Bengals Booth Podcast: On The Verge

into the fire as a rookie. And with the NFL Combine coming up next week, we'll hear from NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah about a position group that Cincinnati is likely targeting. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals The free to play with tickets and signed merchandise up for grabs. Find

both inside the Bengals app. Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by some scribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since Tim McCarver, the Hall of Fame baseball broadcaster, passed away last week at the age of eighty one. I was a Mets fan as a kid, and we got the games on wo RTV, so I listened to the trio of Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner almost

every night. They were great to learn from because each was so distinctive. Their personalities could not have been more different. Then Tim McCarver became a Mets broadcaster in nineteen eighty three, and he made a big impact on me because he was so curious about everything. He constantly challenged traditional baseball wisdom, and I had never really heard a broadcaster do that before.

In fact, he was a lot like Dave Lapham in the sense that he had an endless desire to learn about the game and could describe a complex sport in an entertaining and easy to understand way. So here's to Tim McCarver, who accomplished the goal of every sports broadcaster. He enhanced my enjoyment of the game. Now let's get to this week's guests. Up first, Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, a two time MVP, a Super Bowl champion, and a man who met Joe Burrow when the Bengals

quarterback was only a few months old. Kurt for those who don't know. You and Jimmy Burrow, Joe's dad, have been friends for more than twenty five years, going back to when he was the assistant head coach for the Arena League's Iowa Barnstormers and you were the starting quarterback. You were together there for three years. Describe your relationship

with Jimmy and the Borough family. Well, I mean, you know, one of those things player coach, you know for a period of time, but Arena League was always a little bit different, you know, just the structure of it. I think, you know, as players, we got a chance to really connect with our coaches be a little bit differently than

when you look at the structure of the NFL. UM. You know, so obviously you're you know, player coach, but you also become friends, get to know families, um, as we did there, and it's just been something over the years where, um, you know, we've stayed in touch at different times. Um, you know, his Nebraska connection. My son walked on at the University of Nebraska, and so there were always kind of ties that kept us connected over

the years. And then it's been obviously a joy to watch as you get to know people as coaches or as friends and get to watch their family, get to watch Joe, um, you know, do what he's done and kind of follow it from afar and then we've been able to kind of reconnect as our you know, circles have uh you know, have crossed once again in the NFL and at different events that that we've done. So

it's been fun. But you're always just cheering for for good people and good families and people that helped you to be able to accomplish the things that you you know, you accomplish in your career and was one of those guys. So Joe was born before your third and final year with the Barnstormers. Is it crazy to you that this little toddler that you probably met when he was about four months old is now one of the best quarterbacks

in the NFL. I mean, I think it's always crazy because you never, you know, you never think about things like that. But obviously knowing the pedigree of the family and the football background, UM, I'm never surprised when you understand that part of it, and when you know football is kind of, um, you know, a natural fabric for

a family. U that you know, the son of a coach, the son of a good football player becomes a good football player, and so um, yeah, it's you know, it's always weird thinking, oh man, he was his dad was coaching me. Um, you know, and remember when he was born. And then all of a sudden, it's like boom, here he is, uh, you know, top pick, Heisman Trophy winner and everything that he's accomplished. It's it's fun, but the

biggest thing is that it's good people. And you know, got a chance to meet Joe, you know, just a few years back before he get drafted into the NFL and kind of build a connection there. And what you realize is that what I knew about his dad and the kind of person that he was, that's exactly who Joe is as well. And so it's an easy family to cheer four. He's an easy individual to cheer four. And it's been fun to watch him as send at

this level. We are visiting with Hall of Famer Kurt Warner of the great young quarterbacks in the NFL right now? Is he the one that reminds you the most of yourself without a doubt, without a doubt, the way he plays the game, the mental aspect that he brings his ability to anticipate. You know, a lot of people probably would have said about me in my career, you know, wasn't the most physically talented, it didn't have the biggest arm.

I've never put much weight in that stuff, because if you know how to play, none of that stuff matters. You can make the game easier for guys around you by not throwing the all hard and not having to throw it sixty yards down the field. But he's got such a great feel for the game and his timing and anticipation, which were things that I felt really separated me my ability to process information, all of those things.

You know, when I watch film, I watch film on all these guys, But when I watch film, I get joy out of watching guys that do what I did because I understand it. I see it very similarly. And Joe is one of those guys that I love to pop on the tape every week because I know, you know, what I'm going to be thinking when I watch play

play out is the same thing that he's thinking. And you know, oftentimes you know it goes hand in hand that he's doing exactly what I would have done on that play with the same timing, the sense of accuracy that he has, all those different things remind me a lot of myself. This is the first offseason where the Bengals are allowed to try to extend his contract, and

obviously that is something they are hoping to do. He was asked late in the course of the season about the notion of a quarterbacks window, the ideal situation for an NFL team being to have an elite quarterback in his rookie contract, and when Joe was asked about that, he said, the window is my entire career. Did you hear that comment? Do you agree? And what do you think of the notion of a quarterbacks window? Well, yeah, I mean I think there's a couple of sides to it.

Is that I understand exactly what he's saying. I mean I heard the comments and it was like, yeah, I mean every time I stepped on the field, I expected to win too. I mean I expected to be in a championship game. Now we understand that it's the ultimate team game as well, So you know, it doesn't matter how good I am the entirety of my career, I still need I need guys around me. I need good

players around me. But yeah, you feel like you can elevate everybody, and if you're a good enough player, that expectation to win is always there. And it didn't matter, you know, where I was playing, I expected my team to be one of the best teams competing for championships every single year. I was under setting And so, yeah, I heard the comment, and I think it's a great comment, and it makes sense, especially in a day and age where A he's young, and b we're seeing players play

at a high level much later than before. So you know, the window for a quarterback. You know, we talk about like windows for running backs. I was talking to a friend today and it's kind of like when once they hit thirty, that windows kind of closed with them being the top of their game as quarterbacks. I mean, you know, you look at where Joe's at right now, and you say, you know, thirteen fourteen more years, you can expect these guys to play at an extremely high level. So it

isn't a short window anymore for really good quarterbacks. I expect Patrick Mahomes for the next fifteen years to believe he's going to go to the Super Bowl every year. I believe Joe Burrow and Josh Allen and those guys are going to be saying those same things. And I fully understand it, because once you get to that level, you say to yourself, I have no expectation that this level is going to dwindle, especially when I just saw a guy play at that level till he was forty five.

I mean, man, my windows open for two more decades. I mean, most guys don't even think about playing that long. And now we think, as quarterbacks, our window is open that long because you know, we've reached a certain level of play. Your challenging road to the Hall of Fame as well documented. It was the subject of a great movie, American Underdog. Joe's path wasn't that difficult, but he did have to leave Ohio State to get his opportunity at LSU. Do you think that stuff has served him well? I

really think. You know, our journeys always serve us well if we're willing to embrace what is the journey? You know, I think that's one of the things. You know, when I looked at the Super Bowl this year with Jalen hurts Is, I think one of the things that impressed

me is that he embraced the journey. He and pray embraced the struggle and realized, you know that sometimes when we get into those situations where like he was benched at Alabama, it was like, okay, yeah, I can look and point to two it was just really good, or the coach didn't want me, and or you can say, Okay, why did I get benched? What do I need to learn?

How do I need to get better? And I really feel like Joe's been that in those different situations as well, as he hasn't just looked at it like, oh, well, you know, I'm not playing because a coach doesn't like me or whatever. It's like, I have to continue to get better. I have to continue to grow. And when we go through those struggles and we take that approach,

I think that always bodes well for a player. And you know, I think we've both seen numerous people that go the other route and they point the finger at this or that, and they never pointed it themselves and go okay, why. You know, I was benched a number of times in my career, and every time I had

to step back and go, okay, why. And sometimes I think it was because of things that I did or could have done better, or things that our team wasn't doing other times it was circumstantial, but I think it's important to be able to embrace each situation and go, Okay, if there is something I can do better, I need to make sure I look at that and I hone in on that and I get better at it so it doesn't happen again. And I really felt Joe had

done that as well. It wasn't just while I'm transferring from here because they're not giving me the shot that I want. It was about, you know, developing as a player and figuring out who he was. And I think we even saw that at LSU, from you know, where he was his second to last year to where he was his last year and the growth made there and we all said that, okay, why well, because he embraced what he needed to get better at and he got better at it. And that to me is where great

quarterbacks become great. And so I think, you know, we've seen both sides. We've seen guys that have had easier pass but I still think they all embrace those different things that you know that they noticed and say, okay, I'm not going to look to you know, just try to squeeze by and you know, hope nobody notices this. I'm going to grab a hold of that and get better at that so it never becomes a liability for us.

And you know, I think that's a story of my journey, even though it's a little different than Joe's and a little different than other guys. But yeah, I think he has definitely embraced those moments and looked to improve himself through those moments. And now you've got one of the best quarterbacks in the league. You are arguably the quarterback of the greatest offense in NFL history, the greatest show on turf, Isaac Bruce, Tory, Halt, Marshall Falk and others.

Does the Bengals offensive weaponry, Chase Higgins, mixing Boyd, etc. Kind of remind you of those days in Saint Louis? Yeah, I think a little bit. I mean, I think we're seeing more and more teams, We're seeing more and more talent, you know, across the board with certain teams that always I think remind us of that. You know, the beautiful thing about our team is we were built a certain way, but we you know, we we were full of talent

all over the place. And yeah, so anytime you get a team that has, you know, three really good wide receivers that can all be considered you know ones or high level two wide receivers to have, you know, running back in the backfield that can do a lot of different things, you know, but there's always that caveat with the greatest show on turf is that we always had two eight in the backfield. And Marshall fallk was was the different guy. You know, was a difference maker because

of all the things that he can do. And so when a lot of teams, you know, you'll see that brought up the teams to score a lot of points or throw it for a lot of yards. And I can definitely see that from Cincinnati in terms of what they have on the outside. And no knock on on Joe because uh, you know, and Joe Mixon because he's

a really good player. Marshall was different and that was the key piece that I believe made us, As you said, and I'll argue to this day, the best offense the league has ever seen is because of that guy, and that guy being different than even the great weapons that I had at the wide receiver position. The Bengals came within two minutes of winning the Super Bowl two years ago,

they were WITHINSI. Returning to the Super Bowl this past year, what do you think of their immediate prospects going forward and is there anything specific that you think is still needed for Cincinnati to get over the hump? Obviously, you know, I think the prospects are good. It starts with, you know, Joe Burrow and the fact that you've got a young guy that plays that position and can compete with anybody in the league at that position. We know, that's where

it all starts. You know, if they can keep the weapons around him to allow him to do what he does well, boom. That's part two. Especially in the NFL now that is more built around offense and throwing the football than ever before. Defense has been you know, solid, and again I don't think you have to necessarily be great on both sides of the ball, but you have to be you have to be good, especially in the AFC as you know, I mean, you're not going to just be able to go and outscore everybody if your

defense can't stop anybody. So I like all those pieces, you know, I still think I want to see more growth in their offensive line. Um, you know, where they can truly utilize, you know, their weapons down the field.

You know, because I think we've seen times obviously last year, we all know the issues that they had, and although better this year, you know that there were still I think issues at times of just protecting or even saying, hey, if we need to win a game running the football, because that, to me is what always really separates teams of it, you know, for the most part, and getting to Super Bowls is sometimes you got to find ways

to win games away from your strength. And you know they're going to have a strength for a long time with Joe and Jamaar and company. But they'll be times where it's like, Okay, we're not going to be able to do it this way? Can you can we win other ways against the Patrick Mahomes and against the Josh Allens and and those guys, And that, to me will be the real question moving forward, because I don't know if I've I'm fully believing that, you know, there's numerous

ways they can win. I feel like they almost always have to get a good performance from Joe and get the big plays on the outside. And again, I like their defense, but I want to see them develop a little bit more offensive line run game where they can count on that in key moments to help them win those tough games that they're going to face in the mc hurt. This has been a real treat for me.

I can't thank you enough for your time and your insight, and I hope the rest of your off season is outstanding. Thank you, you got it. Good being on and let's catch up again before the season starts. By the way, if you've never seen the movie about Kurt's life, American Underdog,

I highly recommend it. I expected it to be the story of how he went from stocking grocery store shelves to becoming one of the NFL's best quarterbacks, but it also details Kurt's relationship with his wife, Brenda, a former marine and a divorced mother of two, including a disabled son. Their story of supporting each other is the heart of the movie, and if you're not a Kurt Warner fan already,

you will be after seeing American Underdog. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by Alta Fiber future proof fiber internet capable of delivering multi gigabit speeds designed to take your home, business, and community to a new level, elevate your connection with Alta Fiber. The Bengals' biggest offseason storyline is Joe Burrows contract, as the team looks to ensure that Joe will remain in Cincinnati for many, many

years to come. That's obviously not the only deal that the Bengals are working on, and this week they re signed long snapper Cal Atomitas. He became the starter after fourteen year veteran Clark Harris tore his biceps in the season opener, and Atamitas did not have an unplayable snap in eighteen games after taking over. I spoke to Cal on Wednesday, moments after he signed his new contract. Cal, they're only thirty two of these jobs in the world.

You have earned a contract extension with the Bengals. Describe what that means to you. You know, it's it's awesome, just another chance to you know, keep continuing to compete and uh, you know, keep getting better at my craft, which is snapping. And I'm just excited for another chance to come back and OTAs in camp and just get

better and chase another chase down a Super Bowl. Is there anything in particular that you feel like you need to get a little better at Yeah, you know, I think, um, you had some good conversations with with coach Simmons after the season, and just trying to improve myself physically, you know, get a little bigger, faster, stronger. That's you know, that's

always the goal. Um. And then just some some detail things, you know, things that um, you know, I'm no longer a rookie, so things that i'll you know, need to do at a very high level. And just all the details, all the small details that I can't just brush off anymore and be like, oh, you know, I'm a rookie mistake. You know, there's no more rookie mistakes for me. I guess before OTAs in mini camps, do you snap or

do you just work out. I'll definitely get back into snapping in the coming weeks here, and I'll definitely snap leading up to OTAs you know, certain guys have different routines and more veteran guys tend to snap a little less in the offseason. But just knowing my position and knowing how I'll have to continue to compete to, you know, be the starting guy come next season again, definitely is in my best interest to keep snapping and keep improving up until that time. Who will be on the receiving

end of those snaps. You know, luckily with having a good relationship with the staff at PITT and I'll be able to snap to the guys there and you know, train with them, and you know, my dad might even get out with me here and there. But it'll mostly be just some some former teammates and uh, you know some some of the specialists as well get together in different parts of the country and work out together and train. So it'll probably be a mix of guys, but mostly

some of my old teammates from Pitt. We're visiting with cal Adamidas. Let me turn the clock back to week one. You earned a spot on the practice squad. I think many of us thought you would get a red shirt season basically behind Clark Harris, and then of course he got hurt against the Steelers. In that game. Where were you and what immediately went through your mind? Yeah, I was on the sideline and my you know, my hoodie and tennis shoes, and you know, I just remember the

feeling before that game. Definitely, even just in the locker room, I was like, wow, like, you know, going to be on the sideline for an NFL game, and I remember kind of stepping on the field and just feeling like, okay, you know, even though I'm not playing, like this just feels like football. And at that point in time, I really kind of try to promise myself that I would, you know, never never doubt my ability to perform no

matter what the level. And uh, you know, my chance came a lot sooner than I initially expected following camp, but uh, I'm trying to stay true to that promise I made myself and just keep keep working hard. So you made your debut in week two at Dallas. Describe the process of getting ready for that game with Darren Simmons. You know, having a coach like Coach Simmons is is huge, especially for a rookie, UM, because he really is a

detail oriented guy. And he really just made sure that, you know, my focus throughout the whole week and and you know, throughout camp and everything leading up to that was just the details and what I needed to do

to be ready to play. Um. You know, it really never even I guess he never allowed to come into my mind to let you know, the moment seem too big because we were so focused on just you know, getting better each practice and learning to do the things I needed to learn to do, and by the time the game came around, you know, there's kind of a sense of relief in my opinion, because there's just so much build up leading up to it and everyone asking you, oh,

you're ready, You're ready. You're just like, yeah, I'm ready, Like this is what I do. So I'm jumping around quite a bit here, but all of the specialists received game balls after the playoff win in Buffalo under those brutal snowy conditions. You're from Pittsburgh, you played at pitt I'm sure you've snapped in snow before. But how big

of a challenge was that game for you? Yeah, you know, it certainly a challenging game, but I think the three of us did a really solid job of just embracing the moment and you know, realizing this is the type of game that you dream of being and as a little kid, and you know, you watch these snowy playoff games on TV growing up and you're just like, Wow,

that'd be so cool to be there. And you know, even though the snow certainly presents its own challenges, um, you know, each game has its own challenges, and um, just not letting the moment get too big and focus on our fundamentals and and uh, you know, just doing the little things right and that's what you know helped us perform. Had you played in conditions even worse than that, I've played in rainier conditions. Um, but that was probably

the most accumulated snow that I ever played. And you know, I'd never been in a game before where in every you know, TV time out, they were snow blowing the

lines that they could see. But it was it was a neat experience and a fond memory I have from that game was, um, you know, after we had had the last punt and we were pretty much you know just um, our defense was on the field running off the clock before we got the interception, and uh, Evan Drew and I were just sitting on the benches and Evan was like, if you look straight up into the sky,

the snow looks really cool through the lights. Like the last thirty seconds we were looking up and it looked like a snow globe, and it was just a cool, cool way to finish off that game. You snapped for five years at pit, what was the biggest difference in snapping in the NFL. UM, you know, I just think the mental side of things, what's expected from you to

prepare for each game. Um. You know, especially with coach Simmons, you know, he prides himself on his players all being you know, the most prepared special teams guys in the field, and UM, you know, he really wanted me to go out there and be in headspace where you know, UM, I was basically the second, you know, personal protector on punt team. You know, knew everything that was going on and even could you know, make a check to the protection if if I felt necessary, which we never you know,

had to do. But I feel like me and everyone else on the punt team at any point in time, we're ready to do that. And that's probably the biggest difference from from college in my opinion. You mentioned Drew Chrisman. He took over as the punter in Week ten in Pittsburgh. You're a rookie at that point, but at least you've got a few games under your belt. Did you kind of take on a season veteran role to try to

help him? You know, I can't say that I tried to really play the season veteran card but just more, more or less, both of us just had a mindset of we've we've played in big games before. You know, he played at Ohio State and I can't say there's a bigger collegiate venue to play in the Ohio State.

And he's you know, he's played in his fair share also with big ten you know, cold and windy games, and so it wasn't as much you know, um, who's played in more NFL games at that point, but just the fact that we've played and we've played in bad conditions, we played in big, big games, and we're prepared to play this one. So your rookie year ended in the AFC Championship game. Was it a shock when it was over? It? Uh,

it certainly was a little bit of a shock. You know, it ended so abruptly, and uh, you know, obviously with the guys we have on this team, UM, I feel like we went into every game just kind of knowing we would win, Like if we just do what we're capable of doing, well, we'll win the game. And that's how we felt, you know, all of us felt and

that or at least that's how I felt. We all felt. Um, really up until that last field goal went through the uprights and you know the clock hit triple zero because we just we just expect to win. But you know, as long as we get as many guys back as possible, you know, there's no reason why we should not be back next year and and and you know, finish the

job this time. I think most people listening to this know that you went to high school in college with Damar Hamlin, and on the Friday after his collapse on Monday night at pay Course Stadium, you were able to go to the hospital and see him With Tyler Boyd. You're undoubtedly one of the first people to do that. Describe that meeting selfishly. From my perspective, it kind of put me at ease just to be able to see him. You know, obviously his life has kind of become, you know,

very very public life after that. You know, there's a everybody wants to talk to him and hear his story, and uh, you know, it's just good to get in and see him in person before things got even crazier over the past couple of months, which is you know how inspirational his story is, and uh, you know, it's just just really nice getting to see him and see that he's doing well and and just talk to him, and uh, you know, I'm just happy that he's doing good.

You know. It just definitely just makes me smile just knowing that he's, um, you know, making an impact and for a positive thing and just doing good things. And that's really the what I Yeah, that's that's it for me. All right, final thing for cal Ademitas. You signed a contract extension today. I think every Bengals fan wants to know. Did you leave enough money for Joe Burrow? You know, I sure did. I was trying not to pench them for pennies. So because I definitely want to see Joe

back to appreciate your time. Congratulations and I look forward to seeing you at OTAs and mini camps. Absolutely Hude. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by Kettering Health, the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. With more than one hundred twenty care facilities and fifteen hundred care providers, Kettering Health is committed to guiding you to your best health. Visit kettering health dot org to learn more and buy

pay Corps. More than twenty nine thousand customers trust pay Core to help them recruit, pay, engage, and retain employees learn more at pay Corps. The NFL Draft is about two months away, meaning we've reached the point where we all start paying attention to mock drafts. NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah came out with his second edition this week and had the Bengal selecting Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer. That would be a popular selection in Cincinnati since Mayor

attended Covington Catholic High School. This is apparently a good year to be in the market for a tight end. Jeremiah says, it's the best draft class at that position in the last ten years. I have eleven tight ends that I have top three round grades on, which is a ridiculous number. It is just a really, really good group. And to me, I know he's coming off of an injury right now, and I know he's kind of more of a flex tight end, but Dalton Kincaid from Utah

is I think he's a big time player. I think he's one of my favorite players to watch in this draft. I think he's one of the best players in the draft. He's just sudden and everything that he does, he separates. He's outstanding after the catch. You know, he can win on contact over the middle of the fields. He's really really good after the catch. You know, as a blocker,

he's gonna more shield you and wall off. I don't like, you know, when you compare guys to all time great players, but just in his movement stuff he moves, he kind of looks like Kelsey, just the way he moves in and out of breaks. He's a really really good player. I think he's you know, I really like zach Ertz when he was coming out the year he was coming out. I think he's a better version of zach Ertz. So he's up there. You've got Mayor, who's just an all

around tight end. Not going to be real dynamic at a Notre Dame, but he is kind of the king of the combat catches. He's got a good feel on option routes, just keeping guys on his back and kind of walling him off and making plays. But a good overall tight end, good blocker. Darnell Washington is massive from Georgia's He's like playing with a sixth offensive lineman in the run game, and he's still developing and learning in

the past game, you know, I think there's more there. Obviously, they had the best tight end of the country there in Bowers, who's just an absolute freak show. So he doesn't get as many balls as he would in another offense, but he's he's really intriguing. Musgrave from Oregon States can probably run in a low four fives. At two hundred and fifty five pounds, he could go in the first round.

I mean, then you just you start going through the list, Laporta from Iowa, Tucker Craft from South Dakota State, you get Davis Allen from Clemson's intriguing, Payne Durham from Purdue, Schoonmaker from Michigan, Strange from Penn State, Wiley from Cincinnati. Like, there's those are the eleven guys. It is a really really good group. Wiley from Cincinnati is Josh Wiley, another local product. He's out of LaSalle High School and he caught more touchdown passes at you see than any other

tight end in school history, including Travis Kelsey. Josh is six six, somewhere between two hundred and fifty and two hundred and sixty pounds and ran a four six five forty at UC with a thirty five and a half inch vertical leap. I followed up with Daniel Jeremiah about Wiley and some other Bearcats who are expected to be picked in this year's draft. Hey, DJ, you mentioned Josh Wiley earlier as being a possibility in the first three rounds.

I'm interested in your take on three other University of Cincinnati guys, wide receivers Trade Tucker and Tyler Scott and linebacker Ivan Pace. Sure Tyler Scott is you know, we're just talking about speed. That's speed, like that's legit, big time speed on the outside. And what I love about him is when the ball goes up as fast as he is, he gets faster. He's fast after the catch. You can use him on jet sweeps. He's got you know,

he's he's got reliable hands. The one thing it's normal with a lot of fast guys is just gearing down getting in and out of cuts. That's a little bit more effort there. But a pure vertical receiver. I think he's the grade that I gave him as a Day two grade. So second, third round I think is where he goes while he you know it can flex out. He's a clean route runner, he's smooth, he shows you at two hundred and sixty pounds, the polish to tempo routes,

to change speeds. You know, he's an intriguing player. Pace is one of the best off ball blitzing linebackers that I've seen. Really. I mean, it's like his superpower. He's just got a really good feel. He can shoot gaps. He's got a wide variety of moves as a rusher there, you know, the the agility, the change of direction, the pure speed. You know, I'm curious about that once we get to the combine. But you know, if you if you're looking for guys that can do one thing really well,

he's an unbelievable blitzer off the ball. So I have him more kind of in that fourth fifth round range. Trey Tucker is. You know, he's really good on special teams, play in the slot. He's got some suddenness as well. You can use him on jet sweeps. He's tough. He can win against press coverage with his quickness. You know,

I thought he had the profile. He's a little bit smaller obviously, at five little hundred five nine hundred and ninety pounds, I thought he profiled this kind of a fourth receiver and a special teams player, which you know I've put him in that and right around the fifth round range would be about where my grade is. I'll be at the Combine next week and we will hear from several of the top draft gurus in upcoming editions

of this podcast. That's going to do it for this episode brought to you by Kettering Health, the official healthcare provider of the Bengals, by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals. They're free to play with tickets and signed merchandise up for grabs by pay Corps, the official HR software provider of the Bengals, and by Alta Fiber future Proof Fiber

Internet LEHR connection with Alta Fiber. If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to this podcast if you have a minute, give it a rating or share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Horde, and thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast