Bengals Booth Podcast: Movin' On Up

We'll discuss that and much more. Plus I'll spend a few minutes with second round draft pick Jackson Carmen, and then my broadcast partner Dave Lapham joins me to discuss the Bengals Ring of Honor ballot and answer the questions you submitted on Twitter. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented

by bud Light Seltzer. Refresh 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 It's the greatest thing since my mom. Since Mother's Day is this weekend, I want to take a moment to say how grateful I am to be the son of

Diane Bailey. One of the reasons I followed my childhood dream of becoming a sports broadcaster is that my mom is the type of person who decides that she wants to do something and then goes for it. Although she did not attend college, she's been successful in multiple careers, including interior design and buying and selling antiques. When she was younger, she dabbled in acting, and after turning seventy, she decided to learn how to play the cello, all

while raising five extremely lucky kids. So happy Mother's Day, Mom, and thanks. Now let's get to football. There are a few things more worthless than instantaneous NFL draft grades. It generally takes about three years to have a good sense of how productive a team's draft is, and yet every year, the first thing I do on the Sunday morning after the draft check out every draft grade I can find. I just can't help myself. This year, the Bengals mostly got b pluses and bees, and often got dinged for

not taking Penney Sewell in the first round. But one of the opinions I value most belongs to Greg ko Sell, and he says the Bengals got it right, all right, This is a real treat for me and the listeners of this podcast, an opportunity to discuss the draft and free agency with a great Greg coo Sell. You did in depth scouting reports on six of the players that the Bengals wound up drafting. Let's start with Jamar Chase. You had him ranked as the number one wide receiver

in this year's draft. In your scouting report, the word physical appears seven times. The words strong or strength appear six times. Is that what jumped off the screen when you study Jamar Chase? That? And competitive? That was probably another word that you noticed on my scouting report. I really loved watching him. I actually watched him last summer.

I did not know that he would sit out the season. Hey, last summer, I didn't even know if there would be a season, So but I so I watched him last summer. I really loved his tape. And as you know, Dan, everything I talk about comes from just pure tape study. I don't meet the players. I don't know all their backgrounds. I'm sitting in my office. Last year, I was home for obvious reasons. But I sit in my office at NFL Films, and I watched tape and I loved Chase

this game. I loved his competitiveness. I loved the way he defeated press coverage, which he'll do have to do in the NFL. He play a lot of boundary X, which means he lined up on the ball, and you get press when you're on the ball and the corner is closer to you, so you have to be able

to win against press. He ran a ton of slants, and keep in mind the NFL game, Now you know there's a ton of RPOs, there's a ton of quick game, and you run a lot of those quick inbreakers, the three step slants or the five step glance routes they call them. And he could take it to the house. He was very competitive run after cat as you saw in my notes that I don't sit around after I watch a player dan and say, who does he remind me of? It either hits me or it doesn't hit me.

And I thought there was some Steve Smith in his game, just a competitive intensity with which he played. I thought it was tremendous. I loved his tape and I think that he'll be a really good player, And say what you will, but I thought, what he did at his Pro day speaks to his commitment because he didn't play football this year, and he came out obviously had been training hard and had put up phenomenal Pro day numbers.

As I think you know, there was a huge debate among Bengals fans as to whether they were team Sewel or team Chase. Should the Bengets go for the offensive lineman and round one or for the wide receiver in round one? Did you have strong feelings? I did? To me, Chase is truly special, and I think that you needed him more that you could get an offensive lineman later as they did. We'll discuss Jackson and Carmen shortly. But I like Sue a lot. There's nothing not to like

about Tony Sewell. I just think when you have a chance to get a player who is a true game breaker, and you know the nature of the NFL now, as you know Dan is offensively, what are you trying to do create explosive plays? Defensively? What are you trying to do stop explosive plays? That's the NFL game, and that's the cliff notes version. And I just think that the warrant receivers as good as Chase the drop off was much bigger, whereas the drop off to me, and I

know others disagree. That's fine, you know. I like to think reasonable people can disagree, you know. But I thought the drop off with sewell to other tackles as you move through the second round was not going to be as great as the drop off for me between Chase and the receivers that would be there in the second round. The Bengals have two really good receivers already, and Tyler Boyd and t Higgins beneath neither guy has great speed

and Chase does. How important is that? Well, you'd always like to have a guy that can be a vertical dimension and that can change the way the defense plays, because ultimately, you know what you're trying to do. And I think Burrow is is great at this to begin with. This was one of the things that came out in his interviews at the Combine when I spoke to a lot of coaching friends of mine. Burrow is really smart

to begin with. But what you're trying to do, as you know, is you're always trying to give the quarterback as much information as possible before the snap of the ball. The great ones win before the snap of the ball, Burrow will be that guy. But now you have You know, Higgins played a lot of X last year, but I think Chase is truly an X. Higgins you can move him around. We know Boyd is phenomenal in the slot. He has been for years. So they really have a

nice trio of receivers that you know. Obviously, Chase could also move around. You know you can. You can put Higgins in Chase wherever you want them. So this is now a really interesting receiving corps because Higgins is big. Chase is not small, but he's obviously smaller than Higgins. I'd be pretty excited if I was a Bengals fan about this receiving corps and with Burrow coming back. We're talking to the great Greg co Sell from NFL Films and the NFL Matchup Show on ESPN. Let's move on

to Jackson Carmen. The Bengals traded back in the second round and got him at number forty six. You wrote that he can be a quality starter in the NFL. What do you like most? Yeah, I like Carmen. You know, it's funny. I was on a little bit of a rampage before the draft because you always hear people say, well he's a guard, and you heard that with Jackson Carmen. But you know, at the end of the day, dan As, you know, you got to line up with sixty four

offensive tackles every week. Not everybody is Joe Thomas. Not everybody has sweet feed in the perfect length. You know, there's just not fifty Joe Thomas's, so you gotta still line up with tackles and Jackson Carmen. You know, actually I believe he's from Ohio, and I think he was a big time high school player in Ohio. You would know that better than I. Our Field, Ohio as a Cincinnati suburb essentially. Well, there you go. So I knew he was from Ohio. I just don't exactly where. But

I kind of liked Carmen. I mean, you know, I think he's physical. I think he's aggressive. People will discuss the arm length, which is a little bit less than what is considered ideal for an offensive tackle. I think people like to start at thirty three inches. He was thirty two and a half. You know, I made this point in my notes. He kind of reminded me of Jack Conklin coming out of Michigan State, and you know, Conklin's a certain kind of tackle and Carmen would be

a certain kind of tackle. But I think, as I said, with a lot more of the short passing game, the quick throws, I believe Burrow will be the kind of quarterback as he develops that can make an offensive line better because of the way in which he plays. I think Carmen is a tackle, and I think they I mean, they drafted him to be a tackle, did they not.

He's going to compete for a starting guard spot as a rookie, but Riley Reef only signed a one year deal, so the expectations maybe he plays a year at guard and then kicks out to tackle. Well, I'll tell you what. The thing, one thing that really stood out watching this kid was a very tenacious playing personality, very competitive, a little nasty, which you know that always as you know,

plays well on the offensive line room. So I spoke to former Bengals offensive line coach Paul Alexander, who some time, yeah, he worked with Jackson Carmen to get ready for the draft, and he told me something you'll find interesting. He said that thirty two and a half inch measurement was incorrect. He measured Jackson Carmen, and he said there was another measurement done independently of him after that thirty two and a half that was published that says that Jackson Carmen's

arms are actually thirty three and a quarter. So I wonder, based on your film study, if he looked like a guy who has better reach than maybe that widely publicized thirty two and a half length would indicate. Yeah, I'm not an offensive line guru. I'll be totally honest with you. I mean and Paul, I know Paul Alexander, he's see phenomenal. I don't know what that difference means, Dan, I really don't. A lot of studies have been done. I know Joe

Banner has done studies. I'm sure all teams do studies of over the years of if arm length is truly a factor. I don't. I haven't done those studies. I don't have that kind of time, you know, to do that. I don't work for a team. But so I don't know what the difference ultimately would be between thirty two and a half and thirty three and a quarter in terms of your evaluation of the player. You know what his traits are on tape. I don't think change and I really like the player on tape, so you know,

I think he's a really good run blocker. He's physical, he's competitive. I thought some of his weaknesses did occur in pass protection, and there will definitely be some as you know, that will say, oh, he's a guard for sure, not even don't even put him a tackle, And who knows how that'll play out. You know, maybe he starts at guard and he has a phenomenal year and they feel like he's a guard. You know, it could work out that way. Let's move on to the next two

picks in the third round. Joseph Osai from Texas in the fourth round, Bengals first fourth round Pickcam sample from Tulane. A couple of defensive lineman slash edge rushers. With both players, you raved about the intensity that you saw on every snap. Yeah, Joseph Asai was kind of nuts. I mean, he played so freaking hard. I think he's got some work to do to develop as a pass rusher. Don't forget, as you probably know, the year prior at Texas, he was

a stacked backer. He was an off the ball player, and he got moved in this past year to basically being an on the ball outside linebacker. So you know, I think he's got some work to do when you talk about his ability to rush the quarterback. But if you want to talk about a guy that plays like his pants are on fire, I mean this guy. The first thing you notice is how many plays he makes just running around, and I mean unbelievable. But he's got heavy hand ends. I think that's a good start. He's

got a strong body. I just think he needs work. When you talk about the skill set that's necessary to rush the quarterback, I think he needs work in the technique of that because he doesn't have a lot of experience doing it. You know, every once in a while you'd see a flash where he showed some good hand usage, where he showed some mend and ability to corner. But those are things that need development. But you just love his playing personality, his relentless competitiveness snap after snap. I

mean a few defensive players I looked at. I probably looked at overall, not just defensive players, probably two hundred and twenty five guys this year. You know, I'm a one man scouting service, Dan, so you know I did about two hundred and twenty five guys. So, but his his level of intensity just you know, you love watching the kid play football. I mean, you love to have those guys because you can teach technique, you can teach

certain things. You it's very, very hard to teach guys that don't play hard all the time to play hard all the time. And did you see similar things in Camp Sample? I loved Cam Sample by the way I mean, And to be honest with you, he was a guy I knew nothing about. Touline had two guys. They had Cam Sample and Patrick Johnson. And Patrick Johnson got drafted late. I liked him a lot too. I thought he was better than already got drafted by the Eagles. But but

Cam Sample, I really liked his statement. He grew on me because Cam Sample is not an explosive, oh my god kind of player, another guy super competitive as a pass rusher, just were lentless speed, velocity, not bendy necessarily you know, or flexible. You know who reminded me of Unfortunately, he weighs fifteen twenty pounds less so and that's a factor. He really reminded me and made me think of Cameron Jordan of the Saints. I mean, I thought he was

a very similar player stylistically, neither one or not. Guys who wouldn't necessarily with their first movie. They wint more with their secondary move they wint with hand placement, They wouldn't with a feel for leverage and timing and paller. I really liked camp Sample's game. I mean, to me, if he was fifteen pounds heavier, he could have been a top forty pick, you know. And and by the way, his athletic testing numbers were really really good. All right,

let's wrap up with two more offensive lineman. After selecting Jackson Carmen, they came back to the old line and drafted Deante Smith to tackle a lot of ECU and Trey Hill, a center from Georgia. How about your thoughts on those two guys and their potential to develop. Yeah, I think Smith is one of those guys. He's a potential guy because he's he's long, He's got a lean athletic frame. He does have long arms, if that matters

to me. He's a player you draft based on his athletic and movement traits with the idea of what you hope he can become with coaching and experience. I think his balance was not very good. I think his body control was not very good. You know, I think overall, his his fundamental nique needs work. So you draft a guy. He's got very good traits. The issue will be his his weight from when I ready played under three hundred. I guess he got the three oh five on his

pro day. Whether he can play at that time will tell. Obviously, being in an NFL weight room now will be different. But you know, there were positive signs in his game, but I think there were also a lot of things where, if you're an online coaches say hey, we need to work on that. And then Trey Hill. You know, Trey Hills, the Georgia kid, obviously played a high level of college football. I kind of like Trey Hill. You know. Again, centers are hard, and I'll be the first to admit they're

even They're hard for me to evaluate. But he also you could see him at guard too. I guess do they see him at center. I think they see him at center, but he'll obviously, you know, cross train at the guard end center spots. Yeah, I mean he played a strong man's game, Dan, you know, power strength. I mean there were someone on one blocks in which he took d tackles to the g and we're talking to the SEC. I think he's got some movement ability too. You know again, centers are very hard for me to

understand as to where do they get drafted. You know, that's one of those positions unless you're just exceptionally special. I don't know how that works how teams see centers,

but I think another guy. You know, they drafted a lot of guys that really play hard, and I'm sure that was a particular thing within the organization that hey, we want guys with a really really outstanding playing personalities and relentless competitiveness, and you know, you've always feel you can teach those guys some technique things, but you really, you know, playing like that's in a guy's DNA usually, and the Hill's another guy just like that. We're talking

to Greg Cosell. I've only got you for a couple more minutes, so let's hit free agency real quickly. The Bengals were big spenders for the second year in a row. Trey Hendrickson, Larry Ogan, Joebi chitabay A Wooze, Mike Hilton, Eli Apple, Riley Reef, What are your thoughts and some of the guys that the Bengals added. There's a couple of names there, but I love I always loved Mike Hilton. Loved Mike Hiltons, you know, at his best, a terrific slot corner, and that's what he is. He's a slot corner,

arguably the best blitzing slot corner in the NFL. But smaller guy, but tough, competitive, physical, will play the run, willing to mix it up. Like I said, a great blitzer. To me. When I saw they signed Mike Hilton, I thought that was, you know, one of those under the radar guys. No one's gonna say, wow, Mike Hilton's an All Pro or Hall of Famer, but I just think

another guy. It just seems to me, and you know, you're closer to the organization than I am, but it seems to me they're really trying to build with guys who were super competitive, you know. I mean it goes back to their draft choice. We talked about that, Jamar Chase, you know, great example would pick one. That they're trying to get guys who just have relentless competitiveness and energy and intensity and you know, it's it's really good to

have those guys. I mean, I think Hendrickson is another great example of that. I know, he had ten plus sacks. No one would sit here and say, boy, that guy has unbelievable athletic and physical traits. I mean, they're obviously above average, but I think when all said and done, you're dealing with a guy that is super intense, super competitive, gets a lot of secondary sacks because he, you know, just doesn't give up. I mean, they seem to be

developing a type here. Is that something that you know, you've talked with people about that has that been a defining mandate within the organization, no question about it, particularly with this year's draft. You know, last year, every player they drafted except for one, was the captain of his college teams. Like last year was the character year, and this year it seems like it's the effort, motor intensity year. I mean that's you know, you looks every draft pick

going to hit. Of course not not. That just doesn't happen, and we can't sit here and say which ones will or won't. But the point is is a lot of people truly believe that playing with the intensity of a guy like Chase or Joseph Asai or Hendrickson or Mike Hilton. You know, talking about the free agents that that can't be taught, that that's in your DNA, and they really have focused on that. And again, there's many reasons why teams win in lose. I mean, obviously, if Joe Burrow

is back healthy and becomes a great, great player. Hey, the quarterback in this league. We know he drives a lot of things. But you know, they're building a team here of high intensity players and I just think it's a general principle that's a good thing. If I had twenty hours with you instead of twenty minutes, I would use them all. But you've been very generous with your time and you've got a lot of things on your plate, so I'll let you go. Thank you so much for

doing this. I know my audience loves it. Dan, I really appreciate it. Thanks for asking me. It's an awesome day when you get to talk football with Greg ko Sell. Greg was enough to send me his written scouting reports on the six Bengals draft picks he studied this year, including Jackson Carmen. He wrote that the Bengal second round draft pick is quote competitive and intense with a little

bit of a nasty streak. Jackson helped lead the Clemson Tigers to a thirty nine and three record during his career, three appearances in the College Football Playoff and a national championship as a freshman. For the last two years, he started every game at left tackle, protecting the blindside of the number one pick in this year's draft, Trevor Lawrence, and now he's coming home. I talked to the former Fairfield High school standout this week. So you were the

Bengal second round draft pick this year. Your Clemson teammate and friend T Higgins was the Bengal second round draft pick last year. And when T was drafted, he surprised some of us by saying that the Bengals were his dream team. We didn't realize that about him, but he's a Bengals fan and has been for years because Aj

Green was his football hero. In your case, was this also the dream scenario for you to get the opportunity to play professionally so close to home, Yes, sir, just to be able to be close to my family and to be able to be a part of such a rich tradition of officsive alignment and to be in such a saying unique city in the country. I thought, this is definitely a best case scenarios. I'm super excited to be home. And how about the members of your family,

They're beyond excited. Words can't explain you know what I mean. So you have a tie, a good tie to one of the greatest offensive lineman ever to play for the Bengals, Willie Anderson. You worked extensively with Willie in the run up to the draft. What are some of the most important things you've learned from him and just share a little bit about that relationship. Yeah, Willie's been an awesome mentor to me, and we first met at the Nike

opening in Beaverton, Oregon when he was coaching there. And just being able to see someone who's been through it all at the highest level and being able to learn from him and pick apart things from his brains has been ultimate blessing. To have someone like that in your corner,

It really is truly awesome. So I've been able to learn things from just like mentality and professionalism and more so like philosophical things, and also just like technique and work and you know what, I'm saying different things that go in tie In's office, ave line place. So it's been really good to be able to work with coach Willie. Did you have a strong feeling that the Bengals might

draft you? I definitely knew it was a possibility, you know what I'm saying, from hearing a lot of different teams and also knowing that the Bengals were projected to be needing offensive lineman. It was definitely something that was discussed. They made a trade in the second round, going down from thirty eight to forty six. Did that influence you're

thinking at all? I definitely didn't know, Like I mean, like, I'm not gonna sit here and say like, oh, I knew everything was gonna be perfect, but like, it was definitely interesting to see, you know what I'm saying, what was going on behind the scenes, and just to think about it. But I'm glad how everything turned out. As I mentioned, you blocked for Trevor Lawrence in college. Now you're going to a block for Joe Burrow in the NFL. You face Joe in the National Championship Game a couple

of years ago. Unfortunately for you, he played out of his mind and uls you won that game, But what were your observations of Joe in the run up to that game and during that game and your feelings about him now? And one of my favorite things about watching the players being able to see how intelligent they are and how they really just like have a feel for

the game. And when I watched Joe, just knowing just how smart he is really just stands out, and the decisions he's able to make and the speed and accuracy that he plays with was really remarkable, and that's something that obviously showed up in our game. So it's been really cool to be able to watch his journey and even more amazing to see how it sall came around full circle. So I'm excited you are expected to come in and compete for a starting spot at guard, immediately

making that transition from tackle to guard. I know you played some guard in high school, but what are some of the challenges associated with moving from tackle to guard?

Mostly predominantly just being more so in a three point stands compared to a two point stands because in college about nine my snaps with from a two point stands, So just getting more comfortable taking snaps, taking passess out of the three point stands and being more comfortable to that, and also spitching over to the right side and getting more used to as well. But I think it's gonna be a great transition on the site of her challenge. What will you do between now and training camp to

further prepare yourself for the NFL. I'll definitely be training every day. I'll be working with my coaches, you know what I'm saying here at the Bengals, and also being able to train with guys like Coach Willie and Coach Paul and also do many weather of all really help prepare me for the next level. Coach Paul former Bengals offensive line coach Paul Alexander. He told me you worked with him about ten times last year and leading up

to the draft. Did you learn anything particularly valuable from Paul? I think Paul's just like Coach Willie, a legend in his own right, and being able to learn all types of things from him as far as is off the feeling in on the field, but on the field specifically, I think he's just really great technique coach. It really

helps He's a great teacher. It really helps people understand what I'm saying what exactly they're supposed to be doing so different things in past protection and as far as is like footwork and hand placement, I think he's done a great job. The roster has really turned over in the last couple of years, and there's really an impressive young core now on this Cincinnati roster, yourself included. Do you feel like you're kind of getting in on the

ground floor of something special? Definitely, definitely. I think there's definitely something special clicking up here in Cincinnati and just being able to see just all the different way you know what I'm saying, levels of talent, whether that we're bringing in from all positions, and also just I think it's a really bright future for us. I know you had back surgery in January. What did you have done

and how are you doing? I played the last five games with twenty twenty season with a herniated disc in my back and I had surgery in January and since then I've done full rehab of rebilitation and training how to pro day and honestly, I feel great. I'm far ahead of where most people are after a surgery like that, and honestly, I'm just super excited to be able to

get the work. Last question, Gen, you haven't signed your contract yet, so you do not have, you know, that nice signing bonus that I'm sure you're looking forward to. But do you have anything in mind for your first big purchase as a professional athlete. I think for my first purchase, Man, probably probably just some skylines. To be honest with you, Man, skyl has been my favorites about the Blue Kids, be able to go back there. You get a couple of season Cooney, some sky fires where

I'm looking forward too. It's a good answer. You don't even have to wait for the signing bonus. If you're watching this skyline, you know the call. The Bengals Booth podcast is presented by bud Light Seltzer. It's light and refreshing with a hint of fruit flavor. On Thursday, the Bengals announced the seventeen former players who will make up this year's Ring of Honor ballot. Two players will be voted in by season ticket members and Sweet owners and will be added to Hall of Famers Paul Brown and

Anthony Muno's to make up this year's inaugural class. I'm proud to say that one of the seventeen Bengals Grates on the Ring of Honor ballot is my broadcast partner day lap them, Congratulations, my friend and joining former teammates Ken Anderson and Ken Riley and more recent stars like Chad Johnson and Willie Anderson on the Ring of Honor ballot. Can you describe what it means to be on that

initial ballot? Humbling is the biggest word. You know. I think about all those players and the first thing I thought about when I saw the list is took me right back to nineteen eighty one. You know, when we had such good success. We had a lot of good players that really jelled and played well together. You know that year eighty one and eighty two we had as many wins as any team in the National Football League. You know, we won nineteen games regular season games in

those two years with strike shorten. The year was seven and two in nineteen eighty two after a twelve and fourth season, and you know, it made the Super Bowl run in that nineteen eighty one season, and I mean, all the memories of those guys, you know, it's just it just brought back full circle, like tremendous memories. And to be on a list with those guys was just humbling to say the least, There's no question about it.

And you know, I just the other thing that it did was is I looked at all the guys on

the list. It just made me realize how fortunate I am to have played with or covered all of them, you know, seeing them all play, it's it really has been a pure joy in that regard to a football junkie, you know, to be able to have lived the dream that she had as a kid to play in the league, and then to play, you know, a lengthy time and be on a Super Bowl team, and then getting into the broadcast side of it and still be associated with the game and see all these great players, and you know,

having broadcast a Super Bowl that the team played in. I mean, those are like all all the things that come flooding back to me when I start looking at the list of all these players, not only the seventeen on the ballot, but when the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary, when all the guys started coming back and you know, have reunion time with all these guys, and it's like, man, it just it brought you back to you know, quite a while ago. Man, it brought you back to your youth.

There's no question about it was a lot of fun. So as a season ticket holder, I'm going to have to recuse myself because I would go lap them, lap them with my two picks as your friend and broadcast partners. So we are going to put Sam Horde in charge of the Horde family ballot, and he is leaning toward Ken and Ken Anderson and Riley, and that makes total sense. I mean, they're obviously guys that are on the fringe of and should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

And the two candidates that are in with Paul Brown and Anthony Munos are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the two guys that are on the start the ring of Honor, so that more than worthy, to say the least. And two, you know, the Si hilarities. They played different positions obviously, but so many similarities in terms of you know them as people and not just football players. And Kenny Riley was a quarterback himself, you know, in college, so he had that he had such an unbelievable quiet

swagger to him. You know, he was tremendously confident, but not the least bit cocky and Kenny Anderson the same way. The Ken's are special people as well as being special football players. Football I think it is just part of what those guys are though. And you know, Paul Brown, it would be proud of a lot of these guys on all these lists because he was all about football is just the beginning of your work life, your work career. And he would always say, you know, now you have

a chance to go to your life's work. When your football career was over, however was over, whether you were cut by everybody, retired, or whatever the case may be, and he would call it, you know, it was just the beginning of your life's work and you have an opportunity to begin your life's work in a very very positive way. What are you going to do after that? And so many of these guys, you know, reinvented themselves and had a good run with their life after football.

I think Paul Brown would be very proud of that as well, no question about it. The Bengals have not announced yet what the plan will be going forward. Will there be four more guys next year, will it be too, will it be a player every year going forward? We don't know that yet, but I do know that at some point lap Them sixty two is going to be up on that wall, and that's going to be an

awesome site. You know. You think about the fact that you know that it's it's going to be up there for your kids to seeing your grandkids and your great grandkids, if you're lucky enough to be around for great grandkids whatever. That that part of it, you know, starts to starts to bog your mind a little bit. Um, you know, the legacy aspect of that kind of thing. Even just to be on the ballot is just stunning, really is. It's a it's a stunning situation. It really really makes

you shake yourself a little bit. Well, it's a well deserved honor and I'm thrilled for you. Thank you. Let's move on to the draft. We've had about a week to reflect on the ten players that the Bengals selected. You've had some great conversations about the guys they picked on your podcast, You're in the Trenches podcast, which is awesome. I have been binging now for a couple of weeks and it's great. What are some of your biggest takeaways

on this a ten player group. Yeah, I think I think the fact that, Um, they did, you know, stick to their guns in terms of how they had their their board rated. I mean you look at it and, um, seven guys in the in the pits in the trenches. You know, it's, uh, that's that's kind of amazing. One wide receiver for down lineman as such, three offensive lineman, place kicker, and the running back. So in the nineteen or the twenty twenty draft, they went three linebackers, you

know in that draft. So their board, they stayed true to their board. And people might say, oh, you know, well, how come they didn't draft the quarterback a cornerback? I should say, why wasn't a cornerback drafted? I'm sure they had every intention of maybe draft in one, but when it got to that point, you know, the board, you're not usually that far off, You're not fifteen picks off in terms of guys. So you know it's the guy goes and you pick another. And they're heavily criticized for

taking the place kicker in the fifth round. Well, you know, when they made the trade and got the additional two fourth round picks, it made it easier to do that. Darren Simmons knew he had to maybe pick around higher. He said that. So if there was one draftable kicker in the draft and everybody had him pegged to the sixth rounder, go ahead and get him in the fifth. Is there a mindset and make sure you get them and a guy that's going to put points in the

board for you and all that sort of thing. And always, because Dan, we've been around each other for the draft many years now, how many times have we heard the team say we had him as a fourth round guy, We get him in the fifth. We had him as a fifth round guy, get him in the sixth. Who knows?

Maybe they had Hill and the kicker in the same type of value and they got both because he'll makes it to the sixth round, right, you know, the center guard that could have been the case or could have been the kicker, and somebody else that they got whenever in the draft. So everybody's board is different. But all you can do is trust the way you were value it. You put a lot of time and spend a lot of resources in doing that, So why not live by

your board? And that's what they've done. I asked somebody from the front office the following question, how many times when you were on the clock, or actually, how many times when you were almost on the clock did somebody get picked one or two spots ahead of you that you were that was going to be your guy? And he said that happened a couple of times. I mean, that's the way it goes. And then you instantaneously move

on to the next guy in the list exactly. And that's why when they traded down, they said, you know,

here's guys that we feel comfortable with. They started to go, I'm sure you know a lot of those guys that they were in that range, but they you never trade down more spots than you feel you have a comfort level of players, not just at one position, I mean, but as a community on that draft board, all the position groups you have to have if you're going to trade down, you know, five spots, you have to have

five players because they could all go. I mean, look at the run that happened on edge rushers at the end of the first round, four out of five picks. Look at the run an offensive lineman. When they traded down, you know, people are like, oh, they're all the offensive

line prospects are going. They felt good about the one that they got, felt like he might be there, they would feel good about him, and probably another one or two, and whichever one was there, I'm good with that, plus the fact that I can double down in the fourth round, you know, with my offensive or defensive line. And it worked out for him. It worked out exactly the way they had hoped. Yeah, had Jackson Carmen been selected in that interim period between thirty eight and forty six, Sam

cos maybe was still on the board. Dylan Raidens was still on the board, so there was still some highly rated offensive linemen that they could have pivoted to if they lost the guy they really wanted. You're right, and you know, with Tevin Jenkins, I like him. I think he's a good football player. I think he's gonna have a good career. I think he's nasty. I think he's physical, but athletically, I think that Jackson Carmen is a better athlete. I think I think Jenkins started to slide a little

bit based on maybe that not slide. I mean a lot of people had him. I didn't think he'd be either. I thought he'd be a first round pick, and for him to have been there, it was like wow, you know so, but a lot of these linemen that I talked to people around the league about that I can trust with respect offensive line evaluation. They were like, is so and so going to be there at thirty eight? Cross your fingers and hope? So how about this guy? How about that guy? So they were all in that

category and there was a handful. So they felt comfortable enough to move back spots where they felt like there was going to be one their form and then pick up the two fourths, I mean, getting two of those fourth round picks when they liked they had three of four prospects, and they got three of them in that fourth round. They had four prospects identified that they'd really like to have left the draft with and they walk out with three. That's pretty darnstrong. Do you know who

the fourth was? Do you? I don't. I don't either. You've got an impish grins. I don't know if you're telling me the truth. In any case, I pointed the LAP signal into the nighttime sky above Paul Brown Stadium this week, and that means we've got asked lap questions that were submitted via Twitter. Let's start with this question from Dale, who's the starting offensive line in Week one? Yeah,

that's a great question, you know. I think obviously they say that they're gonna put Jackson Carmen in there at the right guard position. They've slotted him for that. Trey Hopkins is how how good is that acl going to be in week one? Will he be able to line up and play right away in the first week if he's healthy. I think he does so at the right

offensive tackle position. Riley Reef is going to be penciled in there, Jonah Williams at left tackle, and I think that either a Chemo Dentagy or Xavier suea Filo are my two possibilities at the at the left guard position over Clintin Spain. I think Quintin he's he's in the mix. He's in the mix as well. You know. Sue Philo is an interesting guy. Watch him and it's it's like

he's very smart. Uh, he's he's It's it's weird. I could see him getting released or I could or I could see him being the guy because physically I watch him and it's like he looks like he's in pain, you know, with his movement and that that's a concern. Um So, yeah, I mean Quentin Spain's in that mix. I think that left guard position is you know, is going to be the interesting one to watch because it's

going to be a battle Royale. As Michael Jordan, a chemodenagy Uh Sue Philo might be in the mix there, Quentin Spain might be in the mix there. UM know that that one, that one could be I think the most interesting of all the spots. I do hope that that Frank Pollock works with Jonah Williams on keeping the width of the pocket. Jonah is a is a fantastic athlete and he can widen the pocket. He has a habit of taking his set a little bit too vertical and turning and given a soft edge and shrinking the

width of the pocket. So if he can somehow work with him on widening the tackles responsibilities to keep the pocket wide, the center and guards responsibilities to keep the pocket deep. So if that's that's what Jonah really needs to work on, and it's gonna I think it's gonna be a battle royal. Though you look at the guys that they drafted there, they're going to be thrown into mix and compete. Um Identagy I think is going to be in the in the competition, Billy Preisle being in

the interior. I mean, it's it's uh. They They've got plenty of bodies. It's not like they're short of bodies. Fred Johnson is still out there on the edge competing, and he's he's played some guard. The thing is too, that the position versatility aspect of it. So many guys can play more than one position, So it could be that the spots that they line up initially to start training camp, they don't end up at to start the

start the regular season. I think Frank Pollock is the kind of guy I'm putting my five best out there. It's going to be open season guys, open competition. But yeah, I think Sue Philo, I think is going to be a huge X factor. Like I said, I could see him maybe getting snaps or maybe not even making the team and everything in between. It's he's going to be an interesting guy to watch. The next question comes from Steve Oh. What position might the Bengal still targeting free agency?

You know, you think that I was thinking at some point they would draft a corner, you know, And I don't know what they're how happy they are with the college free agents that they've signed at some of these positions, but if there's a veteran corner out there that lowers his price tag. And June first is another big date because you know, that's the new cap year, so everybody's

salary cap changes after June first. That's why you hear a lot of these guys, oh well, you know, the Aaron Rodgers thing will heat up and after June first, such and sexual heat up after June first, because it's a whole new fiscal year as such. So if the Bengals are really serious about somebody, you know, it'd be good to be able to get it done before June first, when there's more teams in the bidding process, more teams

in the party. So if they do have somebody identified, I'd like to see them, you know, try to get it done in a timely fashion. The other part of it is, I do think that their biggest priority right now Bates and Hubbard. You know, they want to make sure that they've got money set aside to extend those guys.

They don't want them going into the last year of their contract and then playing lights out and it's like she's now, we can't afford them, you know, they have a habit of extending, So in my mind, I think the first thing they always think of is take care of the Rome that have performed for them. So I think priority number one will be the extension of one or two of those guys, potentially before signing other guys

free agents. That's a great point. I think that's one of the reasons why sometimes people look at the Bengal salary cap situation and say, boy, they still have plenty of money left, why aren't they spending it on somebody? Well, they do. They just wait until training camp is just about over and then extend their own guys to put some of that signing bonus toward that year's cap, which is a very smart way of doing business. As for positions that they might still sign somebody at this year,

I think they could still use a veteran linebacker. I think we talked in a previous podcast about the notion of bringing Josh Binds back. Maybe that happens. Maybe I don't know, Quan Alexander's still out there, somebody like that, but I think they could still use a vet at that position. Group. I agree with you, Dan, you know, I think that I think the young linebackers have all shown that they're capable, but they're still still green. You know,

they're still developed. And year one to year two is a is a real big development year. There's no question about that. I mean, in terms of I shouldn't stay development, I should say, you know, you start to understand the game, the game slows down, you see things you know more differently than you did as a as a rookie player.

But still there's there's nothing better than having a veteran presence at any position group when it hits the fan because those guys have been there, done that, They've seen it, they know how to attack it. You know, what do we have to do to solve this problem that that kind of experience on game day I think is very invaluable. All Right, the next question I'm going to combine to Rob asked, are you expecting a winning record this season? Roar Sports Media asks what's a reasonable number of wins

to expect if the Bengals stay reasonably healthy. You know, you look at the division. Everybody's shooting the horn for Cleveland as a Super Bowl contender, and uh, you know, Barry has done a tremendous job up there. There's no question. He's he's really got himself a coach that he feels comfortable with, and I think has done a pretty darn good job in the draft and free agency the last

couple of years. So that that organization, you know, had high picks for such a long period of time, was a matter of time before you start to hit on some of them. And I think they started to do that, and they've They've got the right mix of talent and coaching, I think, to bring themselves to another level. So I think with good reason, they're highly regarded. And we know what Baltimore is like in Pittsburgh with Ben you know, I mean Pittsburgh's Pittsburgh. They've never had a losing season

with Mike Tomlin as the head coach. Never, So division's tough. I mean, you know, you go two and four in the division, you may have played some pretty good football, and you know, your two games under five hundred just from the division alone. So I mean, if they if they create to the five hundred mark, I mean, if they are if they're an eight and eight football team, yeah that's right, eight and nine, yeah, yeah, So if

they if they creep toward that, that type of scenario. Um, you know, I could see, I could see some some reason to have optimism, particularly if they're in every game you know, they avoid getting torched. You know, you should be beyond the point of having somebody put up over five hundred yards on you and forty points and you know, not being able to get anything done offensively and not score a touchdown. You know, those games, those days should

be long gone. So um, you know you can you can see that they'll there should be vast improvement and it should dictate in the record. I mean, you know, eight wins is doubling their win total from last year. They went from two to four, go four to eight, and then you know, pretty soon you're climbing that ladder of success. But the division's tough. I mean, it's it's as tough a division as there is in football. So

it's it's no easy task too. If they could go five hundred in the division, three and three in the division, that would be a great sign. That would be a great sign that they're, you know, they're starting to get what they need to get because that AFC North can be a battle on a week to week basis. Yeah, you nailed it all three of those teams made the playoffs last year, so it's very hard to come away

with a great record within your own division. In the AFC North, based on opponents record last year, the Bengals have the sixth toughest schedule in the NFL, and the AFC North is a big part of that. Their opponents this coming year went one forty four and one twenty eight last year. And in addition to the AFC North, you throw in one of the Super Bowl teams, Kansas City, you throw in the team that hosted the NFC Championship game, Green Bay. That's eight games. That's nearly half year schedule.

So I do think a winning record or a game under five hundred now that it's a seventeen game schedule would be a good target for this next season. And then the following year is when you try to get hope to be back into playoff contention. All right, next question from Greg, who's the Bengals' biggest steal in this year's draft? You know, that's that one's going to be interesting because until you get these guys here and start, you know, working them out and seeing what they really are.

But I've got I've got a feeling about this wired Huber guy, you know, I mean I think that this kid is I think he's got he's got something to him. Thirty four tackles to lost, twenty twenty quarterback sacks and they let him, you know, go up and down the line of scrimmage an attack on his own. I mean, if they get fifteen snaps a game as an edge rush in some way, shape or form from this guy, and special teams snaps as well, that's great value for

a seventh round pick, you know. So, I mean I think when I look at but I think, boy, potentially there's a guy that could that could really give them a lot more than most seventh round picks would be given their football team. I also look at Trey Hill and I think, all right, he may not if Trey Hopkins is not available at the center position. What if this kid shows that he's capable, or if he shows that he can compete a guard, he may be another

candidate to play left guard. Like I think he's as a sixth round guy, I think there's some some vast potential there. I think Deante Smith is more of a developmental guy, you know. I think other guys, you know, like Sample and Shelvin. I mean, they've got they've already got roles identified for those guys. I think, and some of these other guys are like, don't don't exactly know, you know, what they're going to be able to give us, But if they can give us these kind of things, wow,

that would be pretty exciting. I'm gonna say, Joseph Osi, now he's a third round draft picks. It's hard to really look at a guy taking that high as a steel but just based on where he was generally rated in comparison to where the Bengals got him. The Athletics consensus board where they took like fifty big boards and then came up with a number had him as forty two overall. That would be the tenth pick in the

second round. The Bengals got him with a fifth pick of the third round, so that's basically an entire round after where he was rated, right, And I think, I mean, I think they have big plans for him, and I

think he's going to live up to those plans. Sometimes guys, for whatever reason, runs on positions are made, you know, like and the run was made before your value came up, and then all of a sudden another run's not made until Wow, you should have gone sooner, but you didn't go when that first run happened, and you were one of the first guys left. But other positions right, and then you your position came up again. And that's how guys end up sliding around. And it's not it's not.

It has nothing to do with their ability and their talents. It's just you know, mathematics, nature of the board, the nature of needs, the nature of what teams are, how they've stacked their boards or whatever. But yeah, I mean this this guy, he's got the fastest ten yard time in the draft, you know from the edge guys. That's that's some explosiveness right there. And I do think he's he's slightly stiff in his hips a little bit, you know, but I think, man, he's and he's a guy like

has been talked about. You've mentioned it more than one s Dan Effort, you know, play with your hair and fire man. He's one of those guys. And he's he might be nubro Uno in terms of those guys. And that's that's another reason I like, uh, you know, I like this this kid why Hubert in the seventh round, He's he's like that. You know, they they give him a comp of Hendrickson the same type of dimensions body type wise in the way they play and um, there's

nothing wrong with effort, guys. And in football in general and particularly THEFC North, you have to run the ball and have some sort of a running games monica so you can throw it, and then defensively you have to stop the run to have the right to rush the passer. They only had seventeen sacks. Why because they were sieve and the run. You know, you have to stop the run and and generate the right to rush the passion.

And they should have a lot more weapons on the edge to be able to rush the pastor this year. The next two questions are similar. Jordan asks, what's the difference between Frank Pollock and Jim Turner's techniques and teaching style? MT asks our offensive line positions the easiest to coach up, not that it's easy, but where coaching can make a

world of difference. Yeah, I think I think coaching can make a world of difference in the offensive line, and I think implementation of techniques are big and I think that Frank Pollock, having played nine years in the league understands that everybody type is different. Some guys are high waisted, short arms. Some guys are, you know, long arms and not much of an upper body but have long legs. Some guys don't have any length of their legs. But

you know, it's it's and it's everything in between. And you know, the magic number is thirty three in terms of arm length to play tackle. While there are tackles they're in the Hall of Fame that don't have thirty inch arm length, and some of them, your arms didn't make any difference because you had to put your fists in your chest and you couldn't use your hands or your arms, so it didn't matter how long your arms

were back then. But now that you're able to extend your hands and you know, attack people that way, arm length is a big deal. But a lot of these guys overcome short arms with unbelievable feet because they're in a phone booth because their arms are shorter, so they're going to be guys are going to get into them

as such. And now you're you're in a war in a phone booth and you're battling, and who's got feet to stay balanced, Who's who's on the ground who's not on the ground, So you're a lot of these guys get to this level and have overcome their short arms because of their excellent feet. Sometimes it's vice verse. The guy didn't have great feet, looks like his feet are in concrete. You've got thirty five inch arms, so he can recover with his arms and then his feet come.

The guys with the short arms were covered with their feet and then their arms come. It's so you make up for your deficiencies. And and I think Frank pollits techniques and his implementation of them, his understand He has an acute understanding of not everybody's the same because he played nine years in the league and he saw different kinds of body parts and types and all that. So it's like, I'm gonna I'm gonna suggest this this work

for this guy who's built similar to you. So I'm not going to make you do a technique just because I think this is the way it's got to be done. You know, I'm going to mollify, modify, adjust what i'm doing to work with your body. And I think that's where Frank has a very good understanding, and I think that's where the players are going to respond to him big time with that. What was your wingspan coming out of Syracuse in the seventy four NFL draft. That's a

good question. They didn't, they didn't do that stuff. It was it's it's it's so when I think back, I mean, my gosh, man, the Senior Bowl was there were there were owners, there, there were head coaches, there, there are gms, there, there are line When we did one on one pass rush, it was like I'm looking at it's who's who the NFL it was because there was you know, there was nothing, there was no it there were no cell phones, there

wasn't there wasn't anything. It was it was crazy and uh yeah, they I never really remember getting my wingspan measured as such. It's a good question. You look like about a thirty three and three quarter got of me. Next question comes from Adam. How improved should the defensive line be this year? You know, when you look at it, it should be you know, you've you've added you've added

much more talent. You know, let's face it. The guys that they were rolling in there at the end of the season, they literally got off the street and there are effort guys. I'm not saying that they weren't, you know, just punching o'clock and just getting through. They were given everything they've got, but you know, they just they just weren't uh NFL starting caliber players in some cases that they were thrown out there and they got they got

taken advantage of in some cases as well. So you look at the depth and what they what they've done and uh and created creating that depth, they should be much better defensively. I mean, DJ Reader, hopefully we'll have a full season. Um Ogland. Joeby is going to be a factor. Obviously, Trey Hendrickson's going to be a factor, There's no question about that. And then what they did in the draft, you know, getting four guys, there's there's seven players right there. How many of they're gonna keep?

Are they going to keep nine? We're gonna keep ten? Um. You know, you've got you other guys that uh you know that were injured during the course of the season, that that didn't didn't finish, uh finished the year. UM Wren, you know, Wren has got some evential Wren he went down early with a tell attendon issue. I mean that that's those type of injuries or severe. Obviously, Daniels is still out there and they brought him back to Cincinnati and uh and got him, you know, taking care of

So there's some depth there. Gino's still out there. You look at the list, he's kind of down in terms of the veterans that are still out there in free agency, and a lot of that is he probably still wants too much money, so you know, there's there's things that it can be tweaked, but there's no doubt in my mind that I think on a snap by snap basis, they'll be putting a much better product out there as a whole from a defensive line perspective than they did

last year. I mean, DJ Reader and Larry Ogan Jobi is such a huge upgrade over what they wound up having to play a defensive tackle for most of the year, and God love Gino for trying. I have so much admiration for him for gutting it out with that bad shoulder injury, but unfortunately, playing one armed, he was completely

ineffective and it was hard to watch. It was I mean, they they they struggled, and you know, you look at uh Um, you look at guys like Xavier Williams and Christian Covington, and they gave everything, everything they had, but you know it just wasn't just wasn't quite quite enough. You know. Freedom. However, you're taking mullin doon. There you go. Freedom. Uh but you know Tupa, you know, with with him coming back after opting out last year, that that's another

big body guy. Why body guy that they could have used last year a big time. Uh. They they've got some space eaters. There's there's absolutely no question about it. And I'm very interested in seeing Tyler Shelvin um how that guy will impact it. I think I think he's gonna he's gonna give them a lot of quality snaps. I think it's gonna be tougher to run on this football team. Uh, inside between the tackles. And it was last year, last year it was open season. This year,

I think you need a hunting license. We'll see. The next question comes from Dustin. Do you see a scenario in which rookie running back Chris Evans gets a lot of plays in the slot. It seems like we are somewhat light in depth in the wide receiver room. Yeah, I mean, depending on what kind of uh you know, availability, he'll be on game day. Um, will he be able to get in the mix on special teams? Will he be active? Will he be deactivated? Will he be a

practice squad guy? There's no telling. I mean, just because a guy gets drafted doesn't necessarily mean oh, his role is going to be this. You have to go out and earn that role. But they're going to give him every opportunity, I think, And you know, when you look at it, they've got one of the best slot receivers in you know, in all of football, and Tyler Boyd there's no question about that. But you know, Alex Erickson

is gone. Alex Erikson's now at Houston Texan. You know, Mike Thomas can can give you a little bit of both. He can give you, you know, some some versatility there. It's not beyond the realm, a possibility that if you go if you have a situation where you can say, Okay, you have a guy that you can line up as a running back or as a slot receiver, what are you gonna do. You're gonna play base, You're gonna play Nicol. How you're going to match up? Nick could play with

him that way? Did it with Givanni Bernard Giravanni Bernard a lot of times lined up as the widest receiver slot, and you know, all indications are that, you know, they can do the same same type of thing, you know with Chris Evans, so versatility is key. I think he's got that versatility. He was the best player available on their board in their estimation, so they went with him. So they like him enough to, you know, to make him a Cincinnati Bengal in the sixth round. I'm sure

they have plans for him. Nate asks, other than the oh line, what position groups are the biggest question marks? Well, you know, going into the draft, the biggest question marks were offensive line, defensive line, wide receiver. Nay addressed them offensive line, defensive line more so than wide receiver. They draft one wide receiver, and you know, free agency is still being being taken care of college free agents. You know, I'm not really sure that they feel like they got

any help there that's going to be consequential. But I still think that just because you draft those you can't say until you actually have them out there. You've got presents. Draft Day was Christmas Eve and Santa Claus came and the presents would delivered. You know, and now when they go to mini camp, when they have the rookie Minicamp for the first time, the coaches would be able to unwrap the present, actually get their hands on guys. See,

guys say what I saw on tape? Is that projecting to what I'm seeing right up here, up close and personal with this guy? Yeah it is, or she's really it's not can he do the things that we're hoping he can do? Until you go through that, and then that's just the step of it. Then you have to put pads on and start to hit. And a lot of guys look like Tarzan, you know, in shorts and T shirts, and they put pads and helmets on. They

play like Jane. So you know, you have to go through the entire evaluation process before you even start to think I've addressed some of these spots. It's like when these grades are given after a draft, how the hell do you know? You don't know for two or three years. You know, on a lot of guys. Some guys you'll find out right away, but other guys need development. Other

guys you know just oh it didn't work out. They couldn't make the transition from what they were doing in college to what we were asking to do in the NFL. Maybe another team they can transition easier to. So it's it's that cracks me up when they do these letter grades, like it's this one's cookie cutter, cut and dry it. But that's what makes the draft great, that's what makes the NFL great, That's what makes all the conversation great.

But it's double edged sword because scouts, coaches, all these people like, you know, my job hangs in the balance with some of this stuff, you know, and I don't. I don't even know right now. I have to go through my whole process. I went through the draft process. Now I have to go through the process of seeing what I have and developing them from that point forward. And it's a it's not an overnight process where you're going to get a letter gae letter grade the day

after the draft. The grades are completely worthless. But I check out everyone. I can't help myself. I think the biggest question mark now is cornerback. They've got a ton of talent, but Terius Phillips is basically the only guy that's played in a Bengal's uniform, So Trey Wayne's should obey a woogie Eli Apple, Mike Hilton. Again, that's that's a good talent base that they've built up. Now they've got to introduce each each of them to each other,

no no doubt. I mean probably at the very beginning of training camp, going have to tape with name on their helmets, you know, the strip of tape to identify themselves to each other. It is, it's it's a it's a crazy scenario. But yeah, when you look at it, raw talent, raw potential, and a lot of it is proven already NFL in game, proven player. But sometimes, I mean, I know I experienced that you go from one team to another, even when coaches come in, it's a whole

new you know, whole new day. I mean, what you did in the past really doesn't matter. New system, new set of eyes, evaluating on all that. And then when you go from one franchise to another, man it's it's it's a it's a big difference. It doesn't happen just with the snap of a finger. So and I fully expect that it will, but not overnight. But these guys, they have to learn each other's you know, strengths and weaknesses. When you start to play well as an offensive line.

You know exactly what that guy next to you can and can't do, so you don't make a call to maybe put him in a situation where that's dicey if we can execute that. And then if you line up in a certain defensive front, lines up a certain way, or they have a certain skill player in that, you know, the make a call that help that situation and that doesn't need help. What call do I make to help the situation that needs help. All those kind of things

aren't just done overnight. It takes it takes some time. But I think that I think that they've got they have on the hoof, you know, meat on the hoof. They have that they do have some talent there to work with. I mean, they got a bunch of clay that can be molded by talented artists. We'll see him. The last ask lap question comes from Tom. Do you see cam Sample as an inside or an outside guy? I see him more so as an outside guy with the ability to kick down inside and give pass rush inside.

But I see him as a as a you know, but he can, I mean, he can line it. He's big enough to line up inside and give you snaps. But I see him as a as an edge guy that can you know, set an edge in that running game and pass rush as a as a defensive end. But you know, also if you want to go with your NASCAR package and have quicker guys that he can kick down inside and pass rush at defensive tackle. But I think that's part of the beauty of sample, is

that position versatility. He can do either for you. And it's not like he can't go in there and play defensive tackle defending the run as a three technique either. But I think I think I'd like to see him on the edge more so. He's a talented kid. Thank you to everybody who's submitted ask lap questions. And Happy Mother's Day to Lynn and Sarah. I appreciate that very much. And Happy Mother's Day to Peg. You got a good celebration plan we do. We're gonna all it's gonna be

just a massive get together. It's gonna be you know, grant, grandkids, cousins, big family day. It'll be a lot of fun, lots of food, probably too much food, No such thing, Yeah, no such thing really really and maybe by the end of the day, too much adult beverage. Who knows. 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 thank you for listening to the Bengals Booth Podcast