Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals Offseason MYTHBUSTING: Why They Didn't Add At Linebacker

Starting point is 00:00:00 The linebacker position for the Cincinnati Bengals remains under scrutiny, but did they just go into the offseason not expecting to add to the position? We don't think so. Let's break it down. 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 Lockdown Bengals podcast. He's James, repeat.

Starting point is 00:00:32 I'm Jake Lisco, and we are Lockdown Bengals here to talk once again about the Cincinnati Bengals linebacker room. A frequent topic of conversation this offseason. There's always one position on this team. At least there has been for the last three or four years. It seems to stick out like a sore thumb. And after adding Dexter Lawrence, after getting through the draft,

Starting point is 00:00:53 we will revisit the Bengals off season on the whole that previously we graded won't be in today's episode. But the sore thumb that is still there that has not been addressed is a linebacker. spot and it got to the point where you asked Steve recidivich we asked Mike Potts we asked Duke Tobin the question repeatedly essentially like what what happened in linebacker was this a plan where you just that confident in Barrett Carter and Demetri say because the coaches in the front office they're never going to say anything bad about those guys they're on the team they

Starting point is 00:01:29 are the only linebackers on the team along with Orrin burks and some other depth guys that we can talk about Shaka Haywards of the world, those kinds of guys that are viable special teams pieces. They're not going to talk bad about those guys, but they also have had every opportunity to answer the question differently than they have as far as was the plan to just go with what you had at linebacker in this offseason. Yeah. I think that the narrative, it's so interesting because before free agency and I remember this and there's definitely episodes out there.

Starting point is 00:02:04 I discussed it. Like, if you had to pass on one thing in free agency, like a big name, and I never first saw them getting to May 4th, May 5th, and not adding a linebacker, just to be clear. But if you had to pass on something, I wanted to fix the back end at safety because Geno Stone misses a tackle every time Jake Liscoe says who they ain't have a good one. And you need to bolster the pass rush. Pass rush is king. Duke Tobin is right.

Starting point is 00:02:31 And they just haven't had enough disruptors in the trenches. Well, they did those things. And I think that that's the example here is the Bengals were in the mix early on for a linebacker. It didn't work. They looked around and they said, hey, is this worth passing on a Jonathan Allen? Is this guy worth passing on Boye Amafé? Is this guy worth passing on Cassius Howell? And that's Jacob Rodriguez, C.J. Allen, right?

Starting point is 00:03:02 maybe not in that order for the Bengals, but certainly two guys that could have been in consideration at Pick 41. And they went with the pass rush. They went with the disruptors. And you mentioned Mike Potts. Make sure this is a reminder. Assistant GM of the Bengals joined us last week, a two-part series on the Bengals offseason, trading for Dexter Lawrence, and then the draft.

Starting point is 00:03:26 Check it out if you haven't. But of course I had to ask him, hey, what do you say to the people that, that you were just never in on linebacker and you didn't want to add to the linebacker room because of the belief that the guys you had in that room was that the case? Yeah, I wouldn't say that's true at all, that we didn't want to address linebacker. We wanted to address every position, but we also didn't want to overdraft anybody and force a need, and we wanted to get proper value with our picks in the draft, and we wanted to get proper value back in free agency as well.

Starting point is 00:03:56 So, you know, I think you can make mistakes when you force needs like that. I think at the same time you can look at it. We were very strong on the defensive line going into the draft, and we still drafted two defensive linemen. Now we're extremely strong and that much stronger, in my opinion, on the D-line. But for any linebacker or any other position that we addressed that we didn't address, that takes away from one of the guys that we really liked that we ended up selecting. So it never ends up perfect in terms of checking all the boxes in the draft.

Starting point is 00:04:28 And I do think if you check all the boxes for need, then you probably didn't get proper value in the draft unless you were just extremely lucky with the way the board fell to you. So that's the way it played out. And, you know, whether it's lineback or any other position, there's still avenues to address those, whether it's trades, whether it's guys that are still out there as free agents. Obviously, the waiver wire, the cut down towards the end of the end of preseason is something that we've been relatively active on and, you know, do our homework there as well. So there are still avenues. And like I said, whether it's linebacker or any other position, we're going to still continue to look to upgrade. So there's going to be a contingent, I think, that hears that and says,

Starting point is 00:05:08 well, he didn't isolate linebacker. He's talking about every position. He's just paying lip service. But I think if you really listen to it, that's not what he's saying, right? Like there's very clearly a, no, that's just how it went. No, we had to pivot. No, we ended up prioritizing some other things. things a little bit higher than the options that we had because it's not like there were multiple

Starting point is 00:05:33 guys that they saw at Sunny Stiles level in this draft, right? There weren't multiple guys in free agency that they saw as worthy of every down starter money. And once those guys dried up, they weren't very interested in paying for, say, at least you could extrapolate that there wasn't a ton of interest in a guy like a Leo Chanel, who we were talking about a lot, but wasn't a part-time player in Kansas City. And a big part of that conversation for us was, well, he has more meat on the bone. He can be an every-down player for Cincinnati. And maybe the league just doesn't see it that way.

Starting point is 00:06:08 And looking at the contract, you got it is easy to make that case. If the league sees him as a part-time player. And what's the point in adding a part-time player for premium money at a position like that, I think, is part of this from their point of view as well, where they're looking at how can we get the biggest impact per dollar on this team and thinking about the more valuable positions on the defense align and in the secondary that they did address instead. Well, I think Leo Chanel is the perfect example because based on what we know,

Starting point is 00:06:38 they were never really in on him. Maybe they were. Maybe they were at the finish line with a deal. But if you align that, and that's what's tough. Like, we don't have the full picture, but we have a good amount of the picture. And I think they looked at it and they said, well, should we sign Leo Chenal or a little Bertie told us that the Jonathan Allen is going to get released. That's the word around the league. We can get him in which one's more valuable. And which one would you rather have right now?

Starting point is 00:07:09 Like I like the idea of Leo Chanel for sure. I think the Bengals have a real strength right now in the defensive line room that they haven't really had, a real identity. Is the answer both? Sure. I get that. And I'm a big both guy. Right. I want more talent always. And our everydayers know that they know that about you too as well jake but if it is the either or game well can you imagine how we would have felt three weeks ago if jonathan allen weren't a bangle about that defensive tackle room we would have been talking about peter woods realistically at 10 and kela banks realistically at 10 and that would have been a realistic thing that we were talking about and it's a damn good thing that they didn't have to do that because they're much better there they have a real strength they have a real

Starting point is 00:07:53 identity. And that's it. Like if you've played fantasy football and you're in a draft, you may have a plan and then you pivot. And I know this is like really high level apples to oranges, but there is the analogy holds up here. Most of the time you have to pivot in a fantasy football draft. And maybe you want to go wide receiver, running back, running back wide receiver. And then you look up and there's a tight end staring at you that should have been gone eight picks ago. And there's no real running back. And you don't want to reach there and you don't want to do that, whatever the case is. And then you pick it and your team looks much, much different than you expected than

Starting point is 00:08:26 you anticipated, but you feel good because now you have the tight end one, QB1, wide receiver one, and you're running backs, you're rolling by committee a bit. The Bengals are rolling by committee at linebacker. And I don't think that was their plan three months ago. But it became their plan as the offseason progressed. And does that mean they have to believe in Demetrius Knight and Barrett Card? Absolutely. Do they still believe in those guys? Sure, but they wanted to address it. Does the signing of Boye Amafé mean they don't believe in Shamar Stewart?

Starting point is 00:09:00 No, I don't think that's the case. Does the Cash's Howe pick mean that they don't believe in Shamar Stewart and they're just punning him? No, it doesn't. And I use Shamar only because he was picked last year as well. They believe in Knight and Barrett, but I'm sure that they would have addressed linebacker. And I think deep down, we know they would have addressed linebacker if the right out opportunity presented itself. Well, they tried. That's the other thing.

Starting point is 00:09:26 They tried. For numerous players, for starter level money, they tried. And they didn't get those deals done. Now, what does that mean? Is it better that they tried and failed to sign a linebacker? Or is it better if they didn't try because they really like the guys they had? Like, which of those do you prefer as a Bengals fan listening to this episode? Which of those feels better to you?

Starting point is 00:09:50 I think that that is a little bit interesting to think about it as a thought exercise. And I think the idea that they failed to add a linebacker is also something that bears talking about James. How much of a failure is that? Is that a blemish on the off season? How big of a blemish is that on the off season, given everything else they were able to do? We'll continue the conversation before we get to who's still out there that they could add if they choose to add a body before or during training camp. We'll get to those conversations coming up there. Today's show is brought to by Fandul.

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Starting point is 00:11:25 Fandle, play your game. All right, Jake, let's continue the conversation here because it is a blemish. It is a blemish. And yet I still feel the same way that I did three months ago going into this offseason. And I would have been stunned if they hadn't addressed linebacker. I certainly wanted to address linebacker. but like let's do a little would you rather would you rather be in on demetrius knight and barrett carter or running it back with gino stone and i know that these are extremes right not addressing

Starting point is 00:12:00 linebacker is an extreme it's a reality but it's an extreme that we're living in right now so let's play the extreme game gino stone barrett and demetrius so is it like instead of gino stone we get brian cook but on the other side if they're there was still a Gino Stone, then what linebacker do we put in there instead? Because they signed Brian Cook to a top of market safety deal, right? Or near top. So, like, are we saying to get Devin Lloyd in that world? Yep.

Starting point is 00:12:29 I think that's pretty close. It is. And now Lloyd costs more. So what's under that? It would be either the Atlanta guy, he was close. The Atlanta linebacker signed nearly what, for what, nearly 12 million? That's the one. That's the comp.

Starting point is 00:12:44 He went for more than we thought he would. Kate and Ellis. Ellis, yes. He went for more. Wasn't he around 12? I believe so. DeMario Davis also got paid pretty handily for his age. He got 11 million per year.

Starting point is 00:13:00 Somewhere Bobby Wagner is furious. And then the Green Bay linebacker. Why am I blinking on his name? Did he not play very much? No, he did. Q, it starts with the Q. Quay Walker. Quay Walker, not Quay Walker, Quay Walker.

Starting point is 00:13:18 Yes, yes, yes. Quay Walker signed a $13.5 million contract. This is why we forgot about line back. We've just blocked them out because the Bengals didn't get any of them. All right. So yeah, Brian Cook or Quay Walker? Yeah, Brian Cook, if we're talking about that level, but like they got the best available, in our opinion, best available free agent safety. And like if it was Cook versus Devin Lloyd, I think is closer. But if we're saying they would not have paid Devin Lloyd because Devin Lloyd got, let's see what

Starting point is 00:13:47 What did Devin Lloyd get? He got 15. He got 15. 45. Yeah. So you got more. And honestly, like the track record is not quite as established. Just similar because Brian Cook has a couple of good years and really took a big step.

Starting point is 00:13:59 And Devin Lloyd has a couple of good years. Really took a big step. So I do think it's close. But Devin Lloyd was also like way more of a part-time player last year than people might have thought. He played 65% of the Jags snaps. He was not there every down linebacker, which is interesting. But yeah, I mean, that's a tough. It's a bit of a tough would you rather when you're,

Starting point is 00:14:17 talking about actually replacing or signing a significant veteran. Like if it's Quay Walker, though, I'd rather Brian Cook every time. Like we think they liked Quay Walker and we're interested in his services, but that was not a name that we were as high on if you go back and look at the free agent tier list. Yeah. And that's that's it. Is that's the the would you rather game. So outside of the top linebacker available.

Starting point is 00:14:45 Yeah. That made more than Cook. And in the top linebacker plus Cook or plus Gino Stone salary is more than than Cook. It right. Like so I. Gino didn't get cut. He signed like he signed a minimum deal with Buffalo. I know.

Starting point is 00:15:01 Well, yeah. So let's say one and a half million or whatever it was, right? Like that plus no, I just mean like bringing him back. Like I would have rioted. I would have been so like banking on a second year player to take a step is fine. Like compared to all, well, Gino's going to figure it out in year three. year to of our golden system. I don't know if I'm saying extremes.

Starting point is 00:15:21 And it didn't have to be one or the other. But like, no, I know. It's a point of the game. I wouldn't say it's like, quote, quote, quote, fine. But it's more reasonable to expect and hope for a linebacker to take a step in year two than it is to expect Gino Stone to suddenly not be Gino Stone after multiple years in the NFL. There you go.

Starting point is 00:15:41 And you described it great. That's perfect. And so you do that. And then you heavily invest in the defensive. front with Jonathan Allen, Dexter Lawrence, Boye-Moffay, not in that order, obviously, and then Cassius Howe. Like, they should have an identity. They should be able to heat up opposing quarterbacks and also hold up well against the run. BJ Hill and Jonathan Allen should really be able to stay fresh. Shamar Stewart should see his fair share of one-on-ones. And like I say

Starting point is 00:16:09 all of that, and it's like, well, what if Miles or Shamar both take steps forward? Like, you just, you can see the path to this defensive front being good. And when's the last time you were like, man, their defensive front is good? 22? DJ Reeder and Trey Hendrickson were both on the team. Sam Hubbard was on the team. 22. Yeah, probably 22.

Starting point is 00:16:32 And even then we were talking about missing Ogun Joby from the year prior. Yeah, they had that issues. They haven't had an interior past rushing presence since 21, probably. And that was even a step down from what we got so used to with, you know, Stone for the previous, or not, Gino Atkins. Gino Atkins. How dare you, sir. For the previous decade. Like, Gino was such a treat

Starting point is 00:16:57 to watch for all those years. And now they have some pieces in there with Alan and Dexter and BJ. And we'll see what they have behind those guys. Yeah. So my point is, is like, all the investment they've made, the defense feels different in a lot of ways. If there was one, I had to

Starting point is 00:17:17 pun on, like absolutely had to. It's probably the one with two young guys that you could really, really bank on. Maybe not. Maybe you look at Brian Cook and you go that route. I don't. I think you need some stability back there. I think the defense has been lost really since Jesse Bates left. And certainly when DJ Reader left and you've invested in those two spots. Logan Wilson and Jermaine Pratt were never pro bowlers. They were opportunistic, solid players that at times were really, really good. I'm not saying that that's what these two guys are going to be, but can they be competent enough? I'm not convincing myself that they can.

Starting point is 00:17:58 Like I want help, which we're going to get to. I want them to add it linebacker. But if there was one spot where it was like, all right, ignore it. I'm not going to say defensive tackle. I'm not going to say safety. And I'm damn sure I'm not going to say edge rush after you lose Osai and Trey. So if there was one spot where you had to pick this, I feel the same way I did three months ago, two and a half months ago, whatever.

Starting point is 00:18:17 Like if you had to punt, it would have been on linebacker. Again, not ideal. Not something I'm endorsing or saying is the right call. But I don't think the Bengals necessarily planned on it either. They're in the middle of their fantasy draft. And it's round 17 and they looked up and they're like, man, we still need a defense and all the top defenses are taken. And that's what linebacker is right now. Not to play devil's advocate too hard.

Starting point is 00:18:42 But talking about pivots and stuff like that. Like they didn't anticipate having Dexter Lawrence available. by trade. And I wonder if they knew if they would have taken that Jonathan Allen money and handled that a little bit differently. You know, it's hindsight. That's not how it works in the offseason. They felt like Jonathan Allen rarely available player coming off of being released and adding as a pass rusher. And now adding Dexter Lawrence means that you can just unleash them and say you can prioritize pass rushing. And that's what you can focus on. Because we think Dexter Lawrence and B.J. Hill and Chris Jenkins and, you know,

Starting point is 00:19:20 whoever else can be our rundown players or our mixed down players. Jay Slayton, yeah. T.J. Slayton, yeah, of course. And then it gives Jonathan Allen that very clear cut role to do the thing that he's still pretty good at, you know, compared to the grand scheme of his skill set and what's aged the best for him. What would you rather have? Devin Lloyd, no, no comp pick. Jonathan Allen, comp pick. That's the other, that's the other. That's the other factor there that was definitely on their mind and by their mind yeah i mean i probably take devon lloyd there sure because then you're hitting every level of the defense i think that's you know i agree with

Starting point is 00:19:57 devon lloyd and it's close on money like it's not that far no it's a couple million bucks but i mean the other part of this is the bengals after the dexter lawrence move like are sweating the cap and we talked about at the end of yesterday's show like i think they're looking forward and they're sweating next year's cap and uh we'll have more time to talk about that it's going to keep coming up because i think it's coloring things, but coloring. Yeah, let's talk about whether there are guys out there that can still help, James.

Starting point is 00:20:22 Some veterans that are out there that can still help. It's guys that also probably can't help some guys that you might want to steer clear of. We'll discuss the remaining veteran options if they are interested before guys get cut later in the off season coming up next. Workplace chaos

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Starting point is 00:21:35 sent you and let them know because, well, it's going to work out for you and you're going to get $75 in sponsor job credit again by going to indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire. is a job for indeed sponsor jobs. You know what's kind of funny to me when we talk about the veterans that are still out there is this list hasn't changed since like the end of the first week of free agency. It has been the same list. So we're going to talk about some of the same guys. The only guy that has been added to the linebacker pool is Jameen Davis, who is not a

Starting point is 00:22:11 terribly appealing option, hasn't really played football for a couple of years. It was showing some promise before that, but hasn't really played a whole lot in the last couple of years. But some of the guys still out there just to refresh you on the names are the bobbies that everybody is interested in. Bobby Wagner, Bobby Akerichay. Okay, Rake was cut. Bobby Wagner, obviously a free agent out there. In terms of guys that played a lot last year, Devin White is also up there. Germain Pratt is also up there. I don't think those guys are options for different reasons. Kenneth Murray also part of that list. But the other ones that we're thinking about for the Bengals are guys like Shaq Thompson, maybe a Matt Mulan.

Starting point is 00:22:47 and that's probably just about it. I don't know. Is there anyone else that I'm forgetting here? I don't think so. No, no, I think. Like Jerome Baker maybe as like a bounceback candidate, I guess. Sure. But like, what does that do?

Starting point is 00:23:06 Right? Like, that's a, that's it. You know, Jermaine Pratt reunion time. What mistackles? Miss tackles. Honestly, though, like if that, if we didn't think that bridge was burned, like, Jermaine Pratt would be at this point in the off season,

Starting point is 00:23:20 like not too far removed from some of the better options as far as linebackers available in May. Yeah. No, you're right. It's, uh, there's just not much there, man. And you just look, you try to find like what,

Starting point is 00:23:39 what stands out to me, it's the Bobby's and it's a guy like Shaq Thompson. And then there's a major gap. in like shack wasn't a full-time player he's a part-time player last year but you could sell me on his coverage ability you could sell me on his ability to read react still make plays he tackled jemar chase in the open field in that bengal's game against the bills in December so like he's dealt with injuries throughout his career former first rounder not what he once was can he help can he raise the floor of that room and that's kind of my barometer here like my bar

Starting point is 00:24:16 my gauge is like find a guy that can help raise the floor to where if your guys stink for whatever reason. Orrin Berks, Demetrius Knight, Barrett Carter. If one of those guys doesn't live up to what you're in an ideal world hoping for, you have another option to turn to. And that's it. And I think who that is, it's probably one of the Bobby's are Thompson. And after that, like Matt Milano's there, but I think there's a clear gap.

Starting point is 00:24:44 and for me just to give you like an idea of what it would be like like i think it's like find the kyle dougar of the linebacker room find the jordan like he's jordan battle insurance he's the the guy that hey if it doesn't work with jordan for whatever reason if it's not well then dougar can come in if there's an injury dougar can come in i need that in linebacker and i'm not sure they have that on the roster and it doesn't feel like they do and so can one of these guys be that minimum and maybe come in and make an impact. I think one of them can. Shaq Thompson probably number one on my list,

Starting point is 00:25:19 given that he signed June 10th last year, signed a $1.2 million deal with Buffalo. You mentioned the cap and everything like that. That's going to come into play with a guy like Bobby Wagner. It just is whether or not we like it, fine. So I think my most realistic fit and probably the best fit may be Shaq Thompson because of all of those things.

Starting point is 00:25:38 He will view it as a chance to compete for a ring. to come here. It's not going to cost a lot. And when he is on the field, I think he does give you a lot of what you need. Yeah, I agree with that. Bobby Wagner still could make sense in some worlds if you're asking him to do a very specific role. When you talk about the Kyle Dugger comparison, like Dugger brings some versatility that these guys don't, Dugger could also be part of this linebacker conversation for this team. Realistically, I think that probably as of today is part of their plan at that spot.

Starting point is 00:26:12 well that's why you don't need a Matt Milano if you have Kyle Dugger I'm sure that's what they would say like their similar side like whether or not you agree with it but that's probably what they're thinking well and they might get to camp like they did last year and see a week of what they got and be like ah we need Dalton riser and then make that move at linebacker yeah but they should see it now and by the way we saw guard then oh yeah I mean we talked about it for it was a lot like this like well we're talking about guard again guys Yep. And then eventually they signed Dalton Riser and eventually Dalton Riser became a fan favorite and ran the flying pig and set a PB. Congrats to Dalton Riser. Ted Karras also in that race, I think.

Starting point is 00:26:55 Sub 27 for Dalton. How about that? Pretty good. 2650 something. That is good. Could you do that? No. I don't run.

Starting point is 00:27:07 That reaction was wrong. I will be lucky to, to finish that race. I'd be lucky to finish that race. I don't. You'd be Ted. You'd be 31. I will be walking for a lot of that race.

Starting point is 00:27:21 I don't have cardio. Cardio is not. I don't have cardio as a wild. I don't have cardio. The only other thing I want to bring up again here is I went and I looked at minebackers from year one to year two. And I looked at guys who played a significant amount of snaps like 500, 400, 450 snaps plus. in year one and in year two. So I was looking for on PFF, like the average improvement or lack thereof,

Starting point is 00:27:50 to see what I can find. And this is a sample size of, looks like about 14 players, sorry, 12 players, because Demetri St. Barrett Carter haven't played their second year yet. But of those 12 players, the average improvement in PFF grade from year one to year two was from a 55 to a 67, from a solidly below average to solid. the average. And this includes guys like Jack Campbell who had a 52 grade as a rookie for PFF. And then in his second year was immediately one of the best linebackers in the NFL, jumped all the way up to a 78. But the more comparable guys, Demetriusite was a 40,

Starting point is 00:28:26 Barrett Carter was a 39 and a half from PFF last year. Christian Harris, who hasn't had a long and outstanding career or anything like that, but he was a 28 PFF grade as a rookie on 711 snaps. And that's like 80 less than Demetrius and Barrett Carter played. And it's a lot. And second year Christian Harris went all the way up to a 65 grade from PFF from a 28. Michael McFadden same year, 435 snaps as a rookie, 736 snaps as a second year player, went from a 38.7 to a 65.6. Devin Lloyd as a rookie was a 48, went up to a 78 in year two. So, Jameen Davis, we talked about him a little bit early, went from a 47 to a 63. There is precedent for guys that have pretty bad rookie seasons as lineback.

Starting point is 00:29:12 to take a significant step toward average in their second year. And I'm not saying that that's what you should expect for Barrett Carter and Demetriusite, but it's also something that wouldn't be unprecedented for guys that struggled in their rookie year. Henry Tuo, I'm not sure if I'm saying his name right, was another one, 45 to a 62. Like if those guys can get to a 60 or whatever for PFF, suggests they're playing roughly average level play. They're probably missing a lot less tackles. they're probably making a few more plays.

Starting point is 00:29:44 That would be great. And that's part of what you're hoping happens. And we didn't want the Bengals to be like entirely relying on that. And that's why we're still having the conversation. We're talking about the veterans and the floor raisers out there. But when we do talk about it, I feel like it's important to point out that like it is possible that they do get a little bit better. It's also possible that they stay roughly the same. There's some examples of that too.

Starting point is 00:30:08 Trevin Wallace, 56 to a 56. Quay Walker 52 to a 58. So like it's not like it's always better, but there's a chance that these guys take steps. The game slows down. They've seen a lot more NFL football at this point. And so like it's reasonable to think that, yeah, they could get better and closer to average in their second year. Yeah. And if they can be close to average, especially with what's around them, all right.

Starting point is 00:30:35 Like, let's roll. Let's see how it goes. Like you should be in pretty good shape. How many times have people said. defensively just get to average. Well, if the linebackers are the worst position group on the team and they're close to average, well, you take that. The problem is they've rolled the dice here in a big way

Starting point is 00:30:52 and you don't know if it's average. The other problem is they had everything to, they had everything to fix on defense. So when you have everything to fix in one off season, it's really hard to fix everything, exactly how you want it in an ideal world. And that goes back to it. They were in on linebacker.

Starting point is 00:31:09 Obviously, other stuff came up. I feel really good about their defensive front. Brian Cook, feel good about him. There's a world where they have Caleb Downs and not Dexter Lawrence. Well, now, how do you feel about this defense? Do you feel as good about it? I don't necessarily feel as good about it, not in year one. And yet, they might have the best safety doing the league in that scenario in a year or two.

Starting point is 00:31:30 So there are different ways to look at it. Ultimately, I hope they get a floor razor in there. And they find someone that isn't the Dalton Riser move. which is eight days before the season, eight, nine days before the season when they sign him. And we're talking about a next four weeks type of signing. And maybe it is Shaq Thompson that just raises the floor, gives you a decent chance to be okay at linebacker.

Starting point is 00:31:57 And I think there's that out there. There's nothing beyond that. There's no game changers. There's no guys that are going to put any kind of fear into opposing offenses. But they do, some of these guys would help you get back to average are closer to it. And that's what I want. And Bobby Wagner is on my list, by the way.

Starting point is 00:32:13 I just, I wonder about what he's going to ask for, what he's going to want, and if the Bengals would be in. But overall, like right now, do I want Bobby Wagner? Of course I do. I know you're a little lower on him. I get it. I get he's 36 going to his age 36 season. I'm still in on Bobby Wagner, especially with the current state of this room.

Starting point is 00:32:32 Yeah, I wonder if they would be too, especially if there is like a financial implication there. The other thing is like, maybe they can swing a trade. They might have a surplus. at defensive tackle maybe we'll see how that plays out and and then maybe it's for jordan brooks i mean but if you're miami do you do that well you maybe have to sweeten it a little bit but the overall gist of this is yeah they didn't get it done at lineback or at least not yet and the options are not elite obviously we're we're in may we're after the draft you shouldn't expect them to be but

Starting point is 00:33:10 there's still some guys that could help raise a floor and maybe it's not the end of the world that's a big part of this too because when we revisit this entire offseason which previously did not get glowing grades from us based on what they did in free agency and we consider the Dexter Lawrence edition and what they did in the draft as well a Dexter Lawrence edition really changes the way we perceive this defense and their potential for this year Chris Jenkins and Josh Newton for Jordan Brooks. Yeah, I think you're going to need a draft pick instead of a Josh Newton, but sign me up. Chris Jenkins.

Starting point is 00:33:50 Oh, see, now this gets interesting. Chris Jenkins and Cedric Johnson for Jordan Brooks. Does that get interesting? Wow. Okay. You're just doing it. I mean, I like Cedric. I do too, but like, does that get interesting to Miami?

Starting point is 00:34:03 Like, we like Sedric Johnson for what he is, but like, does Miami know who Sederk Johnson is? Barrett Carter for Jordan Brooks, straight up. All right. We're going to wrap up there for this episode of the lockdown Bengals podcast. Until next time, thanks for listening. Hoor Day and have a good one. James comes up with trade ideas on today's show. Tomorrow's show.

Starting point is 00:34:28 Any show.

Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals Offseason MYTHBUSTING: Why They Didn't Add At Linebacker

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