Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Areas of emphasis for Cincinnati Bengals' 2025 offseason | Combine Takeaways

Episode Date: February 26, 2025

Besides just retaining and/or extending their stars, the Cincinnati Bengals have spelled out a clear agenda with areas of focus for talent acquisition this offseason. There's a focus on the trenches, and there may even be hints that the traits they look for in defensive linemen could be changing with the new defensive staff. Plus, Duke Tobin remained effusive in his praise of Dax Hill. Jake Liscow and James Rapien break it all down as the team's key decisionmakers talked about their offseason priorities.Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FanDuelRight now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As the Cincinnati Bengals brass makes their appearances and talks with the media at the NFL combine, certain themes have become prevalent throughout those conversations. Let's break them down as the Bengals offseason plan is coming into focus. You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What up, Bengals fans, and welcome to another episode of the Locked on Bengals podcast. I'm your host, Jake Liskow. he's your host, James Rupin, and we are locked on Bengals on the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day on YouTube and everywhere you get your podcast.

And today we're going to dive into more of what the Bengals leadership has had to say to the media over the last couple of days in Indianapolis. We're recording this one on Wednesday. So a little bit more information and theme kind of articulation of the Bengals plan has come to light throughout various interviews. with the media over the last couple of days. And I think it starts with finishing up on some of the topics yesterday, James, that we talked about and alluded to,

but didn't get to discuss in full detail with Duke Tobin's podium and his sidebar with local media. So that's where we're going to start today. And our everydayers know that there are some topics that we had to catch up on. Welcome back to everyone who isn't every day. And if you're not in every day and you're looking to become one, you can just hit that subscribe button. and make sure you don't miss an episode of lockdown Bengals on YouTube or anywhere.

Or anywhere you get your podcast. And James, going back to Duke's comments yesterday and some of the things we didn't get to dive into is deeply, I think one of the big themes was this isn't just an offseason of we want to extend or re-sign our guys. There's a clear indication from the front office that we're not good enough in certain other areas. And this became clearer as we heard some of the coaches talk on. Wednesday, there's a clear desire to add additional players, which tells you about what they think about their financial situation, among other things, this off season. Yeah, it's certainly something that they need to do.

We know it. It's no secret, right? They have to upgrade this roster in multiple areas. And that doesn't mean just pay your best players and not add to it. And so that was as important of a message to me that they, they could have delivered. It's not just how you want to pay Jemar, pay tea, pay tray. It's, we do that and then add to it.

And one thing that I asked Duke, you mentioned the sidebar conversation. We're sitting with him at the, I'll say the convention center, really close to the convention center, and chatting with Duke after his podium, which obviously everyone's seen the video of this, but if you see other. quotes and you're like, they're not from the video. It's probably from this session. And I asked

Duke about there being any regrets from last season and going into the year. And he mentioned the defensive line and the focus that he has on it. And the fact that they had those injuries and it had injuries earlier where it was like, oh my goodness, we're turning to, and he didn't name Lawrence Guy, but they're turning to Lawrence Guy. He doesn't want that to be the case. And he was like, I think about the defensive line all the time. Not last year, just in general now. So I think it's fair to say that he's, not only are they looking at these guys in the draft, but I think that they're going to try to spend there. When he's talking about spend somewhere and an ad, I think they're certainly looking to add proven defensive linemen. And that's

one of the many things I think they need to add, of course. But yeah, something that Duke probably is kicking himself about is not adding probably one more guy, which we've talked about, but one more defensive tackle last off season. Just needs to listen to Lockdown Bengals in week two of free agency when we're asking the question, where's that last guard? Where is that last defensive tackle? And not to pat ourselves on the back too much, but we did ask those questions last year, late into free agency.

It looked like there was still some money to spend that surprisingly was not spent last year. The other thing that's fascinating to me, James, on the topic of the defensive line, and we're going to get to this overall trench focus that I think has permeated the entire coaching staff with all of the interviews that I've listened to between the coaches that you put up on your YouTube channel

and Zach and Duke yesterday on Tuesday. The interesting thing when Duke was asked about defensive edge players in particular and describing what he's looking for there was the get-off in a pass-rush plan and those things don't necessarily describe what we're used to seeing the Bengals draft

at the defensive edge position. He very clearly did not mention size looking like a power forward. And maybe this is me reading too much into it. But this came up in the conversation with Al Golden as well on Wednesday, the idea that sizes isn't everything or necessarily requirement. And you maybe have to play those guys a little bit differently. And it's a different kind of player.

But am I reading too much into the omission of looks like a power forward and some of the Al Golden stuff? And I'm thinking like, maybe there is a little bit of hope that the Bengals are not so rigid in their archetype. for defensive edge players. I think you're right. I do think that there's hope that that will be the case. And at the same time, if you really dissect these quotes,

you can look at the size part of it. Jerry Montgomery talking on Wednesday a little bit, and he was like, you're 240, you're probably a linebacker, right? And he kind of went there, and it's like, oh, you know, Does that just mean outside linebacker, 240, you're going to let them rush? Fine. Like, that's all people are asking, right? So I don't know what I do think is, but at least open to it.

I think Al Golden's open to it. Now, are you tough? Are you physical enough to defend the run? Like, that's going to be something they prioritize. It just is because one of the themes throughout Duke is, He was like, we couldn't stop the run to get to the third and longs. Right. And that was such an issue for them,

that all the resources they were putting to slow down opposing run game. And then it's third and one. I mean, I remember the commander's game. I feel like it was third and one the whole game when they actually got the third down. It was never, it was third and short and second and short, just chunk out to chunk. And so I do think that they'll be a little more open. I actually, I'll say this. I think they're more open than.

most people think. But that doesn't mean that they're going to turn down, or not turned down, but they're going to go out of their way to prove it, right? They're going to try to find the right guy. And I think that's what's tough. I also think that Lou had a type. And now maybe Outgleton's a little more flexible. Well, when we'd seen that type predating Lou Aniromo in Cincinnati as well,

which is why it's been such a longstanding trend, And maybe that's just the kinds of defensive staff preferences they've had in the past. I do kind of find myself in a I'll believe it when I see it situation for certain types of players. Because when you think about the way Al Golden talks about it as well, he's talking about finding the roles for those guys, finding which downs they can contribute on and where they can contribute on those downs. So I do think that there's still a value proposition when it comes to acquiring those players. like do you need to spend a first round pick on an edge rusher who's 240 pounds? The Bengals might still say no in that case if they think he's a two-down player or just a third down player right now, right? They might not value that as something that's worth a first-round pick where other teams might see that and see Nolan Smith, right?

And see a guy that can play the runner. Maybe they just need to see that willingness to play the run. And it truly, I'm sure this is the case. It truly is a player-by-player evaluation to a large, degree and it's not just the size element there. So I'm talking myself out of it a little bit here, the more I think about it, James. And I didn't hear the Jerry Montgomery conversation full disclosure before we started recording.

But I can see a little bit more openness to it, the way Al Golden has talked about versatility and finding roles for guys, but not necessarily a wholesale change in preference there. Well, and it doesn't, and it's a good point by you. It doesn't mean that, oh, they're going to pick a 240-pound guy and pick 17, but they may do that in round four, round three, or, you know, think about it. Well, think about Gino Aiken, who is an all-time great player, but breaks their mold, he was a later round pick.

Yeah. And it's, Duke talked about this too. It's one thing where it's like, you look at the Jermaine Burton thing, and at some point we'll talk about what Duke said about him, but there's a risk involved there. But there's risk in taking a small guy or a guy that doesn't have the production or a guy. And it's when are you willing to go with that? And so are they willing at some point? I think so.

I don't think that they marked off every single 240-pound edge rusher. I do think that there are scenarios. What's the guy that they took Miles Murphy over from the Eagles? Oh, I mentioned his name earlier. And now that you ask me it, I forget it. Georgia, Nolan Smith. Nolan Smith. He was on their board.

I'm not trying to break. Like, he was on the board, and he was pretty high. but Miles and I think a few other guys were a bit higher and that's why they passed on Nolan Smith. So there's more discussion here. You mentioned the trench focus. We have to get to that as well. We'll do that coming up next.

We've had certain themes come about, James, throughout the conversations. And throughout the off season, I would say, and a big one going into this week was Joe Burrow talking about the stars. And we've talked about that. If you want to hear us talk about T. Higgins, Jamar Chase, Trey Hendrickson, go check out yesterday's episode, a little bit of Mike

Gaseki in there too, because that name got thrown into the mix. The other trend that I think will continue throughout the offseason is this word alignment. That is something that again came up when the coaches were talking on Wednesday. It was a big theme on Tuesday from Duke Tobin, from Zach Taylor. I expect will not just be the word of the day yesterday of James, but will be the word of the offseason. But when we're talking about another theme that has emerged, and these are the things that tend to be predictive of what the Bengals will prioritize in free agency and in the draft, we've been following this theme long enough to sort of put these things together, right? And they're

not necessarily terribly subtle about it in terms of the broad strokes. Definitely a theme around improving in the trenches and being willing to move on from veterans that are not performing. Yeah, I agree with that. I think the trench element, and that aligns with what Duke said about how he's just thinking about it,

about the defensive line. And I asked, I was like, do you think that this offseason you can get the, the guys required to in fact let me look that up real quick here let me look that up yeah i asked duke if he felt like because it's a really good defensive line class if they could address the defensive line and get it to his liking and he said to my liking my liking is a pretty high standard can we address it yeah we can address it that's the hope i think this draft offers a lot at D-Linman. This is one of the better D-line groups. But he also said, I'm excited about the draft

of the defensive line, and we will see what free agency has to offer. But the idea of him being satisfied with their defensive line depth, he was like, I just don't think he's going to get there. I think last year did scar him some. And so for those that are pounding the table for, oh, they got to pick a defensive lineman 17, or you want them to sign, insert what veteran in free agency. I think that they're going to have those talks and not just

consider the idea. I think they're really going to try to find a way to get this defensive line up to another level, even if it won't be the Duke's liking. Yeah, I think we've heard similar sort of rhetoric from Duke in the past when he's asked about the trenches.

I'm always thinking about the trenches. I think about it every year. But it did feel a little bit different this year because there was also a discourse around the underperformance of the defense and an acknowledgement that the defense wasn't good enough. Whether it's early downs and getting to third and short, whether it's late downs and not rushing the pass or well enough outside of Trey Hendrickson, whether it's any other thing that went wrong for that defense last year. And this ties into the willingness, I think, to truly evaluate some of the veteran deals they've done. I think it all fits together. Another thing that was really interesting about it to me is, as one, you know, you mentioned the strength of this defensive line class in general, but to Duke also

mentioned, I think it was Duke, the draft is after free agency. And so you got to do what you can in free agency, so you're not going to the draft with this need for a player to do a role. And obviously every team is in the same situation there. And obviously the Bengals have tried to follow that philosophy to some degree in the past. You can look at the Trent Brown acquisition going into the draft and looking for a tackle that could develop a little bit behind Trent Brown. And I think that was accelerated a little bit for the Bengals last year, right? They would have preferred that Trump Brown stayed healthy.

But we've seen them go with this idea before. And we've seen them do that in their history as well. But this idea that they're going to get to the draft and have these pressing. needs doesn't sound like something that they're terribly interested in. And again, this is talk, and talk is cheap, and listen to the end of yesterday's episode and get through the day woo jokes and you'll hear us talk about the fact that they need to show that they can execute the plan that they've been talking about here. But the emphasis suggests that they plan to add significant pieces on a defensive front

And on the offensive line as well, when you get to Scott Peters discourse and tone around the different players on the offensive line. But certainly on the defensive side of the ball, and we can talk offense too, multiple pieces should be expected as the Bengals look to improve that unit. Yeah. And that's part of why I think the change of so many different guys. Like, I think they think Lou is a good coach, right? But why do you bring it out Golden? Well, one, you want that alignment, of course. Word of the day.

Or word of the week, maybe. But certainly, you get a fresh look, fresh eyes, fresh evaluations on your guys and the trenches. I don't know how you can look at that defensive front and not be like, man, they just need someone that can help Tray, slam the door. on 4th and 16. Have someone that can help get a little disruption when Lamar Jackson is just going up and down the field and you have Joe Burrow doing the same thing and Jumar Chase doing the same thing in Baltimore

trying to will the Bengals to victory. And that's where that element is. And yet I think they're really focused on guard as well, to your point. I don't think, I think they know, one, Joe's got to take less hits. Two, one way to do that is to be able to, to get more push in the run game.

But three, their offense is a past first offense. So past protection is going to be key. And one thing I thought that Scott Peters mentioned, and this isn't knocking Frank because I don't think this is a frank thing. I think this is a Bengals thing. But Scott Peter said he's completely done with his free agent watching. It doesn't mean he's not going to go back and watch. But they've done all of that.

It's all been done. I think that's earlier than it's been in the past. I think there's been times when Frank, and part of it might be because of the deep playoff runs, I get that, but when Frank was watching free agents during Combine weekend, or Combine Week. And so I do, it does feel like if I had to guess that they're going to sign at least one veteran guard. And Scott Peters, I mean, he's evaluated them all already. All of them. Like that doesn't mean things aren't going to change.

is going to have little tweaks and things like that, but that's a good spot to be, to have all of that already done so you can focus on the draft guys here this week and then kind of formulate how you're going to attack it, because you better believe how they view this draft class at certain positions is going to impact who they go after what they consider when they put that free agent plan together as well. And go back to our primer with Mike Renner at the beginning of the week. You're going to have to go to the end of that episode, our everydayers have already heard this, but we talked about this guard class. And not great.

It's probably an understatement if you listen to Mike Runner. And if you talk about some of the guard converts from tackle, it gets a little bit better, maybe a lot better. But even if it gets better, there's certainly an impetus to add to that position in free agency. And the way Scott Peters talked about the guards, I think, is noteworthy. Let's wrap up that conversation on the guards with some of the tone from Scott Peters as he talked about his offensive line that he's inheriting and get to Duke Tobin's

comments on Dax Hill, which I found to be quite noteworthy, let's say. We'll finish the show with those couple of topics here coming on next. Let's dive into the Scott Peters, Guard, the Guard's comment. What did you think about what he said about Cordell Bolson? Let's start there. I don't think that he, I think that the, comparison. I'm curious where you're coming from with this question. I want your take as soon as I finish answering. But the comparison to the way that he talked about the guards and even Ted

Harris and the way that he talked, sorry, the way he talked about the tackles and Ted Carris versus the way he talked about the guards. Oh, no doubt. Oh, yeah. Like, wild to me. Nothing specific about Cordell. Like hardly even mentioned Alex Kappa, but, you know, there's talk about, yeah, we're going to try to give them some tools.

to improve, you know, give them something to see if we can improve the technique. But there's almost this reluctance to talk about the guards is what I sensed. What was your specific thing with the Cordell comments? Yeah. Oh, well, I just, I thought it was interesting that he, I think there's a real scenario where Cordell is on the roster this year. They're hoping that he develops and takes a step forward and is also not starting. and he praised Cordell during the pre-draft process

that he really liked him three years ago when they were in Cleveland, had him as part of the East West Shrine game, he coached him there. So he knows Cordell pretty well. Kind of looks, him and Cordell kind of look alike, by the way. Did you notice that?

They kind of did at certain angles. Yeah, a little bit. Just a little bit. Like, you know, like, you know, if it's his older brother or something, it wouldn't have shocked me.

And obviously, Cordel weighs more. He's an offensive lineman. He's an active player versus a, yeah. Versus Scott Peters, yeah, it's different. But overall, I was like, oh, okay, well, not committal to Cordell, but open to him being around. He said like five words about Alex Kappa. Yeah.

And then there's Alex Kappa. Yeah, and it was a minute in, not a minute, but at the end of his answer, and he's like, yeah, and Alex, we're going to try to, and it's like, nah, you're not. And we know it. And I'm glad you're saving, trying to. But it makes sense. Alex Kappa is going to be a cap casualty. And it's just a matter of when at this point. They'll save that $8 million.

And it's pretty simple. When you evaluate this free agent class like he did, and then you look at Alex Kappa, you don't even need to know that he's making $8 million to know that you can upgrade that spot. And I think that's where, that's where it comes in. But I agree with you. Ted, he didn't say a lot about Ted cares,

but what he did say was like, oh, yeah, check that box. You know, both tackles, box is checked. Both guards, huge question marks. And I don't think the two starting guards for the Bengals, at least their hope is that the two starting guards for the Bengals in week one are on the roster right now. I feel like $8 million can buy you a lot. in terms of a guard.

If you're talking 8 million AAV average per year, I feel like that can get you a top 15, top 20 guard. That's getting you Kevin Zitler if you want him. Oh, for sure. I mean, Zytler last year was what? He was 6 million. It's probably getting you Brandon Shurf if you want him.

Yeah, I wonder what direction they go there. I mean, we'll obviously talk about this a little bit more next week when we talk about all the free agents that are going to be out there, go through some of the tiers, some of the various free agent plans. But it does feel to me, like $8 million gets you a lot of the way there. It gets you Rams Guard Jonah Williams, who's on the trade block. You know what's interesting? You mentioned the veterans.

How many veterans have been given permission to seek a trade? They're all getting cut. If you see that, just no. Those guys are gone. You mean the Bengals aren't trading for Devon God? Chow? Yeah. Former Jerry Montgomery

Nose tackle in New England. By the way, they may sign him, but they're not trading for him. Like they may... I think they would be in on Jair Alexander, but they're probably not trading for him. He's only played 14 games in the past two years. I think that they would be in potentially on Harold Landry, but they're not trading for him. He's making $17.5 million this year and next year. So all guys that could be available at times.

point. And Jonah Williams is one of those guys. Can you imagine if Jonah Williams, the guard Jonah, not the Jonah that was here, helps stabilize the Bengals guard room? That would be very confusing to me. The thing about all these guys that are currently getting permission to seek trades, except for maybe Matt Stafford, who you could see trade, apparently getting courted by Tom Brady in the mountains somewhere. Just think of them as if his germane prep. If you're a Bengals fan, you're familiar with Remain Pratt requested a trade because he's likely to be cut. He would like to keep that contract.

At least that that's my read on it. I think we've talked about that. If you think of these players that are requesting trades and getting permission to seek trades the same way, it's probably a similar situation. The teams are empowering agents to say, hey, if you can get something for this guy, it can be a win-win. The player can keep the contract. We can get something back in a trade. Otherwise, you can find a new partner on the open market. Duke Tobin also spent a lot of time.

Last topic today, James, talking about Dax Hill, maybe not a lot of time, but noteworthy time, and was overflowing with his praise for Dax. We alluded to this yesterday a little bit insofar as it illustrates the gap in alignment with the previous defensive staff in the front office where some of those guys are back, the defensive backs coaches are returning,

where there was some change last year. but Dax Hill was seen as a tremendously ascending player by the Bengals' front office, and now there's a lot of confidence that sounds like that he can line up really at any corner spot if he's healthy. So obviously we'll have to see how he comes back from the ACL, but a lot of excitement continues to be present

from the front office on Daxil, and it kind of underlines how confident they were in that draft pick a few years ago when they submitted his name. Yep. He's because he can play. I mean, he can play. And I, I hated the, the Dax Hill bus talk because I knew the usage and like, shocker. He wasn't a free state. He wasn't playing that Jesse Bates were on Michigan. So he's going to have his ups and downs. And there have been some downs when he did that. But then you get him to corner. And on draft night, we talked about it. Like maybe just play him at corner. We did it. We said it on draft night. And in they talked to my thoughts about it. What they should have done is they should have put him an outside corner and not free safety right away because you knew Jesse was there. And then you looked at it and you'd have been like, oh my God. And then halfway through that year, your Cheeto gets hurt.

And maybe he just takes off then. Obviously, Cam was a rookie then too. But that's why it's so important for them to be in lockstep because you can't have these issues. I hope Dax Hill goes on to have a great career and stays in Cincinnati and ends up in the ring of honor. But it's not like he was set up for the best success when they drafted him and just how they used him over the course of his first season, which kind of set the tone for year two. And then year three, obviously, when they finally figure it out, he gets hurt. But yeah, wouldn't shock me to see him maybe do a little bit of both. I don't, depending on who your personnel is, yeah, I would try to use him in a bunch of ways,

because I do think he's valuable in a bunch of ways. And it doesn't mean that he can't be your outside corner, your top outside corner. I thought he was going to be that last year for the entire season. At the same time, he might be more valuable guarding a tight end here and there. He might be more valuable kicking into that nickel spot at times, especially if Mike Hilton isn't on this roster, which another guy where I think it's pretty unlikely that he returns just based on comments

this week. I think about the Leon Hall role quite often for Dax. And the way that he played outside when they were in base. Speaking of the Ring of Honor, that's a ring of honor candidate. Yeah, he

definitely should be. Well, once I get around to adding some more names to that candidacy list, but I think about the role he used to play it for anyone who's new, Leon Hall was an awesome corner for the Bengals and a couple of areas ago at this point, who was an incredibly athletic player who had two ACL ruptures on both, or sorry, two Achilles ruptures on both Achilles and came back from both of them and still was playing at a high level. But some of that athleticism, when you have Achilles injuries, is going to get dinged a

little bit. And the Bengals use Leon Hall by letting him play outside and base and play, in the slot in nickel. And if Dax is healthy, that seems like a good way to use them. Now, if Dax needs time and needs to be a part-time player, as he's coming back from the ACL. And Duke Tauvin mentioned this. Sometimes it can take two years. And unfortunately, Dax likely going into the last year of his rookie contract,

unlikely to see that fifth-year option picked up, that timing doesn't work out great if he does need some time to come back. But Duke also said he's a kind of athlete that, maybe you can surpass those expectations because of the baseline for Dax Hill. And so excited to watch him this year, excited to see what the plan is for him. And we'll see how the recovery pans out. But it was encouraging in a way to hear that from the front office. And also just a reminder of where their evaluation was on Dax Hill and just the lack of alignment there.

Even if the original plan they were aligned on, move them to safety, you got to have a good plan for these guys coming out to let them play to their strengths right away. And that's something that they're looking for Al Golden to be doing. And he can just bounce around. Like, he could have helped right away is the point. And they obviously want impact. They want to find that instant impact this year. They need it.

And I think about that Campbell out of Alabama. It is just, I know he's not Dax, but he's versatile. You know, he's the guy that you're going to use as that might. a Parsons type guy if he's there. And so can you maximize him if they're if they're on board with taking him, let's say. So I I'm I'm optimistic that when you're on the same page, when we're on the same page, we do better shows, right? Same thing.

When when when when you're on the same page as a defense, you're going to perform better. And I do think that that's very, very clear that they're all in locked up. even the Jerry Montgomery, which no one's heard that yet. I'll put up the audio at some point. I haven't. But you could tell he's been in the game a really long time, and he had his thoughts, but also how aligned and how, not that he's echoing what Al said, but you could just tell like the themes of things where these guys,

it's not like the PR team sat him down and said, all right, this is what we're going to hit on. It's just what they've discussed in the plan they have throughout the offseason. Yeah. And it's not just Jahad Campbell either. Jihad Campbell. Yeah, I keep forgetting about them. There's a number of players like that in this draft,

whether it's safeties, whether it's linebackers. And it was nice to hear, I think, Al Golden, talk about versatility, and perhaps a little bit differently, philosophically, than Lou there. But we'll see. Like I said, talk is cheap. If you can't find ways to get impact players to help you on Sundays, then I don't really care what you have to say in the off season. You've got to be willing to play guys for their strengths.

And that's going to be a big question for this to this Bengals staff until we can see how that plays out. And they can show that they can do it in season. That's going to do it for this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Like I said, we heard from a bunch more coaches. And we will get to that in our next episode. then thanks for listening whodeh and have a good enough