, it's one out of ten,
Speaker 4: it's one out of ten. It's one out of ten,
Speaker 4: and then we get to one hundred. That's a fine
Speaker 4: way to do it. But as I've been scouting over
Speaker 4: the years, I find tune in a little bit to say, like,
Speaker 4: you know what, actually, visions the most important part for me,
Speaker 4: and so I give it a little bit higher of
Speaker 4: a weight, a higher percentage. So maybe out of ten
Speaker 4: points instead, now vision might be out of sixteen or eighteen,
Speaker 4: so there are more points to be gained, because I
Speaker 4: think that that trait is more valuable if you can't
Speaker 4: see the field the way that you need to. No
Speaker 4: matter how fast yard, no matter how strong you are,
Speaker 4: you're just gonna flame out in the NFL.
Speaker 3: Trent Richardson is a great example of that.
Speaker 4: Look how incredible Trent Richardson was when he was at Alabama,
Speaker 4: and yet he gets to the NFL. He just could
Speaker 4: not read blocking schemes the way that he needed to.
Speaker 4: He did not have that running back vision to match
Speaker 4: the athletic traits. Taj Brooks a little bit of the opposite.
Speaker 4: I'm not sure that he is the best caliber athlete
Speaker 4: for the position, but man, can he see it? He
Speaker 4: is patient, He knows where these blockers are going to be,
Speaker 4: he knows where his aiming points are. He knows when
Speaker 4: he needs to arrive to get past them, past the
Speaker 4: line of scrimmage and into.
Speaker 3: That second level.
Speaker 4: So it might not be a big home run hitter
Speaker 4: for you, but I think there are going to be
Speaker 4: a handful of plays throughout practice preseason whenever he gets
Speaker 4: his chances to showcase his stuff. The Bengals could look
Speaker 4: at him and say, man, all right, is he gonna
Speaker 4: be the dynamic.
Speaker 3: Early down back for us all the time? No, but
Speaker 3: especially if there are some.
Speaker 4: Injuries, we feel good about the high football IQ this
Speaker 4: guy has and putting him in the lineup. So that's
Speaker 4: just sort of an overview of when I'm looking at
Speaker 4: the names in their class, of this class some of
Speaker 4: the thoughts that I had of them pre draft.
Speaker 2: Trevor Sikramuff from Pro Football Focus is our guest. I
Speaker 2: want to circle back to Shamar Stewart for a second.
Speaker 2: Everybody is focused on the fact that he only had
Speaker 2: four and a half sacks, and that's fair. It's certainly
Speaker 2: a major point of discussion. I've made the case though,
Speaker 2: that saying that he wasn't productive just because of that
Speaker 2: stat is an overstatement because he was good against the run.
Speaker 1: He had a lot of pressures.
Speaker 2: Am I right?
Speaker 1: Is that how you felt about Shamar Stewart?
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I agree with you.
Speaker 4: He his tape looks different from a player that you
Speaker 4: would say, like, oh, just you know, one and a
Speaker 4: half sacks every single year. Like when you see a
Speaker 4: player who has three years of either rotating and contributing
Speaker 4: snaps or even starting snaps for them to have that
Speaker 4: little production, I think that your mind immediately goes to like, Okay,
Speaker 4: this guy can't play.
Speaker 3: He's not gonna make it, and you know, a.
Speaker 4: Little bit of a puff in our chest here, I'd
Speaker 4: say that this is all Shamar Stewart's a good example
Speaker 4: of why PFF exists, in my opinion, because you get
Speaker 4: to go beyond just the common stats there. And sometimes
Speaker 4: the stats do tell the story correctly, but sometimes they don't,
Speaker 4: and I think you need a little bit more context there.
Speaker 4: In that regard, I will say this, The pass rush
Speaker 4: metric that I like to lean on so much more
Speaker 4: so than sacks is a passers win percentage, and for
Speaker 4: Schmar Stewart that passor's win percentage of And just to
Speaker 4: give people a barometer here, you know, like twenty five
Speaker 4: to thirty percent of a pastor's win percentage how often
Speaker 4: you're winning one on one against your matchup that is
Speaker 4: in front of you, whether or not you make it
Speaker 4: to the quarterback or not. Right, because it's independent of that.
Speaker 4: Let's say that the offense is running a play where
Speaker 4: the ball's coming out of his hands within two point
Speaker 4: five seconds. Well, even if you're Trey Anderson, right, A
Speaker 4: great example of somebody who wins one on one a
Speaker 4: lot very quickly, even if he wins within the first
Speaker 4: two seconds, well, he's not going to get a sack,
Speaker 4: he might not even get a pressure because the ball's
Speaker 4: coming out so quick.
Speaker 3: But he still did his job. He's still won.
Speaker 4: And so pastors win percentage is something that's a little
Speaker 4: bit more concrete. It's something that's a little bit more
Speaker 4: stable that we can predict that we like to lean
Speaker 4: on a little bit more. If you have a twenty
Speaker 4: five to thirty percent pass or twin percentage, that's crazy.
Speaker 4: That's like defensive player of the year type of category.
Speaker 4: Twenty to twenty five is normally that tier one of
Speaker 4: edge rusher's, the Trey Henderson's, the Miles Garretts, the Michael Parsons,
Speaker 4: the TJ. Watts like those guys, a lot of them
Speaker 4: in their best years, they're in that range fifteen to
Speaker 4: twenty really good starting edge rusher. You get down to
Speaker 4: ten to fifteen percent, it's like, okay, it's not bad.
Speaker 3: Maybe a starter, rotational guy.
Speaker 4: And if you're below ten percent, you're probably your team's
Speaker 4: probably looking to upgrade your spot if that's how you
Speaker 4: are consistently playing. Shamar Stewart was right around that fifteen
Speaker 4: percent pass or twin percentage this past year. So it's
Speaker 4: much more indicative of what this guy can do as
Speaker 4: a pass rusher rather than just looking at the one
Speaker 4: and a half sacks that he had. So he still
Speaker 4: needs to put it together. I still think he needs
Speaker 4: a better pass rush plant, specifically before the ball is snapped,
Speaker 4: but at least that physical ability was able to show
Speaker 4: out in that sort of metric. So that's the way
Speaker 4: that I viewed Shimar Stewart. And you're right, strength wise,
Speaker 4: length wise, overall body type, really good run defender as well.
Speaker 4: You picked this guy because you hope that he has
Speaker 4: a high floor because of his athletic and strength gifts,
Speaker 4: and then also because of high he has a high ceiling.
Speaker 4: Those are the types of first round picks that you
Speaker 4: love to make, and hopefully we get to see him
Speaker 4: on the field soon.
Speaker 2: One more draft related question before I changed the subject.
Speaker 2: After the draft, the Bengals signed center Seth McLaughlan from
Speaker 2: Ohio State and defensive tackle Eric Gregory out of Arkansas's
Speaker 2: college free agents. Did you like either or both? And
Speaker 2: did anybody else that they signed in the undrafted category
Speaker 2: catch your eye?
Speaker 4: So I haven't seen their entire undrafted free agency list,
Speaker 4: so I'll kind of like go down their their depth
Speaker 4: chart and see if I recognize any names here. I
Speaker 4: don't know a lot about Gregory, but I do know
Speaker 4: a lot about McLaughlin, who, before he got hurt, man
Speaker 4: he was playing very very well. And this is somebody
Speaker 4: that before he even went to Ohio State, when he
Speaker 4: was an Alabama he wasn't consistent.
Speaker 3: The way that he needed to be yet.
Speaker 4: But I watched him and I go, Okay, I mean
Speaker 4: we've got something here. We've got something where very clearly,
Speaker 4: whether it was as a sophomore or a junior, before
Speaker 4: he got hurt and before he transferred over to Oiowa State,
Speaker 4: he showed signs of like, all right, this guy kind
Speaker 4: of plays the game like a pro, you know, like
Speaker 4: the movement skills, they're quick, they're precise, He's thinking about
Speaker 4: things the right way. Now, there are times when, okay,
Speaker 4: it might show up he's not the most physically gifted
Speaker 4: interior offensive lineman. Okay, he might get knocked off of
Speaker 4: his balance and off of his feet a little bit.
Speaker 4: Maybe it takes him a little bit more and asking
Speaker 4: him to reach completely across the body. If you're talking
Speaker 4: about an inside zone or an outside zone rushing play
Speaker 4: like that's a little bit difficult for him, but he
Speaker 4: does a lot of the really solid things well. And
Speaker 4: I think it's traits like that when when you hear
Speaker 4: stuff like that about an interior offensive lineman, you don't
Speaker 4: have to worry as much as you would maybe if
Speaker 4: you heard those exact same things about an offensive tackle,
Speaker 4: because if you're an offensive tackle, you've got to kind
Speaker 4: of be left on an island.
Speaker 3: A little bit.
Speaker 4: Well, when you're on the interior, actually when you were
Speaker 4: at center, so much of what you're able to do
Speaker 4: is chemistry based. It's so much around you know, Okay,
Speaker 4: not only do I have to know my own strength
Speaker 4: and weaknesses very well, because I.
Speaker 3: Talk about I feel like I talk about that all
Speaker 3: the time.
Speaker 4: Interior offensive linemen have to self scout as good as
Speaker 4: as good as anybody can, because you not only have
Speaker 4: to know your own strength and weaknesses, you've got to
Speaker 4: know the strength and weaknesses of the two guys next
Speaker 4: to you, whether it's a tackle or in the center's case,
Speaker 4: whether it's the two guards. So you got to know, like, okay,
Speaker 4: well you know I got Let's say Fairchild wins the
Speaker 4: starting gig right and and McLaughlin might be able to
Speaker 4: go like, Okay, I got Fairchild next to me.
Speaker 1: All Right.
Speaker 4: He's a little bit lighter, but he is quick. So
Speaker 4: if we're ever in a situation where I need him
Speaker 4: to bounce off of one defensive tackle and help me out,
Speaker 4: I know he's going to be able to do it.
Speaker 4: So all that to kind of say, I hope that
Speaker 4: he gets back to that pre injury form Seth McLachlin,
Speaker 4: because I thought he was. He was playing at a
Speaker 4: really high level before he ended up getting hurt. And
Speaker 4: I just think that you already saw the baselines, whether
Speaker 4: it was at Alabama or Ohio State of him preparing
Speaker 4: and playing like a pro.
Speaker 3: So I think that he was a really nice undrafted
Speaker 3: free agent.
Speaker 2: Dad, I actually have one more draft related question. It
Speaker 2: goes back to last year's draft. The tackles last year
Speaker 2: were thought to be historically good. Eight were taken in
Speaker 2: the first round. A Marius Mims was the fifth tackle selected.
Speaker 2: One year later, how high would a Marius Mims be
Speaker 2: on that tackle list based on his rookie year?
Speaker 3: Oh wow?
Speaker 4: Okay, so the twenty twenty five class, let's take a
Speaker 4: look at the offensive tackles and the guys that were
Speaker 4: drafted there, Uh you had.
Speaker 3: Will Campbell obviously went four harmon Membugo seven nine.
Speaker 1: I meant last year's class.
Speaker 2: So if the eight taken last oh oh, okay, Marius
Speaker 2: was fifth. And I'm wondering based on the fact that
Speaker 2: he got to play, he played well if if it
Speaker 2: were done again, now, you know, would he be in
Speaker 2: the top two or three? Would it be Joe Alton
Speaker 2: then him, or would he be at the top.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Like I so, I think the all still still
Speaker 4: that top guy there. But man, it's basically anybody's It's
Speaker 4: basically anybody to take that second offensive tackle spot.
Speaker 3: It really is.
Speaker 4: I mean, like Leatham obviously got some playing time. He struggled,
Speaker 4: but he moved from left to right. The same exact
Speaker 4: situation with Tolise Fuanga. Both of those guys. I like
Speaker 4: the decent amount, but anytime you're throwing them on the
Speaker 4: other side of the line of scrimmage, it's hard enough
Speaker 4: as a rookie, and then when you're switching everything, it's
Speaker 4: sort of tough to think about. But I think a
Speaker 4: Marius at least like to your point, like he looked
Speaker 4: as advertised when he was out there, Like, yeah, okay,
Speaker 4: he's a little bit raw, but we knew that was
Speaker 4: going to be the case with his experience coming out
Speaker 4: of Georgia and him missing that the time at Georgia
Speaker 4: due to injury. I think I think Olu Fashonu probably
Speaker 4: is still well. I guess not still he was the
Speaker 4: third offensive tackle taking he's probably the second guy. But
Speaker 4: then yeah, I mean, Mims could very well have been
Speaker 4: right there, picked within the top ten. I think that
Speaker 4: he had a year where you feel good about it
Speaker 4: moving forward. You know, did he like the world on fire?
Speaker 4: Was it as good as Joe Alt?
Speaker 5: No?
Speaker 4: Okay, but that's why Alt's going is the first defensive
Speaker 4: tackle here in this discussion. But I really do think
Speaker 4: that he gets picked eighteenth. You could very well make
Speaker 4: a case for him to go fringe top ten if
Speaker 4: this is sort of this redraft and be that second
Speaker 4: or third offensive tackle take and probably, I would say
Speaker 4: in the conversation for that third offensive tackle take in.
Speaker 2: Trevor Sikoma from Pro Football Focus is our guest as
Speaker 2: PFF's lead draft analyst. I'm sure you watched a lot
Speaker 2: of Notre Dames defensive players over the last couple of
Speaker 2: years and therefore saw Al Golden's defenses. What did you
Speaker 2: think of the higher and do you expect significant improvement
Speaker 2: in the Bengals defense specifically tied to Al Golden taking over.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I like Al Golden. I liked what I
Speaker 3: saw from.
Speaker 4: Him last year at Notre Dame. You know, an aggressive
Speaker 4: style of defense, specifically in coverage, and I think that's
Speaker 4: where you would really want to focus things for the
Speaker 4: Bengals when you're sort of like looking at what could
Speaker 4: be this season. I think specifically there is one player.
Speaker 4: Dal Washerman did a really good job of pointing this
Speaker 4: out as well my coast on the PFFNFL show.
Speaker 3: Al Golden likes to play a lot.
Speaker 4: Of single high stuff, you know, and he had a
Speaker 4: really good safety to be able to do it in
Speaker 4: Xavier Watts last year. So you know, Wats is somebody
Speaker 4: who I'm very excited about with him being in Atlanta
Speaker 4: now getting to pair with Jesse Bates, who Bengals fans
Speaker 4: obviously know very well. When you look at their current
Speaker 4: situation with Al Golden coming over to Cincinnati, Geno Stone
Speaker 4: is the player that I would want to highlight because
Speaker 4: Geno Stone comes over from Baltimore, he does not have
Speaker 4: a good season. In his first year in Cincinnati, his
Speaker 4: coverage grade went from an eighty five point seven all
Speaker 4: the way down to I believe it was a fifty
Speaker 4: two point two or fifty two point three.
Speaker 3: It just was not. It was a career low in
Speaker 3: coverage grade.
Speaker 4: Now, Luana Rumo was doing a lot of too high stuff,
Speaker 4: like Cincinnati's sort of been leaning into that they've got
Speaker 4: these two high safety looks, and Geno Stone was Yeah,
Speaker 4: I think he was much more valuable when he was
Speaker 4: in more of that single high situation, whether it was
Speaker 4: with him as the free safety or sometimes as the
Speaker 4: strong safety, the Robbert type over the middle.
Speaker 3: Golden leans more into that.
Speaker 4: Golden is more of a Cover one, Cover three, single
Speaker 4: high safety type of a defensive shell, at least from
Speaker 4: what we saw at Notre Dame. I think the best
Speaker 4: coaches will always tell you, oh, you build the scheme
Speaker 4: around the players.
Speaker 3: So maybe it looks a little bit different.
Speaker 4: Maybe it's not as aggressive because he's going from having
Speaker 4: Watts at the Notre Dame college level to now, okay,
Speaker 4: it's the NFL. These guys are bigger, faster, stronger, I
Speaker 4: think at every single position. But if they do lean
Speaker 4: more into that. I think that gets more out of
Speaker 4: Stone certainly as somebody who can then play as that
Speaker 4: center fielder, free safety and coverage. I like Jordan Battle
Speaker 4: in that situation as well, because when I watched him
Speaker 4: at Alabama, he was very high at Football IQ all
Speaker 4: the way back to his freshman season, as somebody who
Speaker 4: could call things out, he control the middle of the field,
Speaker 4: he could play in that robber role, he could play
Speaker 4: down in the box. So I think that fits both
Speaker 4: of those guys a little bit more. And then when
Speaker 4: you were playing single high on the outside, sometimes it's
Speaker 4: cover three, sometimes it's cover one, but a lot of
Speaker 4: times it's man match, its zone match stuff. You still
Speaker 4: have to be aggressive, think quickly, and get the mo
Speaker 4: most out of some very agile, elusive and explosive corners.
Speaker 4: That's what Dax Hill is, That's what DJ Turner is,
Speaker 4: right like, That's why you drafted those guys so specifically.
Speaker 4: I think a lot of times when you think about,
Speaker 4: all right, well, new defense coming in, you know, what's
Speaker 4: it gonna look like?
Speaker 3: Is it you know? Is it three four? Is it
Speaker 3: four to three? That kind of stuff.
Speaker 4: A lot of people talk about the box in the front,
Speaker 4: with new defensive coordinators coming in, I am more focused
Speaker 4: on what Golden is going to change for them on
Speaker 4: the back end, because I feel like there were inconsistencies
Speaker 4: there for the Bengals over the last couple of years really,
Speaker 4: since they haven't had Jesse Bates back there to be
Speaker 4: able to play that impactful safety role. And now with
Speaker 4: the signing of Stone and him still being there, him
Speaker 4: being a more advantageous situation, I think from the top down,
Speaker 4: it's going to help this defense feel like those guys
Speaker 4: are in their more proper spots.
Speaker 1: If you will.
Speaker 2: We've got a few minutes left with Trevor Sikomuff from
Speaker 2: Pro Football Focus, what are your biggest Bengals question marks?
Speaker 2: Roughly a month before the start of training camp.
Speaker 4: I think often line has to be the big one, right.
Speaker 4: I think this unit really struggled along the interior offensive
Speaker 4: line with Carris and Kappa and voltson last year, and
Speaker 4: Carris was solid. I think I think it wasn't his
Speaker 4: best year, but I feel like he did kind of
Speaker 4: as well as he could, you know, with with some
Speaker 4: of the injuries of the offensive tackles and the the
Speaker 4: inconsistencies with the guys that were standing next to him.
Speaker 4: Obviously they don't have Alex cap anymore, and he got
Speaker 4: a handful of guys that are fighting for those guard spots.
Speaker 4: But figuring out what the best starting three is on
Speaker 4: that interior is paramount for them heading into training camp,
Speaker 4: heading in the preseason, because there are so many teams
Speaker 4: in the NFL that are leaning into interior pressure. Now
Speaker 4: you know before and I look, the big money still
Speaker 4: goes to the Miles Garretts, the Micah Parsons, the Nick Bosas,
Speaker 4: it still goes to a lot of those edge rushers.
Speaker 4: But there are a lot of defensive coordinators that realize
Speaker 4: the shortest distance to the quarterback is right up the
Speaker 4: middle in a straight line, and if you can disrupt
Speaker 4: the center, if you can disrupt the guards, and if
Speaker 4: you can get in those a gaps, that really causes
Speaker 4: a lot of a fuss for quarterbacks, especially a guy
Speaker 4: like Burrow, who are for as elite as he is,
Speaker 4: you know, heast doesn't have He's not the best scrambler,
Speaker 4: and so if you really pressure him immediately up front,
Speaker 4: that's something that's going to kill the play I for
Speaker 4: you're the Bengals, and so for a team that has
Speaker 4: two phenomenal wide receivers in Jamar Chase and t Higgins.
Speaker 3: The Bengals really are.
Speaker 4: A team that I feel like are going to be
Speaker 4: in a lot of shootouts every single year if they
Speaker 4: are every single game, if those guys are fully healthy,
Speaker 4: because it's basically a matter of can you protect Joe
Speaker 4: Burrow for three seconds. If you can protect Joe Burrow
Speaker 4: for three seconds the majority of the game, I will
Speaker 4: tell you I will bet on those two receivers to
Speaker 4: win more often than they lose. And I think the
Speaker 4: Bengals are scoring, you know, twenty five thirty plus every
Speaker 4: single game, so they're going to be led, in my opinion,
Speaker 4: by their offense.
Speaker 3: I think that's always going to be the case.
Speaker 4: For as much as I like the Al Golden Higher,
Speaker 4: I think it is going to take a little bit
Speaker 4: of time. They're still obviously going to be fixing things
Speaker 4: on the defensive line. Getting Trey Hendrickson out there is
Speaker 4: paramount because he felt like he was a man alone
Speaker 4: last season. Getting Shamar Stewart out there by week one
Speaker 4: of the regular seasons so that the second half of
Speaker 4: the season and hopefully the playoff run, he is more
Speaker 4: acclimated to what NFL speed and NFL life is when
Speaker 4: the game is going on.
Speaker 3: So I think that certainly.
Speaker 4: On the defensive line, you have those questions to get
Speaker 4: those guys out there as well. But as long as
Speaker 4: Hendrickson's out there and as long as Shamar Stewart are
Speaker 4: out there, as long as those contract things get worked out,
Speaker 4: I'm not as nervous about that. I'm still nervous about
Speaker 4: that interior offensive line because if it is as ineffective
Speaker 4: as it was last year, it's just such a killer.
Speaker 4: So we saw this team come on and still overcome
Speaker 4: things like that and really make a playoff push towards
Speaker 4: the end of last year. But the interior offensive line,
Speaker 4: that is the biggest question mark that I have for
Speaker 4: the Cincinnati Bengals, because if it's good, I think this
Speaker 4: can be one of the highest scoring teams in the NFL.
Speaker 4: But if it's not, it could be a reason that
Speaker 4: keeps them out of the playoffs in a tough division.
Speaker 2: All Right, that's a perfect segue to my last topic.
Speaker 2: Baltimore's won the AFC North each of the last two years.
Speaker 2: No team has ever wanted three years in a row.
Speaker 2: So how do you handicap bau More, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and
Speaker 2: Cleveland at this stage.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that Baltimore has to be the favorites,
Speaker 4: not that Cincinnati can't spoil them. I think they're right
Speaker 4: there competing for what I would call is they're right
Speaker 4: there with one of those wild card teams. Now, of
Speaker 4: course it's the NFL. Crazy things happen all the time.
Speaker 4: Maybe that race is closer than we think. At this point,
Speaker 4: I'd feel like it's all I think the Ravens are
Speaker 4: probably going to be two wins better than the Cincinnati Bengals,
Speaker 4: whatever number that is, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, whatever that is.
Speaker 4: I feel like they're going to be two wins better
Speaker 4: than the Bengals this upcoming season. I think the Browns
Speaker 4: are in for a long season, and I look at
Speaker 4: the Browns long term out looking. Man, I have a
Speaker 4: lot of respect for Kevin Stefanski as a coach, Tim
Speaker 4: Schwartz a defense coordinator, but that roster has only been
Speaker 4: getting worse.
Speaker 3: I feel like as time has gone on.
Speaker 4: Outside of a couple of the stars, certainly Miles Garrett,
Speaker 4: they paid to be around there for a long time.
Speaker 4: But man, just look at their offensive line I mean
Speaker 4: Joel Buttonio White Teller, their former All pros. Both of
Speaker 4: those guys didn't play well last year. Now they're both
Speaker 4: above the age of thirty. Ethan Postics to undrestricted free
Speaker 4: agent this upcoming season, so is Jack Conklin to want
Speaker 4: Jones struggled and he's probably gonna start for them at
Speaker 4: offensive tackle so very quickly. I think three years ago
Speaker 4: Cleveland was thought of as one of the best offensive
Speaker 4: lines in the NFL, and now I think that it's
Speaker 4: bottom half of the league, maybe bottom ten, bottom five
Speaker 4: in the league, depending on how those veterans are able
Speaker 4: to play into their thirties. So it's tough there, especially
Speaker 4: with the quarterback situation.
Speaker 3: I don't know.
Speaker 4: I have a lot of faith in the Cleveland Browns
Speaker 4: to be super competitive. I feel like I've been trying
Speaker 4: to hedge the Steelers like every year, but Mike Tomlin
Speaker 4: just keeps winning enough to keep the five hundred Street going,
Speaker 4: you know, with Rogers there, I think the defense is
Speaker 4: still gonna be good.
Speaker 3: The offense, I just I don't know what the identity is.
Speaker 3: I just don't like, you.
Speaker 4: Go out and you trade for DK Metcalf and he's
Speaker 4: sort of the same thing that George Picking was. It
Speaker 4: doesn't really change your offense a lot. And now you
Speaker 4: bring in a quarterback in Rogers, who, yeah, okay, I
Speaker 4: think that just by nature he's going to be better
Speaker 4: than a rookie and Will Howard and Mason Rudolph, who's
Speaker 4: proven to not be a starting quarterback.
Speaker 3: In this league.
Speaker 4: But look at what Rogers has been the last two years.
Speaker 4: This is like what Tom Brady was in the back
Speaker 4: end of the Buccaneer years. He's trying to get the
Speaker 4: ball out within two seconds. He's trying to hang onto
Speaker 4: the ball. Now you have wide receivers where DK metcalf,
Speaker 4: his whole thing is hold onto the ball for two
Speaker 4: three seconds to throw it to me. Deep Rogers didn't
Speaker 4: have as good of an arm as he used to,
Speaker 4: and he doesn't want to hold onto the ball because.
Speaker 3: He's forty one, forty two years old. So I just
Speaker 3: there's good players in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 4: Obviously I have a ton of respect for Mike Tomlin
Speaker 4: as a head coach, but I think their offensive philosophy
Speaker 4: is just, certainly on paper, it's not very cohesive. So
Speaker 4: I really do think it's a two team race, and
Speaker 4: we'll see how close the Bengals can can get to
Speaker 4: whatever win total the Ravens end up putting up this year.
Speaker 2: Trevor, this has been great. I really appreciate your time.
Speaker 2: Keep up the good work.
Speaker 3: Appreciated that anytime.
Speaker 2: Trevor obviously knows his stuff. If you would like to
Speaker 2: hear more of his content, you'll find him on the
Speaker 2: PFF NFL Podcast and the NFL Stock Exchange Draft Podcast.
Speaker 2: You can also follow him on x at Tampa Bay Trey.
Speaker 2: Now here's a quick reminder that the Bengals Booth Podcast
Speaker 2: is brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be
Speaker 2: the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future
Speaker 2: Proof Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business and
Speaker 2: community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the
Speaker 2: best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the
Speaker 2: official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now time for five
Speaker 2: observations and the topic on this edition of the pod
Speaker 2: is first round draft pick Shamar Stewart. As of this recording,
Speaker 2: the twenty one year old defensive end out of Texas
Speaker 2: A and M has not signed a contract or a
Speaker 2: waiver that would cover him in the event of injury
Speaker 2: and allow him to practice until a deal is done.
Speaker 2: Observation number one involves the coverage of this negotiation nationally.
Speaker 2: It's being portrayed like the Bengals are cheap or trying
Speaker 2: to insert a crazy and unusual clause that is somehow
Speaker 2: holding up the deal. That's simply not true. The clause
Speaker 2: is reportedly standard among other NFL teams. However, the language
Speaker 2: is slightly different from the bengals last two first round picks,
Speaker 2: and Stuart and his agent are fighting those changes. And
Speaker 2: now some people are floating doom and gloom scenarios, including
Speaker 2: the idea that Stuart could skip his rookie year and
Speaker 2: re enter the draft next year. That is so far
Speaker 2: fetched that it really doesn't deserve our attention. The second
Speaker 2: pick in the draft, Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter, is
Speaker 2: also unsigned, and I haven't heard anybody bring up that
Speaker 2: possibility with him. History tells us that the Bengals and
Speaker 2: Stuart will eventually reach a deal, hopefully in time for
Speaker 2: the first practice of training camp. Here's defensive coordinator Al Golden.
Speaker 6: I've been around long enough to know these things. Sometimes
Speaker 6: they take some time, or they're more complicated than they
Speaker 6: are on their face, and we're hopeful to get this
Speaker 6: resolved in the next five six weeks and get him
Speaker 6: out there and really looking forward. I love the young man.
Speaker 6: He's had a great attitude, he learns really well, he's
Speaker 6: a tentive. He asked good questions, So from that standpoint,
Speaker 6: he's doing everything we're asking.
Speaker 2: Observation number two involves the notion that Stuart's status is
Speaker 2: a big distraction. Here are Ted Carris and Zach Taylor.
Speaker 7: I don't think it's been a distraction. I think it's
Speaker 7: more been a distraction for the fans mostly. I mean,
Speaker 7: I know Twitter, Twitter's hot right now, and since he
Speaker 7: Twitter doesn't mess around, and you know, obviously you don't
Speaker 7: want that to be.
Speaker 3: You know, carry into you know, when it gets real.
Speaker 3: This is uh, you know, like I said, I thought
Speaker 3: of Produglis ring.
Speaker 7: This is a different time, and you know, I think
Speaker 7: it's you know, how it's how it's played out has
Speaker 7: been probably unfortunate for both sides.
Speaker 8: It gets a lot of attention to the media and
Speaker 8: not as much attention in the locker room, and so
Speaker 8: I think it's very easy for us isolate ourselves in
Speaker 8: these walls. We spend a lot of time here you
Speaker 8: get asked questions about it, but you just learned to
Speaker 8: continue to keep it moving. So I think our players
Speaker 8: are doing a great job just focusing on what's important
Speaker 8: inside the walls. Getting our reps down to practice certainly
Speaker 8: gets a lot of headlines and stories and all that,
Speaker 8: but we don't worry about any that stuff. And it
Speaker 8: could be a contract, it can be an injury, it
Speaker 8: can be any sort of adversity that can strike all
Speaker 8: thirty two teams in this league. It's all going to
Speaker 8: come in different shapes and forms. It's how your team
Speaker 8: handles adversity the best, and this team's got a history
Speaker 8: of doing a great job handling adversity the right way.
Speaker 2: If Stewart had a sore hamstring and was around every day,
Speaker 2: sitting in on meetings but watching practice from the sidelines,
Speaker 2: would that be viewed as a big distraction. No, So
Speaker 2: what's the difference? And that leads to observation number three,
Speaker 2: his lack of practice time. I don't want to be
Speaker 2: a homer and say that it's insignificant. Every practice is meaningful,
Speaker 2: and Chamar would benefit from getting reps. But there are
Speaker 2: still six weeks of practices in three preseason games before
Speaker 2: the regular season opener in Cleveland. Here's Shamar's former college
Speaker 2: teammate who now has the locker next to him in Cincinnati,
Speaker 2: McKinley Jackson.
Speaker 9: I don't focus on contracts and all that stuff. I
Speaker 9: just tell him like staying the playbook and stay in shape.
Speaker 9: And I care for him very very much beyond football,
Speaker 9: Like he's a special guy, special person. Stands background. That said,
Speaker 9: where he came from, and I know where you can go.
Speaker 9: I know what he can do for this team. Like
Speaker 9: I said, he's really special. So just I'm hoping that
Speaker 9: all that gets figured upstairs. How all the time goes.
Speaker 9: He's ready and he's stuck, he's died, ain't locked in
Speaker 9: because he's the first runner for us. He's gonna have
Speaker 9: to he's gonna have to play. So he's going to
Speaker 9: get in and I have I have a bunch of
Speaker 9: faith in him. Take four of a push every day.
Speaker 2: Observation number four involves a possible silver lining. The Bengals
Speaker 2: have a lot of young defensive linemen, and since Shamar,
Speaker 2: Trey Hendrickson, and b J. Hill weren't on the field
Speaker 2: during OTA's and Mini gamps in BJ's case dudo minor injury.
Speaker 2: Guys like Miles Murphy, Chris Jenkins, Cedric Johnson, and McKinley Jackson.
Speaker 2: We're getting extra reps here are Al Golden and Zach Taylor.
Speaker 6: It affects us in a positive way. As ironic as
Speaker 6: that is, because you're already preparing for that injury when
Speaker 6: it when it exposes itself. During the year, you forced
Speaker 6: guys into playing multiple positions. H you know what we call,
Speaker 6: you know, basically just horizontal depth. You know, ends playing tackle,
Speaker 6: tackles playing end, some linebackers playing on the edge, those
Speaker 6: type of things. So I think from that standpoint, we
Speaker 6: always see the we always see the good in it
Speaker 6: and the opportunity. Uh And I'm being serious on that.
Speaker 6: Some guys have really taken advantage of their reps in
Speaker 6: their opportunity and obviously I think will be more formidable
Speaker 6: when those guys come back.
Speaker 8: It's been really good for guys as we build that depth.
Speaker 8: Guys were fighting for opportunity in that way. It's been
Speaker 8: a very positive thing. I think Al and our staff
Speaker 8: has done a great job, especially on outside of the ball,
Speaker 8: practicing with intent every single day. The install what we're
Speaker 8: trying to achieve holding guys accountable, and the players have
Speaker 8: really bought in and that's been exciting for me to see.
Speaker 2: My fifth and final observation is about what we're going
Speaker 2: to see when Schamar gets on the field. As I
Speaker 2: mentioned in my conversation with Trevor Sikkima, I think there's
Speaker 2: been too much focus on what Chamar didn't do well
Speaker 2: in college than where he excelled. Pro Football Focus graded
Speaker 2: him number five in the country among defensive ends at
Speaker 2: stopping the run and had him tied for twenty fifth
Speaker 2: in the Power Conferences in most quarterback pressures, even though
Speaker 2: he only had one and a half sacks last year.
Speaker 2: Here's Bengal defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery.
Speaker 5: We're literally talking about him missing sacks. But the guy
Speaker 5: with his violent in the run game, he affects the
Speaker 5: quarterback at a high rate. When I say affected, he's
Speaker 5: back there right first year playing, truly starting, so he's
Speaker 5: just got to learn how to finish. But more importantly,
Speaker 5: he's beating up on tight ends. He is destroying tackles
Speaker 5: run in pass. His effort and play style is phenomenal.
Speaker 5: Like his his effort to the ball is he leaked. Okay, Now,
Speaker 5: like I told everybody, if if he just finishes on
Speaker 5: let's let's just say he gets I don't know, you
Speaker 5: call it six seven sacks. You know what, he's not.
Speaker 1: A Cincinnati bank.
Speaker 5: That's that to me is the biggest thing. And so
Speaker 5: people judged him off of that. But you got to
Speaker 5: remember it first time doing it. When I say first
Speaker 5: time doing it, it was a first year start. So as
Speaker 5: he grows and develops as a player, I think the
Speaker 5: skies are the limit. And like I always compare similar
Speaker 5: deal to Rashaun Gary when he was coming out. You know,
Speaker 5: he had all the traits, but he had he had
Speaker 5: good pressure productions, but he didn't have the sac production. Well,
Speaker 5: he gets to the league, he gets goes up, he's
Speaker 5: on an edge more than he's been in college. And
Speaker 5: then all of a sudden he he has two productions,
Speaker 5: THENDO too, Bowl, those type of things. So but again,
Speaker 5: like I said, if he had the numbers would have
Speaker 5: been long gone. I'm saying top five, he was by
Speaker 5: far the most explosive player in the draft.
Speaker 2: You heard it. Jerry Montgomery says that Stewart has the
Speaker 2: talent worthy of a top five NFL draft pick, and
Speaker 2: I'll repeat what I said earlier. It's only a matter
Speaker 2: of time before he's under contract. That's going to do it.
Speaker 2: For this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, brought to
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Speaker 2: more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde and thanks
Speaker 2: so much for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast