1
00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:06,480
Speaker 1: I get everybody. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for downloading

2
00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:12,959
Speaker 1: the Bengals Booth Podcast, the Duke Duke Duger Duke Duke

3
00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,000
Speaker 1: Edition as I sit down for a one on one

4
00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:19,599
Speaker 1: conversation with the Bengals Director of Player Personnel, Duke Tobin

5
00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:24,079
Speaker 1: to discuss free agency, the draft, and trying to build

6
00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:28,200
Speaker 1: a championship team around Joe Burrow. The Bengals Booth Podcast

7
00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:32,040
Speaker 1: is presented by bud Light Seltzer. Refresh the game, and

8
00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:34,440
Speaker 1: here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest

9
00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,199
Speaker 1: edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet,

10
00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:43,000
Speaker 1: or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify,

11
00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:48,160
Speaker 1: or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing since local radio

12
00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:51,839
Speaker 1: calls of dramatic sports moments. One of the things I

13
00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:54,920
Speaker 1: love about my job in broadcasting Bengals and you see

14
00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:58,720
Speaker 1: Bearcats games as opposed to being a neutral network announcer,

15
00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,320
Speaker 1: is that I have a vested steak in the outcome.

16
00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:05,480
Speaker 1: Like a die hard fan, I am elated when the

17
00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:09,840
Speaker 1: Bengals and Bearcats win and I am sometimes heartbroken when

18
00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:12,800
Speaker 1: they lose. And that's one of the reasons why whenever

19
00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:16,000
Speaker 1: there's a dramatic game winning play like the long bank

20
00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,960
Speaker 1: shot that Gonzaga freshman Jalen Sugs made on Saturday night

21
00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,880
Speaker 1: to beat UCLA in overtime in the NCAA Tournament. I

22
00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:26,960
Speaker 1: love to hear how the local radio announcers called it.

23
00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:32,840
Speaker 1: To feel that raw emotion first. Courtesy of Gonzaga's IMG

24
00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:36,600
Speaker 1: Radio network. Here are play by play man Tom Hudson

25
00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:41,679
Speaker 1: and color commentator Adam Morrison. The former Bulldog star thing

26
00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:43,560
Speaker 1: to the right side of the poor defended by kisspur

27
00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,840
Speaker 1: Now drives, leans in the runner, comes up short, choosing

28
00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:49,760
Speaker 1: the rebounds and puts an in. We're time at ninety

29
00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,560
Speaker 1: three seconds left. Here's Suggs the other way, pull up

30
00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:59,440
Speaker 1: three for the win. Yes, yes, said the championship game.

31
00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:07,960
Speaker 1: Hey no from forty of the buzzers. Wow, why for

32
00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:13,720
Speaker 1: national championship. Then there's the other side. Courtesy of IMG's

33
00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:18,760
Speaker 1: UCLA network. Here are Josh lewin In former Bruin Tracy Murray,

34
00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:21,440
Speaker 1: Jusang with eight with seven gets to the elbow, a

35
00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,440
Speaker 1: floater line drive. Noe gets his own rebound scores off

36
00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:27,040
Speaker 1: the glass. Three point three to go. Here's Suns at

37
00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:31,359
Speaker 1: mid court two one a thirty two footer. Oh my, goodness,

38
00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:37,000
Speaker 1: he baked it in. Gonzaga has won the game. Wow,

39
00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:44,800
Speaker 1: Cry on your pillow. Unbelievable suns hit, a runner bank shot,

40
00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:49,880
Speaker 1: going home. The Bruins are going home. Josh Lewin has

41
00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:52,079
Speaker 1: been my friend for more than thirty years since we

42
00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:55,080
Speaker 1: were young minor league baseball broadcasters in the same league,

43
00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:59,440
Speaker 1: and that was a tremendous call under very difficult circumstances.

44
00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:02,040
Speaker 1: But as I told him, with Mick Cron and his

45
00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,600
Speaker 1: head coach and considering the recruits, the UCLA is sure

46
00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:08,960
Speaker 1: to attract. There will be many more Final Four trips

47
00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,960
Speaker 1: to come. As I record this podcast, the NFL Draft

48
00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,280
Speaker 1: is less than four weeks away twenty four days to

49
00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:20,079
Speaker 1: be exact, as the first round takes place on Thursday,

50
00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,600
Speaker 1: April twenty ninth. This week, I discussed the draft with

51
00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:27,000
Speaker 1: Duke Tobin, but we started our conversation with the roughly

52
00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,760
Speaker 1: one hundred twenty one million dollars that the Bengals have

53
00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:35,880
Speaker 1: spent so far on free agents from other teams at

54
00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:38,800
Speaker 1: the start of free agency. Was your goal, were one

55
00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:41,640
Speaker 1: of your biggest goals to improve the offensive line? Well,

56
00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:44,360
Speaker 1: what we set out to do is look where the

57
00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:49,440
Speaker 1: opportunities are in free agency, often the opportunities don't exactly

58
00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:52,480
Speaker 1: line up with what your needs are. But we wanted

59
00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,880
Speaker 1: to take advantage of the opportunities we thought we would

60
00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:58,960
Speaker 1: have access to, and we had a number of areas

61
00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,480
Speaker 1: on our team that we fell could could use some

62
00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,560
Speaker 1: new guys and UH, and the way that it broke,

63
00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,720
Speaker 1: we just had to maintain maintain flexibility on what we

64
00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:13,000
Speaker 1: were looking at and where the opportunities were. And the

65
00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:17,400
Speaker 1: opportunities hit on defense, which is fine by me. UH

66
00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:21,400
Speaker 1: from where we were. We needed help there. We needed

67
00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:24,200
Speaker 1: some new names, some new faces, some guys coming from

68
00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:28,160
Speaker 1: other programs and guys with career left in them and

69
00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:33,440
Speaker 1: guys with success and toughness and swagger. And so when

70
00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,520
Speaker 1: the opportunities came on defense, we didn't turn them down,

71
00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:39,920
Speaker 1: and we looked at a lot of different position groups

72
00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:44,000
Speaker 1: as we went through, and to be honest, we're still

73
00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,040
Speaker 1: looking around a little bit and we'll see if anything

74
00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:50,920
Speaker 1: else comes available to us, but you know, we're pleased

75
00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,440
Speaker 1: with the way it happened. It's hard to predict exactly

76
00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:55,840
Speaker 1: how it's going to happen, but you've got to look

77
00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,039
Speaker 1: at free agency and see where the depth is, see

78
00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,280
Speaker 1: where the opportunity is and then adapt to that. It

79
00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,200
Speaker 1: doesn't always line up with your number one needs. We

80
00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:06,560
Speaker 1: will definitely get to those defensive guys, but I'm gonna

81
00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:08,719
Speaker 1: stick with the offensive line for a second. You signed

82
00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,960
Speaker 1: Riley Reef, you re signed Quentin Spain, but those are

83
00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:16,080
Speaker 1: only one year deals. How does that impact the draft? Well,

84
00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,960
Speaker 1: you know, one year deals are fine with us. If

85
00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,280
Speaker 1: guys come in and do well, we're we're more than

86
00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,840
Speaker 1: willing to extend them and have him around longer than that.

87
00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:29,200
Speaker 1: This year brought on a lot of one year deals

88
00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:33,760
Speaker 1: around the league just because of, oh the COVID protocols

89
00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:39,080
Speaker 1: and maybe how the cap was affected in a downward direction. So,

90
00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:43,240
Speaker 1: you know, as we go through the draft, I think

91
00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:46,000
Speaker 1: what we were able to do in free agency is

92
00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:48,720
Speaker 1: fill enough needs to where we can go into the

93
00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:52,279
Speaker 1: draft and feel good about taking the best player available,

94
00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:57,360
Speaker 1: not passing up super talented guys to take maybe a

95
00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:00,920
Speaker 1: reach at a position of needs. So with what we

96
00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:03,720
Speaker 1: got accomplished in free agency, I feel like we're in

97
00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:05,880
Speaker 1: a position to do that and we'll see what the

98
00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,839
Speaker 1: draft brings us. We do the same analysis with the draft.

99
00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,200
Speaker 1: You know, it's it's sometimes a little deeper in some

100
00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,880
Speaker 1: areas than others, and sometimes they match up with where

101
00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:19,480
Speaker 1: you're picking, and sometimes they don't. And we'll maintain flexibility

102
00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:21,440
Speaker 1: as the draft goes on and we'll look at all

103
00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,680
Speaker 1: options and you know, hopefully be able to add to

104
00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:27,479
Speaker 1: our team in a number of different areas. We're talking

105
00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:30,000
Speaker 1: to Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin. There are still

106
00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:33,360
Speaker 1: some free agent offensive linemen out there, more are likely

107
00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:36,280
Speaker 1: to be cut by their current teams. Are you still

108
00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:41,760
Speaker 1: actively looking to add experienced offensive lineman? Well, we are

109
00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:45,480
Speaker 1: always looking if an opportunity comes up in the ability

110
00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:49,040
Speaker 1: level is what we deem as an upgrade. We're not

111
00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:53,080
Speaker 1: looking to sign names, We're looking to sign ability levels

112
00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:57,000
Speaker 1: and players, and so it's got to be more than

113
00:06:57,080 --> 00:06:59,880
Speaker 1: just a recognized name. It has to be an up

114
00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:02,640
Speaker 1: from what we currently have if we're going to spend

115
00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:06,000
Speaker 1: our resources in that area. And so as it goes

116
00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,000
Speaker 1: we'll continue to evaluate and see if there's somebody we

117
00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:11,040
Speaker 1: feel as an upgrade from what we already have on

118
00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,040
Speaker 1: a roster, and if not, we'll look to the draft

119
00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:18,720
Speaker 1: and fill in some there. Joe Tuney wound up signing

120
00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,600
Speaker 1: an eighty million dollar deal with Kansas City. That's the

121
00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:25,320
Speaker 1: second most ever for a guard. What's your philosophy when

122
00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:29,400
Speaker 1: it comes to paying guards, Well, you pay players, so

123
00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:33,120
Speaker 1: you don't really pay positions. And I've said that a lot,

124
00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:36,600
Speaker 1: and they felt that the player was worth that, and

125
00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:39,240
Speaker 1: that's what they had to pay to get him. He

126
00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:43,440
Speaker 1: was really pretty much the premier player in on the

127
00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,160
Speaker 1: offensive line in free agency, and so when you're bidding

128
00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:49,560
Speaker 1: on that level a guy, you normally have to go

129
00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:52,040
Speaker 1: pretty high. I'm sure they would like to have them

130
00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:54,520
Speaker 1: at less money than that, but that's what they had

131
00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,640
Speaker 1: to do to get them. And when there's one premier

132
00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:02,640
Speaker 1: player like he was, particularly when you look at the

133
00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:05,240
Speaker 1: some of the guys that got franchise around the league,

134
00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:10,000
Speaker 1: they did what they had to do to get them.

135
00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:14,240
Speaker 1: That's one player and one team. You don't get the

136
00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:16,720
Speaker 1: thirty one other teams can't sign the same guy, so

137
00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:20,080
Speaker 1: he only gets to sign one place. So I'm happy

138
00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,280
Speaker 1: for him. I know he's a local guy. I think

139
00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:26,360
Speaker 1: he played at Alter and you know, I've got a

140
00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:30,000
Speaker 1: lot of regard for him, and we'll see how it

141
00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:32,880
Speaker 1: works out for him. But in terms of who we

142
00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:35,719
Speaker 1: pay and how we pay, we look to try to

143
00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,400
Speaker 1: maximize our dollars on as many players as we can,

144
00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:40,560
Speaker 1: and we had enough needs to where we didn't want

145
00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:44,679
Speaker 1: to go after somebody that would take it all, and

146
00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,400
Speaker 1: so we ended up spending a lot of money on

147
00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,000
Speaker 1: a number of different guys when we think we filled

148
00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,840
Speaker 1: in our roster that needed filling in in a lot

149
00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:56,719
Speaker 1: of spots. So I think it worked out fine. You

150
00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:00,599
Speaker 1: signed five defensive free agents, including four likely starters, and

151
00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:04,400
Speaker 1: the biggest deal went to Trey Hendrickson reportedly four years,

152
00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:07,800
Speaker 1: sixty million bucks. What do you think you're getting in

153
00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,679
Speaker 1: the former New Orleans Saint Um. We see Trey as

154
00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:13,079
Speaker 1: a still an ascending player, even though you know he

155
00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:15,040
Speaker 1: was second in the league in sacks this year. We

156
00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:18,720
Speaker 1: see him as an ascending player that brings a lot

157
00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:22,240
Speaker 1: to the unit, not just to his position, but to

158
00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:26,360
Speaker 1: the whole defensive unit and how he plays, and really

159
00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:30,400
Speaker 1: excited that we were able to convince him this was

160
00:09:30,440 --> 00:09:33,200
Speaker 1: a great spot for him and to get a deal

161
00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:37,400
Speaker 1: done with him. It's it's rewarding when it works out

162
00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:40,400
Speaker 1: that way. And you know, we like guys that are

163
00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:44,520
Speaker 1: that are emerging in their in their in their career,

164
00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,160
Speaker 1: and we think we'll have a lot of really productive,

165
00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:50,839
Speaker 1: good years with Trey. Will Jackson went to Washington for

166
00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,640
Speaker 1: about fourteen million dollars a year. You signed two starting

167
00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,440
Speaker 1: cornerbacks for basically the same amount. Let's start with Chittabay,

168
00:09:58,520 --> 00:10:01,719
Speaker 1: a woogie. He's about three years younger than Will. Why

169
00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:06,880
Speaker 1: did you pursue Chittabey, Well, again, we had an opportunity

170
00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,079
Speaker 1: to add to that position group. He was he was

171
00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:13,760
Speaker 1: interested in us, interested in the way that we do things,

172
00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,120
Speaker 1: felt good about the opportunity here. So we made a

173
00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:21,120
Speaker 1: push to get him and really excited to get him.

174
00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:25,360
Speaker 1: Another young player that is on the rise in this league.

175
00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:29,280
Speaker 1: He's got a lot of playing experience and brings a

176
00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:31,880
Speaker 1: lot of traits that we want in our defensive scheme.

177
00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:34,360
Speaker 1: And coach and a Rumo and the rest of the

178
00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:36,439
Speaker 1: coaches felt like he was really a good fit for

179
00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,079
Speaker 1: what we're going to do, and so it was it

180
00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:44,959
Speaker 1: was easy to pursue him and was satisfying that he

181
00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:49,920
Speaker 1: wanted to pursue us as well. Mike Hilton is also

182
00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:51,599
Speaker 1: still a young player. He's about a year and a

183
00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:54,440
Speaker 1: half younger than Will Jackson. He signed for four years,

184
00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,360
Speaker 1: twenty four mill reportedly, which is a good contract for

185
00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,280
Speaker 1: a slack corner. What's that say about him in your

186
00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:05,160
Speaker 1: view of that position? Again, with Mike, I think a

187
00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,439
Speaker 1: lot of Bengal fans know Mike because he brings a

188
00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:11,319
Speaker 1: ton of energy and we need that on defense. We

189
00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:14,959
Speaker 1: wanted guys that had played on high level defenses that

190
00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:18,199
Speaker 1: had a little bit of a swagger to him and

191
00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:21,360
Speaker 1: a little bit of a physicality to him and h

192
00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:24,720
Speaker 1: and he brings those and um, you know, we're excited

193
00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:28,400
Speaker 1: to see the energy that he'll bring the unit. And

194
00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:32,640
Speaker 1: I know he's a confident player. And again another player

195
00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:35,199
Speaker 1: that fits exactly kind of what we wanted to do

196
00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:40,160
Speaker 1: on defense. And so again another guy that was interested

197
00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:42,839
Speaker 1: in us, and uh, you know we were able to

198
00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:46,599
Speaker 1: get him from a division rival. And that's also the

199
00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:49,640
Speaker 1: case with defensive tackle Larry Oganjobi, who comes from the

200
00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:53,000
Speaker 1: Cleveland Browns. What can he add upfront that you don't

201
00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:56,480
Speaker 1: already have? Yeah, we think Larry's got ability to play

202
00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:59,880
Speaker 1: on all three downs. We think we think he gives

203
00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:02,520
Speaker 1: us maybe a little more upfield rush than what we

204
00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:08,079
Speaker 1: saw from our interior guys this past year. And but

205
00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:11,880
Speaker 1: you know, again another ascending young player that could have

206
00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,439
Speaker 1: a long career here if it if it works out.

207
00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:16,960
Speaker 1: I know he's on a short term deal with us,

208
00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,480
Speaker 1: but you know, we're certainly open to if if it's

209
00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:23,120
Speaker 1: a great fit and he's producing to try to get

210
00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:25,439
Speaker 1: him locked up longer than that, you know, as we go.

211
00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:28,599
Speaker 1: But again, a guy that we played against, so we

212
00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,280
Speaker 1: know kind of what he brings, and we felt what

213
00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:34,480
Speaker 1: he brings, you know, on twice a year, and so

214
00:12:34,679 --> 00:12:37,360
Speaker 1: we were happy that again he was interested in us

215
00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:39,520
Speaker 1: and that we were able to get it worked out.

216
00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:42,880
Speaker 1: We're talking to Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin. You

217
00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,160
Speaker 1: had to let Geno Atkins go for cap room. Are

218
00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:49,760
Speaker 1: you trying to bring him back at a lower number. Yeah,

219
00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:51,920
Speaker 1: I think it's all to be determined with you know,

220
00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,520
Speaker 1: we've got such a regard for him. He's one of

221
00:12:54,559 --> 00:12:57,400
Speaker 1: the greatest players in franchise history and one of the

222
00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:01,280
Speaker 1: top defensive tackles in the league the last decade decade.

223
00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:05,720
Speaker 1: So you're you're talking about a rare guy, and um,

224
00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:08,160
Speaker 1: we thought he gave what he could this past year

225
00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:12,120
Speaker 1: and again, you know, with where his contract was, we

226
00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:15,079
Speaker 1: had to make a move there. But who knows what

227
00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:18,679
Speaker 1: the future holds. We'll see if there's something that can

228
00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:21,679
Speaker 1: be worked out and if that, if it does, great

229
00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:23,880
Speaker 1: and if not, I think we've got some other guys

230
00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:27,000
Speaker 1: that can fill the role. All right, let's focus on

231
00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:29,600
Speaker 1: the draft. I suspect you're not going to tell us

232
00:13:29,679 --> 00:13:32,160
Speaker 1: who you are leaning toward with a fifth overall pick,

233
00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:36,880
Speaker 1: but three names are being prominently mentioned. Can you share

234
00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:42,200
Speaker 1: a few thoughts. I'm Pine Swell, Jamar Chase and Kyle Pitts.

235
00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:44,959
Speaker 1: Well overall with the draft, we feel we're in a

236
00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:48,360
Speaker 1: good spot and you know, we'll be careful not to

237
00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:51,679
Speaker 1: get overly greedy and get out of a spot to

238
00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,040
Speaker 1: where we maybe lose a premier player, and we feel

239
00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:56,720
Speaker 1: like we'll get one of the premier players in this draft.

240
00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,719
Speaker 1: It'll be it'll be a lot of discussion as to

241
00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:03,400
Speaker 1: how we go forward and that, you know, but we

242
00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:06,520
Speaker 1: feel that there are enough guys worthy of the fifth

243
00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,160
Speaker 1: pick in the draft to get a real guy that

244
00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:11,719
Speaker 1: we feel comfortable with. It also hits us at a

245
00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:15,560
Speaker 1: position a need, you know, specifically, with those guys, You've

246
00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:20,280
Speaker 1: got guys who are are you know, maybe they haven't

247
00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:24,080
Speaker 1: played recently, which is somewhat of a concern, but when

248
00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:28,000
Speaker 1: they did play, they played outstanding and they're at premier

249
00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:32,640
Speaker 1: positions and their guys who were dominant at those positions

250
00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:36,400
Speaker 1: at high level football programs. How good is the offensive

251
00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,000
Speaker 1: line depth in this draft? I think it's pretty good

252
00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:40,920
Speaker 1: if you take the right guys. You know, there's a

253
00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:43,640
Speaker 1: there's a lot of guys out there that have different

254
00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:46,920
Speaker 1: traits and uh, and we'll take guys that have the

255
00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,560
Speaker 1: traits that we want in our group. Um, But I

256
00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:53,320
Speaker 1: do think it's a deep draft. There'll be guys available

257
00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:56,160
Speaker 1: in the second round, third round that we have starter

258
00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:59,160
Speaker 1: grades on and maybe they'll last a little longer than

259
00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:02,080
Speaker 1: that too. But it's a position that we're going to

260
00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:05,840
Speaker 1: focus on. We'll evaluate it at every pick we make

261
00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:08,560
Speaker 1: and to see if the best guy available for us

262
00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:12,080
Speaker 1: is an offensive lineman. But it's a position group that

263
00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:15,800
Speaker 1: we've been focused on. We think having healthy guys there

264
00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:19,160
Speaker 1: and then the addition of Riley Reef, we think we're

265
00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:21,760
Speaker 1: in a better spot than we were and they'll still

266
00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:25,760
Speaker 1: be additions to be made to be named later. How

267
00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:28,600
Speaker 1: deep is the wide receiver depth than this draft. Yeah,

268
00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:32,360
Speaker 1: probably not the depth that last year's had, but that

269
00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:37,720
Speaker 1: was a rare draft, and but there are good receivers. Again,

270
00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:41,760
Speaker 1: with the receiver group, there's a lot of different style guys,

271
00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,960
Speaker 1: even more so than the offensive line group, where there's

272
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,640
Speaker 1: a lot of different style guys. At receiver, you got

273
00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:50,480
Speaker 1: guys that play inside, guys that play outside. You got

274
00:15:50,560 --> 00:15:53,600
Speaker 1: guys who have special teams value. So there's a lot

275
00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:57,120
Speaker 1: You got to pick exactly what you're looking for, you know. Obviously,

276
00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:58,760
Speaker 1: when you're looking at the top of the draft, you

277
00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:01,640
Speaker 1: want the guy that can do everything. But then as

278
00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,920
Speaker 1: the draft goes on, that's where the depth really comes in.

279
00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:07,480
Speaker 1: You want an inside slot guy, you want to speak

280
00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:09,760
Speaker 1: guy on the outside. You want a size guy that

281
00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:13,360
Speaker 1: has a maybe a catch radius and a matchup problem,

282
00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:15,600
Speaker 1: or do you want a returner you know is so

283
00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:18,000
Speaker 1: those are those are things that we'll talk about as

284
00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,160
Speaker 1: the draft goes on. But I don't have a problem

285
00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:25,120
Speaker 1: with really the depth of any position group in this draft.

286
00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:28,280
Speaker 1: I mean, I think there are fewer guys because a

287
00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:30,720
Speaker 1: lot of guys have taken the opportunity to go back

288
00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:32,880
Speaker 1: to school. But the ones that are in the draft

289
00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:37,960
Speaker 1: we feel are quality players. How significant is the return

290
00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:41,320
Speaker 1: of Frank Pollock, his offensive line coach, got a ton

291
00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,560
Speaker 1: of respect for Frank working with him in the past. Um,

292
00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:46,960
Speaker 1: you know, I know I'll drive those guys. I know

293
00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:50,640
Speaker 1: he'll he'll command respect out of him and uh, you know,

294
00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:53,320
Speaker 1: I'm confident that Frank will get the group going. Well,

295
00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:56,720
Speaker 1: you recently said the following about Joe Burrow quote, I

296
00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:00,400
Speaker 1: think we've got one of the premier young quarterback in

297
00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:04,399
Speaker 1: the game. How is your team building approach affected by

298
00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:08,280
Speaker 1: having that guy in his rookie contract. Well, you always

299
00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:11,560
Speaker 1: want to build around your quarterback, and maybe I misspoke

300
00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:13,479
Speaker 1: when I said I think, I know we've got one

301
00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:17,160
Speaker 1: of the premier quarter young quarterbacks in this in this league,

302
00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:21,119
Speaker 1: and you know, he's a guy that you want to

303
00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:24,359
Speaker 1: be your best for and you want to do everything

304
00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,399
Speaker 1: you can to put it together around him. He's just

305
00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:31,160
Speaker 1: that type of guy, and that's what we're doing. We're

306
00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,240
Speaker 1: trying to find the best pieces to maximize his talent.

307
00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:37,920
Speaker 1: And that's really not a unique philosophy around this league.

308
00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,119
Speaker 1: When you have a quarterback, you want to emphasize it,

309
00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:43,119
Speaker 1: and we're going to do everything we can to emphasize

310
00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:46,240
Speaker 1: his talents. Do you engage him in the process, whether

311
00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:50,440
Speaker 1: it's free agency or the draft. Well, I talked to

312
00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:54,239
Speaker 1: a lot of people throughout the process, and he's an

313
00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:58,080
Speaker 1: engaging guy, so I like to engage with engaging guys.

314
00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:01,680
Speaker 1: We'll just leave it at that. Should I try again

315
00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:04,680
Speaker 1: on pinas Sewell, Jamar Chase, and Kyle Pitts and see

316
00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:08,040
Speaker 1: if you'd like to comment on them again? All three

317
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:13,199
Speaker 1: high level prospects, all three the worthy of being at

318
00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:16,240
Speaker 1: the top of the draft, and guys who we really

319
00:18:16,359 --> 00:18:19,879
Speaker 1: feel like could fit us and could make us a

320
00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:23,280
Speaker 1: better team. Final question for Duke tob and the Bengals

321
00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,080
Speaker 1: director of player personnel when it comes to the possibility

322
00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:31,040
Speaker 1: of trading down, is there a number that you would

323
00:18:31,119 --> 00:18:34,400
Speaker 1: not be comfortable going lower than? So, for example, I'll

324
00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:36,200
Speaker 1: go as low as ten, but I'm not going to

325
00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:38,720
Speaker 1: go as low as fifteen. Yeah. Maybe, but I'm not

326
00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,879
Speaker 1: going to say, you know, it's it's not something you

327
00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:45,680
Speaker 1: would put out. We'll look at any opportunities to come

328
00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:50,840
Speaker 1: our way, and part of moving down is the compensation involved,

329
00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:55,359
Speaker 1: and so we're not above looking at a lot of

330
00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:58,760
Speaker 1: different options. I can't tell you that we plan on

331
00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:00,720
Speaker 1: coming out of the first round of this draft with

332
00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,440
Speaker 1: a premier player, and I don't see us putting ourselves

333
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:09,040
Speaker 1: in position to where we're dropping down a level to

334
00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:13,359
Speaker 1: maybe get a maybe down the road. So we feel

335
00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:17,120
Speaker 1: good about our position where we are and if we move,

336
00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:19,080
Speaker 1: it's going to take something to get us to move,

337
00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,399
Speaker 1: and we'll see if anything breaks there. It's nice to

338
00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:24,240
Speaker 1: be back in your office. It's been a while. I

339
00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:27,320
Speaker 1: appreciate the time. Thanks to you. That's going to do

340
00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:29,800
Speaker 1: it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, brought

341
00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:33,800
Speaker 1: to you by bud Light Seltzer Refresh the game. I'll

342
00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,560
Speaker 1: be back with a new addition on Thursday and you

343
00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,560
Speaker 1: will definitely want to check it out. If you haven't

344
00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:42,000
Speaker 1: done so already, please subscribe and if you have a minute,

345
00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:44,800
Speaker 1: give it a rating or share a comment that helps

346
00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:48,480
Speaker 1: more Bengals fans find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde and

347
00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:51,719
Speaker 1: thank you for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast