Bengals Booth Podcast: I Want You

Booth Podcast is presented by bud Light. Seltzer refreshed the game 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 on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing since the Mock Draft Simulator. In just a bit, I'll be joined by Tone Paul Leane, the chief Draft analyst for Pro Football Network dot com and the co host of the Draft

Analyst podcast on the Belief podcast Network. If you go to Pro Football Network dot com, at the top of the home screen, you'll see a few tabs, including one labeled draft, and if you move the cursor over the word draft, you'll see a link to the mock Draft simulator. Once you click that, you can play Bengals GM for

as many rounds of the draft as you want. The simulator begins making picks in order, and then when it's your turn, you will get trade proposals or can make trade proposals and decide whether you want a wheel and deal or go ahead and pick. I've been doing three round drafts and it's a great way to learn some of the players that are likely to be available to the Bengals, as well as being a lot of fun. So check out the mock Draft simulator at Pro Football

Network dot com. If you're like me, you'll start to believe that you are qualified to be an NFL LGM. As I record this podcast, the NFL Draft is ninety eight days away. Will the Bengals select Oregon offensive lineman pinay Sewell? Should they select pinay Sewell? I discussed that and more with the NFL draft analyst Tony Pauline Tony. For months, Bengals fans have been lusting after Oregon offensive lineman Pinais Sewel. Just how good of a prospect is he?

He's a real good left tackle prospect, very athletic, flew it off the edge. I mean, he's a smooth offensive lineman who can adjust, can block in motion, get out to the second level. I think the one problem or the one issue I have with his game is he doesn't have that nasty attitude when you watch them the first couple of years you played at Oregon, he wasn't the type of offensive lineman that was always looking to bury opponents into the ground. So I think that's something

Sometimes it can be developed. Oftentimes it's just a matter of attitude and it never is developed. Where do you think the likelihood is that he's still there at number five? I'd say probably less than fifty percent. I think the Jets at tour possibility, maybe the Dolphins, maybe somebody trades up to grab them. Especially if a team like the Jets and the Miami Dolphins are looking to trade out of that second or third spot, I'd say right now,

you gotta think it's less than fifty fifty. Do you think teams are bothered at all that he opted out this year. I don't know if they're bothered by it, but I think the fact that he wasn't on the field to show some progress in his game, which allowed other players from Oregon basically to step up and really improve their game. I think that's that's something that's a

missed opportunity. I don't think listen to the remark was made to me over the summer or for all the opt outs you know occurred, was that Penny Sewell can sit around in two twenty and do nothing, but he cheese doodles and he's still going to be a top ten pick. It may bother some, but I think it's a missed opportunity for Sewell. I do like cheese doodles, so I wouldn't hold that against them. We're talking to Tony Pauline, chief draft analysts for Pro Football Network dot com.

You released your new big board this week of more than fifteen hundred prospects. It's pretty remarkable. I counted eight offensive linemen in your top thirty two. Is there a significant dropoff from Sewell to the next offensive lineman. I'd say so, especially with the injury to why At Davis.

I thought maybe Why Davis, the offensive guard from Ohio State, had an opportunity to be a top fifteen pick, depending on what the situation is with that injury, You're probably looking at Penny Sewell, and then your next offensive lineman probably isn't going to come off the board, so about pick eighteen, so you're really looking at about a half round difference between Sewell and the rest of the offensive

line class. Interesting, we're talking to Tony Pauline. You can follow him on Twitter at Tony Pauline pau L I n E. Tony, you published a mock draft back in December when the Bengals still had the number three pick at the time, and you had them taking LSU wide receiver Jamar Chase instead of Sewell. Why well number one? At that point in time, Jonah Williams was actually playing some pretty good football, and then Jonah Williams got hurt,

as he often does. I mean, I don't think that Penny Sewell is a guy that you're gonna draft and just naturally slide into the right tackle spot. So I guess at that point in time, I'm looking at Jonah Williams playing some pretty good football living up the expectations. A couple of weeks after that, after that mock draft comes out, Jonah Williams goes down with his knee injury. So it's a different, different set of issues now, different

set of questions right now. As far as Jamar Chase is concerned, I just think that Jamar Chase being coupled with Joe Burrow makes sense in so many ways. I mean, the Bengals are going to need help at receiver, they need a deep threat, they need a guy that's reliable. And you add to the fact that not only is Jamar Chase all of those things, but he has a history and he has a relationship with Joe Burrow during

Burrow's record setting senior campaign at LSU. So I think it was the point that number one Williams was playing well at left tackle. Number two, I am not a believer Penny Sewell just being able to slide into the right tackle spot. And number three. With the need at receiver that the Bengals also have, the coupling of Jamar Chase back with Joe Burrow just made an incredible amount of sense. Tony, Let's stick with wide receiver. Last year's

crop was historically good. T Higgins was the seventh wide receiver selected and he turned out to be great for Cincinnati. Is this year comparable? I actually think that this year could be better at the top with Jamar Chase, who you just mentioned, with the Davante Smith of Alabama, who is probably the best of all the Alabama receivers last year, and you had two Crimson Tide receivers taken in the

first round in Henry Ruggs and Jerry Judy. I don't think it's as I don't think you're gonna find real good receivers in the fourth fifth rounds like you did in twenty twenty. But I really think that in the first sixty picture so you're going to be able to get a quality receiver guy that can come in and produce as a rookie develop into a starter. There's a large versatility of receivers. You've got your possession type guys, You've got your quick slot guys that can also double

as return men. So I think last year's was slightly better, but I think the quality at the top in this year's draft surpasses two twenty. Draft our guest is Tony Pauline, co host of the Draft Analyst podcast on the Belief podcast Network. The Bengals need defensive line help just as badly as they need offensive line help. They had seventeen sacks as a team this year. How high do you have to draft a defensive lineman this year to get an impact guy? I don't know that there are any

true impact guys in this year's draft. I think you know, you mentioned about how many offensive lineman I have graded, you know, in the top forty five or whatever it was. I think you know, really there's there's a lot to be desired this year if you're looking for an edge rusher, even if you're looking for an interior defensive tackle. I mean, who is the top pass rusher in this year's draft?

I like Ronnie Perkins of Oklahoma, A lot of people like Gregory Rousseau of Miami of Florida, some people like Quitty Pay of Michigan. But the fact is all of those guys at best at the earliest or mid first round choices. In fact, they're probably bottom half of Round one guys. So you don't have a lot of quality

at the top. You do have some players on Day two, Patrick Jones of Pittsburgh, Hartless Basham of Wake Forrest, Jones's teammate Rachard Weaver of Pittsburgh, Jalen Phillips of Miami of Florida, who basically took the opportunity that was presented to him after Gregory Rousseau decided to opt out and had a terrific year. It's not a good year for pass rushers. It's an even worse situation at the defensive tackle class. Not great news for the Bengals since they have needs

on the edge and in the middle. I'm a big proponent of trading down in general. The Bengals have the fifth overall pick, should they trade down in your opinion? And if so, how far every fan wants their team to trade down because every team you know feels that it's better if you have you have more picks and more players than the high pick and take a player with it, with those top in the top day of top five whatever. I don't think you can broad brush it. I think you have to look at what options are

presented to you at the time. You don't trade for the sake of trading. You trade because you're getting good value in return for your pick. So if the Bengals so happens that one of the quarterbacks is still on the board, when the Bengals a quot of the clock at five, and there's a team that's clamoring to get up to get one of those quarterbacks, and they're offered a good package, then if I'm in the Bengals, I consider it. But I'm just not trading down for the

sake of trading down and collecting more selections. That never made any sense to me, Tony. There's kind of a common argument around here these days that drafting offensive lineman has become too unpredictable and that the Bengals would be better off to sign a proven starter in free agency and then draft another position. Do you agree with that concept?

It depends on who's that veteran is, and the veteran's history depends on you know, what kind of contract you're going to offer from I mean, let's be serious, the Cincinnati Bengals as an organization are not known to basically open the checking account for players. They're a little bit tight with those purse strings. So I don't know what kind of a veteran you're going to get. Are you going to get a veteran tackle? What are you going to pay him? You know? And what is the value

of the player that you're looking at? You know, everyone talks about Penny Sewell at the top of round one. There are some real good offensive tackles that will be available. I would suspect to the Cincinnati Bengals in the second and third round. So it's not just first round players. You talked about te Higgins. T Higgins was the second

round Church. You can get good players in Day two and Day three of the draft, and I happen to think there'll be some very good right tackle prospects available to the Bengals in the second and third round, which is definitely a position of need. Last year they had the first pick in every round. We mentioned Burrow, Higgins, Logan Wilson, Kim Davis Gaith or a Keem Identagy. All of these guys got on the field this year. What did you think of last year's Bengals draft. I thought

it was good. I thought Joe Burrow exceeded my expectations before the injury. I thought he played fantastic. Same thing with te Higgins, but they worked hand in hand. Logan Wilson not surprised. I mean, they basically revamped their entire or it looks like they revamped their entire linebacker unit. And last year's draft, I mean it looked good on paper. I think what looked good on paper, was transitioned into

production on the field. Tony, what did you think of Bearcat's quarterback Desmond Ritter's decision to return to college for his senior year. I thought it was a terrific decision. I mean, Ritter right now grade is a fourth maybe third round choice. He's got a great amount of upside. He needs just a bit more seasoning and more development in this game, which I'm sure he'll get in two

twenty one. I thought it was the right move. I thought if he entered the draft it would have been a struggle for him at the next level because it's such a steep curve, not just you know, the competition, the learning and the conditioning everything. Thought he made a great decision. I thought maj Sanders also made a real good decision going back to school. I was a little

bit surprised by James Hudson's choice. I thought he would have been better off returning, although there were some in the scouting community who feel Hudson is a potential top forty two choice. All right, Tony, last thing, you did a mock draft in December. As I mentioned, Jamaar Chase going number three to Cincinnati at that time they wind up with a fifth pick. Do you have somebody in mind at this point that you think would be ideal for the Bengals at the fifth spot. You know, I'm

still gonna stick with the receivers. I don't know if it's going to be Jamar Chase or Davanta Smith. Devanta Smith has made a major move up draft boards. Just watch his film, watches the way he's played and got better week in and week out against better competition. I'm still right now. I mean, obviously, we have to see what the situation with Jonah Williams is and what they

think of Jonah Williams. If Penny Sewel's there and there they feel they can move Jonah Williams inside to one of the interior offensive line positions, maybe even to write tackle, then I could understand them selecting Penny Sewell. Otherwise, if they're satisfied with Jonah Williams at left tackle, I still think a receiver has got to be an option, Tony.

For people who aren't familiar with your work, what can we look forward to on Pro Football Network dot com and on the Draft Analyst podcast on the Belief podcast network next week is Senior Bowl week, and we have plans to be in mobile for all three days of Senior Bowl practices, so the wal to wall information on SA Bowl practices will have a breakdown of every single

player how they do every single day. We'll have some nightly recaps, and then moving towards the draft, obviously we'll have information on the workouts, assuming we have some pre draft workouts, and it'll all culminate with probably more than eight hundred individual scouting reports. So Bengal fans will not only be able to find information on the players at the team drafts, but the players at the team sign

as free agents after the draft. Tony, great staff. F really appreciate your time, thanks for joining us, Thanks for having me. Tony's big Board at Pro Football Network dot com is pretty remarkable. Among other things, you can pick out a position such as quarterback and see where Tony has them ranked among the top fifteen hundred draft prospects.

Since we mentioned you sees Desmond Ritter in the interview, I looked him up on Tony's big board and he has das ranked eleventh among quarterbacks and number one fourteen overall, which projects Ritter to be if they're round draft pick. Dez is hoping to improve that by returning to Cincinnati for his senior year. The Bengals Booth podcast is presented by Bud Light Seltzer. It's light and refreshing with a

hint of fruit flavor for ten years now. One of the segments on the radio pregame show each week is my fun Facts interview, where the objective is to get to know the person under the pads. I later share those segments on this podcast, and for the final game of this season, I was joined by the Bengals starting quarterback time for some fun facts with quarterback Brandon Allen

from Fayetteville, Arkansas. That's where you grew up, It's where you played high school football, it's where you played college football. For somebody who has never been to Fayetteville, describe your hometown. It is a hidden gym, is the way I would describe it. I think a lot of people just here Arkansas and think you know one. I don't know where that is and to why would I want to go there? But I think we've been ranked ranked the top top three at least in SEC schools to go to, So

I'd say hidden gem. There's a lot to do. It's a it's a beautiful, beautiful area, and it's it's it's grown a lot since I first got there. You are a coach's kid. Your dad has been part of the staff at Arkansas for twenty years. How did that impact

you growing up? I was always around football, so um, you know, being out at the practices and playing on the dummies and all that stuff, and you know, just before a game, you know, he'd bring us all early, all all the brothers, We get out there early and playing the field. So I think just growing up around it so much kind of sparked our love for the game. And uh, you know, I think that's just kind of where it came from. We're doing fun facts with Brandon Allen.

Was there any doubt that if you were good enough to play college football that you would play for the Razorbacks? No, I don't think so. Um. I think growing up there always being a fan of Arkansas football, and and we didn't have any really pro sports, you know, too close to us, so um, it wasn't ever a huge you know, NFL, NBA. I didn't have a team to root for, so it was always just the Hogs in Arkansas, and um, so I think when I got the opportunity to go play there,

that was a no brainer for me. The early portion of your Arkansas career was tumultuous. Three head coaches in your first two years. You saw the ugly side of fan passion. You had your truck egged one time. How difficult was that and how did it shape who you are now? Yeah, it was tough obviously, going through all those coaching changes and having down years, and um, you

know it was. It was hard. It was hard to try and fight through it and stick around a lot of guys you know, transferred in one other places, and and you know, I really just want to see it through. I wanted to see us through, um those hard times that we were going through, and we did. Um for a part, I think we started winning a lot of games. They're late in late in my career, and um, you know it was it was fun to be able to

go through that. And I think, um, you saw a lot of adversity during that time, and so to be able to handle that adversity and come out on the other side, I think was really beneficial for me. You played a big role in helping get things turned around. You went back to back Bowl games. You went down as one of the great quarterbacks in school history. What

was the highlight of your college experience? You know, I don't know that there's really one in particular highlight all through calls, but just the people I met at the university and the teammates I had, I think, you know, kind of shaped everything about the joy I had planned for for the state of Arkansas and at that university. And so I don't know that I can pinpoint one certain part that was a highlight, But I think just the relationships you built through college athletics and all that

I think was the best. And I still got, you know, so many teammates that are still some of my closest friends. Today we're chatting with Brandon Allen, you got drafted by Jacksonville in the sixth round in twenty sixteen, described that life changing phone call. It was a long waiting game for me. You know, you hear certain things and different stories on draft day, but for me, you know, you just sit around you hear you know, all these names getting called, his names getting called, and it kind of

creeps in the back of your head. You know, maybe I won't get my name called and then when they called, you know, it just kind of, um, you know, everyone's overjoyed. I was at my parents' house with a lot of family and friends there, and you know, we just we're all very excited, obviously just to hear your name called in a draft and just a real special moment for

me and for my family. After a year as a backup in Jacksonville, you got claimed by the Rams and spent a couple of years as a backup there, including the Super Bowl season in twenty eighteen. Sean McVeigh was the head coach, Zach Taylor was an assistant. How much did you learn in those two years with the Rams?

I learned a lot, you know. I think just the way that that Sean details everything from the quarterback position and how much how much defense he actually teaches the quarterbacks to understand what you're looking at when you get on the field. Um, I think those two years in LA we're definitely my biggest learning experience to date. So you know, there's there's certain things you can't replace, like actually getting in the game and getting the actual reps.

But I think being there for two years and learning as much as I did under Sean and Zach and everyone that was there really helped me to be a better quarterback and be a better player in this league. So you joined the Denver Broncos last year and finally got that opportunity to play in a regular season game, beating the Cleveland Browns in your NFL debut with a passer rating of one twenty five point six. It had been nearly four years between starts. What were your most

vivid memories of that day? You know, I think there was a lot of nervous energy for me, Um, just from the from the first snap, and you know, it's been it had been such a long time. You know, obviously there's preseason games and all that, but it's just not the same really, and being able to get into n actual regular season game, I think was it was extremely exciting for me. Obviously, I was, you know, very pumped to play and obviously get the win too was

the best feeling. But um, you know, like I said, you know, a lot of guys will be in the league for a long time and still never see that opportunity. So just to be able to get that was m was It was an awesome, awesome feeling for me. We're talking to Brandon Allen, you joined the Bengals this year initially as the so called quarantine quarterback, where you had to be kept away from the other guys as much as possible. What was the hardest part of that? Um?

You know, I think just not being around him, I think was the hardest part. You know, you when you've done things a certain way for so long and then you know, COVID comes and everything just changes. It's all Zoom calls, it's you you got to stay away from when you can't go near anyway, It's it's just very different um feeling, and so I think just the hardest part was not being around really any of the guy,

especially the quarterback room. You know, you you you grow relationships in that room when you're in meetings together, and to be over Zoom and have to stay away from the practice was was kind of challenging and difficult at the same time. All Right, a few wildcard questions as we wrap up fun Facts of Brandon Allen. Are you a fan of another sport and if so, what team do you follow? I think that goes back to me growing up in argust I didn't really have a team.

I think I grew up just watching and having favorite players, and I didn't really have a favorite team, so I am a fan of all the sports. I love watching golf. I think that's probably my favorite thing to watch other than football. And obviously Justin Thomas and those guys are DJ are a lot of fun to watch, and seeing Tiger back out there has been a lot of fun to watch. So if I had to pick, I definitely probably say golf sounds like you play. I do. I tried to anyway, not as good as Finley, but I'm

working on it. Is he the chap? Is he the Bengals a golfing chap? I think he is right now. I think he's probably the guy that everyone wants to take down and on the golf course. Do you have any hidden talents? I don't know that they're hidden talents. I walk into Drew Sample today and he said one of his offseason projects is to learn to juggle, and I told him I could probably teach him how to juggle in five minutes, So maybe juggling could be a

hidden talent. Other than that, I don't really I don't really have anything that special. You and aj Green are team jugglers. I don't know if you're aware that he has that skill. He's got the juggling skill. I didn't know as many people didn't know how to juggle, so I guess it is a more of a hidden talent than I thought it was. I'm on that list, unfortunately. What has been your most extravagant purchase. I've done a

good job of not having too many extravagant purchases. I would have to say, just last Christmas, I think I bought my wife a Louis Vuitton purse, and that probably would have been the most money for what I was getting that I probably spent in my career so far a lot of dough in a small box. Uh. I know, I know those things are expensive, all right. If you could meet anybody in history, athlete, entertainer, statesman, whatever, who

would that person be? That is hard. I probably have to say, I've met a lot of really good football players that probably Michael Jordan. I've not had that pleasure of meeting Michael jo I think that would be a really cool thing, just to say that you've shook hands with Michael Jordan. You met Michael Jordan. I think is a really cool thing. I'd love to play some golf with him sometimes, so that would be that would be pretty cool. You'd have to play for big money based

on everything everybot about him at the golf course. I better bring some people with me to put it all right. You are off the hot seat. I appreciate your time. Best of luck in the final game of the year, and I have a great offseason. Thank you very much. The final game didn't work out so well, but Brandon Allen was outstanding the week before at Houston and it'll be interesting to see if he resigns with the Bengals in the off season or if the team pursues another

veteran quarterback to back up Joe Burrow. That's going to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, brought to you by Bud Light Seltzer, refresh the game. If you haven't done so already, please subscribe, and if you have a minute, give it a rating or share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde, and thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast.