Hi, get everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading the Bengals Booth Podcast. The it comes all shape sen sizes. Addition, as I take an in depth look at the top offensive and defensive line prospects in this year's draft with line play expert Brandon Thorn, and after talking to Brandon, I'll do my second version of a three round Bengals mock draft, detailing who is still on the board at the time and why I made each of my picks.
The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Core, proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of the podcast delivered write to your phone, tablet or
computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since the Alford Packer Restaurant and Grill. My son, Sam is a high school senior and we recently took a campus visit to the University of Colorado, where our tour guide told us an interesting story about one of the dining halls when it was built. See you, students were given the opportunity to name the dining hall, with one stipulation. They had to choose a famous Colorado The winner,
in a landslide vote was Alford Packer. Who is that you ask? He is the only man in United States history ever convicted of cannibalism. It was approved by the university's board of regents, and the slogan of the Alford Packer Restaurant and grill is have a friend for lunch. Now, let's get to football. The NFL Draft is two weeks away and the overwhelming consensus of the draft gurus is that the Bengals are likely to take an offensive or defensive tackle in the first round. But which one should
they select. I discuss that and the state of the Bengals offensive line this week with Brandon Thorne, an expert an offensive and defensive line play who is part of the draft coverage team at bleacher Report. Brandon, we will get to the draft in just a bit, but let's start with the Bengals offseason acquisition of Trent Brown. When healthy, you have referred to him as one of the most effective pass protectors at the position with dominant stretches as
a run blocker. He'll be thirty one this year with nine years of NFL wear and tear. What do you think the Bengals are getting in Trent Brown?
Exactly what you just said, pretty much, assuming that he is healthy and you know, at least going to start the year healthy. It's a you know, a little bit of a chore for him or has been, to stay
healthy throughout a season. So that's really why I think more than anything, he's bounced around at different places throughout his career, but pretty much when he's on the field, you know, I think he's a really good pass protector and definitely at least a good run blocker with like I said, stretches of being able to run behind him, you know, in the run game, you know, almost quite literally, just the way he could cave into defenders and even just kind of move as well, you know, to get
up to the second level here and there as well. So he's yeah, I mean, he's he's one of the more, if not the most athletic, like three hundred and fifty plus pound offensive lineman in the league. I think, certainly in the conversation, I think he's more athletic than you know, Sara Orlando Brown. On the other side, it's just Orlando's you know, like ruthlessly consistent, you know, in terms of
availability and things like that. So that's what makes him, you know, you know, as valuable as he is, I think. But in terms of a skill level athletic ability, I think Trent Brown is a really quality player at least in the short term.
Do you view it as an upgrade from Jonah.
Williams, Yeah, I do, Yeah, I do. He hasn't played right tackle in you know, a few years now, but he's one of those unique cases where he's he probably has just off the top of my head, you know, thirty starts at left and right tackle at least, that's just kind of a number that I'm just thinking of off the top of my head. But yeah, so he kind of unique in that regard. But but yeah, I do think it's an upgrade really just for what he can do as a pass protector. I just think it's
just a little bit a little bit better. He can match up better one on one with the higher level pass rushers, I think, and that's really the separator there.
So looking at the group as it stands right now, and obviously this could change after the draft. Orlando Brown junior at left tackle, Cordell Volson left guard, Ted Karris center, Alex Kappa right guard, Trent Brown right tackle, how would you describe that group?
I think that group is pretty good. I would say, you know, I don't have like rankings in front of me. I'm not haven't done that yet obviously, you know, with all the things that still have to play out, But you know, just I would say this is a middle
of the pack kind of line probably. You know, I have questions that you know, left guard and to a lesser degree, center, I mean, I know Ted Carris is he's kind of outperformed what I what I thought, honestly, because he's always been, you know, from Miami and New England just kind of either a spot starter, but you know, he's definitely performed at a solid level. But I think you could probably upgrade that position in this draft. So, uh, and then left guard, I think you could definitely upgrade
that position in this draft. So those are the two spots. Maybe kind of weigh it down a little bit, but I would say there's no glaring hole, you know, which is nice, so pretty good solid middle of the pack I think is a fair assessment.
Right now. Let's turn the defensive line. The Bengals signed Sheldon Rankins to a two year contract list offseason to try to beef up their interior pass rush. He says he's underrated against the run. What do you think overall of Sheldon Rankings.
I like Sheldon Rankings, you know, I think he's probably solid, you know, okay against the run, but more so, you know, while you sign him ideally as you know, really just because of what he could do as a pass rusher. He has a really good spin move, you know, really a variety of counters. I would say he's a very crafty pass rusher, and I'm just really excited and glad that he's able to kind of reclaim some of the explosiveness that wasn't always there. He had some pretty serious injuries.
I know, he had one real serious injury early on in his career, and it looked like he may not regain what he once was. But I you know, after the last couple of seasons, I think he's cleared that bar and now he's kind of back to what he was early on. And you know, I think he's definitely an above average, if not like very good pass rusher. So yeah, and I don't I don't think Cincinnati's had that. You know, I think BJ Hill's pretty solid in that regard.
But now you have two guys that are viable threats rushing the passer interior, you know, on the interior the defensive line. I don't think Cincinnati's had that. And in quite a while.
The Bengals wanted to keep DJ Reader he signed with the Lions instead. How concerned should we be about the Bengals run defense without DJ Reader?
Yeah, I mean that's that's the trade off here. You know, you're you're improving the pass rush pretty significantly from you know, Reader to Rankins, but then you're also, you know, going in the other direction in terms of run defense. And
it's just it's really a trade off here. And now, uh, you know, you're gonna have to probably replace Reader by committee, you know, and I think it's probably honestly easier to replace a guy like Reader than it would be to lose a similar level player as a pass Rusher, I just think that skill set is more valuable. So as much as I love DJ Reader, you know, going back to I think twenty seventeen Houston when I really studied him and fell in love with his game, yeah, I
think that's just kind of the reality of it. So I actually kind of like the direction that they went, even though you are going to experience some loss in the run game or defending the run for sure.
Brandon Thorn is our guest. You can find his articles, film breakdowns, and podcast at Trench Warfare dot substack dot com. Let's turn to the draft. Is it a historically good group of offensive linemen in your opinion?
Yeah, I think that's probably fair. You know, I've been studying every offensive lineman for four years now. This is my fourth year, so I would say it's the best class that i've seen, with twenty twenty one being a fairly close second, you know, and we had a really good class the end, but I think it's a little bit better than that. And you know, it depends on how you want to project some of these tackles, you know, whether you think they're going to stay at tackle or
go to guard. I think a few of them go to guard. So I actually think it's a very well rounded class. Because of that, you have some high level tackles, three, four, five of them that at least high level talent wise, probably two three are going to be really good starters right away, and another couple could be. And then the guys that I have projected inside, I think all could
be you know, pretty much good guards right away. So you have three four really good guards, and then you know at center, this class I think is historically deep in terms of guys who could potentially start games within the rookie contract. Not that they're going to be full time instant starters, but you do have a few of those guys as well. I just think there's a lot of potential throughout this draft at center, you know, in particular. So yeah, it's it's a deep, well rounded class, and
it's it's really fun to talk about. I'm not even done evaluating it yet.
So the Bengals have the eighteenth overall pick. They generally do not trade up in the first round, so for this podcast, we're not even going to consider a trade up. We'll just talk about guys that might be there at number eighteen. I'm assuming there's no way that Joe Alt will be there. It seems like every single mock draft that I've looked at he's long gone by the number eighteen. But after that, several others will be gone. But it's hard to tell which guys because there's kind of beauty
in the eyes of the beholder in this draft. So let's take a look at some of the possibilities, at least beginning with JC Latham from Alabama six ' five three forty. I know you did a film breakdown with him. What do you think of JC Latham potentially as the Bengals right tackle of the future.
I think it'd be a great fit for a lot of guys, a lot of teams that right tackle. Cincinnati in particular, just with the way that they operate, especially in the run game. I think it would fit in Clement Orlando Brown well. And you know, JC Latham I've described as probably the strongest offensive lineman in this class
in terms of pure strength play strength. And you know, the term vice scripts gets thrown around, I think in scouting circles a little loosely at times, but it is as apt for him as anybody that I could recall over the last four years. Truly, he's one of the more difficult guys to work through or to beat going through him, so you know, just straight line power and then his anchor ability as well to stop power is
really really good, you know special. I think is fair to say he's kind of in the mold of the Tevin Jenkins or Darnell Wright last year. It's just he's bigger than both of those guys in terms of length and weight. So you know, I'm a big fan of him. He's my number three tackle in this class. I have a you know, kind of a mid first round grade on him. I think that's probably where he's going to go.
So yeah, I just think, you know, if all else fails and he doesn't really kind of refine the nuances in his game, specifically in past protection, he has something to fall back on, and that's elite level play strength. And I think that that is something that I really feel good about betting on with a lot of guys, and I think, you know, with Jenkins and Darnel Wright, you know, just being able to carve out a role even though like with Jenkins, couldn't make tackle work, you know,
granted he got moved around. That's a whole other thing. But he's a quality starter now because he's so strong and big and physically imposing and it's legit. And then Darnall Wright what he did last year, I think he's going to be probably a quality starter for a while. So I see at least that with Latham, he just has a little bit more upside than those guys, I think because of his size, and yeah, so I'm a fan.
If he's your third tackle, who are one and two?
Olufshanu is number two and then Joe Walt's number one.
Latham didn't test at the Combine or at his pro day. Any red flag there where you're concerned.
No, not not really, because I think you kind of know what you're getting, you know, based on just watching him on film. You know, I think he's a If he did test, it would probably be like, you know, he's a good athlete, not a not a great athlete. And everybody's you know, three hundred and forty pounds too, So not too much of a red flag for me, honestly.
I just I think, you know, the play strength and the power and the anchoring ability is really what you're paying for, you know, sort of speak in the draft and can't really measure that with the testing anyway, So I don't think he would have bombed it, you know, or anything like that.
Brandon Thorn is our guest. You can follow him on x at Brandon Thorn NFL. Let's talk about Troy fa Utanu of Washington next. He's not as big as some of the others. Six four three seventeen, mostly played left tackle in college. Some see him as a guard in the NFL. What do you think of Utanu overall and and then specifically as a potential right tackle.
I'm a big fan of Fatanu, and he's my number one guard in the draft, and so you know, projecting him inside, he's one of maybe two guys who I think have true five position flexibility, along with Graham Barton from Duke. But yeah, I just you know, I said this on multiple podcasts already, But it's like every time I think about Fatanu, you know, and and I've listened to you know, some smart people talk about him. You know, some people see for Sean Slater and I'm like, yeah,
I could see that. Some people have even said Marquise Pouncey at center. I'm like, yeah, I could see that. And then for me, I think the ideal fit for him is as guard, and I see him being a caliber of player as like Ali Marpette was, you know, somebody like that. He's a little bit longer than Marpette was, but some similarities in their game, I think. And I
just think his play style fits ideally at guard. He's very aggressive and that could get him into trouble at tackle, and it did you know here and there at Washington, and I just think that that could be a little bit pronounced, you know, in the NFL. That's the difference between him and Rashaun Slater to me, as Rashawn Slater was more patient, more tactful in his approach, whereas Fatan, who is much more aggressive and kind of a frenetic energy that he brings to the to the field that's
very different than Slater. So I just think that would be ideal inside. It would be kind of a seamless transition for him, and I see a really high level player. He's one of the four or five best overall offensive linemen in the draft in my opinion. So yeah, I'm a huge fan of him, and he's you know, he's one of the best guys in this class.
Up next to Lasi Fauaga of Oregon State, another big man at six six three twenty four. He's been a starting right tackle for the last couple of years, a team captain. The Bengals like that. He was excellent to during the Senior Bowl. What stands out when you watch for Waga large frame.
You know, he's well dispersed, you know, like thickness throughout his build, big hands, you know, decent adequate length, but he's very quick. You know, he operated in a run first his own heavy scheme at Oregon State, so it's kind of you know, fit him maximized what he did well in terms of as a run blocker. I think he has a case for being the best run blocker in the in the class, so that's really his you know,
where he wins primarily. Pass protection is good, not great, I'd say, I think, really when you dig into his film, even at the Senior Bowl, he has issues protecting the corner against high level speed rushers who know how to set up their moves, and he's vulnerable to the cross chop technique in particular getting that outside hand chopped and creating a short corner. You know, I posted ten clips of that on Twitter. There's more from his tape and
then their senior Bowl examples as well. So for that reason, I have n't projected inside where I see like kind of a supercharged Viti who has been a you know, a guard in the NFL. He's just more athletic than he was. You could even see shades of like a mic you Potty, you know, somebody like that as well. So I see a high level guard here. He has all the makings of it. So I'm a fan. I just you know, I have some reservations with him sticking a tackle as well.
One of the players most frequently mock draft to the Bengals is Amrius Mims from Georgia. He looks like Orlando Brown junior and Trent Brown in terms of the size six' eight three forty. He wouldn't have to start right away at right tackle since Trent Brown is signed for a year. The big thing that everybody always brings up is the lack of experience only eight college starts. How big of a concern is that? And what do you think of Mims?
For me? You know, Mims is my fourth tackle in this draft, and you know I don't have as much concerns there. You know, I have a high second round grade on him, you know, which for us is a potential impact starter, you know, right on the fringe of first round, like late first, early second kind of you know, he's assuming he's going to go earlier than that. But but yeah, not as much of a concern with him because when you watch his film, I don't see many
bad habits on his film. So it's really truly kind of like a blank canvas and you're working with really really good tools to make something really special here. In terms of how he looks, you know, you mentioned Orlando and Trent Brown on paper, Yeah, but when you look at him, he doesn't look anything like those guys. He's just much more lean. He carries his weight in a way that is rare, I would say, you know, at his size. So just really truly a physical specimen in
a way that you don't often see. Natural pass protecting ability and movement skills is really what stands out most to me and why I you know, kind of jumped on his evaluation and graded him. You know, what I feel is pretty highly considering your only played eight games. But yeah, so I'm a fan, you know, I think He's one of the four best tackles in the class, and going to a situation like Cincinnati would be ideal,
you know, in a lot of ways. They were like Philly obviously, but yeah, somewhere where you don't have to play right away, you have a good offensive line coach, a good offensive line room with multiple guys that you could learn from that are at least in the ballpark of what you look like, you know, and maybe how you would play a little bit, you know, at least to some degree. So yeah, that'd be a great fit, you know, I think for mims to develop and get the most out of them.
Let's circle back to your number two tackle, Olufashinu from Penn State six six ' three twelve, the left tackle for the Nitney Lions. Probably not going to be there at number eighteen for the Bengals, but if he somehow was, what do you think of that fit playing right tackle in Cincinnati since Orlando Brown Junior is pretty much guaranteed to be the left tackle for the next three years.
Yeah, it would be a little bit more peculiar of a fit, but I guess if you dropped it, the value would be great and you'd have to do it in some sense if you're thinking about memes, you know, so it's just he's ready to go right now. So you know, having a guy like that on the bench, you know, would be you know, kind of weird, but but yeah, I mean the value would be great. And for Shan who I think first and foremost, it's his ability as a pass protector. You know, when he was
a nineteen year old sophomore last year. You know, he turned twenty in season, but he was nineteen years old. I remember watching him for the first time and right away, you know, wow, like this guy. There's something special about him in terms of how he looks, you know, in terms of measurable's physical traits, and then how he moves in past protection in particular, he's I would say, a pretty significantly better pass protector than run blocker, although that
did kind of even out late this season. You saw some some glimmers there of more as a run blocker, which was nice to see. But he's definitely a guy who wins with his past protection ability. He's he's strong, uh and just you know, long, and just his movement skills in past protection just sort of has an uncanny ability to mirror guys that is I think pretty special and the best football is in front of him. He
has twenty twenty one starts. He's pretty inexperienced as well, you know, not like Mems, but he hasn't played a whole lot of football yet and I still think he has a lot of a room to improve. He he reminds me he's in kind of that similar vein as like a Ryan Clady to brickish Off Ferguson, you know, those kind of guys who are past protectors first. So that that's kind of what I see with him, and I you know, I think he's a really quality prospect.
And like Alton, like Latham and Mems and Guidon and all these guys, they're very young. This is a very young class at least that top five to six. You know, they're all twenty one years old. So I mean that that's a big part of why this tackle class so alluring is because these guys are all so young. So yeah, that's another part of it.
So you mentioned Tyler Geyiton from Oklahoma. His name pops up on First Round MOX along with some others. Kingsley Suamataea from Byu Jordan, Morgan from Arizona. Roger Rosengarten popped up on mel Kiper's latest mock draft as a first round pick. Today, when you look at that other crop of guys, do you think that any of them are worthy of the Bengals choosing them at number eighteen?
On my personal board, I think that would be you know, a little bit of a stretch, you know. With Geyton in particular, he'd be the next guy. He's my fifth tackle. I have projected Jordan Morgan inside a guard. But Tyler Goydon, you know, I have kind of a mid you know, or so second round grade. And that's just because as opposed to Mimes, that was kind of the conversation, you know, for me at least, and even Sue Matia is splitting
that trio up for me. I think Goton he does have some bad habits that need to get ironed out, and he is very inexperienced as well, so that, you know, to me is the difference between him and Mims. But he's another guy who's about six ' eight, you know, close to six ' eight, uh, you know, about twenty pounds lighter than Mims, but he moves even better than Mims.
You know, which understandably so being lighter, but he really is truly one of those guys when you watch him, he collides across the field and at that size, and then he also has a really strong natural anchor. You know, typically if you're if you're a really big guy who moves really well, you know, anchoring is one of those things that's kind of an achilles He will, he can do that. He can handle the bull rush, he can
handle power rushes. It's just in terms of set points and not going too far, not setting short, not getting beat cleanly, you know, because he misaligns his target. That's something that's just kind of reoccurring on his film. So he needs to iron more stuff out, I would say, than a guy like Mems. But the potential is certainly there, you know, to be a potential impact starter, which is my grade. It's just a little bit lower on that spectrum.
And if he goes into the right situation, I think that is going to be huge for him, a similar situation that Mims is probably going to need with kind of a veteran room where you you know, not a whole lot of pressure to be the guy right away, even if he plays right away you know, just going somewhere where he's the second or third or fourth best offensive lineman, you know, to start, I think would be great for him just to kind of ease his transition
into the league. But I mean there's a lot of upside there to be to be a really good starter. He has the bones, you know, the foundation there to you know that if he won in the first round, I wouldn't be surprised at all.
Offensive and defensive line analyst Brandon Thorn is our guest. You can find his work at Trench Warfare dot substack dot com. The Bengals also need a defensive tackle. Two names pop up most frequently as possibilities for the number eighteen overall pick And Murphy of Texas and Johnny Newton of Illinois. Do you have a strong preference?
Not really, No, I mean I haven't really studied these guys. I've definitely seen them both play a fair amount of studying other offensive linemen, and they both flash. They both look like guys who are deserving of this recognition, and you know, probably warrant you know, a mid to late first round grade. You know, I've always been a little bit partial to Newton just because I've watched him more.
I think that's probably the main reason. And even going back to last year, I remember him being a guy I was like, Yeah, this is clearly a guy who's gonna start in the NFL, and then this year, you know, did nothing to change that. He actually reminds me a lot of Sheldon Richardson, who you know, I got to study a good bit throughout his career. He's retired now, but yeah, a very similar sort of player. And that's the kind of ceiling you know, that I see for
him as well, which would be outstanding. That's worth the first round grade. But with him, his ability to disengage and to shed blocks and to deconstruct blocks is really what appeals to me so much. So yeah, I really like him, and I think both those guys would make sense for Cincinnati. And you know, I've been wanting Cincinnati to get better on the interior of their defensive line for a while now in terms of just more juice there.
And yeah, I think both those guys would provide, you know, some jolt to that room and make it a strength, you know, which would be awesome.
After losing DJ Reader, the Bengals would love to add a nose tackle type at some point they've got ten draft picks to and Andre Sweat didn't help himself with his recent DWI. How is this crop in terms of run stuffing defensive tackles as far as you know.
As far as I know, I don't think it's very good, you know, in that way. I think for the most part, you're getting guys who were going to win as pass rushers first, you know, penetrating upfield type of guys who rely more on athletic ability than anything else. Some versatile pieces here for sure, but yeah, in terms of nose tackles, I just I don't think this is a very good class. Sweat, you know, being one of those guys who could fill
that role. McKinley Jackson, I think from Texas A and m is another guy who's a nose tackle who's routinely graded kind of outside the first two maybe three rounds, you know. So other than that, as far as guys that I've seen, nobody really stands out in terms of nose tackles. So maybe there's another guy out there, a dark horse that I don't know about. Like I said, I'm not you know, kind of grinding through this position.
Like I am offensive line, but but yeah, just you know, for my opinion, I don't think that there is really a lot of options, you know, higher end options than this class.
So with ten draft picks, based on what you've been telling us on this podcast, the Bengals have the opportunity certainly to address right tackle, potentially a Ted Kerra successor at center, and maybe somebody that can compete competed left guard with Cordell Volson.
Oh yeah, absolutely, yeah. I mean I'm I'm a little biased, you know, I'm always partial to uh to strengthening that position. But at the same time, I like to think that I can, you know, I could try to reach you know, kind of an objective level, you know, to some degree. And I think with Cincinnati, I don't have a lot invested, you know, in any team really so, but just looking at them as an outside observer, somebody does like offensive line play. I don't know that it is like a
super pressing need. Honestly, Definitely, addressing one spot for sure, you know, with with a lot of draft capital first round pick would be great, But like you know, restocking the position, I don't know that it is super pressing for them considering you know, courtA Wolson, although you know, replaceable, still pretty young, you know, and you would think that he could, you know, kind of touch up some areas of his game and still just incrementally get a little
bit better. So if that's your weakest link, then yeah, I mean you're probably not too pressed for resources there, although I will say that the depth, you know, is certainly in need of a boost, you know, as I would say, ninety nine percent of offensive lines are probably ninety five percent, So getting a high end kind of guy with that first round pick and then addressing it later, maybe late Day two or early Day three, you know, would probably be ideal. And I think you could get
a really quality dep player at that spot. So that's probably the way I would go in, you know, for most teams, honestly, you know, getting a Day one, Day two pick and a Day three pick on the offensive line every draft, it's probably a pretty good idea.
All right. A couple more topics for our guest, Brandon Thorn, the Bengals first round pick last year, was a pass rusher in Miles Murphy. How did he do in his limited playing time as a rookie?
You know, I think that there were some flashes there, and you know that's well not maybe deal. You know, for for a guy where you drafted him, you'd want a little bit more consistency there. I do think that there were the flashes that you saw at Clemson as well. You know, I remember the game a few years ago against ikey Ikwan, who you know from NC State. He had a really good game against him, and just he
has first round ability. It's just a matter of stringing it together, consistently, being more consistent with his technique, you know, against the run, so he could be on the field more so then he could afford himself more opportunities to rush the passer. I think it's about reps and time and earning that ability to be on the field more and once he is, you would just think especially you know,
being in a good environment like Cincinnati, good coaching. You know, you have a guy like Trey Hendrickson to kind of you know, follow and emulate. I mean, this is a good situation for him to maximize his potential. So you know, I would say that it was kind of an uneven year as a rookie, but I do see maybe some of what Cincinnati sees in terms of like why you're so enticed by him because just at his size, some of his explosive ability, his ability to string moves together
at times and really beat guys quickly. I mean, yeah, there's there's something there. It's just it's about rounding out the edges and being more consistent with technique and things like that. So the details. So yeah, I think that's kind of where he is right now.
One of the things you do at Trench Warfare is really breakdown pressures. How did Trey Hendrickson fair last year.
In terms of fewest snaps per pressure? He's like in the top twenty, you know, top fifteen twenty or so, right around like the Shawan, Gary, Jadavian Clowney, Alex high Smith kind of range in terms of efficiency in terms of you know, pressure wise, And then you know, I have another thing for high quality pressures per snap and he's in a similar kind of range as well. So I would say it was a good year by his standards.
Maybe not his best year, but you know, I don't recall if he was dinged up a little bit too, I don't remember that, But but yeah, I just think Trey Henderson is what he is at this point. You know, and he's a really good player, a really good pass rusher. And even if my numbers in that in those couple metrics didn't totally reflect it, you know, being like a top ten guy, I think he's a top fifteen or
so edge rusher in the league. And that may seem like it's a slight but I think people need to remember just how deep this position is edge rusher that is. It's just there's some great players, you know, in the top four or five, and then there's some very good guys just kind of like in the top twenty. So but what I will say about Trey last year, you know my I also grade every sack and he finished first among edge rushers, tied with TJ. Watt in my
sack score metric, which measures the quality of sacks. So he had twelve high quality sacks last year, which was tied with TJ. Watt for the most of the NFL. So, you know, he really got after it as a as a pass rusher in terms of bringing down the quarterback for sacks and you know, three strip sacks and yeah, so he was kind of a monster in the sack department last year, and pressures were a little bit more, you know, top twenty ish range.
Final question for Brandon Thorn. The Bengals lost their offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to the Titans as their new head coach, and that means the Cleveland Browns lost his dad, Dull Callahan as their offensive line coach. How significant is that loss for Cleveland?
I think is really significant, especially because his assistant, longtime assistant, Scott Peters also left, took a head job with the Patriots. So you know, even the guy who is his understudy, who maybe could have, you know, least care read some of what Bill Callahan brought, he's gone too. So it's a total clean slate there. So yeah, I think it's
a significant loss. I think Bill Callahan is really on the Mount Rushmore of offensive line coaches, if not all time, certainly within the last probably fifteen twenty years, you know, with Jeff stout linn Mike Munchek, those are probably where be the names where I would start. And so, yeah, he's he's one of the very best. He's gonna make everybody better, He's going to get the most out of everybody. His attention to detail is maybe unrivaled in the NFL.
He's he's truly a master, you know, tactician, you know, and just just his his techniques and his ability to teach is tremendous. So losing that is is going to be tough, especially because Cleveland maybe going through a little bit you know of turnover with their offensive line, not at guard, but you know, maybe looking at maybe a new left tackle soon potentially, and and they have a very young one in Dwan Jones. I know Jack Conklin's
coming back. So yeah, I mean, you always feel better when a Calie Bill Callahan's there and as opposed to one he's not. So you know, it's gonna be tough, you know, to see how they overcome that and you know, figure it out.
Engels fans certainly hope you are right. I am a subscriber to Trench Warfare. It's the only thing like it in terms of studying offensive line play in particular. Tell folks where they can find it and what they get if they subscribe.
Sure, So Trench Warfare dot substack dot com is where you can find me. You could subscribe monthly or yearly and throughout the year. I'm studying offensive and defensive line in season, watching every game every week, and you know, usually focus on one two players at a time, and then throughout the offseason I just go back and watch it again pretty much, you know, not necessarily every game,
but certainly a lot of them. I make a lot of player highlight tapes throughout the year, four players, so that brings me back, you know, to kind of revisit everything, and I you know, I just try to find unique angles to look at offensive and defensive line through for my for my sub stack subscribers, and try to get
a lot of players on there. I'm hopefully going to get some coaches on there soon, but yeah, just trying to shine light on the position, help educate people on the position, and just enjoy it, you know, because I think when people see the real inner workings of the position and what it looks like being executed at the highest level through video, especially, then they really start to appreciate it. It's easy to appreciate offensive line when you're being shown it kind of in the right context. So
just try to do that. And yeah, I mean, thankfully, you know, a decent amount of people were interested in that, and I just try to serve them as best I can. Well.
Bengals fans are fixated on the offensive linemen in this draft. I know they've been looking to learn more about each of these guys, and I really appreciate your expertise and I look forward to which guys the Bengals come away with during that three day stretch. Brandon, thank you very much.
Yeah, Dan, thank you for having me. It's always a pleasure.
More on the draft in a moment, but first, a quick reminder that the Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Last week on this podcast, I did
my first three round Bengals mock draft. That's a total of four picks and Cincinnati has an extra pick. In the third round. I chose Washington offensive lineman Troy Fatutanu in round one, Florida State defensive tackle Brandon Fisk in round two, North Carolina wide receiver Devontes Walker with my first third round pick, and Florida State cornerback Bernardo Green
with my second third round pick. Now time for Dan's Draft two point zero, and I'm going to use the Pro Football Network simulator instead of the Pro Football Focus version this time since it's likely to give me different choices. Sure enough, Troy fa Utanu is not even an option this time around. He was one of four offensive linemen taken before the Bengals were on the clock. Joe Alt went sixth, Olufashanu seventh, fa Utanu thirteenth, and Talisi Fuaga sixteenth.
By the way, brock Bowers was gone as well. He went fifteenth to the Colts. But that left me with great options, including offensive tackles JC Latham and a Marius Mims, defensive tackles Byron Murphy and Johnny Newton, and LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas. I chose Latham the thirteen overall pick in the draft, according to the Athletics Dane Brugler, and the Bengals starting right tackle for many years to come.
It doesn't have to be right away, but the Alabama Giant can compete with Trent Brown for the spot this year. If the veteran wins the job, Latham is his backup, and keep in mind that Trent Brown has missed at least five games due to injury in four of the last five years, so there's a decent chance that his backup will be needed. And if Orlando Brown had to miss any time, Trent Brown can move to left tackle
and Latham can step in on the right side. The Bengals would be thrilled if Latham is still there at number eighteen in the second round with pick number forty nine. Overall, there are some good defensive tackles available, including Rooke or Row row Row of Clemson, Michael Hall of Ohio State, Chris Jenkins of Michigan, and last week's second round selection Brandon Fisk. But I went in a different direction this time and chose wide receiver Melachi Corley of Western Kentucky.
He's a sturdy slot receiver who would immediately replace Tyler Boyd in the starting lineup and give the Bengals a great yards after catch threat. His nickname at Western Kentucky was Yack King. He's not a speedster. Corley ran a four five six forty at his pro day, but he's so dangerous with the ball in his hands that he's been compared to Deebo Samuel. Last year, the Bengals didn't go offense until the fourth round. This year, I'm not
waiting that long to add a weapon. Taking Corley in round two with the first of my third round picks, I was able to take one of the defensive tackles that I was thinking about in the second round, Michigan's Chris Jenkins. Frankly, I couldn't believe he was still there at number eighty overall. He's number thirty six on Brugler's Big Board. Was a team captain for the National Chains
and has a great nickname, the Mutant. His dad, Chris Senior, was a four time Pro Bowl defensive lineman, and while Chris Junior is about sixty pounds lighter than his dad at two ninety nine, he'll fit in perfectly in the Bengals defensive tackle rotation. For my fourth and final pick in the first three rounds, I was almost able to take cornerback Bernardo Green again, but he went ninety sixth overall,
one pick before the Bengals were on the clock. Fortunately, one of my favorite players in the draft was still available. Another member of Michigan's National championship defense slot corner Mikey Sainrastill. Saint Rastill is Mike Hilton two point zero. He's undersized at five to nine and roughly one hundred eighty pounds, but every time I watched a Michigan game last year,
he was around the ball making big plays. After playing wide receiver for his first three seasons, Saintristill moved a defense two years ago and last year had six interceptions, two forced bumbles, and three interception returns of more than seventy yards. He's a two time team captain with experience at inside and outside corner and also on special teams. He's number forty three overall on the Brugler Big Board, so landing him with a ninety seventh pick would represent
exceptional value. Unlike the PFF simulator, the Pro Football Network version doesn't give you a grade, But if the Bengals get Latham, Corley, Jenkins and saint Ristill, I can't imagine
it would be anything other than an A plus. That's going to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth podcast, brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider by Alta fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business and community to a new level and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is
the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute, give it a rating or share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for listening to the Bengals Booth podcast.