Bengals Booth Podcast: I Choose You

of the players they signed as undrafted free agents. Coming up, we will tell you if the Steelers robbed the Bengals of the player they really wanted in the first round when they trade it up to the spot directly in front of Cincinnati in order to select the linebacker Devin Bush. We will also have interesting intel on second round pick Drew Sample. Many draft gurus thought the Bengals could have selected him later in the draft, So just how high was he on the Bengals board. We'll have the answer.

After some juicy inside info on all of the picks, we'll hear from one of them. Number one picked, Jonah Williams, who joins me for a fun facts conversation where we discuss everything from the length of his arms to the

bag of food he carried around in high school. All of that is straight ahead, but first, 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 on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. It's the greatest invention since wait for a jed, a little inside joke there Brixell sports stadium models. So Brixels are kind of like Legos and they sell very detailed

models of sports stadiums and arenas. My son recently put together the Fenway Park model and it is incredible. It has three thousand, two hundred six pieces, so it was a labor of love. But the level of detail is it's standing right down to the single red seat deep in the right field stands where Ted Williams hit the longest home run in Fenway Park history. There doesn't appear to be a Paul Brown Stadium model yet, but when it comes out, we are definitely buying. Now, let's get

to my draft discussion. With a sixty first overall pick in the nineteen seventy four NFL Draft, the most successful of the twenty two selections the Bengals made that year, an offensive lineman out of Syracuse University, Dave Lapham lap Let's start with Jonah Williams, the Bengals first round draft pick selected number eleven overall, the offensive tackle out of Alabama. The website Pro Football Focus had him as the fourth

best player in this draft. It is our belief that the Bengals had him roughly at the same spot on their overall board. I agree with you, Dan, and people are wondering, you know, if Devin Bush had been there, would they have gone with Jonah Williams. We believe yes, you know, and I'm not saying that Devin Bush isn't a fantastic football player, but the Steelers weren't sure that that's the way the Bengals were going to go, so they, you know, expended a couple of draft picks and moved

up ahead of the Bengals to take Devin Bush. And the Bengals went with Jonah Williams, and they were thrilled that he was there. And I can't remember the last draft where no offensive lineman, no running backs, no wide receivers, no corners, no safeties. Five position groups did not get selected in the first ten picks of the draft. So when you have a need at the offensive line position and literally the best lineman is right there, no brainer.

I mean, I think the Bengals probably may have said they may have broken John Ross's forty yard dashtime running through the party to make the pick checks all the boxes. Played in the SEC. Dominated at left tackle his last two years at Alabama. Really smart kid earned his degree at Alabama in three years. This to me is just a first round draft pick that I don't know if he'll be in all pro. You'd him to be, but

I can't envision a scenario where he flops. I agree, you know, and I think this is the beginning of a trend smart, not only book smart, but football. I you position, versatility, leadership. You know, he's a captain, and it's very instinctive. That's going to be a common denominator with the line. People say, okay, instinctive lineman. Yeah. I mean there's a lot of times you're gonna try to buy your film study see keys with twists and stunts and everything, and you'll be able to react that much

quicker on an instinctive basis because of preparation. And this kid leaves nothing to chance in that regard. He's the first guy I ever heard of that came up with a spreadsheet off of film study. He had some kind of numbers numbering system where he has a spreadsheet to help find characteristics and traits and keys and all that sort of thing in his opponent. That is remarkable. I mean this this guy is legit. Yet he's the real deal.

He can play any one of the five positions in the offensive line, and football is not just important to him. I think it's the number one thing in his life. His girlfriend may have a problem with that, but I mean this guy, this guy is all football, all the time, no question about it. Do you see him being a

day one starter. I do. I'm not sure. Aware it won't be center, I don't think, but he could start at either one of the guards or either one of the tackle positions based on what I've seen on tape. The thing about him, Dan, his feet are unbelievable. And we've said many times every athletic endeavor, including blocking, but throwing a baseball, catching a baseball, shooting a basketball, whatever it may be, catching a football, it starts with your

feet and ends with your hands. It's the same thing in football in line play linebackers starts with your feet to get in place, hand placement, to be able to separate and finish feet and hands. And this guy's got excellent start with his feet and finish with his hands. He is very, very good with his technique. He's been coached well and he retains it, and he takes the football field big time. You mentioned it, but I just

want to follow up in more detail. The Steelers moved up from number twenty to number ten to jump directly ahead of the Bengals in order to select Devin Bush. So clearly their thought was the Bengals are either going to take him, or they might take him. We can't afford to wait. And the Bengals, in our opinion, almost certainly would have taken Jonah Williams. I think so because you know, Devin White, the number one linebacker was gone. Although honestly I like Bush better than White, I really do.

I think the steel has got a hell of a player. I would not have been upset if they took Devin Bush. But I am you know, old stool, get an old school get off my lawn. It's a big man's game. You have the best big man on the offensive side of the football upfront. You gotta go there. You gotta go there. Even if you know the one A or one B or whatever it is at linebackers. There I would agree with the with the Bengal stot process, and you know, with the uncertainty involved, pits burned a couple

of draft picks moving up. The Bengals prioritize offensive tackle more than linebacker, and that's probably true of most teams in the NFL. The Bengals have not taken a lot well, let me backtrack. The Bengals have taken one linebacker before the third round in the last eleven drafts and that was Ray Malaluga, who's now out of the NFL. So they just historically have not invested high draft capital in that position, right, And you know the other linebacker that

comes to mind, Keith Rivers. You know they took in the first round out of USC as well, you know years before that. It's it's not a regular, regular occurrence. And uh, there's no doubt in my mind that the Jim Turner um wanted to get more physical, wanted to be bigger, wanted to be more athletic, wanted to be more physical up front, and this was the first step

in that direction for sure. Onto the second round and the pick that a lot of Bengals were scratching their heads over Drew Sample the tight end out of Washington, selected with a fifty second overall pick. The Bengals actually moved back in the second round. They got an extra fourth and an extra sixth in order to move back ten spots. Everybody's saying, you could have gotten this guy later.

The Bengals actually would have taken him earlier. They had a high first round grade on the second round excuse me, the second round grade. Two a high second round grade on him. So the thing about him is the draft gurus and then as a result, the fan base. He wasn't thought about because his numbers weren't there in terms of catches and yards. But the thing about it, the balls that he did catch, he didn't drop any. The scouts were saying, may have not had a drop or

maybe one, So that tells you a lot. When his opportunity was there, he capitalized on every single one of them. Jonah Williams smartest offensive lineman in the draft, Drew Sample, smartest tight end in the draft. He's got a degree, he's married, he's expecting a baby girl at the end of the towards the end of the football season. This guy is a solid individual as well as extremely talented football player. He is the best blocking tight end in the draft, and I mean by a wide margin, six

four two undred fifty five pounds. Looks like he's about two thirty five two forty maybe. And again, just like Jonah Williams talking about feet and hands, Drew Sample is that exact same thing at the tight end position. These guys have been coached well, they've taken to the technique and they're applying it to the football field. And all of a sudden, when you get an offensive tackle and a tight end that can dominate at the line of scrimmage, you can set the edge. You hear all the time

defensive coaches, look, gotta set the edge. We can't let them get the edge on us. Well, when you have a tackle in a tight end like this, you have to set the edge offensively, and they'll be set in the edge a lot more readily with big, physical guys like this. And you know Drew Sample, the coaches said, the interviews that they do with them off the charts. Maybe you know, Andrew Whitworth may have been the only interview that might have been better than Drew Sample's interview

that they had as an organization. So that tells you a lot I mean, again, all the intangibles, checking all the boxes with these two guys. Both of these guys Dan may not only be starters, they may be ten to twelve year starters. I mean they may have hit two players that are gonna be a decade plus of giving them consistent, excellent performances. And they care about the

game of football. There's no doubt about that. We did a podcast a few weeks ago about the Bengals draft needs and one of the top ones in our opinion was the tight end position. Then when this pick was made, I heard a lot of folks saying, Wow, the Bengals need a wide receiver more than they need a tight end. What really? CJ. Zama is a fine NFL player, but probably is never going to go to a Pro Bowl. Tyler Eifford is a Pro Bowl player, but he hasn't

been able to stay healthy. There are other it ends were all beat up last year. They lost Tyler Croft a free agency. This was a huge area of need, particularly from the blocking standpoint. Tyler Eifert unquestioned as a receiver. I mean, he's he makes defenses flinch every snap he took. Last year, the defenses were in Nickel in sub packages, no base defense, they can't match up with him. But you know he does a good job blocking and running game and pass protection and all those sort of things.

CJ Zam another one that does a good job, but you know he got hurt as well. In those roles. Those guys aren't necessarily known. Oh my gosh, they're gonna dominate you at the end of the line, at the line of scrimmage, So why not get a guy that can do that. His strengths compliment those other guys strengths perfectly. You don't want three guys that do the same thing well and can't do the other. And it's not to say that Drew Sample can't run ross and catch the football.

We said he maybe had one draw might be one through the season or his career without any So, I mean, he's capable. But you need to have somebody that is going to be the anchor again at the end of the line of scrimmage, setting the edge, helping in pass protection. You know, you hear all the time. Other they're gonna have to keep a tight end in to help slow block, you know, against these pass rushers. This guy's as good as there is. I mean, he's he's the best blocking

tight end, run blocking, pass protecting. You can put him at fullback. Now you don't have to have Sam Hubbard coming over from defense necessarily. Like Ryan Hewitt did, line up at fullback and lead it up in there. This kid can do the same thing. Another thing that we're going to find and we've seen the first two picks, and it's going to be a universal theme. Position versatility.

Jonah Williams can play all five line spots. Drew Sample can play tight end at the end of the line of scrimmage, can play fullback and be a wingback, can be a slot back. I mean, you know, it's endless. So position, versatility, leadership, all these things. They had plan going into this draft and hit it on almost all of the draft picks, none more than these first two

picks of the draft. Before moving to third round pick your main Pratt, we should mention the Bengals did try to trade up in the second round because they were really good offensive lineman on the board that they thought had first round grades. Right on. Cody Ford was there, Taylor was there out of Florida, and Greg Little actually was on the board as well, and all three of those linemen teams traded up for to get an opportunity to pick them. So when they redid their board after

day one first round, redo your board for day two. Oh, these two offensive linemen slid there. They're more than capable. Let's let's go target. These guys couldn't quite get it done. People wanted more than they were offering. It was a little too rich. And then you think, okay, well if you stay there, what kind of players are there? Yeah, saying Greedy Williams, Well you got B. W. Webbin free agency.

You got to our quest and Arden free agency. Don't have a real need Maybe reaching a little bit corners whiteside wide receiver, you know, maybe that might be a little rich. I would think Pratt was a guy that might have been thinking about there at the end of the second round. They ended up getting him in the third. But when Sample was there, they traded down and still

got their guy Sample. So all when they couldn't trade up for those two linemen, the two corners maybe a little too rich, they had guys in free agency, they moved down. They got themselves an extra fourth round pick that turned out to be big as the draft went on. So Jermaine Pratt was their third round selection, number seventy two overall. Linebacker out of NC State led the acc and tackles per game last year at nine and a half.

He was a safety his first two college seasons. He's fifty pounds heavier now than he was when he started out in college football. He's up to two hundred forty pounds on a six two frame. Another guy who's going to potentially compete for a starting job in year one. They think he may be the best linebacker from day one when he comes into camp. I mean it could be that way. Now. I think they're gonna be some

veteran players. Something to say about that. But there were some comparisons drawn by the Bengal scouting department to Darius Leonard, the All Pro, not just Pro bowler, All Pro as a rookie with the Colts. This guy is a very, very sure tackler. The thing I didn't like about Devin White Dan is he wasn't instinctive. He had a little bit of a hitch, a little delay in making his reads, and he missed a lot of tackles. It might have been as the result of not making quick decisions right

off the bat. This guy Pratt instinctive, you know, sees it before it happens, is moving in that direction, goes sideline to sideline and gets people on the ground. So, I mean, you're right. You look at him. When you see Devin Bush walk around, you think, man, he looks like, you know, good size safety. When you see Germaine Pratt walking around, it's like this is a linebacker. Broad shoulders,

deck arms. I mean I think too with Devin White and Devin Bush, they played linebacker their whole lives, high school, college, in the NFL. Now, so their ceiling is you know, they know, teams have a lot better feel about where they're going to be. They're closer to their ceiling than they're on their floor. Let's put it that way. In Jermaine Pratt's case, only two years as a linebacker, he's got a lot more room to travel up to that ceiling.

And coaches like to get guys in that situation so they can develop them, get them on the rise, as the coaches call it, get them on the come as they come out of college, you know, and get ready for the National Football League and be instrumental in them

in their development. This guy has all the physical tools, and his teammate in college and his future teammate here with the Bengals, Ryan Finley said, Hey, man, this guy studies more tape more than anybody I know, and he'd call our plays out at practice by formation before we even ran them. You know, he's just kind of a thorn in his side. So you know, he's glad that he's still on his team instead of having to play

against them. Me and Ryan Finley has a high high regard for Jermaine Pratt, and Jermaine Pratt has a high high regard for Ryan Finley. Pratt couldn't believe that Finley hadn't been drafted, and we were eating lunch with the who was talking about it, and shortly they're aft to boom. The next pickers made, so Pratt was the Bengals third round pick. And then the draft ends at the end

of the third round. You get a break, and then the fourth round begins on Saturday, so teams again have the opportunity to reorganize their board going into rounds four or five and six. The number one person on the Bengals board of all the remaining players was Ryan Finley, the quarterback out of NC State. They decided to move up to make sure that they got him, so they made a trade with the forty nine ers, moving up six spots to have the second pick in the fourth round.

They gave up two of their six sixth round draft picks at that point in order to do it, and they get Ryan Finley. Twenty four years old. He spent three years at Boise State, three years at NC State. Started for those three years at NC State. Considered to be the most accurate throwing quarterback in the draft. The arms strength is not exceptional, so that was the knock.

I guess that's why Ryan Finley was still there. Jay Morrison of The Athletic wrote a very interesting story where he cited Bill Parcels seven criteria used when drafting a quarterback. I was not familiar with this list, but they are One starts thirty or more games. Two wins twenty three or more games. Three has a two to one ratio of touchdown to interceptions. Four completes at least sixty percent of his passes. Five is a three year starter. Six

senior in college. Seven graduate from college. Guys in the NFL right now that have checked all of those boxes include Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Andrew Luck, Andy Dalton for what it's worth, and Ryan Finley, who checked all those boxes. Twenty four years old going to turn twenty five, six year collegiate career, has his master's degree, so he took advantage of his collegiate opportunity academically as

well as athletically. Probably could gain ten more pounds. Has been compared to Jared Goff, you know, kind of long, linear arm strength. Probably not obviously as good as golf, but he was the bank, like you said, the best on the board in the Bengals opinion in round four trade up for him, There's no doubt about it. Highest one to look score for quarterbacks. So Intelligent Football IQ

as well. The Bengals, I thought dan rounds two, three, and four with a sweet spot of the draft when they were when they couldn't trade up for the offensive lineman a round two, they were traded back and they were trying to get a third round pick, another third the next best thing is to get that fourth round. Well they did, and then they ended up getting another fourth rounder as it turns out, but three fourth round picks.

They got three of the top twenty three guys they had rated in the fourth round, three of the top twenty three, and by moving themselves around, Duke Tobin did a great job of manipulating the board and utilizing those six six rounders, you know, ended up getting rid of

three of them on these trades. So actually four of the twenty three four the top twenty three guys got in in the well, I guess Pratt they only had three fourth rounders, right, but so originally they had the twenty third pick in the fourth round among their picks. So they had ordered twenty three people at the end of day two, and they wound up getting four of those twenty three. Those four that group and three three of the fourth round picks are consummated. Ryan Finley being

number one. I mean that's you have to have a backup quarterback period. I mean Andy Dalton, we've been spoiled by his durability. Uh you know, when he hasn't played, it's been you know, AJ mccarrons did a very very good job. But if if Andy Dalton had finished that season, they start out eight. No, he's playing an MVP caliber There's no telling. That was the team that might have made a playoff run. There's no telling. And last year, look at how they start the season with Andy Dalton

just you know, masterminding everything at the quarterback position. They're averaging thirty one points a game. You know, Tyler Reifer goes down, AJ goes down, Ultimately Andy goes down. But Andy Dalton can play when he's afforded opportunity, not being time to make his decisions. None players to distribute the football too, and this kid can do the same type of thing. He's got that kind of football IQ, that kind of football intelligence. So very very good pick in

the fourth round, all right. Their next fourth round pick was that twenty third pick in the round that we referred to earlier. It originally belonged to Houston. They traded it to Denver. Denver traded to Cincinnati when the Bengals moved back in the second round, and the Bengals used it on Arizona State defensive tackle rennelle Wren. They have

jokingly referred to him as Mount Ran. It gives them size inside, So this is not a geno Atkins who lasted until the fourth round because he was smaller than ideal. This guy's big six four, three hundred eighteen pounds eighty one inch wingspan. Of all the Bengals draft picks, he might be the one with the best value considering where they had him on their board and where they wound

up getting him. I agree with you. And at Arizona State he was his last year it was with Harm Edwards, who's you know NFL guy played in the NFL coach in the NFL, so I'm sure he's getting his college players ready for NFL action and activity. The only knock on Wren Mount Wren is the inconsistent motor. He is dominantly when so moved. We saw a video of the Senior Bowl. Oh my gosh, man, he pushes the pocket. He was he was brutalizing people. And those are all

draft picks. Yeah, one Bradbury first round pick, number eighteen pick. I think in the draft in Minnesota, Vikings at center, he's treating him like it's his little brother, throwing him around like a rag doll and um, you know, and he'll he'll be physical and and mash him back, push the pocket, and then he'll decide to take an edge and do a swim move and they won't lay a finger on him. So he's got movement, he's got athletic ability,

he's got those long arms. You know. Gino obviously a short arms, but can bench press the war Old and Ryan Glasgow. A lot of these other guys Billings, they don't have the long appendages, the long arms. This guy gives you a different look inside. And I can tell you as a former player inside man, when you when you lock your arms out and they locked their arms out, and it's pretty equal, you can block him. But when you're both you know you got your arms locked out

and his arm't fully extended. Then he extends and he's reaching the back of your shoulder pad with his hand all of a sudden, that's a tougher dynamics. So I can understand why they did what they did there. This kid has got like the ceiling is the sky's the ceiling. Really, it's unlimited. He's been compared to Chris Jones, who is a very very formidable, long, rangy, athletic inside defensive lineman that causes havoc in there. If he's even close to

Chris Jones, it'll be a hallelujah. One of the reasons why he might have lasted until the fourth round was the way he was used at Arizona State. He kind of played laterally out there to stop the run. He wasn't looking to get quick penetration, and that might be his best skill. You're right, I mean at Arizona State, a couple of steps then stop, you know, don't blow

up the field, don't don't penetrate and disrupt. Plus you know, when he was on the phone for the conference call again in the theme of position versatility, Jonah Williams can play in one of five spots. Drew Sample can give you a multiple you know, tight end, h back, wing back, all those sort of things. Pratt can play, Mike Sammer will plus subpackage, linebacker, filling of course, is going to

play quarterback, wren nose guard. He played one technique inside shoulder of the guard, three technique like Gino Atkins outside shoulder of the guard. They even kicked him out to defensive end in the All Star Games. So he's got a position versatility. But I agree with you, not only the position versatility, but the scheme, mentality and philosophy. Is it, you know, just a two gap and take guys on and stop the run, or is it to penetrate, disrupt,

and cause havoc in the back. He's capable of doing both, so he's got that type of versatility as well. I'm just excited to see what they're gonna be able to get out of him. I hope they get their full potential out of him, because it's going to be big if they do. Historically, the Bengals have not traded up in the draft very often. They did it twice in the fourth round this year. We mentioned the deal that they made to get Ryan Finley with a second pick

in the fourth round. Later, they obtained a late third round pick from the Cowboys in exchange for their fifth round pick and one of those sixth round picks, and they used it to get Ohio State interior offensive lineman Michael Jordan. Another big band six five, three hundred and ten pounds thirty two inch vertical, so he's got some explosiveness. The Bengals had a third round grade on him and they wound up getting him late in the fourth. Scott

Cincinnati Ties. He was born in Fairfield. His family moved to Michigan, so that's where he had played high school football, but loved the Bengals as a kid. Wanted to play for Ohio State and now he's coming to Cincinnati, and I think this pick is one of my favorites for value. I think he's Billy Price went to coach Turner and said, draft him. I mean, you know, he's he's He's what you're looking for. Another high character guy, another guy that

has positioned versatility, either guard or center. With his long arms, you could kick him out to tackle if you needed to to finish a game or to play a few games if you've got, you know, serious injury concerns. But when you think about it, I mean the competitive nature of the offensive line. Just from the draft alone, Jonah Williams and now Michael Jordan, I mean, the best five are going to play. And they're both they both played

in big time football. Michael Jordan started as a true freshman, one of like what three or four guys to do it in the Ohio State history. I think it is it's crazy. He's he's a very very I think he's a guard. I thought at center he rolled a few snaffs back. He may had some problems there, but the fact is that they put him into center, you know, and that that's a little tradition at Ohio State. Started with elf Line. He gets drafted by the Vikings in

the third round. Billy Price goes in from guard to center. Billy Price gets dropped in the first round by the Bengals, and now Michael Jordan goes in to center and he gets drout in the fourth round. So it's been that little chain of commander as such, moving in from guard to center, and they only do it with guys that they trust can make all the calls, understand the fronts, know what the protections are. So Michael Jordan's got a lot going for them. Another smart football player with balls

important to him. Position versatility again common denominator. These teams were woven through the entire draft process by the Bengals. So the Bengals traded away their fifth round pick in that deal, meaning their next pick came in the sixth round. They still had three picks left in the sixth The first one was number nine in the round. They got that from the Broncoes back in that day one trade involving their second round pick, the tight end from Washington.

So they used this one on a running back, another position of need. After letting Mark Walton go in the off season, they picked up trey ViOn Williams from Texas A and M. Rushed for one seven hundred and sixty yards last year, scored eighteen touchdown second team All American, had five two hundred yard games in his college career. Why was he still there in the sixth round because he's five eight, right, he's five eight, but he's two hundred and six pounds. He's a little load man. He's

put together. He's just a short put together. If he were five two twenty, if he were six feet, he'd be maybe two thirty. Again, let's go back to Jim Turner, offensive line coach Texas A and M. He knows all about Trevion Williams. He was in the huddle with him every day at practice, on the football field with him. He knows everything there is to know, any injury history, anything about his character, anything. And again it's time to talk about the ten college coaches that are the twenty

one coaches on this Bengal staff. It's unbelievable the amount of intel they gave the organization leading up to the draft and undraft Day. And it's the only year it's going to happen, the only year they're gonna come out of college and be coaching in the NFL. Jonah Williams, Jim Turner saw him to Kapart Texas A and M. He saw he saw it firsthand. I mean, he knows what that's all about. Trey ViOn Williams. He didn't coach

against him. He coached. He didn't coach him his position group, but he was on the same side of the football in every huddle with him, every single practice. Knows all there is to know about him. And then the next pick, the Sean Davis to want to talk about Auburn sec he gained planned against him. He knows what he was like to try to handle as a linebacker. That's unbelievable intel,

you know, and not just him. They had coaches on their staff Fro Mississippi State when you're evaluating edge rushers, Michigan, when you're evaluating edge rushers, linebackers. That kind of thing was unbelievable for the Cincinnati Bengals to have in this draft, and I think the draft proves it because they came out with the common theme all the way through. They put their bat on the ball with the type of

guy they were looking for as a football player. First and foremost and as a person next on every single occasion. And I think trey ViOn Williams is going to be unbelievad. It's going to be very are competitive. You know, Walton makes a couple of mistakes three actually gets arrested three times in three months. No longer a Bengal. There's a roster spot there. Treyvion Williams is gonna fight like heck to get an opportunity to prove that he belongs to

the National Football League. Prior to last season, the Bengals lost Andre Smith, Chris Smith, and AJ McCarron his free agents. The compensatory formula gave the Bengals three extra sixth round draft picks. They kept two of them, thirty eighth and thirty ninth in the sixth round. The first one was used on a linebacker out of Auburn, Deshaun Davis. Five eleven, two hundred thirty four pounds, runs a four seven forty. He was a team captain. He's a physical run defender, instinctive,

hard hitting. One of the Bengal scouts said, he's like a Steelers inside linebacker that you hate to play twice a year. No question, He's got a chip on his shoulder because he feels like he should have been drafted higher. The Bengals had a higher great on him than two hundred and ten in the draft. Flies around the football field. When watched the little tape that the scouts presented about him, He's one of those guys that, like you said, instinctive meaning,

sees it before it happens. His first step is always in the right direction with no wasted motion. Guys like that. You can't, you know, you can't put a value on Dan. Not only could he get involved in the linebacker room with snaps on the defensive side of it. Darren Simmons is smiling. You know, he's got guys like de Sean Davis. He's got he's got guys like Pratt Sample. These guys are all going to be special teams possibilities for him.

It's all in the equation. Not only will they be competing for starting jobs, and some of them probably will have starting jobs. Of the of these groups, they draft the potential starters, not just guys to make the roster, you know, or to make the fifty three and then maybe be active on game to him, not on the de active list. These guys are gonna be worst case scenario special team snap, sub package snaps, you know by formations and personnel group, and it's going to have some

opportunity to play. And Deshaun Davis's right up to that allee. The Bengals had the very next pick as well, number two eleven overall, and I like this pick because when you've got extra six rounders, you can use one to take a flyer on a guy that maybe has an injury history but a high upside, and this is the guy that fits that description in this year's class. Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson big, fast, six feet tall, two

under twenty four pounds. The one healthy year he had at Oklahoma, he ran for eleven hundred yards, including two o one in the Rose Bowl against a great Georgia defense. The only knock on the guy is that he missed basically two full seasons at Oklahoma due to injuries. And that year you're talking about when he had the Great Bowl Game, the final seven weeks of the season, he led the FBS and yards from scrimmage. So again, position versatility running back can put him in the slot as

a receiver. I mean, the Oklahoma coaches were so excited about getting him informational mismatches, trying to get him isolated in the slot with a safety or if they're in base defense, walking lineback around on him, and it's like, you, kidd, I mean, that's like stealing candy from a baby. I mean, they thought that he was going to be the guy and then you know, then he gets hurt. Joe Mixon

gets opportunities. This guy is a high character guy. Even when he was hurt, Teammates would say he was still the leader of the football team. He was engaged, you know, it was it wasn't about him instead of putting his Dauber down, his chin on his chest and feeling sorry for himself. He's still part of the team and doing everything he can to contribute. You know, you just hope. I mean, he's kind of like the Tyler Eiffort story in college football. Will the football gods give them thou

shalt have a year without injury? I mean, you got to hope that both Rodney Emerson and Tyler Eiffort take every snap this season they possibly can without being hurt. The Bengals tenth and final pick in the seventh round, cornerback Jordan Brown from the FCS level South Dakota State. The measurables are fantastics. Six feet tall, ran a four four eight forty had eight interceptions in his college career. So he's fast, he was productive. He just played at

a smaller school level. True, and he played wide receiver prior to playing in the secondaries. Who he understood routes, He understood road concepts, he understood why where leverage was. Defensively, it's always guys that you know transfer from like quarterback to receiver. Okay, well that works because they understand. In a quarterback they can read cunt routes and I mean read secondary coverages and get tips. Guys that go from wide receiver to defensive back understand in a different level

because they ran the routes. They understand why routes are run and why the progression is like it is. So he's he's smart, and he's got good ball skills having played the receiver position in interceptions. You know, show that and he'll he'll come and compete. There's another guy that gives you some great special team snaps. You know if he makes the roster. So Darren Simmons, you know, is gonna look at that and say, hey, even though he's the seventh round pick, if he makes the team, he'll

have quite a few snaps. He could be on all the coverage teams, could be all the return teams. That's going to give you quite a few snaps, you know, right there before you even start all right, last thing, the Bengals are also going to sign eleven undrafted free agents. We are not going to run down the entire list, but since they didn't draft any wide receivers, let's talk about three wide receivers that they are bringing in as

undrafted free agents. Charles Holland from Tiffin, Stanley Morgan from Nebraska. Damian Willis also coming in. And of those three, Morgan and Willis probably will have the best shot at making this team, right because when you look at it, I mean, Zach Taylor played quarterback at Nebraska. Where did Stanley Morgan go to school? Nebraska? Zach Taylor knows the Nebraska coaches and the wide receiver coach I think might have been

named off defensive coordinator. At any rate, highly recommended. Stanley Morgan six feet over a couple hundred pounds four five, can play inside in the slot, can play outside, obviously a very strong football player, and Damian Willis out of Troy. He's sixty three, a little bit longer, turning four pounds four fives though. So those are the two guys that will probably get the opportunity to compete at the wide

receiver position. And another guy that's interesting, Jim Turner says to one of his guys that was played for him in Texas, Sam he Keaton Sutherland, Come on up, Come on, my man, six five three twenty two runs a five one can play tackler guard. Why don't you come up here. Maybe you can make our practice squad worst case scenario, and I'll develop you and see if you get picked up by somebody else from the practice squad to go

to their roster. I'll reward you. You rewarded me for all your efforts at Texas, A and M. Here you go, come on to this training camp and come enjoy the NFL with me, my man. I am especially intrigued by Stanley Morgan, number one all time in receiving yards at Nebraska. We know they've had some great ones, although they pretty much only ran the ball for a long time there, but had a catch in thirty eight consecutive games thirty

eight and a half inch vertical. He had hip surgery in November of twenty seventeen, so that might be one of the reasons why he wound up going undrafted. Yeah, I agreed, Dan. And the other thing that intrigues me a little bit. The only other guy they brought in for a visit a quarterback Jake Dolgalla out of Central Connecticut, six six and a half two hundred and forty pounder.

So that's a guy that you know, you gotta just his physical presence, see what he can do, and maybe, you know, practice squad guy or you know, develop him a little bit. And the only two quarterbacks they brought into to visit they liked enough and they showed enough on the grease board and football acumen in IQ that one they draft in the fourth round and traded up to do so, and the other one they signed as a free agent. All Right, that concludes this wrap up

of the twenty nineteen Bengals draft class. We get to see him practice and a up of the weeks. That'll be fun. Can't wait. Dan. It's like, you know, you're a little kid. You get your Christmas presents and you're and open them, unwrapped them and see if they work, just like coaches, you know, Christmas presents, get all these draft picks and free agents, then you get them out

in the field and see if they work. So it's fun to watch the whole process, and I always enjoy it, you know, seeing free agency, the draft, college free agents, and then put the team together and watch the whole process. And it's very interesting. And it starts up here pretty quick. My man. I'm looking forward to working with it, working with you about it me too. The Bengals two day Rookie Mini Camp is coming up in a little less than two weeks Friday and Saturday, May tenth and eleventh.

Now time for this week's fun Facts interview, where we get to know the person under the pads, in this case, an offensive lineman out of Alabama who blocked on four hundred sixty six passing plays last year without allowing a single sack. Time for some fun facts for the Bengals number one draft pick in twenty nineteen, Jonah Williams. Jonah, you were a three year starter and an All American at Alabama. You earned your degree in three years. You're

obviously an excellent student. Inquiring minds want to know, what are you lousy at? Um doing fun facts? I can't dance or sing. I can't do that, um So I would say those two all right. Do you have any talents that are not widely known? I can, I can cook, I can grill, I can I can do all that. Um But I think linemen have a propensity to do that, probably more so than any other position. Do you have a go to dish steak? It's it's it's just easy.

It's hard to mess out as anyone. Oh, if you overcook it, you know, if you're one of those people, I don't know if we can get along. I'm not one of those people. It's got to be a little bloody. What did or do your folks do for a living? My dad's environmental consulting water management article true things like that, My mom says, A home with my little brother. He's eleven. You grew up in Atlanta before moving to Northern California

in high school? Who were some of your heroes going up? Personally? Like you know, I always loose up to my parents. I think that they they taught me a lot and have you led me in the right direction. When I started playing offensive line, I was looking for a guy in the in the league to look for, and actually, you know, arrival of the Bengals Joe Thomas as a guy that I looked up to as far as molly in my game after he was pretty good. We're doing

fun facts with Jonah Williams. You did a telephone conference call with Cincinnati reporters after the draft and told us that you built a weight room and the basement of your family home. As a kid, I put legos together. You built a weight room. Tell me a little bit about the weight room. I always would walk to my school and work out in their weight room, but it was usually logs at certain points, like in the summer over Chriss break or whenever the school wasn't in session

and I didn't really have anyone else to lift. So I got a bunch of two by fours, some some metal piping and built like you know, a rack with a with a with a little metal bars to put the put the squad on and for the bench, and got a bench that we already had and got some weights in a barbell off craigslists and just kind of threw it together. I put a but I just have

fond memories there. I put up flags of the schools I wanted to play for, and I put up, you know, different posters that said what percentage of people make it to play D one and what percentage of those people make it to the NFL, just so I knew how hard I'd have to work to be in that group. As I mentioned, you moved to northern California for your dad's job, and you wound up playing at Fulsome High School near Sacramento, one of the most dominant high school

teams in the state of California's history. Sixteen to know, I think this was your junior year. Every game went to a running clock in the fourth quarter because you were crushing teams. Why was that team so good? It was a commination of talent and work. You know. We had a bunch of talented guys. Cincinnati's very own um. Josia Duara was our tight end. We had Jake Brownie at quarterback. Cody Crease and I were the anchors on

that on that old line. Sam Whitney at Boise State was our center, and d end We had I mean, I think we had ten or eleven guys who who win d one. Um, great coaches Coach Taylor and Richardson do a great job and if continue to do that even after we left, which makes it feel a litt less special. But um, but we were exceptional in that and the work ethic. One thing I always remember is just we would literally run practices without without the coaches there.

We go up and down the field running plays just because we wanted to, because we wanted to beat people that bad. And um, I think that that made it special. We're talking to Jonah Williams. You can go online and see footage from your senior year of high school and it looks like the movie The blind Side because you are blocking people right off the screen. You are tossing people around. It's kind of comical. Actually, did you ever

feel sorry for any of those kids? Not really, honestly, because I knew where my goals were at, and to me, I felt like I had to do that to them to prove that I could continue to play at a high level of the next level just knowing. I mean, going from high school to college is a huge gap. I think going from college NFL is another gap in terms of talent and ability and the types of people were going against so I felt like they were kind

of casualties on my way to college. All right, you mentioned Josiah Deguara, now the tight end at the University of Cincinnati, in your former high school teammate. I called him up and asked him for his best Jonah Williams story that he could share at least, and here's what he said. He said, in high school, you were looking to put on weight. So he used to carry a bag of food around during the day in school and just like reach in there throughout the day to get

a sandwicharity what was in the bag? And then how did you go about doing that? Yeah? So, yuh, I was trying to gain weight. I got an offer to play offensive line. I was like two forty, so I had a game sixty pounds, and so I just packed a bag and my whole backpack. I'd have like, you know, one binder in there. Then the rest would just be stuffed with food. I remember I made peanut butter bagels, which were always tough to get through because I would,

you know, dry they were. Um. I'd bring pea chips, those Peeda chips in h Stacy's Peeda chips or whatever, and those were always a hit because everyone one of them because they're so good, you know, so I try not to share too many of those. I'd bring an apple, you know, to make it feel healthier, protein bar pretty much, mostly non parishables. I'd get a lunch at school. I'd get it from like the cafeteria and then oh, pbn J that was important, and a banana probably other things,

showing his bag of food. That could be a thing, Yeah, you could. You could sell that some day. So you're one of the top recruits in the country. You went on your visit to Alabama and instead of trying to impress you with fancy player's lounge, they apparently took you into the offensive line room and gave you the clicker so that you could watch tape for half an hour. Is that really what did it that? Well? Yeah, that's

what That's what set it apart. I met with coach christ the Ball, the old line coach at the time, and my recruiter, and we were watching tape and he was asking me the terminology we use in high school, and then he was flipping it from their terminal anology to mind. So we'd show a play and describing my terms and I'd be able to talk about everything because I was just like, you know, able to translate it.

So that was the first thing. And then before we left, I was talking to coach a boy and he's like, hey, do you want to come because it was my official visit with the Tennessee game. And he's like, hey, do you want to do you want to come watch? You know the tape from that game? And I was like, absolutely, I just watched them first. I want to watch the tape. And so I sat there for a while, was just going through or watching it and just seeing seeing that

and seeing, you know, all the workings that organization. Maybe I want to join. You left high school early January, if your senior year of high school, you went off to Alabama, try to get a head start. How tough was that? I mean, it was a it was a decision I knew I wanted to do. I wanted to come in and start as a freshman at Alabama was a big goal for me. I knew it wouldn't be easy.

There's so many great players there and then I'll just play anyone, you know, And I knew I'd give myself the best shot by coming in early and getting an extra five months under my belt before other people do, and get an extra fifteen practices, you know, over the course of the spring, and get acquainted with the coaches, know the system backwards and forwards, things like that. So it wasn't a hard decision for me to make, you know. It was weird missing a missing all the you know,

second half of my senior year of high school. I remember some of the guys on the team making fun of me, saying, like, you going to Prom. I was just like, Nope, We've got a scrimmage on the day of Prom. I'm not going back to California, you know. So it was definitely a commitment, but an easy sacrifice for me to make. Did you get a welcome to the SEC moment when you show up at Alabama and

you're really a senior in high school? I definitely did. Yeah, As I did come in early, and I came in a week before the national championship game at the time, So they put me on scout team going against that twenty fifteen defense, and then they pumped in crowd noise. And when they pumped in crowd noises way louder than any stadium and as a high schooler. I hadn't even hurt normal crowd noise, so I thought that was what

it was always like. And so I'm trying to watch the ball, you know, and also be watching Tim Williams and Ryan Anderson, John Allen coming off the edge, and so I definitely had that moment and you know, hopefully that's out of the way for the rest of my career. A couple more fun facts for Jonah Williams. Your first year at Alabama, you played right tackle. The next two you played left tackle. I read them to prepare to make the move from the right side to the left side,

you tried to write and eat with both hands. Is that the case it is? Yeah, I figured, you know, I might as well, and I got. I did it for a while. Especially the eating is able to do that. Writing is just tough to do. But then I actually talked to a couple of people and they said it's actually advantageous to be right handed as a left tackle because that's your inside hand over your post foot, you know, and so you want that to be your strong hand

and most run hand pass situations. So I kind of kind of laid off it at that point, all right, last thing. Your arms look normal to me. At the NFL scouting combine, your arms measured thirty three and five eighths inches. The preferred length is apparently thirty four for a tackle, so your arms, I guess, are three eighths of an inch shorter than preferred. A dime is about a half an inch wide, so it's less than a dime that we're talking about. Is this like the most

overblown thing in the world. Oh? Absolutely, And you know, it's frustrating that I was in a situation where I had to defend myself against that, like there's no reason for that. It's it's about the film, it's about the resume. If I was way off, you know, like um Coacha Turners making a joke earlier, he was like, if you were five nine, you know, we'd take concern, but you're six four and five eights with thirty three and five eights and charms like, it's not it's not a huge deal.

So he has it's frustrating. I'm to defend myself from that. I gave a list of the combine of all these, you know, future Hall of Fame type O linemen that have my length arms are shorter who we are we talking about Joe Thomas, Joe Staeley, as those guys, Jason Peters, Bactieri, Jack Matthews, Bulaga, all those guys just anywhere arranging room, just starters in the NFL to the Hall of Fame

type guys, like just some incredible players. But they make up were it with their technique and their ability and the way they play the game. So I never really took that much of a concern to it. I think people have to fill four months of TV and radio time, so they just find things to talk about. So I never took it that personally. It doesn't matter anymore, you know, since Nattie picks me and it's the team I'm on, and I'm just excited less than the width of a dime,

remember that. Really excited to have you here in Cincinnati. Congratulations on being the eleventh pick in the draft. It's a remarkable achievement, but you definitely earned it. We look forward to watching play. Thank you. Can't wait to be here. And that's going to do it for this week's podcast. If you haven't done so already, don't forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. And if you have a minute, please give it a rating

or leave a comment. Your feedback is helpful, and so are five star ratings. They help more Bengals fans find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast