Speaker 1: Hi, get everybody.
Speaker 2: I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth podcast.
Speaker 3: The I'm counting.
Speaker 2: Addition, as the NFL Draft is now less than one
Speaker 2: week away. Coming up, I'll visit with offensive lineman turn
Speaker 2: broadcaster Ross Tucker about extending Joe Burrow's contract and what
Speaker 2: else the Bengals should address prior to training camp.
Speaker 3: We'll go inside.
Speaker 2: The locker room and hear from Orlando Brown Junior and
Speaker 2: Chitabey Awooja. And then it's the eighth and final edition
Speaker 2: of our three round mock draft with an NFL expert,
Speaker 2: and this time my guest is one of the reporters
Speaker 2: on the Bengals Beat. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought
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Speaker 2: a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition
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Speaker 2: greatest thing since my front page story dot com. If
Speaker 2: you're looking for a unique gift for anniversaries, birthdays, retirements,
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Speaker 2: a newspaper cover story. More details coming up at the
Speaker 2: end of my conversation with former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker.
Speaker 2: He is the host of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast,
Speaker 2: serves as an analyst on NFL radio broadcast for Westwood One,
Speaker 2: and as a frequent guest on The Dan Patrick Show.
Speaker 2: He took time out of his jam pack schedule to
Speaker 2: join me this week. The big news in the NFL
Speaker 2: so far this week is Philadelphia signing Jalen Hurts to
Speaker 2: a five year, two hundred and fifty five million dollar deal,
Speaker 2: one seventy nine guaranteed. Do you consider that good news
Speaker 2: or bad news for the Bengals as they try to
Speaker 2: extend Joe Burrows.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess probably bad news, Dan. I mean, the
Speaker 1: positive side of it would be that they've got a
Speaker 1: structure in place that they can follow off of in
Speaker 1: terms of what Jalen got. I guess the bad news
Speaker 1: is the floor of whatever Joe was going to get.
Speaker 1: I think has just Risen right, I mean, I would
Speaker 1: be shocked if he accepted less than Jalen Hurts based
Speaker 1: on what Joe's done the last couple of years, you know,
Speaker 1: like anybody else, I don't think they're looking for just
Speaker 1: a dollar more, right, I mean, I think they want
Speaker 1: to get a decent amount more than that. So I
Speaker 1: don't know what you guys in Cincinnati were thinking that
Speaker 1: Joe would get, but he's going to get somewhere between
Speaker 1: fifty two and fifty five million dollars a year now,
Speaker 1: would be my guess.
Speaker 3: Ross.
Speaker 2: After the Hurt deal was announced, you tweeted out this question,
Speaker 2: ranked the following in order of who you would most
Speaker 2: want as your quarterback for the next five years, Lamar Jackson,
Speaker 2: Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert or Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 3: How do you answer that question?
Speaker 1: Well, the first thing I would say, Dan is what's
Speaker 1: so interesting about that is it's not unanimous. But there
Speaker 1: was a heavy consensus that Lamar Jackson was last, and
Speaker 1: a heavy consensus that Joe Burrow was first. And I'm
Speaker 1: sure everybody in Cincinnati would agree with that, and I
Speaker 1: think I'd probably go with that order as well. I
Speaker 1: think Joe Burrow is probably won, although I will say
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts based on the improvement he made from year
Speaker 1: two to year three and the running threat that he brings,
Speaker 1: especially for short yarded situations. I think Hurts is nipping
Speaker 1: on Joe Burrow with heels. But I mean, you know, Dan,
Speaker 1: I was at the AFC Championship game two years ago
Speaker 1: and interviewed Joe after that, and I was on the
Speaker 1: sideline when the Bengals beat the Bills in the snow
Speaker 1: this past year, and I'm just so impressed by that guy.
Speaker 1: I mean, he is he is the modern day Peyton Manning.
Speaker 1: He's the new I mean, it felt like in that
Speaker 1: game against the Bills that he knew where he was
Speaker 1: going to throw the football before he even got the snap.
Speaker 1: Ninety percent of the time he was getting rid of
Speaker 1: the ball within two seconds. I was just thoroughly impressed
Speaker 1: by Joe. So right now, I think I would go
Speaker 1: Burrow one, Hurts two, and probably Herbert three, and then
Speaker 1: Lamar four. But I think Herbert and Lamar are pretty close,
Speaker 1: and you can make an argument either way.
Speaker 2: We are visiting with Ross Tucker, the host of the
Speaker 2: Ross Tucker Football podcast. You can follow him on social
Speaker 2: media at Ross Tucker, NFL. You played offensive line in
Speaker 2: the NFL for five years. I have two Orlando Brown
Speaker 2: junior questions. Number One, how good is he as a
Speaker 2: left tackle? Number two, what do you think of Cincinnati
Speaker 2: signing him at the age of twenty six to a
Speaker 2: deal that makes him the fifteenth highest paid tackle in
Speaker 2: the NFL.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so there's a lot to like there from a
Speaker 1: Bengals perspective. Number One, I think he's an above average
Speaker 1: starting left tackle in the NFL. He is not an
Speaker 1: elite left tackle. I think that he believed that he
Speaker 1: was and believed he would get paid that way. That
Speaker 1: obviously did not happen, and I wonder if he regrets that.
Speaker 1: I mean, he turned down more money from Kansas City
Speaker 1: a year ago than what he got this year from
Speaker 1: Cincinnati Bengals. But that's not the Bengals problem, you know,
Speaker 1: the Bengals. That's just a positive for them, I think
Speaker 1: in two manners two respects Dan. Number one, it's a
Speaker 1: positive that they were able to get a player of
Speaker 1: his caliber for less than you know, what most people
Speaker 1: thought he would get, certainly less than what Orlando thought
Speaker 1: he would left and he would get and he's a
Speaker 1: very solid pass protector, and so now you know, you're
Speaker 1: solidified with Joe Burrow's backside protector for years to come,
Speaker 1: because that is I think what Orlando does best is
Speaker 1: the pass pro and Joe gets rid of the ball
Speaker 1: so quickly. Anyway, But the other thing I thought was
Speaker 1: really nice about it. When's the last time the Bengals
Speaker 1: sort of surprised everybody by going out and paying big
Speaker 1: money for a free agent like this. I guess I
Speaker 1: just really liked the mindset and the message that it
Speaker 1: sent the entire organization, really the entire city of Cincinnati.
Speaker 1: I don't think any of you guys were really expecting,
Speaker 1: and it kind of felt like it came out of
Speaker 1: left field.
Speaker 3: I think that's fair.
Speaker 2: And yet, if you look back over the last several years,
Speaker 2: the Bengals have signed DJ Reader, Trey Hendrickson, Alex Kappa,
Speaker 2: Von Bell, Mike Hilton, and others, is it time to
Speaker 2: start thinking differently about how the Bengals approach free agency.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, they have been a little bit more aggressive.
Speaker 1: You're right in recent years. I guess the Hendrickson thing,
Speaker 1: people would say, well, you know, they lost Carl Lawson,
Speaker 1: so they were just paying a guy that was a
Speaker 1: little bit cheaper. But boyle boy, did that payoff. I'll
Speaker 1: say this Stan, they usually pay the right guys. I mean,
Speaker 1: I love Mike Hilton. Von Bell was fantastic. You know.
Speaker 1: We talked about hendrickson DJ Reiders a stud and that
Speaker 1: all leads us to Tobin and the scouting department, whether
Speaker 1: it's the draft or free agency. I just don't think
Speaker 1: people recognize league wide just how good of a job
Speaker 1: Tobin and the scouting department do because they hit on
Speaker 1: a higher percentage of draft picks like a Logan Wilson.
Speaker 1: It feels like in other teams and with their free
Speaker 1: agents over the year, especially recently, it feels like they've
Speaker 1: they've spent their money very wisely.
Speaker 2: We are spending a few minutes with Ross Tucker, the
Speaker 2: host of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast. You can follow
Speaker 2: him on social media at Ross Tucker NFL. Some of
Speaker 2: the Bengals' biggest question marks right now include who is
Speaker 2: the right tackle, will Joe Mixon remain their top running back?
Speaker 2: Are they okay at safety after losing Bates and Bell?
Speaker 2: What's at the top of your Bengals questions list?
Speaker 1: Well, what's interesting about right tackle is you know, right
Speaker 1: now they've got two options, Lyell Collins and Jonah Williams.
Speaker 1: I would not be surprised if they trade Jonah Williams
Speaker 1: during the draft to somebody else that might won him.
Speaker 1: I also wouldn't be surprised if the Bengals drafted a
Speaker 1: right tackle or a tackle fairly high in the draft
Speaker 1: and started to develop them behind Lyell Collins or maybe
Speaker 1: instead of Lyell Collins. That wouldn't shock me. You know,
Speaker 1: I thought they would find a way to keep one
Speaker 1: of those two safeties. But you know, they got to
Speaker 1: play Dax Hill, right, I mean, you draft him in
Speaker 1: the first round, He's got to play. And I think
Speaker 1: Nick Scott will be a good fit in Louisanna Rumo's defense.
Speaker 1: I'm a big Nick Scott guy, very bright, big time hitter.
Speaker 1: Kind of reminds me of Von Bell a little bit.
Speaker 1: So I think that they'll be okay at safety. I
Speaker 1: really do. So. I would say none of those things
Speaker 1: are really at the top of my list. I mean,
Speaker 1: I guess the mixing thing is interesting, especially with them
Speaker 1: losing p Ryan. I would expect the Bengals to draft
Speaker 1: a running back pretty high to get in the mixed there, especially,
Speaker 1: you know, with what's Joe's supposed to be making and
Speaker 1: with some of the other concerns that go along with Joe,
Speaker 1: both on the field and off the field. Although he
Speaker 1: still looked good to me Dan in that in that
Speaker 1: game against the Bills, I mean, in that kind of weather,
Speaker 1: he was still pounding. Now, how much of that was
Speaker 1: the old life, how much that was Joe, I guess
Speaker 1: we can debate, but he was pretty effective that day,
Speaker 1: that's for sure.
Speaker 2: The Bengals have the twenty eighth pick in the first round,
Speaker 2: assuming they stay there. Do you have a player or
Speaker 2: a few players in mind that that would make sense
Speaker 2: for Cincinnati?
Speaker 1: Yeah. I think when you look at their roster right now,
Speaker 1: they really are in a position where I don't feel
Speaker 1: like there's a position where they have to take somebody
Speaker 1: right and that's where you want to be. I mean,
Speaker 1: it could easily be O line. You can always add
Speaker 1: people on the D line. You know, they might be
Speaker 1: able to get their pick of the safeties if they
Speaker 1: wanted to do that again, they might be able to
Speaker 1: get I don't think Jon Robinson would be there. I
Speaker 1: think they could probably get Gibbs. You know as the
Speaker 1: second best running back. What about tight end? Tight End's
Speaker 1: an interesting one for me there because there's a really
Speaker 1: good draft for tight ends, and I think it's a possibility.
Speaker 1: You know, they did sign IRV Smith. I think it's
Speaker 1: a possibility that the Bengals could go tight end because
Speaker 1: they realize how valuable that is to Joe Burrow.
Speaker 2: And the IRV Smith junior deal was only for one year,
Speaker 2: so they're definitely still in the market for a tight
Speaker 2: end ross. I'm interested in how likable you think the
Speaker 2: Bengals are these days. For the most part, people around
Speaker 2: the country scene to admire Joe Burrow. It's kind of
Speaker 2: been a fun team to watch. They handled the Damar
Speaker 2: handling situation with the utmost class. But before the AFC
Speaker 2: Championship game, the mayor popped off. Some of the Bengals
Speaker 2: players use the term Burrowhead instead of arrowhead. Where are
Speaker 2: you right now? In the Bengals likability.
Speaker 1: Very high, very high. And I'll give you a couple
Speaker 1: of reasons for that. You know, I can tell you
Speaker 1: right now. My daughter and her friends they really like
Speaker 1: the Bengals, and I think Joe Burrow's the biggest reason
Speaker 1: for that. You know. I mean there's lots of people
Speaker 1: they love the Bangal, they talk about them, and I
Speaker 1: live in central Pennsylvania, but they're big fans of the Bengals.
Speaker 1: I think everybody likes Joe Burrow at this point.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 1: I think people like when they when a team that's
Speaker 1: been bad for a while or hasn't been able to
Speaker 1: break through. I think people like when they're able to
Speaker 1: have some success like the Bengals are because other franchises,
Speaker 1: like the Browns, the Lions, whoever, they can sort of
Speaker 1: look at the Bengals and say, see, you know, maybe
Speaker 1: we could do that. If we get the right quarterback,
Speaker 1: maybe we could be the team that's in the mix
Speaker 1: every year. So, you know, I think people are kind
Speaker 1: of tired of the Chiefs, and I think both the
Speaker 1: Bills and the Bengals are actually teams that a lot
Speaker 1: of people like, good young talent, skill, the young quarterback,
Speaker 1: and they're kind of like the latest new kids on
Speaker 1: the block that people are excited about.
Speaker 2: We're chatting with former offensive lineman Ross Tucker, the host
Speaker 2: of the Ross Tucker Football Podcast. Mike Brown and Katie
Speaker 2: Blackburn are Ivy leaguers. They went to Dartmouth, you went
Speaker 2: to Princeton. Did the Bengals show any interest in your
Speaker 2: playing days?
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's funny that you asked that. They're the only
Speaker 1: team that called in the draft and they called me twice.
Speaker 1: And this is back when the Bengals were in a
Speaker 1: bad way. But they called me in the first round
Speaker 1: and it was assistant offensive line coach Frank Verducci and
Speaker 1: he said, we have you ranked high on our board.
Speaker 1: If we don't draft you, we'd like to talk with
Speaker 1: you about maybe being a free agent. And I thought
Speaker 1: that was pretty cool. I was trying to again him
Speaker 1: to take me in the first round. Dan. I was like, Hey,
Speaker 1: I'm ready, take me now call me now, take me now,
Speaker 1: I'm ready. And then at the time, John Garrett was
Speaker 1: a coach for the Bengals back in two thousand and one,
Speaker 1: so he called me on day two of the draft
Speaker 1: and just said hi and expressed the interest that the
Speaker 1: Bengals had. Interestingly enough, though, I don't think Paul Alexander
Speaker 1: liked me that much because after the draft they didn't call.
Speaker 1: They called twice during the draft, but not after the draft.
Speaker 1: So I end up going to Washington and listen, it
Speaker 1: is an uphill battle as an undrafted free agent. You
Speaker 1: never know how it's gonna go. It worked out for me,
Speaker 1: and I'm very thankful to be able to be a
Speaker 1: part of it for seven years. And so I would
Speaker 1: have loved to have been a Bengal though, because I
Speaker 1: love the uniforms. They're very similar to the Princeton Tigers.
Speaker 1: And Cincinnati's just an awesome city. I have a couple
Speaker 1: of friends and business partners that live there, and I
Speaker 1: just think it's so cool that you can, you know,
Speaker 1: kind of live in the suburbs, but you're only eight
Speaker 1: minutes from downtown and everything's pretty close together there with
Speaker 1: where the Reds play and the Bengals, and whether you
Speaker 1: live on the Kentucky side of the Ohio side, it's
Speaker 1: an awesome city.
Speaker 2: You said you were the two thousand and one draft,
Speaker 2: that's right. So the Bengals took Justin Smith, Chad Johnson,
Speaker 2: Rudy Johnson, and TJ. Hushman Zada. It's already arguably the
Speaker 2: greatest draft in franchise history. You would have just added
Speaker 2: to that list of great players well.
Speaker 1: And on the offensive line, they took Victor Lava, and
Speaker 1: I was better than him. So they could have had
Speaker 1: up on the draft if they had taken me instead
Speaker 1: of Victor Lava. They definitely made the right call with
Speaker 1: Justin though. Goodness gracious, was that guy awesome? And yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm glad they took him and said of me in
Speaker 1: the first round for you.
Speaker 2: Guys, all right, final topic for Ross Tucker and I
Speaker 2: appreciate your time. We're going to get away from football
Speaker 2: for a second because Mother's Day is about three weeks away.
Speaker 3: My mom is eighty five.
Speaker 2: She loves me, but she doesn't listen to this podcast,
Speaker 2: so I'm not going to give anything away. You have
Speaker 2: solved my gift buying dilemma when it comes to Mother's Day,
Speaker 2: thanks to something called my front Page Story dot explain
Speaker 2: my front page story dot com.
Speaker 1: Well, Dan, a buddy of mine, started the company, so
Speaker 1: I really can't take credit for the idea, but it's
Speaker 1: unbelievable and it's amazing how many people get these gifts
Speaker 1: for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day. You literally talk
Speaker 1: to one of our writers for I don't know, eight
Speaker 1: minutes on the phone while you're driving the skyline chilly
Speaker 1: or whatever. Tell them how great your mom is. They
Speaker 1: take notes on the quotes that you make, Dan, and
Speaker 1: then they write, this beautiful story looks like it's on
Speaker 1: the cover of the Cincinnati Inquire. There'll be a couple
Speaker 1: of pictures of your mom or your mom with you
Speaker 1: or whoever. And I've seen this happen so many times
Speaker 1: now on video to be able to give it to her.
Speaker 1: She won't even know what it is. She's opening it
Speaker 1: up and say she'll say, what is this? And Dan,
Speaker 1: you'll say, Mom, I wanted something special, so I had
Speaker 1: a story written about you. She will love that because
Speaker 1: allever she ever reads is all the stories written about you.
Speaker 1: And her son's the play by play guy for the
Speaker 1: Bengals and he's all famous. Well, no, how about making
Speaker 1: your mom the star for once, make her their front
Speaker 1: page story. And then, honestly, Dan, when she reads the
Speaker 1: quotes from you or your dad or your siblings or whatever,
Speaker 1: just talking about how how much you appreciate her over
Speaker 1: the years and all the little things she does, I
Speaker 1: can almost guarantee she will cry. I mean they cry
Speaker 1: pretty much every time. So if you haven't gotten a
Speaker 1: Mother's Day gift yet, For the other guys and gals listening,
Speaker 1: I can assure you myfront page story dot Com, cause
Speaker 1: then she'll have it hanging up in the house forever.
Speaker 1: It's like the gift that keeps on giving my front
Speaker 1: Page Story dot Com.
Speaker 2: I've been on the website. There are different packages available.
Speaker 2: It's very reasonably priced, and I am about to become
Speaker 2: a customer.
Speaker 3: I've got a few weeks left.
Speaker 2: Mom is going to get a newspaper story about how
Speaker 2: she's the greatest mom in the world thanks to my
Speaker 2: front page story dot com.
Speaker 3: Ross. This has been fun.
Speaker 2: Love your work, especially your weekly conversations with Greg co Sell.
Speaker 2: Thanks for giving us some of your time today.
Speaker 1: My pleasure. Dan, Thank you so much for reaching out.
Speaker 2: Like I said, I am highly confident that my loving
Speaker 2: mom doesn't listen to this podcast, so if you know her,
Speaker 2: don't spoil the mother's day surprise. The Bengals Booth podcast
Speaker 2: is brought to you in part by Bengals Picks and
Speaker 2: Ultimate Bengals. They're free to play, with tickets and signed
Speaker 2: merchandise up for grabs. Find both inside the Bengals app.
Speaker 2: This week mark the start of the Bengals OTAs, or
Speaker 2: organized team activities. Nearly every player on the roster is
Speaker 2: back in the locker room, but a handful of guys
Speaker 2: have already been there on a regular basis, the ones
Speaker 2: who are rehabbing in Cincinnati after having a serious injury
Speaker 2: last year. Nearly every time I've been in the stadium
Speaker 2: this offseason, I've seen Chitabey Awoojie diligently working out. He
Speaker 2: tore his right acl on Halloween night in Cleveland and
Speaker 2: had surgery about two weeks later, performed by Neil L. Aatrosh,
Speaker 2: the same doctor who operated.
Speaker 3: I'm Joe Burrow.
Speaker 5: When I woke up from surgery, you know, the first
Speaker 5: thing I asked him was like, you know how to go,
Speaker 5: you know, and it was like it went well and stuff.
Speaker 5: I just remember that always because I was I was
Speaker 5: a little I never had surgery, you know, big surgery,
Speaker 5: and you know, to put my body in his hands,
Speaker 5: you know, to take care of it and to make
Speaker 5: it better. It was a little nerve wrecking. But then after,
Speaker 5: you know, the way they explained everything, you know, he just.
Speaker 1: Did a great job.
Speaker 5: So yeah, he's definitely the guy when it comes to that.
Speaker 2: Cheeto's goal is to be ready for the start of
Speaker 2: the season, and when I've seen him hard at work
Speaker 2: at the stadium, he appears to be making excellent progress.
Speaker 5: I mean it's pretty much legg day every day. You know,
Speaker 5: I'm lifting every day on my legs, running, jumping some
Speaker 5: for some form squad in. You know, it's pretty much
Speaker 5: daily at this point, so it doesn't really skew off
Speaker 5: of the legs. But then you know, the PT team
Speaker 5: they may add in some little wrinkles here and there,
Speaker 5: but it's pretty much just legs. The biggest thing I
Speaker 5: could mess up on is getting too cocky, you know,
Speaker 5: because my knee is doing good, and then you know,
Speaker 5: move faster than what I need to do.
Speaker 4: I think, you know, I haven't had.
Speaker 5: A setback, and if I move too fast, you know,
Speaker 5: I'll probably borring a setback to come. So I think
Speaker 5: the biggest thing is just to be patient and trust
Speaker 5: the people that are telling.
Speaker 1: Me what to do.
Speaker 2: Two years ago and his first season with the Bengals,
Speaker 2: who wou Ja was graded is the second best corner
Speaker 2: in the NFL by Pro Football Focus, only Jalen Ramsey
Speaker 2: ranked higher. So what's his goal as he comes back
Speaker 2: from the torn ACL?
Speaker 5: Obviously to be one hundred percent and to you know,
Speaker 5: get my body to where I'm able to improve on
Speaker 5: like my skills as a dB, you know, as a
Speaker 5: football player. You know, obviously I'm kind of training like
Speaker 5: a you know, just an athlete right now. Is just
Speaker 5: you know, getting my legs stronger, doing certain movements. So
Speaker 5: MultiMate goal is becoming a better player from last year.
Speaker 5: I feel like the past two years, I've gotten better
Speaker 5: each year, and I want my acl or you know,
Speaker 5: the injury I had to hinder that.
Speaker 1: I want to keep growing as a player.
Speaker 5: So next year, planning to be a better player than
Speaker 5: I was last year.
Speaker 2: The Bengals are counting on them. Following the departures of
Speaker 2: Jesse Bates and Von Bellen free agency, A Woujier and
Speaker 2: Mike Hilton are the unquestioned leaders in the secondary.
Speaker 5: Obviously, you know, losing Justin Vaughan a free agency, it's
Speaker 5: a blow, you know, it's a blow, and it hurts emotionally,
Speaker 5: you know, and personally too because those those are like
Speaker 5: my friends, you know. So but at the end of
Speaker 5: the day, you know, this team is you know, we're
Speaker 5: primed still, you know, and we have a lot of
Speaker 5: things that are ahead of us. So we're going to
Speaker 5: pick up the ships where they left them. You know.
Speaker 5: And yeah, players that you know, we're younger now, they
Speaker 5: have to step up.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 5: We have to rely on one another, you know, more
Speaker 5: than ever. So it's really expected for everybody that's here
Speaker 5: to be present, to take coaching, to learn from each other,
Speaker 5: and to get better.
Speaker 2: In addition to a Woujia, the Bengals have Cam Taylor
Speaker 2: Britt back at outside corner and have added six year
Speaker 2: veteran Sidney Jones and free agency. Still, it seems highly
Speaker 2: likely to me that the Bengals will draft a corner
Speaker 2: with one of their first few picks next week. The
Speaker 2: Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by Alta Fiber,
Speaker 2: future proof fiber Internet capable of delivering multi gigabit speeds
Speaker 2: designed to take your home, business, and community to a
Speaker 2: new level. Elevate your connection with Alta Fiber. Although he
Speaker 2: signed with the Bengals a little more than a month ago,
Speaker 2: Orlando Brown Junior was in the locker room with his
Speaker 2: new teammates for the first time on Monday.
Speaker 6: I want to come in and be myself. You know,
Speaker 6: I've always been a leader everywhere I've been and you know,
Speaker 6: I love the game of football. I love everything that
Speaker 6: it comes with men, especially during this time. It gives
Speaker 6: you an opportunity to good that relationship with the guys.
Speaker 4: I'm walking room.
Speaker 2: Brown's track record speaks for itself. His peers have chosen
Speaker 2: him for the Pro Bowl in each of the last
Speaker 2: four seasons, and he says that will naturally make him
Speaker 2: one of the leaders in Cincinnati.
Speaker 6: You know, that's the thing about football, man, is you
Speaker 6: know the office always stick out, and you know the
Speaker 6: guys that are you know, competitive and all of those things.
Speaker 6: I rushed the occasion, and that's how your respect is earned,
Speaker 6: you know, from your peers. So man, I just look
Speaker 6: forward to, you know, getting out there and being able
Speaker 6: to compete with these guys and showing who showing who
Speaker 6: I am.
Speaker 2: Orlando is very familiar with his new team. He faced
Speaker 2: the Bengals twice a year and three seasons of the
Speaker 2: Baltimore Ravens and four times over the last two seasons
Speaker 2: with Kansas City, including a pair of AFC Championship games.
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's definitely interesting, man, you know, obviously being on
Speaker 6: the other side for the last few years in Baltimore
Speaker 6: and Kansas City, so it's definitely different. But I mean,
Speaker 6: I'm just I'm so happy and excited, so blessed to
Speaker 6: be a part of it. Though, you know what I
Speaker 6: mean from Afar, you know you can tell how special
Speaker 6: it is and to be able to come in and
Speaker 6: be in it, you know, ten holes, I mean, it's
Speaker 6: it's awesome.
Speaker 2: The Bengals hope that Brown will significantly improve the pass
Speaker 2: protection for Joe Burrow and their new mammoth left tackle.
Speaker 2: Says he'll fit right in with his new offensive line teammates.
Speaker 6: Yeah, no, I think, man, they play with a lot
Speaker 6: of fire, to be honest, a lot of finish. I
Speaker 6: feel like that's something that really stuck out to me.
Speaker 6: A lot of guys doing the little things right, jogging
Speaker 6: down to help of receivers or quarterbacks or whoever downfield,
Speaker 6: getting involved being around the ball shown up on the screen.
Speaker 6: I feel I did do the little things right.
Speaker 2: Brown has an ever present smile and a joyful personality.
Speaker 2: He'll be a great addition to the Bengals locker room.
Speaker 2: The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Kettering Health,
Speaker 2: the official healthcare provider of the Bengals, with more than
Speaker 2: one hundred and twenty care facilities and fifteen hundred care providers.
Speaker 2: Kettering Health is committed to guiding you to your best health.
Speaker 2: Visit ketteringhealth dot org to learn more. Now time for
Speaker 2: our eighth and final edition of a three round mock
Speaker 2: draft with an NFL expert. Here's the concept. When I
Speaker 2: attended the NFL Combine this year, I had the Pro
Speaker 2: Football Focus mock draft simulator set up on my laptop
Speaker 2: and invited several NFL experts to make the Bengals picks
Speaker 2: in the first three rounds while discussing their options. If
Speaker 2: you've never tried a draft simulator before, it allows you
Speaker 2: to play Bengals GM for as many rounds of the
Speaker 2: draft as you want, but the simulator begins making picks
Speaker 2: in order, and then when it's your turn, you can
Speaker 2: make trades or go ahead and pick. It's a great
Speaker 2: way to get to know the players who might be
Speaker 2: available when the Bengals are on the clock next week.
Speaker 2: So far, our experts have chosen the following players in
Speaker 2: the first round. Three have selected Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid,
Speaker 2: two have picked Maryland cornerback Deontay Banks, one chose Notre
Speaker 2: Dame tight end Michael Mayer, and another chose Oregon State
Speaker 2: tight end Luke Musgrave. In the second round, two experts
Speaker 2: picked Northwestern defensive linemen at A Tommy wa at a Bare.
Speaker 2: The other picks were Washington State linebacker Dayon Henley, Syracuse
Speaker 2: offensive tackle Matthew Bergeron Illinois safety Sydney Brown, Texas A
Speaker 2: and M safety Antonio Johnson, and Kansas State cornerback Julius Brents.
Speaker 2: And in the third round, there have been seven different
Speaker 2: picks Iowa tight end Sam Laporta, BYU offensive tackled Blake Freeland,
Speaker 2: Maryland cornerback jacoryan Bennett, TCU cornerback Trey Hodges, Tomlinson, UAB
Speaker 2: running back Dwayne McBride, Texas A and M running back
Speaker 2: Devon a Chain, and Missouri edge rusher Isaiah McGuire. After
Speaker 2: you make your picks on the simulator, PFF gives you
Speaker 2: a grade, and the highest mark so far has been
Speaker 2: an A for Sam Monson from Pro Football Focus. Now
Speaker 2: time for contestant number eight, a Bengals reporter who has
Speaker 2: been publishing a series of mock drafts for several years
Speaker 2: for a local TV station in Cincinnati. Richard Skinner from
Speaker 2: Local twelve here in Cincinnati is the next person to
Speaker 2: take part in our three round mock draft with a
Speaker 2: draft expert. We're using the PFF Mock Draft Simulator. The
Speaker 2: best grade we have so far as an a that
Speaker 2: was Sam Monson, who works for PFF, so he had
Speaker 2: a bit of an advantage there. Now, I consider you
Speaker 2: to be like Cincinnati's number one mock draft guy.
Speaker 7: You have been quite an honor, Dan for sure, to
Speaker 7: be known as that guy.
Speaker 4: So sure, I'll take the honor.
Speaker 2: You've been cranking out the mock drafts though for many
Speaker 2: years well.
Speaker 7: Yeah, honestly in the down years where they were kind
Speaker 7: of out of things by mid season and you kind
Speaker 7: of had to start doing mock drafts a whole lot earlier.
Speaker 7: In the last two years, I haven't gotten to my
Speaker 7: first mock I don't think until right before and or
Speaker 7: right after the combine. So that's both positive for my
Speaker 7: workflow and for the Bengals being good too.
Speaker 2: All Right, So we've got the PFF simulator set up,
Speaker 2: We've got it at a reasonable speed. I'm going to
Speaker 2: hit enter draft. We'll take a look at some of
Speaker 2: the guys that fly off the board, and then we
Speaker 2: will discuss maybe somebody that you wish had still been
Speaker 2: there and take a look at the remaining options before
Speaker 2: you make your pick. Trades are not allowed. So here
Speaker 2: we go the Bengals selecting twenty eighth in the first
Speaker 2: round and the draft is underway. Bryce you, I'm going
Speaker 2: number one, cee J. Stroud going number two, Will Levis
Speaker 2: going in the top ten, as did Anthony Richardson. So
Speaker 2: four quarterbacks went in the top ten. Bjean Robinson went
Speaker 2: prior to pick twenty, so Bengals fans hoping that he
Speaker 2: will be selected by Cincinnati do not get their wish
Speaker 2: in this Richard Skinner mock draft. Dalton Kincaid, the tight
Speaker 2: end from Utah, was just selected one pick before the Bengals.
Speaker 2: He just went to the Buffalo Bills and picked a
Speaker 2: number twenty seven. So you are now on the clock.
Speaker 2: Did anybody go off the board within a few picks
Speaker 2: of the Bengals selection that you were hoping to still
Speaker 2: be there?
Speaker 7: Yeah, Elijah Cantsey, I would hope might have been an option,
Speaker 7: but I think in real life he probably will be
Speaker 7: going anyway too, So it's kind of good for my sake.
Speaker 4: I don't have to make that decision. He's gone. Kinkaid
Speaker 4: is the first tight end off the board.
Speaker 7: I think that's probably expected, but that does leave me
Speaker 7: with a very tough choice because there is another tight
Speaker 7: end on the board. I know him personally, I coached
Speaker 7: basketball against him, and I like Michael Marin awful lot.
Speaker 7: So Dan, I've done a couple of mockers you mentioned already,
Speaker 7: one of them through the PFF simulator.
Speaker 4: I did two in the same day.
Speaker 7: In the same story where I did take Michael Mayer
Speaker 7: went that route, then in another one where Michael was selected,
Speaker 7: it kind of take it out of my hand, so
Speaker 7: I went a different route, just to see what that
Speaker 7: how that was going to play out and when a
Speaker 7: tight end might come back up. But I think for
Speaker 7: me at this stage, I think I have to take
Speaker 7: Michael Mayor. I think he's going to be his His
Speaker 7: ceiling is maybe not as high as you'd like it
Speaker 7: to be, but I think his floor is NFL ready
Speaker 7: tight end for the next ten years. They do have
Speaker 7: two guys on a one year stop gap, which your
Speaker 7: Erv Smith and Andrew sample. I think for me my
Speaker 7: pick here at this point, even though Emmanuel Forbes is
Speaker 7: on the board, It's a tough one for me because
Speaker 7: I love corners. I'm gonna go with Michael Mayor from
Speaker 7: Notre Dame. And I say that knowing that I've done
Speaker 7: this through PFF and it gives me a C plus
Speaker 7: grade for this big So I'm doing that knowing that.
Speaker 2: Dan Well, I'll tell you this, the grades have changed
Speaker 2: since the first time that I did this, so they're
Speaker 2: constantly updating their formula. Anton Harrison, the tackle from Oklahoma,
Speaker 2: also still available. But with Harrison and Emmanuel Forbes all
Speaker 2: being there and Michael Mayer, you are selecting tight end
Speaker 2: Michael Mayer from Notre Dame.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 7: And one quick point on the offensive lineman, I think
Speaker 7: this franchise and this personnel group has kind of learned
Speaker 7: the lesson of first round picks for offensive linemen are
Speaker 7: just really almost wasted.
Speaker 4: Capital because you don't know.
Speaker 7: That's the one position group you don't know, and you
Speaker 7: go to Billy Price Interior, you can go to Cedrical Way.
Speaker 7: I mean those picks at the time and Price was
Speaker 7: maybe a bit of a reach, right, But I think
Speaker 7: they've learned their lesson of guys with NFL tape. It's
Speaker 7: why Orlando Brown's here, It's why Alex cap is here,
Speaker 7: It's why Ted Carris is here. It's why Al Collins
Speaker 7: was here. Doesn't mean you don't spend it. Quadell Wilson
Speaker 7: was spent in the fourth round, but I think first
Speaker 7: round capital Anton Harrison wasn't even consideration for me.
Speaker 4: It was down to Forbes and Michael Mayer, and I'll
Speaker 4: go Michael mahyor.
Speaker 2: It seems that nearly all of the draft gurus have
Speaker 2: Mayor and Utah's Dalton Kincaid ranked as the top two
Speaker 2: tight ends in a deep tight end draft. Cancaid is
Speaker 2: faster and the better receiver of the two. Mayor is
Speaker 2: a solid receipt for breaking all of Notre Dame's position
Speaker 2: records for catches and receiving yards, and he is the
Speaker 2: better blocker of the two. Will either be there when
Speaker 2: the Bengals are on the clock at number twenty eight,
Speaker 2: well they're gone, and most of the mock drafts I've seen,
Speaker 2: but you never know. The Bengals were stunned when Dax
Speaker 2: Hill was still available at number thirty one last year.
Speaker 2: They had him ranked just outside of the top ten
Speaker 2: on their board. Now let's see who Local twelve's Richard
Speaker 2: Skinner selected in round two. We move on to round two.
Speaker 2: Dewan Jones was actually the last pick of the first
Speaker 2: round in this mock draft. Darnell Washington, the tight end
Speaker 2: from Georgia, was just selected, but you don't need a
Speaker 2: tight end at this point. Luke Musgrave was also just selected.
Speaker 2: So we have reached pick number sixty. This is the Bengals'
Speaker 2: second round pick. Let's take a look at the guys
Speaker 2: or some of the guys that were selected within a
Speaker 2: few picks of number sixty.
Speaker 7: Well, one of them is and I just took him
Speaker 7: in the most recent mock draft I did right there
Speaker 7: at fifty nine.
Speaker 4: Eka, the defensive tackle from bail Or.
Speaker 7: He's more of a nose tackle than he is a
Speaker 7: three technique, and I think they're probably in the market
Speaker 7: for a three technique. But DJ Readers contract is up
Speaker 7: after this year. They do need interior depth. I got
Speaker 7: lucky that I got him in the second round of
Speaker 7: a mock draft I got so he's certainly if he
Speaker 7: would have been on the board, he would have been
Speaker 7: in my wheelhouse to take. So that's going to probably
Speaker 7: make this pick a little bit more difficult for me.
Speaker 2: Julius Brentz is a guy that I kind of like
Speaker 2: as a possible second round pick, the cornerback from Kansas State,
Speaker 2: but he went number forty eight to Detroit.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 7: I like him too, and I don't think he slips
Speaker 7: to where the Bengals are. Ikea is an interesting one because,
Speaker 7: like I said, I got him at sixty a different
Speaker 7: mock draft. He literally went just this pick before. So
Speaker 7: if he slides there, maybe they do get a chance
Speaker 7: to take him.
Speaker 2: So we are now looking at guys that are still
Speaker 2: available in this mock draft for pick sixty in the
Speaker 2: second round.
Speaker 7: This is where see the Samuelport is on the board right,
Speaker 7: So if I'd have gone the Forbes route, I would
Speaker 7: have been more than comfortable to take Samuelport in the
Speaker 7: second round. Nathaniel Dell, the wide receiver from houstoned him
Speaker 7: in the fourth round of a draft I did, and
Speaker 7: he is one that is literally all over the board,
Speaker 7: depending on what board you look at, He's gonna put
Speaker 7: instantaneously be a punt returner. He's really small, five six,
Speaker 7: one hundred and sixty five pounds, But you know, with
Speaker 7: Tyler Boyd's contract being up and he could slide into
Speaker 7: the slot next year, this gives them probably a more
Speaker 7: dynamic option than what they have on the roster for
Speaker 7: a fourth receiver going into this year. Yeah, I gotta
Speaker 7: go to the corner route, and I know Garrett Williams
Speaker 7: is there too, He's got some injury issues. If the
Speaker 7: kid from Sarahcuse should probably more familiar with him than
Speaker 7: I am as a player. I just know of him
Speaker 7: through the box I've done. I mocked him in an
Speaker 7: early one in the second round, but then the injury
Speaker 7: flags come up. I think I'm gonna go cornerback here,
Speaker 7: and the best corner on the board is Tyreek Stevenson.
Speaker 7: I think this is the time to get a ready
Speaker 7: made corner, and to me, Tyreek Stevenson would be the
Speaker 7: guy to go ahead and select. Garrett Williams is rated
Speaker 7: right behind him, but I honestly don't think he's I
Speaker 7: think he goes the fourth round, the fifth round because
Speaker 7: of the injury red flags.
Speaker 4: So I got Tyreek Stevenson from Miami, Florida.
Speaker 2: Tyreek Stevenson started as college career at Georgia and spent
Speaker 2: a couple of years there before finishing his career with
Speaker 2: two seasons close to home at the University of Miami.
Speaker 2: He's six feet tall with long arms, roughly two hundred
Speaker 2: pounds and ran a four four five forty at the combine.
Speaker 2: The Athletics Dane Brugler described Stevenson as a press man
Speaker 2: corner with NFL starting ability and as him ranked number
Speaker 2: sixty nine overall on his big board, he's number forty
Speaker 2: six on the PFF version. Now time for Richard Skinner's
Speaker 2: third round pick. Tyreek Stevenson selected with pick number sixties.
Speaker 2: So you have Michael Mayer in round one, Tyreek Stevenson
Speaker 2: in round two, and now we move on to the
Speaker 2: third round.
Speaker 4: I would have really love Tank Dell. I just wish
Speaker 4: he was around further down.
Speaker 7: Maybe I get lucky he sneaks through this round, but
Speaker 7: I'm gonna say absolutely not.
Speaker 3: You did not get lucky.
Speaker 2: He has just taken it pick number eighty one, so
Speaker 2: you almost got there, but Tank Dell is gone. The
Speaker 2: pick immediately before the Bengals was a running back Tank
Speaker 2: Bigsby out of Auburn pick number ninety one. This is
Speaker 2: pick number ninety two. Any position group that you're interested
Speaker 2: in here, No, I'm.
Speaker 4: Still and I'm with their boat. I'm best available for me.
Speaker 7: If Tank Bigsby had been there, he would have certainly
Speaker 7: been under consideration. I can't remember I took him in
Speaker 7: one of my mocks already, Dan, I can't remember if
Speaker 7: he was still there in the fourth round and I
Speaker 7: got luckier, maybe I did go ahead and take him
Speaker 7: in the third round.
Speaker 4: Let's see what we got on the board right now.
Speaker 7: In the third round, guys, I mean I could double
Speaker 7: up easily with Trevius Hodges, Tomlinson, the cornerback from TCU.
Speaker 7: I don't think I want to go the safety route.
Speaker 7: Michael Wilson's probably more of a fourth or fifth round projection,
Speaker 7: the wide receiver from Stanford.
Speaker 4: I think I'm doubling up at cornerback. You know, Chenobia.
Speaker 7: Wuzia's contract is up after this year.
Speaker 4: You can never have enough of these guys.
Speaker 7: I mean, no offense to Sidney Jones, the fourth He's
Speaker 7: technically the fourth corner on the roster now, and you'd
Speaker 7: probably like an upgrade from that. I know the Bengals,
Speaker 7: Duke Tobin told us the other day or the day
Speaker 7: that we were doing this mock, have to you know,
Speaker 7: they don't double up on purpose a positions and this happenstance,
Speaker 7: but they.
Speaker 4: Do seem to do that.
Speaker 7: I mean, they doubled up, triple up, quadrupled up on
Speaker 7: linebacker the one year, right, and all those guys are
Speaker 7: still on the roster.
Speaker 4: So I'm going back to the cornerback round.
Speaker 7: I'm gonna go back to back corners and take Trevius
Speaker 7: Hodges Tomlinson, the cornerback out of TCU.
Speaker 2: Trey Hodges. Tomlinson is one of the smallest cornerbacks in
Speaker 2: the draft. He's not quite five to eight and weighs
Speaker 2: one hundred and seventy eight pounds, but he's fast, running
Speaker 2: a four four forty and rabbit quick. Tomlinson won the
Speaker 2: Jim Thorpe Award last year. Is the best defensive back
Speaker 2: in college football with eighteen pass deflections and three interceptions.
Speaker 2: He's ranked number fifty nine overall on the PFF Big Board.
Speaker 2: Now time to find out how PFF graded Richard's picks.
Speaker 2: All right, so you have selected a tight end and
Speaker 2: two cornerbacks, and now we are going to find out
Speaker 2: how pff it has graded.
Speaker 7: Will like me because of the Michael Mayor selection. I
Speaker 7: gotta be plus on the Michael Mahyor.
Speaker 2: An A for Tyraeke Stevenson, an A plus for Trey
Speaker 2: Hodges Tomlinson for an overall grade of A. You have
Speaker 2: tied Sam Monson for the best grade for a three
Speaker 2: round mock draft.
Speaker 7: Yet, Yeah, I feel I looked into Trevis Hodges Tomlinson
Speaker 7: because he's probably a second round talent for the most part.
Speaker 7: Now they have you mentioned it because the last time
Speaker 7: I did this with them and took Michael Mayer, I
Speaker 7: only got to C plus for the Michael Mayor pick
Speaker 7: that's been upgraded to a B.
Speaker 4: So I feel pretty good about it.
Speaker 7: And then if I got out of the first two
Speaker 7: days with this with potential starting depth at corner and
Speaker 7: at least guys in the pipeline and a more dynamic
Speaker 7: long term tight end, I'd feel pretty good about it.
Speaker 7: I still need to address running back, and there are
Speaker 7: a lot of fourth round, fifth round graded running backs
Speaker 7: that can come in and be a rotational piece, and
Speaker 7: I think that's all you're looking for out of this draft.
Speaker 7: A few of the Bengals is a rotational running back,
Speaker 7: and then I'm just filling in from there, whether it
Speaker 7: be safety, take an offensive lineman in one of those
Speaker 7: mid rounds. It's not wasted raft capital in the mid
Speaker 7: round if it doesn't work out as a fifth round
Speaker 7: or a fourth round guy, that's okay, but your first
Speaker 7: two days you got to hit on. Guys are eventually
Speaker 7: going to start, and I think all three of these
Speaker 7: guys eventually start and have nice careers.
Speaker 3: I am not surprised in the least.
Speaker 2: Richard Skinner from Local twelve received an A for his
Speaker 2: three round mac.
Speaker 7: I feel I feel honored to have done it, and
Speaker 7: I feel like I kind of got lucky that they
Speaker 7: upgraded some of the guys that I like. Maybe that's
Speaker 7: I don't know if that's a good sign or not,
Speaker 7: but I feel better about it.
Speaker 3: I appreciate your time. Thanks man.
Speaker 2: Coming up early next week one of the most popular
Speaker 2: editions of this podcast each year, as my broadcast partner
Speaker 2: Dave Lapham predicts who the Bengals will select in Round one.
Speaker 2: That's going to do it for this episode of the
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Speaker 2: I'm Dan Hord and thanks for listening to the Bengals
Speaker 2: Booth podcast