Bengals Booth Podcast: Finish What Ya Started

Ultimate Bengals ahead of the twenty twenty two season. It's free to play next level fantasy football with fantastic Bengals prizes. Get it now on the App Store and Google Play. And here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since post draft phone calls. Here's what happens for those of us covering the Bengals during the draft.

Within minutes after the Bengals make a pick, a coach or two will do a news conference to discuss the player. Then reporters all gather around a phone designed for conference calls where the player answers questions. Those phone calls are awesome for a multitude of reasons. For starters, we get to hear the joy in their voice moments after that life changing phone call from Zach Taylor. For instance, here's seventh round pick Jeffrey Gunter. I've I've been dreaming. I

was eight years old. I used to I used to be a I used to be five. You know what I'm saying. I would watch America's game like back to back to back on insti one Networks, and it's just like seeing my name go across that screen. It's just everything I did was worth it. You know, as the seventh round was winding down, were you getting nervous that

it wasn't going to happen? Was I get nervous? I was almost sure it wasn't gonna happen, you know, But you know, I can't feign the guy, and you know, say he pulled through for me in the end, So thank you, thank you all for taking taking an off shot on me. Then there are the amusing anecdotes, like first round pick Dax Hill admitting that he was in the bathroom when the call came from the Bengals. It

was crazy because I went to the restaurom. My family told me not to go to the restaurants, so I had to really I hear you get up about the bathroom. So then I just picked up the phone and then went downstairs and just told everybody that the bank was calling. So that was kind of a funny moment I had tonight. So how close read to not making out of the bathroom in time to make sure that he got the call? Oh't know. I made sure I had that car. I mean, I just had to zip and then Car. I just yeah,

answered the phones. After that, I was like, yeah, it's the Bengal st everybody was excited. Finally, there are the interesting nuggets like round pick cam Taylor Britt being from the same school as his new head coach. Your head coach is a Nebraska Hall of Famer. Do you have Do you have any knowledge of Zach Taylor's career as a quarterback for the corn Oscars, I kind of do. I can say, what did he share? He was probably one of the best quarterbacks go through Nebraska. Dak wasn't lying.

He still holds Nebraska's single season record for touchdown passes with twenty six back in two thousand and six when he was named the Big twelve Offensive Player of the Year. Now, let's get to this year's draft class. The Bengals chose six players. Defensive backs Das Hill, Cam Taylor Britt and Tyson Anderson, defensive lineman Zachary Carter, edge rusher Jeffrey Gunter, and offensive lineman Cordelle Volson. I spoke about the group with a guy who oversees the draft force, Incinnati director

of Player Personnel, Duke Tobin. To cap, of your six draft picks or defensive backs, all three seem very versatile. Is that more necessary now than ever? Or how much does that have to do with lu and a Rumo and his schemes. I think versatility is a hallmark of any really good player on defense. It's hard to say a guy can be a one trick pony at any position. Honestly, when you're talking about versatility, it's one of the number one traits we talk about, particularly on the defensive side

of the ball, but also on the offensive side. You could talk about offensive lineman that play multiple spots and can fill in at different spots. So it's really a trait that comes with the high level player in today's football is the ability to do more than just one thing. And we were glad that the draft fell to us and gave us a chance to find those high level players in our opinion, and they're high level players because they're they're versatile. I think most people listening to this

know about the quarterbacks that are in the AFC. The road to get back to the super Bowl not only includes Patrick Mahomes, but Josh Allen, Russell Wilson, Justin, Herbert, Matt Ryan. The list goes on and on and on. Did that have anything to do with the emphasis that you put on defensive backs in particular and defense in general? I think we needed help on that side of the ball. You know, we needed some young players coming on and uh,

you know, each each year, your team's a little different. Um, if the players weren't up to it when our draft spot came, we wouldn't have to. We would have taken somebody else at a different position. But it just so happened that that the players that we really liked also fit some needs for us, and that and that was good. You know, the road to the super Bowl also goes through Joe Burrow and so other teams have to worry too,

and uh and and uh. So, yeah, you want to be good in coverage, you want to be able to pass rush. I think when you look at the draft and what team's value in the draft, pass rush and coverage are two of the biggest things. You trade it up twice and surrendered sixth and seventh round picks in the process. How hard was that to do when you only had eight picks to begin with. It mechanically it was easy to do. From from my heart standpoint, it was very difficult to do because I hate having to

give up picks. And this draft fell at a point when we thought that we had a chance of getting knocked out of the box and having to drop down a level of player at our pick. And sometimes that conspires against you, and you got to go get what you gotta go get, and we felt like we needed to go get that. But given up a pick, whether it's a seventh round pick or a sixth round pick, that's in my view, that's a chance at a real

player that we're for going. And so it was very difficult for me personally to do it, even though I'm the one that wanted to do it, and so I'm conflicted. You know, I've got a love hate relationship with myself right now. When you trade up, how specifically are you looking at the teams ahead of you and playing that all right, this team needs a guy at that spot and we have to do it. I think that plays

into it. We do go through the exercise of looking at other teams needs, and we have specific needs for each team, and as they go through the draft, we cross off those needs as they satisfy them. And you never know what other teams are going to do. You never know if they have any regard for the guy

that you're thinking about now or not. But you have to go through the exercise, and I think the more you go through it, maybe there's diminishing returns because you convince yourself everybody wants your guy, and maybe that's not the case. But more often than not, the guy that you're looking at is also a guy the teams ahead

of you are looking at. You know, we're we're pretty there's a lot of very good graders around the NFL, and so we don't believe we sit here and have the magic bullet that nobody else has in grading these guys. So we assume that the guys we really like are high on other people's boards too. Your first round pick, Dax Hill spent three years at Michigan, three starts as a freshman, Honorable Mention All Big Ten as a sophomore, one of the best players in the conference last year.

When did he start to be on your radar? Is that a guy that you've started to think highly of of the course of a couple of years. Yeah, you know, we normally focus on the draft class that's eligible for

the draft. That's our initial process. We do have awareness of guys who can come out early, and a lot of times the schools will help you with that list, and you're when you're in there, But when you're talking about major programs and players who have played with him for three years, we're also college football fans like everyone else. So we don't we don't live under a rock somewhere. And who's this. He wasn't on my list of seniors. I don't think. You know, you can't watch tape without

noticing people that might not be eligible for the draft. Um, but you know, yes, we had a we had a firm awareness of him throughout the process. We knew that there was a possibility he would want to leave early based on what he had done. And um, you know, I love the love the guys that produce big at big level programs, and and you know, all things equal, Why not that he's been listed as a safety, but last year the majority of his snaps came as a

slot corner. What position should we call him? Is he like old school defensive halfback? We will, we will, we will see. He'll play what he earns. You know, the draft round and the draft number and everything that's all in the past. Now we just have he's gonna I don't know what number he's gonna wear, twenty So now he's number twenty three for the Cincinnati Bengals, and number twenty three will get what he earns, just like everybody

else on our roster. They'll they'll grow their role at the pace that they're able to grow their role, and the coaches are, you know, it's it's nice to have a guy that can grow the role in a few different areas. And he can do that, and I look forward to seeing his progression with us. So I love draft gurus, and they love me because I buy all of it, all the magazines all of the stuff that you can download. It's good reading leading up to the draft.

I know that doesn't mean anything internally to you guys, but I want to look at offensive lineman Cordell Wolson because you took him in the fourth round. These gurus typically had a later grade than that, and they cited his athleticism. He's got the size and strength, maybe not the footspeed or whatever. Why did you feel he was worthy of the spot where you chose him. Well, I

guess we disagreed. You know, we think he does have the movement to play in the schematics that we want him to play in, and we think he's got versatility to play tackle and guard. We think, really his true upside might be inside and uh and that'll be up to Frank to determine that the more he gets to work with him and see where he fits best. But he's a big, tough, strong, smart, productive at a school

that is a productive school. It might not be the biggest level, but those kids are being coached as well as any any players in the country. He's got four national championship rings. It'd be nice. It'd be nice if he got a Super Bowl ring as well. When Frank Pollock spoke about him after the selection. He really emphasized the intangibles, the toughness, the blank in his neck, they expression that de Frank likes to use. How important is that thought process from Frank and do you share it?

I do? I think that unit has to play as one. And when you get guys that are all bought in and have similar temperaments, similar mentalities, similar love for the game, I think they can gel and play well together. That group is never just five individuals playing. And if you get a little better at this spot, you're a little better. Doesn't mean that just because you have a different trait at a spot that the unit is going to play

as well together. And so we're trying to find guys that all have the same temperament, the same love, desire and passion for the game and love the grind. I mean those guys, that's that's all they have, you know. I mean you could ask Lap That's that's what they have. They have the passion and the love of the grind. That's they don't get to score touchdowns, and you know they're normally not the ones doing the advertisements and all that stuff, except for Lap, who who's figured out a

path way. But but you know, they're they're the guys that are there for the love of the game. If they're playing because of what the game gives them, that is not the position for you, because there's a lot of work that goes into it. You obviously have a Super Bowl roster. Did that make it easier for you to only wind up with six picks? Um? Again, I

would rather have eight. I'd rather have ten, um. But yeah, you know, we didn't feel like we had a bunch of an immediate starter needs right now, so we had some freedom to pick guys that can come on at their own pace. Um, if they earned starting roles, they earned starting roles. We're not going to rule that out by any stretch. But um, they're they're guys that we believe, you know, can supply us good snaps in the present

and grow their role in the future. And so it's nice to have a team that that you don't have to plug and play rookies. Based on their social media posts, You've got at least thirteen undrafted free agents that intend to sign with the Bengals. It doesn't become official here until they've had a physical and been in town and actually physically signed the contract. But how important is that

group considering the limited number of draft picks. It's hugely important, and it's something that we put a lot of focus on throughout the entire draft process, but certainly throughout April, we're trying to identify guys that we like that may go through the draft, try to build a relationship with them, get them comfortable with our coaching staff, our city, our team, try to give them an idea of what their role

would be if they end up here. So when you do get to call them and start talking to them about coming to Cincinnati, you know, when it's finally time to do that, they have that in the back of their mind. They know exactly who's going to coach them, what the role is going to be, and what my

opportunity to make the team is. And those guys, you know, a lot of times, you know, will make the back end of your roster, your fifty second, fifty third, fifty first player, and then they'll also populate your sixteen man practice squad and have to be ready to come up and play at a moment's notice. So with the rosters

expanding like they have, those guys are really important. Between the three offensive lineman you signed in free agency and tight end Hayden Hurst and injured players coming back like Joseph Osai and this year's draft class. How much better is your roster. Well, we'd like to think it's better. I mean, if you stay the same, you're getting worse and we could not afford to not improve our team. If that's the case, you're not going to make it back to where you want to go. You always have

to get it better. And so that was a focus in free agency, that was a focus in the draft. And we think we're there. We think we've got guys that can improve our team. We think existing players that got the taste of success last year will improve their games even and the new players that came in will elevate the rest of the unit. Final question, I appreciate your time. This is the Monday after the draft. It also happens to be the first day that the veteran

players are back in the building. It has come along really quickly since that Super Bowl. What is the excitement level like in this building to get rolling again. Well, it's definitely exciting to see the guys back in the building. I walked in this morning, fully anticipating to go down and get a sauna in and get a workout in, and the first thing I saw was all the players down there, and I guess I'd forgot they were coming. And that's so I got to I guess I gotta

put that off until this afternoon. So I was a little irritated at first, and I realized that, damn, it is good to see the guys, and so yeah, it's it's fun to get them back. It'll be really fun to see our rookies come in, you know, in a couple of weeks, and see them in our helmets and moving around on our field. That that's always an exciting time for scouts. It was really fun to interact with the guys that you drafted over the course of the weekend.

Some great personalities. We look forward to getting to know them better. And again I appreciate your time, you bet Dan, thank you. In that conversation with Duke, I mentioned that at least thirteen undrafted free agents have tweeted out their plans to sign with the Bengals. Now that number is up to seventeen. And here are a few of the

names that I find most intriguing. Let's start with Ben Brown, an interior offensive lineman from Ole Miss. The Athletics draft guru Dane Brugler rated Brown is the seventh best center in this year's draft and gave him a fourth or fifth round grade. He had a torn biceps last year, which probably explains why he wasn't drafted, but Ben started forty games at ole Miss, thirty at guard and ten at center. Another interior offensive line worth noting is Desmond Noel,

who played his college football at Florida Atlantic. But he's a local kid out of Colrane High School. I like his Twitter handle, I go hard sixty five. There's a local college player in the group in Miami University wide receiver Jack Sorensen, who had a huge year for the RedHawks last season with seventy six catches for one thousand, four hundred six yards and ten touchdowns. Sorensen had one

hundred plus receiving yards in six consecutive games. On the defensive side of the ball, keep an eye on Colorado linebacker Carson Wells, who got a seventh round grade from Brugler. Not only was he a four year starter for the Buffalos, but he was his High school's valedictorian. And finally, the Bengals signed the highest rated long snapper in this year's draft, cal Adamitas out of pitt who was the only long

snapper invited to the Senior Bowl this year. He'll compete in training camp with Clark Harris, who turns thirty eight in July. The Bengals did not sign any undrefted punters. Instead, they reached a deal on Monday with fourteen year veteran Kevin Huber, who will compete in training camp with Drew Chrisman out of LaSalle High School and Ohio State. The Bengals Booth podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the free

to play fantasy football game. This past season, Ultimate Bengals awarded a weekly winner during the course of the year with tickets, autograph merchandise, and money can't buy experiences all up for grabs. Find Ultimate Bengals in the app Store and Google Play. Before I play my one on one interview with Dax Hill, let me tell you about his schedule leading up to it. Dax got drafted on Thursday night after eleven PM and finished up his media obligations

around midnight at four thirty in the morning. He was on his way to the airport to catch a six am flight to Cincinnati, and I sat down and talked to him in the Bengals locker room that afternoon. Tax Congratulations, you were one of the top recruits in the country coming out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and you got to choose then in the NFL Draft, You're waiting for somebody to choose you. How nerve wracking? Was that very very nerve wracking? Um, Like you said, you don't really get to choose, so

they choose me. So I was really just waiting for someone to choose me, and that kind of took a while, you know, to wear the back end of the you know, the first round. So all in all, I'm kind of, you know, excited, you know, for the opportunity and glad that you know, the Cincinnati Bengals, you know, pick me up. We often hear players talking about how they see an area code pop up on their phone, and that's kind of when they have the first indication of who's calling.

Did that happen with you? I saw the city pop ups I think it said Cleveland, Ohio something like that, so I already knew it was Cincinnati Fisher. So the Bengals are obviously coming off a trip to the Super Bowl, and I'm sure, like any avid football player or fan, you were following that during the postseason and into their game against the Rams. Did you start to learn things about the Bengals Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, etc. I mean,

I know they are a cohesive team. Um, you know, they're kind of bringing back the culture, you know from years ago. I'm really just changing it the entire you know. Um, I look at the team, so I felt like I didn't really know too much about them until you know, the back end of the season. But um no, they're close group. I've heard a lot of good, good things, you know since I've been here. Um, close, close knit the team. So looking forward to, you know, to working

with those guys. I think at the NFL Scout income Buying teams are allowed to meet with forty five guys if I'm not mistaken, for eighteen minutes apiece. So it's a bit of a whirlwind. I'm sure you met with a lot of teams, But in that meeting, did you form any impressions about the Bengals? Um? I knew they

were you know, high on me. Um. I knew I had a great relationship with the coach, you know, leaning up to you know, the combine and then some area scouts, So definitely knew going into it that I was confident they believed in what I could do. So it wasn't really too too low about that that conversation. So definitely a good, good experience. This franchise over the past few years has put a heavy emphasis on guys that love the grind. Is that a description of you? Oh? Yeah,

I mean I definitely enjoy the grind at Michigan. I feel like they've had me very prepared, you know, for a grind of an NFL you know type of schedule. So definitely feel prepared for NFL grinder. We're visiting the Bengals first round draft pick Tax Hill. So in the run up to the draft, when I'm reading the various draft gurus and looking at all these magazines and so forth, You're typically listed as a safety, but I feel like we shouldn't call you a safety because you played a

ton of slot corner. You did play safety, but it almost should be defensive back. Uh yeah, I feel like I am a defensive back. You really can't put a label on it until you know I'm out on the field and you know, in a certain defense. So I really don't want to limit myself. I feel like I can do a lot a lot of different things. So yes, I'll classify myself as a dB. And that's the way you wanted going forward, right. You don't want to just be a center field or safety, a slot corner. You

like being a Swiss army knife. Correct, Yes, And I feel like that's kind of like, you know, the day and age now, guys are playing multiple positions, you know, another way to get out on the field. So I consider myself, you know, as a swift swift army knife and able to play different positions. You had sacks, you had interceptions obviously, tackles for loss. Is there something on the football field that you get the biggest charge out of?

I mean, I enjoy it all. There's something I really don't like on you know, playing you know, playing a game of football, so religios being out there and making plays with my teammates is the biggest thing for me. You have an older brother that we're familiar with because he's been in the AFC North Justice running back for the Baltimore Ravens. I'll pick up a point of a point of pride gets it in your family now to

have multiple players that have advanced to the NFL. UM, it's really just a testament to to our parents, Um how we kind of raised raising a tight knit of family, and UM, I feel like that's just a testament of you know, since I've been a kid until now, they've always been in my corner and supportive and so uh so, yeah, that that game is very highly anticipated, you know, you know coming up, so definitely that will be an exciting game for you know, for the family to watch. He

was one of many guys that was hurt last year. Correct, Yes he was. How difficult was that whole thing for him and for his entire team? I mean he's a strong, you know, strong willed person. So I feel like he didn't get too high or low. He knew everything happened for a reason. So I talked to talk to him about that and didn't feel any type of way. Um, he knew that next year he would prove himself, you know,

to be even better. So uh he went, he went through recovery, would really well and yeah, so he's good now. So we're talking about three thirty in the afternoon the day after the draft. You got chosen about eleven thirty last night. So it's been a whirlwind. You get the call, you're with sixty friends and family members, You celebrate a little bit, you talk to the media, you got a few hours to sleep, you're on a plane, you're in Cincinnati, and now you're talking to a bunch of local reporters.

Are you running on fumes? I am, and I'm stubbling, oh my words saying there. I can't even speak clearly today, just because it's been a lot, a lot of long hours, you know, the last day or two. But I'm definitely excited and thankful for it. You know that I'm feeling like this. He walked in the news conference room. He held up at number twenty three, Jersey, did they show you the available numbers? I know you wore thirty at Michigan, but that was unavailable because of Jesse Bates, right, Yeah,

they showed me twenty six, twenty seven, twenty nine. So twenty three was my mind design effector. And just because, like I said in the press conference, Michael Jordan's kind of like the greatest of all time, So I kind of want to mimic my game, you know, you know, out in the field in that way you told us basketball was your first love. Did you play everything as a kid in Tulsa? All sports that you could? I was religious, basketball, and football, So football was kind of

like fourth grade. And then eventually got in to track later on my high school career, like or early in my high school career freshman this aphomore year. So so ended up playing three sports throughout my you know, elementary all the way through high school. How'd you wind up

in Michigan? Religious build great relationships, forming the great relationships with the players and the coaches there, and there was no brainer for me to you know, go there, and also you know, want to go far away from home, you know, find myself. And so that's what I did, and feel like that worked out really well for me. So right after draft weekend, players report, you get to work, you start meeting your new teammates. How eager are you

to get started? Very eager. I know this is a new chapter in my life and it's gonna you know, be life changing as well. But also opener to you know the business world and how things operate. Things operate totally different, you know, from you know, collegiate level to the pro. So I really want to carry myself in a way as a pro every day. And that's what I'm looking forward to, you know, meeting teammates and my new teammates and then you know, compete out in the

field as well. You're a first round draft pick, it's an extraordinary accomplishment, recognition of a lot of hard work. Congratulations, Welcome to Cincinnati. Oh yeah, I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Good to be here. Later that night, Dax was treated to a celebratory dinner at Carlo and Johnny, one of Jeff Ruby's restaurants. In case you're wondering, he did not get a stake Burrow or the Moonyo's or the collins Worth. He opted for the salmon. Now that's discipline.

That's going to do it. For this episode of The Bengals Booth podcast presented by Ultimate Bengals, download Ultimate Bengals ahead of the twenty twenty two season. It's free to play next level fantasy football with fantastic Bengals prizes. Get it now on the App Store and Google Play, and if you haven't done so, already. Please subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute, give it a rating or share a comment that helps more Bengals fans

find us. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast