Bengals Booth Podcast: Wonderin' How

record setting rookie year. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by Ulta 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 this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since art, but make it sports. That's the name of a social media account that takes still images from the world of sports and compares them side by side to works of

art that looks similar. The person behind the account is named l j Raider and his knack for matching current sports photos to centuries old art without the help of AI is nothing short of remarkable. For example, on the Fumble in the Jungle, there's a famous image that shows Raven's quarterback Tyler Huntley jumping up and trying to extend the ball over the goal line just before it's knocked

out of his hands by Logan Wilson. Raider posted it on the Art But Make It Sports social media account next to a painting from the early eighteen hundreds named The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques Louis David. The image of Napoleon hoisting a crown above his head is eerily

similar to Huntley holding out the football. Raider is also posted side by side comparisons of a T. Higgins catch next to another painting by Jacques Louis David, as well as an image of Joe Burrow entering a stadium in a funky sweater next to a quilt made by Mary Lee Bendolph. If you want to see what I mean, go to Twitter or x whatever you call it these days, and do a search for art but Make It Sports. That's one long word and Bengals with the AT symbol

in front of it. Again. Search for art, but make it sports and at Bengals. Now let's get to my first guest this week, Punter Ryan Rico made a quick trip to Cincinnati from his home in Utah to sign a two year contract extension. Not bad for a guy who wasn't even on the roster when the Bengals open training camp last year. I talked to Ryan about that

and what turned out to be a record setting rookie year. Ryan, after your outstanding rookie year, it's easy to forget that you were not on the team for the first day of training camp. You missed like the welcome speech from Zach Taylor and stuff like that. As NFL training camps opened. What was your confidence level that ultimately you would get an opportunity?

into the future. It's like, oh my gosh, I got practiced later today, Like I just got to dial in and be ready for that.

them because of an injury is really unfortunate. And so it's definitely it causes you to take a pause and just be like, Okay, I really got to make sure I'm healthy because that could happen to me at any point as well. But then at the same time, I remember Darren coming up to me, is like, Okay, we don't know how long Brad is gonna be out. You now have to be looking at week one. We're going up against this returner, We're going up against the Patriots, Like,

you gotta be ready like this. This shifts everything now, and so it definitely it was all just a whirlwind, and all of it just kind of came together of Okay, take every day as it comes, and just be ready for the next opportunity.

in a game in NFL history. After that game, what did that do for your confidence level and the belief that, all right, I can be one of the thirty two?

And then at that point, I remember I was happy, but it was like you still out like seventeen weeks, like I want to prove it again and again and again, and so obviously really happy with the way that that went. But then it was like, Okay, I got to keep proving that one week doesn't make a great punter or a great career, and so just kind of taking that, Okay, I belong here, I know that I can, I know that I can do this thing. Let's just keep showing what I can do.

need to, then that's also a great thing. Unfortunately, we didn't win either of those games, so maybe we'll find a way to win without punting, and then that'll just be the perfect formula for us.

me really good insights. And he's another person where, shoot, you want to look at the formula for being a successful punter in the NFL and especially here in Cincinnati. He's kind of the guy that has done it. So I'm definitely looking forward to getting to interact with them more and honestly just picking his brain because he's I know, he's seen a lot of things. Heck, he was punting in the Super Bowl so pretty much any scenario that I can imagine hoping to be a part of, He's

already done it. And so I'm really looking forward to kind of using him as a mentor and just getting better based on what information he can give me.

energy I've ever seen out of anybody. Pretty Much, He's always in the gym, working out and so we just kind of talk and he's just constantly checking in seeing how things are going. And so after that first game, Lee was one of the first people to call and just be like, really, really, you're gonna do that the first game? Are you kidding me? And so he's just

been nothing but supportive. He's given me a lot of help and insight as well, and he's someone that I just I consider a really close friend and just a great guy to kind of have in your corner.

it hard to sleep that night? What was the rest of that day like for you?

it and move on. And so kind of going home that night, it's I got a lot of calls of support, just like, hey, you still had a great game all this stuff, and to me, it was like I'm not going to sit here and like dwell on it or focus on it. It was one game, and I hate that it happened, and that's why I worked to never let those kind of things happen again. But it was the definitely a good learning moment, just to like, okay, like you're not invincible. You have to be locked in

at every single moment anytime you're on the field. And so again, I hate that it happened. I learned a lot from it, and it's just one of those things like I have to accept it and move on. I can't change it. Just got to move on and work to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

Was it at all difficult to enjoy the win just because that happened, or because it happened, Are you like, hey, this is great?

out of your control. So walking off the field, because I didn't initially realize that they had touched it, I thought that Muma was just able to recover the ball, and I was like great, Okay, like that's where they get the ball at and so I was really frustrated. But then someone's like, no, like they touched it, we got the ball back. I was like, what is going on?

So it was just a whirlwind, and I had no I really didn't have any awareness of like what that situation, how it played out, and so ultimately we do get the win. I don't think I've ever been a part of a game where the block kick on us wins us the game, because then we still had to go make some really great plays. But it's one of those things where hate it worked out in our favor. We'll take it, but you don't. You don't always get that lucky.

Obviously we saw that this year, and so learning opportunity once again. You just work and you keep pressing forward, and that's all that you can do.

me something to do. But you're always just kind of finding that balance of Okay, I don't want to overdo it because there's a lot a lot of time until we actually have to start kicking meaningful punts again, and so it's just kind of balancing that out of Okay, I'm going to take care of my body nutrition, but also I want to stay in the groove of things

and just kind of keep that feel. So so it's mainly just a lot of working out, hanging out with a wife and the family, and punting every every now and then, just to just to keep keep everything feeling fresh.

showcase what I'm capable of. Because last year it was a good year and I was I was excited to be a part of it, but at the same time, I don't feel like I was performing at my best. I feel like I was surviving week to week, and so now to be able to have that under my belt and be like, Okay, man, I can really do this, Like let's show what we're capable of and let's show how we can really be a weapon to the team. And so going into year two, it's just Okay, we

start out good, but we can only get better. Like that's that's not the peak, that's just the beginning.

As Bengals fans, were fortunate to have some great content creators out there, and one of the absolute best is Joe Goodberry. He's been writing and talking about the team for more than a decade, and if you're not already watching his Bengals on the Brain videos on YouTube presented by First Star Logistics, you're missing out on some tremendous content. With free agency and the draft approaching, it's the perfect

time for an in depth conversation. Joe, I have stopped counting the number of times that you have written the following on Twitter or x quote. If T Higgins sees one second of free agency I'll be surprised. That certainly suggests that you expect a contract extension to get done.

time feels very different than last year. Number one, the change, I would say because with David Mullagata last year and in previous situations for the Bengals where they couldn't get a deal with Jesse Bates, I think the writing was very clear there that there was a disconnect on how the contract should be structured, how David Mullagata likes his contracts, especially for his veteran free agents, with a lot of guarantees and guarantees in the future years, and the Bengals

don't typically do that outside of Joe Burrow, right, So that always seemed to be something that was never going to get crossed. And then when you hear in December that hey T wants to be here, Joe wants T to be here, the team wants T to be here, and T has changed his agent to Rocky Arsenal, who is Jamar Chase's agent. You go, oh, okay, that's a move that raises flags for sure, and you say, okay, both sides want it enough to change how your representation

wants this contract to be laid out. That's big for the Bengals, and I think at that point I'm like, okay, I expect an extension to happen. But then as free agency starts creeping up, I say, wait a second. These reports that he could get thirty thirty one thirty two million dollars in the open market the second tag, that amount has been set as soon as the Bengals place the first tag. It's one hundred and twenty percent of last year's tags, which makes it twenty six point one

eight million dollars in twenty twenty five. And if at the very least that's the last play you have to make as the Bengals, you would do that, Why wouldn't I give him twenty six rather than what he would get have thirty thirty one thirty two if those numbers are correct now, I think that would be the last play. And we've already heard reports that that is something the Bengals will do if a deal cannot be done reached

by the time free agency gets here. I think it makes too much sense that he never reaches the market. And if you look at the top free agents typically through past years, they never get a chance to hit the open market. The Bengals should not allow it, and I don't think they will allow it.

Tea changing agents, changed my opinion on the subject. I think Joe's made the calculated decision in his own mind that let's keep the band together on offense, guarantee virtually guarantee that we're going to be one of the top scoring teams in the NFL, and figure it out on defense with younger, cheaper players. Did his comments change your opinion at all on the should question?

look good when Joe Burrow's throwing them the ball. So do I absolutely need t Higgins or would that money be better spent elsewhere. It's a fine argument, but once your quarterback says, no, we want this guy, well, then fine, I've got no problem. If you're saying, our plan is keep the players we know are good, that we've developed, that have turned into exactly what you've wanted them to

turn into. And he's still young, and he's going to take a Bengals friendly contract, which any you know, time you twitch your agent, things happen that we've already discussed. I would assume it's going to be something that the Bengals are happy with or else neither side's going to take this deal. If you're saying all these things or what's on the table, I'm not going to argue with that.

I've come to the conclusion also watching these other teams and looking at who's coming out in free agency because every year you get there, it's like, okay, this is the twenty twenty one draft class, right, this is the free agent market, and you say, who are the guys that are going to hit this last hit this free agent market? And you say, well, it's guys that on either teams that are up against the cap or they're not that good. They're yeah, they have issues, they've got

holes in their game, and every player does. But it makes me reevaluate when I see who gets extended around the league, and I say, you know what, the real plan I see these successful teams do is pay your stars, figure out the rest, pay your stars, and draft and hope for the best and just try to find value free agents out there. And if that's your plan for the Bengals, and let's face it, I have questioned what

is the plan since twenty twenty one. It felt like let's gear up and get over the hump in twenty twenty one twenty twenty two type thing, and then twenty twenty three was like, yeah, we're not really sure where we're kind of in between here, and then twenty twenty four was well, let's keep what we have and see if we can just get over there, and it's it hasn't worked, So now they're at a I think this is how we let off the show last year was this is the most important off season in Bengals history.

It feels like we're going to say that for three years in a row now, because it is when you have Joe Burrow. But if you're saying, hey, now we have a plan, and the plan is pay your stars, figure out the rest, I'm on board, all right.

Even though that makes us feel old. If you're over thirty in real life and you hear that, you're like, come on, there's got a lot of good years left in him. And I agree. But when you look and you say, okay, so how is how's he been trending? And since he got here in twenty twenty one, Trey Henderson has been the best free agent signing in franchise history and one of the best probably across the league

throughout history. You go to four straight Pro Bowls, you're up for Defensive Player of the Year this past year, first team All Pro. That is great, and he has not shown signs of getting worse. And as the defensive line is deteriorator around him, it really hasn't affected him too much. That tells me he's a creator rather than somebody who benefits from the chaos. That's that maybe a

star player creates. And there's a big difference there when you start evaluating players, are they cornerstone players and pieces? And I think Trey is The hard part is and again we talked about the age and the potential for decline, and I don't see signs of it yet, so we're probably only talking about a two year extension, maybe it's three years total. The hard part is could that money

be better spent? Same conversation with Ti Higgins, But could the money be better spent for a defense that really has invested a lot of draft picks? But hasn't gotten the return yet and has tried to sign some free agents that we'll see if they're here or not. You know, Sheldon Rank's probably not here. Geno Stone maybe here. But the idea is you need a lot on defense still Kent.

Do you just say, clean, clean slate, we're starting over on defense, new defensive coordinator and will figure it out, or do you say, you know what, why would you get rid of your best player on defense when you don't have to. I think they should come to an agreement. I think I'm not as confident that they will as I am with T Higgins or Jamar Chase. Like Jamar Chase a field one hundred percent, it'll happen. T Higgins, if you had to ask me, I have like eighty

percent that it's going to happen. Trandricks and I feel closer to fifty to fifty. And it's because the play he put on the field the past two years warrants a huge extension. But again, in the age and the situation, the Bengals are in on defense and the defense wasn't good even though he was great, So really, if he's great again, that doesn't change the outcome of the defense, you need all of these other parts of the defense

to be good. It's like if you were to say, we'll sign one right guard, that should fix our offensive line. No it doesn't. It takes so many pieces on the offensive line in order to completely fix it. The defense is very similar. One player doesn't make your defense great, as we have seen. So there's a little bit of a hurle there. But at the same time, if the plan is keep your stars, we'll figure out the rest.

Hope to get lucky in free agency in the draft, because let's face it, every team's hoping to get lucky in fregency in the draft anyways. So that's not too crazy to say, I'm fine with it. Let's pay Trey Hendrickson. Let's pay all three of these guys and figure it out.

typically don't. It's the guys that are the top five picks or the first round picks. And then Trey, who is if you look at him from a draft profile, had tremendous production, elite athleticism, just went in the third round because he went to a small school right and has outplayed that completely and they got the Cincinnati and has been an elite level for pretty much all of

four years. Even if he drops it a two point five percent password friend rate over the next three years, he will still be a pretty good player by that last season at thirty one thirty two years old, and I think you can stomach that if that's the worst case scenario of an extension.

to extend some of their best players. On the other hand, does it hurt because teams that have less space than the Bengals do now have more money to work with.

He and Ceedee Lamb, what's the percentage of the cap that they got last year? Because now the CAP's so much bigger. If the percentage is equal, maybe I should be at thirty nine, Maybe I should be at forty and there's arguments for that for players and teams to look at percentages of the cap, and I think teams

do for sure. And I would say what this does is teams like the Eagles who are pushing caps into future years and really pushing cash over it this year and you know in the past few years they have but really trying to save themselves from the future that's eventually coming. They when they see the cap exploding like this, they go, We're gonna be fine. We're gonna be perfectly fine.

This this hit. Probably when it does come in twenty twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty, it's probably not gonna be so bad because by then I think the next TV contract is twenty twenty nine. So it's just the cap is going to keep exploding. It's good when you see this. It means the NFL business is booming, players are going to get paid a ton, and the Bengals can do whatever they want. They have a ton of cap space this offseason.

recent years. But what's next. What would you like to see the Bengals do a little bit differently than they do?

just because they beat the Chiefs. I think some Bengals fans may be in the same boat there with me, but because the way they do things feels aggressive if you don't know exactly what's going on here, But actually it's just math and it makes a ton of sense. Let's think of it this way. If I gave two contras that we're worth, let's just say ten million dollars, Okay, ten million per year. You don't have to make the

cap pit ten million every year, right. The cap pit just has to equal at the end the amount of the total deal. So if it's five years, fifty million, ten million per year. The Bengals typically like to keep their cappits even every year, so they may be around ten every single year for five years. The Eagles will say, Okay, we gave that same deal out, but we're not gonna

make it ten million dollars this year. We're gonna make the cap pit this year as small as possible, and we're gonna make the cappits in the future as big

as possible. And then when they get close to that big cappit, they're going to restructure that player's deal, which means we're gonna take your cap pit, We're gonna give you a bonus that's equivalent to that cappit minus the base salary, and now we're gonna spread Say so you have two years left on the deal that the Eagles would restructure and renegotiate, they can add three void years at the end and spread out that signing bonus now over the course of five years, so they'll push that

cappit down. Now, think of it this way from meth perspective. If the cap is three hundred million this year and it goes up to three hundred and twenty five next year, well that ten million this year is in your ten million in twenty twenty six. If I keep it even every year, the percentage is dropping each year, right, the percentage of the cap is dropping. But for the Eagles, they'll keep it increasing, so that for them the percentage

really never changes. They're spending the same amount of money every year, even though the cap HiT's going up each year. For them, it doesn't affect them. It doesn't bother them to do that, to push a little bit of cash over cap. And the Eagles, when you look at their history, they've done this under Howie Roseman three times now. When they went to this rule in twenty seventeen, twenty twenty two,

and then this past year. It's almost three different builds in three different free agent signings and waves and classes that they've done. And once they do that, they packed the roster full. You look, I think Saquon Barkley's The best example is cap pit this year was three and a half million dollars, but yeah, he had the highest running back contract in the league. You can push it forward, you can push it to the end, and the Bengals

should do it a little bit. They don't use They put a little bit of void years on that to Joe Burrow's contract. They put a weird void year at the end of Riley Reefs one year deals really didn't make sense. They were it looked like they were tinkering with it and just seeing how it works. I would love to see it. I would love to see them do this more often, restructure. They never really technically restructured a contract and pushed cash and converted it into a

signing bonus and lowered the cap pit. These are moves that are going to have to make or else you're trying to compete with the Eagles and these other teams. With one hand behind your back, you're saying, we're not maximizing the cap space and the roster the way these other super aggressive teams are. And I would love to just say, if I get at a moment with the Bengals, I'd say Joe Burrow twenty eight. The prime is only a few more years. He should be good for a

long time, right, accurately smart, Those things don't change. But the prime is here, your windows here. You need to push this. If you're ever going to do it, it's now. And you've got three guys that want to be Bengals. Sign them, extend them, and if you do it the right way, you can go out in a free agency and you can bring in a host of players that can help your team and push you over the top.

it is what it is. And hopefully he's healthy and everything's okay with Sheldon Rankins, but I believe he will be cut, and it's a pretty easy cut. They're gonna save a lot of money. I think the next one is probably Alex Kappa. Not so much that Kapa has been bad. I think Kapla was a good signing from twenty twenty two to twenty twenty four. Twenty twenty two is really good, twenty three was solid, twenty four was not. For whatever reason, the guard play really took a hit

this past year. Even Cordo Wolson, who was solid, unspectacular, maybe slightly below average this past year, was exposed more than more than you know he ever has been in the past three years, and I was wondering what's going on with the guard play. I think Alex Capo is a good example of that. I think it's time to move on there because spending eight to ten million dollars at that position, you should be getting above average play. At the very least, and I think the Bengals will

expect that. That means you need two guards more likely in free agency, maybe Freedency and the Dreas. Maybe it's three total and you figure out a battle between Cody Ford, Corro Wolsen and a couple other guys. But they're gonna

have some decisions to make at that spot. The next guy is Sam Hubbard, And for a lot of these guys, to be honest with you, I kind of I get the fan base that it's you know, we've had good times from twenty twenty one to twenty twenty four, despite not making the playoffs last year's there was a lot of fun football. They were very entertaining even the last two years. But great times in twenty twenty one twenty two we've had. Sam Hubbard obviously has been a catalyst

too many of those. But when the play drops off, when you're not staying healthy, when you're approaching that later twenties to thirty years old, you have to be aware of the decline. And again, like I said, the elite players can survive that very often, but the B level players sometimes cannot, and Sam Hubbard probably falls in that category. And I still think they could bring him back, but probably on a very cheap deal, on a one year deal.

Maybe he's a role player, Maybe he embraces that a little bit more than being a guy who's out there seventy five percent of the time. Right, so you know, we may see Sam Hubbard again. But I think that's an easy cut. And then you have to wonder Jermaine Pratt asking for the trade. Requesting a trade was that because he was already approached with, Hey, we either need you to take a pay cut, well, maybe we'll add a year to it, but it's a lesser salary, or

we're probably going to release you. And if you want to keep your five point six million dollar salary, the best way to do it is probably through a trade, right if you're Jermaine Prett. So maybe it's getting a seventh or sixth round pick and you get to keep your salary. That works for both parties. But again, that's

another guy. Anytime you needed a play on defense, it felt like Jermaine Prett made that play for He could be having a game where you're wondering what is going on with Jermaine Pratt today, And then they need to stop they need someone to rip that ball out, and it was always Jermaine Pratt and he was a fun guy to root for. So it's sad to see that potentially coming to the end. I don't know that that means Genos Stone is gone after one year either, even

though they can save a good chunk of money. The free agent class at safety is a mixed bag. I don't know that you have to go out there and spend another chunk. Stone is still very young. I think he's twenty five years old. He's a guy that was twenty coming out of the draft, so he's got a lot of experience. Still young. I believe he can play better. I think we have seen him play better in stretches in Cincinnati, but in his career, especially the last couple

of years in Baltimore. I think if the defensive staff says, I think we can get him back to that level, I think we get Jordan Battle back to the level he looked like as a rookie. I understand why they would continue with those two at that position and say we'll add a guy, whether in free agency or the draft, to be the third safety to take some of these

snaps as well. But I think the first three are the core guys that save you the most money and you are likely to move on for from Kappa, Hubbard and Sheldon Rankins.

But overall, I thought he was very good and a nice complimentary player on a great contract. It was three and a half million dollars last year. He probably gets a little bit of a raise with the comfort between you know, the team and him now and the quarterback. So I don't see that as someone who's going to break the bank either and have a ton of interest out there. It's I don't feel it's the same as when Uzama hit free agency or Hayden Hurst hit free agency.

I don't think there's a three year, thirty million dollar deal waiting for Mike Kaseki. He's had his chances on the open market and has never received that from anyone. So I think that's that's a guy you could easily retain and bring back, especially because I think he's the default wide receiver three more than he is actually the

tight end. Drew Sample actually had more snaps at tight end for the Bengals than Mikesecki did when you look at it the alignment, So you know, I think that's how you keep a trio of wide receivers together, and Koseki being the third as kind of a flex offensive weapon that can fill in a lot of places. The other guys, I'm not sure I took. I felt one wain that Duke Tobin spoke at the Senior Bowl about maybe retaining these guys a little bit too long. Maybe

holding onto these guys a little bit too long. The Super Bowl team thinking of that, and I thought of BJ Hill and Mike Hilton, and I thought, are those examples of that? And now these guys are getting older, and again you have to worry about the thirty career cliff, thirty year old career cliff. How well these guys keep going. They've been They've still been good. They really haven't shown signs of decline. Like if another team was asking me, I'd say, yeah, go ahead and sign those guys. They

can help you. But I wonder if the Bengals want to get better at those spots. Right, if you'se retained Bj Hill, I still need a defensive tackle, you still need a DT number one. If I keep Mike Hilton, it doesn't really change the coverage issues you probably had at corner. I still want to get faster. I still want guys that can play in man coverage, especially for Al Golden's defense. I played a ton of man coverage at Notre Dame and I expect En up tick there.

So is that what you want? Even though Hilton I still still think is very good, one of the best pound for pound blitzers in the NFL, one of the best run defenders on the team, and sure tacklers, and a guy who consistently made plays when he was when you know he's going forward and it's Derrick Henry and he's knifing behind the line and making a stop. So I would like to have both those guys if the price was right. I just think they'll have markets out there.

I think other teams will see it and say, you know what, we could use the veteran leadership, we could use the steady force. We have a defensive tackle number one. Let me put bj Hill next to that guy. So I think it makes sense for other teams more than it does the Bengals. There, I think the Bengals are probably looking at a new of those guys like go back to you mentioned twenty twenty and twenty twenty one

type of free agents. They were all Tier three guys that were twenty five, twenty six years old, didn't break the bank, didn't have a ton of guaranteed money. Perfect for the Bengals in free agency, there's a handful of those guys available. Again, I think Bengals would love to dip back into it and maybe get lucky again. There's some luck involved in it. You know, you can easily have a Trey Wayne's or maybe a Geno Stone which got last year as Sheldon Rankins even though he was older.

So maybe he doesn't apply to the group I'm talking about. But you if you get lucky again, if you find another Chidobe, a Woozier, Mike Hilton or Trey Hendrickson, then'd be awesome. Your defense will take a huge step forward, and I think they'd rather play with that again. Now, maybe the one guy that's their own free agent that may qualify for that is Joseph Osai, and who's still extremely young. He was a young draft prospect, great profile too.

There's some people that you know, I talk with fans every day on Twitter, right and they say development has been such a big issue for the Bengals as much as has been and I don't know that I agree. I have my opinions on these players when they're drafted, of what I think the upside is for these guys. One guy I loved coming out with Joseph Osai. I thought he could have been their second best pass rusher to Trey Hendrickson. And if you look at pass rush

win rate. Over the three years he did play, he was their second best pass rusher, but I always felt inconsistent, spotty at times, never felt like he got that next level despite the flashes. If I was another team, I'd be looking my chops at Josephosai. I'd just say, and that's a twenty five year old that had had moments of really great pass rushes and that has played left

end right at defensive tackle. If the Bengals could find a way to bring him back and say, you know what, maybe there's still more meat on this bone and we can get it out of him, I would be in favor of retaining him. But I think other teams are gonna look at it and say, that's a guy we want. Joe.

I try to treat it like the coaches do. All right, this is my first foray, this is my first dive in in January, and see who these guys are. So I didn't know that the defensive tackle grouping was good. I just thought, you know what, here's a bunch of guys. We get the data profiles, we get the production profiles that we create on our spreadsheet every year that we release in April, and a bunch of them were lit up in blue, which means that's good. These are past.

Do you want these guys in the top of the draft. And there was five, six, seven of them, and I said, okay, I'll start with defensive tackle because number one, it's a need for the Bengals they drafted to last year. Chris Jenkins, McKinley, Jackson. You would say, okay, that's two premium picks. Do they really need a detackle? But even if those guys take another step in year two, they probably don't have detackle

one upside. And I've said that now a few times about what kind of guy am I talking about potential geno Atkins? A guy that doesn't have to come off in the run or pass game. A guy that is explosive, can rush the pass, or is a pain in the butt to block. They really don't have that even if those guys take a step. So I'm looking at this class and I go, Okay, there's a bunch that could be their first second round. Let me start with that.

And that's what I did, and I was pleasantly surprised with what's out there.

He's twenty he's eighteenth on the consensus board. And Kenneth Grant, the other defensive tackle from Michigan, more of a big body, is twenty fifth on the consensus board as we speak right now, so that's right in the range of seventeen. But through our others, to me, Derek Harman from Oregon looks like Chris Jones. If you're gonna find one of those guys that's six five, three ten, that's an athlete that's a pain in the butt as a pass rusher,

just consistently winning and getting into the backfield. His numbers would have been crazy. If he could tackle at all. I'd say he probably missed five sacks and another eight tackles for a loss because he just doesn't break down very well and tackle in space. But it was funny because Oregon's got another defensive tackle in this class, Jamary Caldwell. It's more of a second third, fourth rounder. We'll see where he is really steam. The production profile and numbers

look great for him as well. His tackles and his miss tackles are at the bottom of this drivet class as well. So maybe the D tackles in Eugene, Oregon just do not tackle and do not practice it. And if that's the case, that would put me on board with Harmon a little bit more. But those three I think Nolan and Grant and Harmon. I really like Nolan and Harmon because of the pass rush upside, because the athleticism that they flash on tape. Grant is different. He's

three hundred and forty pounds. He's more of the nose tackle type, run stuffer type that has a little bit of a pass rush profile for that position. The standards are different for the D tackles in the nose tackles, so Kenneth Grant has a little bit of pass rush for a nose tackle. If you're lining them up with all the D tackles, you would say he's in the

average to blow average area as a pass rusher. And you want to see those markers even for run defenders, because it proves that they have good hands, they have good explosiveness, right, they know what they're doing as with their hands and with their moves, which you need to be able to do as a run defender as well. So we're looking at seventeen. Those two first, Walter Nolan, Derek Harrman, and then I am interested in Kenneth Grant. There's a lot of people that are super high on him.

I'm not there right now.

so good. He's a nose tackle right. Those are typically in three man or five man fronts and watching that the Notre Dame defense, they were multiple, but not to the same level everyone in college football is, but not

to the same level that Lo's defense was. So and then when Golden guy here, he said, we're going to be a base four man front nickel, four two nickel, which is the base now, but if we need to, we'll be a four to three, you know, probably versus the Ravens and Browns, and when those teams are running the ball, so that might be their first change. Second

change is communication. And when I watched the Albama defense versus the Bengals defense, and this is college players the NFL, I understand that, but Notre Dame, there was no motion. There was no uh misdirection or pre snet movement that confused them. They seem to pass it off incredibly well, very smoothly, reminiscent of how the Bengals did it when Jesse Bates and Von Bell were together and now Golden

was here as well. They would pass the off post snap so naturally, and you could see them all point together and the whole defense will just rotate with it and form a new defense after the snap. And I can remember, like the twenty twenty one AFC Championship Ship game, and it confused the home so often that he had to hold the ball despite guys being open. They just it wasn't who he expected to be open because the defense changed post snap. And I'd watch Notre Dame defense

and I'd go, there it is again. They're doing it again. They're they're not confused. The communication must be at an extremely high level. They must have answers for everything the offense is showing them. And then you go back and watch the film. I usually do for the Bengals at the end of the season. Now go and rewatch key points or third downs or big games, and I go, they must not have answers for certain situations here. That's why they must be finger pointing after this. They must

be arguing this stuff on the sideline. It's not clear, concise and defined. And I think that's the first thing El Golden can fix and get these players to play a little bit better. We talked about the man coverage a little bit in order to tam did it at a high rate. NFL you do that if two things.

If you don't think the offense has the horses to beat you on the outside at wide receiver or if you think you've got really good corners, we'll see what the Bengals feel about that and how and what it looks like when they get there, and it could be a game per game matchup type thing. But if you fix the communication that makes players play faster, play more aggressive, play more confidently, I think at the very least, if you give them that, the same players should perform at a higher level.

guys that are maybe have an issue. Maybe they're a little bit older, maybe they're not great against the run, whatever the case may be. They've got some flaws in their game, maybe they've had injuries. But you'll see their age, you'll see their project projected salary, you'll see what tier they fall in, You'll see how many snaps they played last year, all of these things, and they'll be ranked and you'll say, okay, great, these are the free agents

we should start targeting. These are the guys that fit the mold of the Bengals. Twenty five years old, has played the last four years and should only get a modest contract, perfect for Cincinnati. We'll put them on the target list. And then after that, after we're looking at how the combine effects these prospects, and then pro days and all and visits for the Bengals and around the league. We have a draft spreadsheet coming out as well that has so much data in it. Evaluations. We watch the tape.

You know, we got three guys here that are watching the tape putting scores on these guys. But then we have a production data that's adjusted for what conference they play in, what age they are when the production happened, and then performance data, which takes a lot of PFF data and grading and says, okay, since twenty seventeen, where does this guy rank? WHOA, This guy's a ninety eighth percentile run defender of all defensive ends since twenty seventeen.

That is likely to carry over into the NFL. We have correlation stats that'll tell us this one carries over to the NFL. So if he's scoring well here, he probably will in the NFL. This is why he spits him out as the first round of giving you arbitrary examples. But it's all fun stuff for the next couple of months as we prepare.

a contract the Bengals are hoping to extend. That's going to do it for this episode of The Bengals Booth Podcast, 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. 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