Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - BENGALS SQUAD SHOW: SOARING CONFIDENCE in Dan Pitcher, Ja'Marr Chase BOLD prediction

Episode Date: July 1, 2026

When the Bengals needed to change offensive coordinators in the Winter of 2024, they went in-house and promoted Dan Pitcher. The move has paid massive dividends, and Pitcher is poised to coordinate the best Bengals' offense of the Joe Burrow era this season.   Alex Frank, Joe Goodberry, and Coach Art Valero discuss Pitcher's surge to being a really good offensive coordinator and why there should be a lot of confidence in him going into the 2026 Season.   Ja'Marr Chase is in the midst of a legendary two-year stretch and still in the early stages of a Hall of Fame career. Kay Adams of FanDuel TV and an NFL wide receiver legend has a bold and ambitious prediction for Chase in 2026, and it's doable.   Joe Burrow has drawn comparisons to legendary quarterbacks through his first six seasons. The guys discuss which legendary quarterbacks Joe Burrow reminds them of.   The Bengals may not be done adding to their roster this offseason. If it comes down to adding a veteran linebacker or wide receiver, which should the Bengals go after?   Photo Credit: USA Today Network   Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! Where you'll get updates directly to your phone and be able to text the hosts, check it out at: https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengals   Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everyday...   Find and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:   Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0l...   Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0...   Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-...     Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!   FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. From the opening whistle to the final kick, Let There Be Goals on FanDuel. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started now.   Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast.   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.

When it comes to the Bengals coaching staff entering 2026, Zach Taylor is squarely on the hot seat. Al Golden might be on the hot seat, but the only seats Dan Pitcher may be sitting in come January are those he would be sitting in when he interviews for head coaching jobs. And Jamar Chase could take his game to another level. Could he break Calvin Johnson's single season receiving record? He could.

He may have to have 2,000 yards to do it. We'll talk about that. And coach, Joe Burrow. legendary quarterback comparisons. Got to love that. Oh, I tell you what. You know what? Every quarterback is unique.

And that's going to be an interesting conversation. Yes, it is. Plus, the Bengals may not be done adding this offseason. I'll tell you which position they should address in the coming two months. Today, it's the Bengals squad. Everything Cincinnati Bengals every week. Breaking down all the big hits and game-changing plays from the Queen City. the way only the lockdown podcast network can.

From the jungle to the playoffs, the Bengals Squad Show starts now. Well, we've entered a new month. It's Wednesday, July 1st, 2026. Welcome to the Bengals Squad Show, live on lockdown Bengals and the lockdown podcast network, celebrating 10 years of being your team every day and the number one sports podcast network in America and the world.

With Joe Goodberry and Kojard-Ballero. I'm Alex Frank. This is the Bengals Squad show, the twice a week, law and form conversational supplement to the daily lockdown Bengals podcast hosted by Joe Goodberry and Jake Lisco. We are presented today by FanDuel, the biggest stage in world soccer is here, the World Cup. Let there be goals on Fandual.

Visit Fanduel.com to get started now. The United States and Bosnia, Herzegovina, tonight, 8 o'clock in San Francisco on Fox. We'll get to that towards the very end of the show. We got Bengals to talk about today because Dan Pitcher going into his third season as the Bengals offensive coordinator. This was an in-house promotion in the winter of 2024. I don't know about you guys, but I'm feeling very confident about him going into his third season as the Bengals offensive coordinator. How do you guys feel? I'm a big fan of Dan pitcher. Number one, I think he looks at the game in a very analytical way. He's very aware of how the game has evolved, where it's going,

where it's heading. In previous years, it's been, you know, we're going to be a passing team. We understand we are successes through the air. And then now you hear this year a little bit of, well, the last piece of the puzzle may be getting under center, doing more of that running more play action, creating explosives from it. I think he says all the right things. And based on the interviews around the league, it sounds like the league is high on Dan pitcher as well.

You know what? I'm excited for him that it's his third season as the, but the offensive coordinator, but it seems like the Bengals do a lot of that. You are the GM, but you're not titled that. All right, you're titled that, but you're not the offensive coordinator. This is still Zach Taylor's offense. And when he turns over that play calling duty, not just during the preseason, but actually during the season, now he can take total ownership in it.

And now you can really see what Dan Pitcher's all about. Well, Dan Pitcher does have a lot to do with this offense in the week leading up to the games. And even during the games, it's just ultimate. the Zach Taylor is the one calling plays. I see your point there, coach. The Bengals offense the last two years. They were top 10 in both points and yards in 2024. They were 12th and scoring last year, 17th in yards in 2025. But the main reason why I'm so confident in Dan pitcher is because you look at what the Bengals did last year with three different starting quarterbacks. They scored 30 plus points in three straight games without Joe Borough with

Joe Flacco starting. That was after an in-season trait, something they don't normally do, the Bengals prior to last year they didn't. And then also, if you really want to throw this in there, they did score 24 points against the Lions in week five with Jake Browning. So those suggest, those two elements suggest that Dan Pitcher is well on his way as an offensive coordinator. And maybe next year or in the very near future after that as a play caller elsewhere or as a head coach. But coach, to your point, you may want to keep him in the building. Oh, there's no question. You know what?

I think Dan Pitcher has, he has shown that he's earned that right to be able to move up and move up, excuse me, to where it promotes himself as the kind of coordinator that other people are looking. Having come from a system like that, that there are people with titles, but yet the head coach is still calling plays, none of those guys, ever move on to be head coaches or offensive coordinators and other systems. So, but you know what, and I mentioned it quite a ways back we were talking about the Zach Taylor hot seat. You know, I think that Dan Pitcher is an example because, you know, I think Zach Taylor is one of his biggest attributes right now is his familiarity with Joe Burrell. Well, if you're going to get rid of Zach Taylor, Nobody better, because Joe Burrow doesn't want to change systems year nine, you know, is Dan Pritcher.

Offense stays the same, just in a different play caller. Yeah, I think if that, if that's what ended up happening at the end of the year, let's say we have a disappointing season. I honestly don't even like to even talk about the Taylor situation as of even getting to that point because I believe in Burroughs healthy. This roster is good enough that they're going to make plus. I think we're closer to talking about an extension for Zach Taylor because if this team makes the playoffs, if they win a game in the playoffs, which why wouldn't they? They have a good record under Taylor and Burrow in that situation. They're typically at their best come December and January.

Put them in that situation again. I think we're closer to talking about an extension. So for me, I don't even look at that yet for the hot seat of Taylor. Things would have to go bad. And if it does, we're talking about a clean slate where I don't even think Dan pitcher survives that, right? So it would probably be a wipe out of the almost entirety of the coaching set. Darren Simmons finds a way to continue to survive at a special team. It's been a good special team's coordinator, but he's been there forever is my point.

I think largely what we're going to see, what I expect is this team to make the playoffs, have success late in the season if Burroughs healthy. And then pitcher now has his option. But you're right. It does hurt these guys when they are not the play caller or the assistant GM that's really not the GM or the scout that's really not doing the scouting, whatever it is in these positions. If you're not actually the play caller for the offense coordinator, that does hurt you in other team's eyes.

But Dan did get interviews this offseason for other teams of Tampa Bay Bucks being one of them in an effort to give him play calling duties and elevate him. And the Bengals did give him that option that, hey, if you get that job to call plays, you're free to do it. That's great. I mean, I think it is all, I mean, the reason I mentioned it is, is you can see it around a league. who Tampa Bay eventually end up hiring a play caller from Atlanta, who they played twice a year, without the dynamics of the offense. And I think that that's very important for growth out of every position coach and coordinator is allow them to do it. And I know that they signed, they signed Zach Taylor because he was an offensive coach. And that's what they wanted when they knew that they knew prior.

I guarantee you they knew prior to hiring Zach Taylor that they were going to draft Joe Burrell. Everybody has a plan. And if you don't, then you end up three seasons of not winning very many games. Well, that's what happened on the defensive side of the ball as we look at the Bengals the last three years, having not made the playoffs. But I think offensively, and this was a point that Charlie Goldsmith wrote on Fox 19 because of how bad the defense was. and all the drama that surrounded at last offseason and eventually during the season, we kind of really didn't get to praise the offense the way we should have. Because, I mean, Joe Danneman said a coach on our show two weeks ago,

that the Bengals were robbed of one of the great stories in the NFL last year, but Joe Flacco came in and in-season trade. And the Bengals were putting up 30 plus points consistently. Like they were just, you know, the train just kept rolling. So you go to what Dan Pitcher has done with this offense. For me, success looks like this. if Dan pitcher's getting head coach in interviews, and yes, he got one with Tampa Bay last offseason, but if he's getting head coach interviews from organizations like Tampa Bay,

or maybe Philadelphia, if they decide to move off Nick Siriani, or San Francisco, if they move off of Kyle Shanahan, or if there's other, elsewhere where they change offensive coordinators. Seattle could change offensive coordinators this upcoming offseason if it doesn't work out with who they hired to replace Clint Kubiak. If Dan Pitcher is interviewing for positions like that, while also the Bengals are in the midst of the football, playoff and Super Bowl run, that's really good.

That's really good for Dan Pitcher. It's really good for Zach Taylor. It's really good for the Bengals because that will show that the Bengals offense lived up to the expectations that we're stowing upon them going into the season. Oh, without doubt. You know, but you see it all around the league. Guys that have, you know, they make the wrong choice as the coordinator. Guys that don't have that ability to go ahead and have called plays and have

shown it. That's a part of your resume, not the title, but part of your resume is this is a show me game. And that's what a lot of people, football people, want to see. I'll add too. I think 2023 did a lot for Dan pitcher as well. That's the year Burrow went down with wrist injury. You know, after having a calf injury also in camp, they had to really scrap a lot of the playbook and try and survive with Burrow on one leg for about, you know, five weeks or so. And then week eight or week nine, whatever it was, Burrow had the wrist injury. Browning had, I mean, he played better than anybody expected, right? He had some really big games in this offense. They had to tailor the offense to him on the fly. Anytime you have an injury like

that at quarterback, you're going to have to make some adjustments. So them doing so quickly and then doing it again in 2025 with Browning and then with Flacko, they had the same success with Browning this time, but with Flacko doing things a little bit differently than you would do with Joe Burrow. I think that goes a long way for Dan Pitcher's candidacy to get a head coaching job because it's QB focused, right? Every owner wants to get the best out of whatever QB they're going to end up with coach who brought up, like these teams that are going to be firing their head coach and looking for that next guy, probably drafting a young quarterback or have recently, and they want to maximize that guy. They want the best out of them, and they can see a guy that has had success with a number of QVs.

I know you like Dave. Go ahead, coach. Absolutely. I mean, everybody's got a contingency plan just Steph. I mean, you don't want to think about it, but you would better have a contingency plan in the works. You know what? You can see teams that like Atlanta when they went to the Super Bowl, Kyle Shanahan gets a head coaching job. They don't know who to hire as the offensive coordinator, but yet they let the guy in that's now the head, or excuse me, head coach. Coach in Green Bay let him leave.

Mike McDaniel, leave. They let them leave the building, and they have no backup, and they bring in Sark. And three years later, Dan Fling's gone. Well, I mean, the Falcons did make the playoffs that year, but Coach, you and Joe, I'm sure you would agree with those two on this. That Falcons offense wasn't like the one they went to the Super Bowl with. It was so disjointed.

It just wasn't as cohesive. And then, coach, they haven't made the playoffs in the preemptive. in the previous eight seasons. I mean, they're still reeling. So maybe it's not just that they blew a 283 lead. They haven't found Kyle Shanahan's replacement. They let him out of the building. And they had guys in the building that contributed a lot to that offense.

As a matter of fact, one went to the Rams and helped them win one. And the other one ends up going to San Francisco with Kyle and ends up getting his own head job. Yeah. And now he's with Jim Parball. in Los Angeles. Joe, I know you like data. I got some data for you on Dan Pitcher that really stood out to me. So you mentioned 23 with Jake Browning and the backup after Joe Burrow injured his wrist.

Go back to week one and 24. And I know the game we don't want to talk about. They lost the Patriots. Dan Orlovsky on ESPN's get up that Monday morning said, quote, the scheme is dead. Referring to the Bengals offensive scheme. All right. Well, maybe you could have believed.

at the time, but only three more times that season did the Bengals not score 20 points? Only twice did they not gain 300 yards? And on one of those games, they won. That was against Cleveland in week seven. I think they had like 223. They had six games with over 400 yards of offense. And then this past season, look at what they did on the ground. Nine times rushing for over 100 yards all in the last 11 games with a backup quarterback

and then essentially being out of the playoff race. I mean, not to mention the two times they didn't rush for 100 yards, it was against the Bears, they scored 42 points, and against the bills where they scored 34. I mean, these are really, really big feathers. We're putting a Dan pitcher's cap here as an offensive coordinator. You know, I like Dan Rolovsky, but this is something that happens all the time where the first couple weeks, the Bengals struggle, right?

And I've got my theories on it. if you watch the offenses that always come out hot, you bring up Mike McDaniel, actually, those offenses were always hot in September, and then they're crashing by December. Why is that? Because it's all smoking mirrors, it's all tricks, it's all misdirection and play action

and trying to manufacture everything. You can't do that for long. The Bengals should probably get a little bit more of that in September. It may help them because defenses start off slower and usually catch up as the season goes. The Bengals, every year in September, we hear this. From every analyst that studies the game, And they go, oh, they're stagnant.

They don't have enough motion. They're not doing this. They're not doing that. It's an archaic offense at this point. It's just drop back and let Joe Burrough save us. And then what happens every single year when it comes playoff time or when it gets to December and you know what every single team needs and you're going to be faced this every single time.

Your quarterback has to drop back at some point, read the defense and make the right throw in a clutch situation. And I don't, there's no play action there. There's no motion that's going to save you there. There's no high, low read that's going to save you. There's no misdirection that's going to save you. It's your quarterback and his weapons making plays and clutch situations. And the Bengals do that.

And they do it as good, if not better than anyone in the league. And maybe that's a discredit to the offense coordinator because we're just saying it's on the players. But, hey, sometimes it's not X's and O's, and it's the Jimis and the Joe's making the plays. So when I hear that stuff, I roll my eyes because tell me again in January. That's why I want to get there so bad. Tell me in January what you want. Well, you know what? And with guys like that,

No one holds them accountable. And for their comments earlier, and they need to be held accountable. Hey, if you buy it, if that's what you really believe, tell me why. Tell me why. You don't get a 30-second segment and say, oh, the scheme is dead. It's like sitting in the stands and saying they run the same play over and over and over and over and over. They don't. Believe me, they don't.

it's so much more to it than what looks the same. You know? Hey, if you want to say it's stale and you got Jamar Chase and you got Tee Higgins and you got Joe Burrell, it's not the same. So you got to hold those guys accountable. It's like, oh, it drives a coach crazy when all of a sudden you're walking by because you never listen to them. And all of a sudden you'll hear it and say, what did that guy's just say? I don't think so. And then you just keep walking by.

But Dan pitcher, too, I think going back to the stat that they rushed for 100 plus yards nine times last year in their last 11 games. The Bengals have the threat of a running game. And you look at the other big quarterbacks in the AFC. I was watching a lot of Patriots film this week, Joe. And the one thing I know, the one thing that instantly stood out to me was look at how much they believe already in Trayvion, Henderson, who was a rookie last year. and he's poised to have a potentially huge second season with the Patriots. So the Patriots have a running game. The Bills have a running game with James Cook.

We know the Ravens do with Derek Henry. The Chargers want to run the football. So now the Bengals with their big armed quarterback and Joe Borough, they have the threat of a running game. Look out for this offense. Because as Dan Pitcher said earlier this off season, quote, the analogy I use is the train is moving and it's moving quickly, end quote. Yeah, that's right.

You don't stop the bagels offense. You won't. No doubt about it. The big thing there is those offenses, right? The Patriots, they don't have a T. Higgins or Jermar Chase, right? So let's just start with the T. Higgins. The Patriots don't have a T. Higgins. But they got Hattie Brown.

They do. The bills don't have a T. Higgins. And they trade it for them. Right. Everyone here is making moves at receivers. The Ravens, they don't have a T. Higgins. None of these teams have a Jamar Chase, right? Nobody does, right?

Jamar's one of one really in the sleep. Justin Jefferson. Those two are top two. Point being is still defenses are going to choose to stop those guys over of Chase Brown in this rushing attack. The Bengals should be able to run it. Why? Because defenses are letting them run it.

So you better average five yards per carry when we've got light boxes all day long. And again, that's not a knock on this team. You should be able to run it. And they were able to last year. That's going to win them more games early in the year, I think, than it would in previous years because previous years, they were so dependent. They were dropping back 40 times to start a season. It's like, you know, maybe we've got to get in the flow, getting the rhythm a little bit

on offense here. I think the run game is a good way to do that. Absolutely. You know what? I think when you get down to that is like, okay, they had put or the Patriots because they had a young quarterback that was really, they weren't quite sure of yet. They developed a run game and that took a lot of pressure off of him because the pass for us wasn't as crazy. You're looking at when Joe Flackle came in. It was almost as if, you know what? Hey, we want to protect him. So let's develop the run game a little bit more. and now all of a sudden you had a running game.

So now what do you do when you got your star back there? Do you let him just fling it or do you say, hey, let's treat this offense like it was when Joe Flacko was in there and established the run, the play action, and now the things that Joe Burrow can do because we're throwing it when we want to, not when we have to. And I think that that's very big. You know what else too, though, on that. is Joe Burrow has to take a part in that as well because he has so much freedom at the line.

And I think he gets to the line sometimes and they will often, if you listen to the mic up stuff, Zach's giving him two plays in the huddle, right? So he gets up to the line and he's going to say, okay, we got an extra guy in the box here. We're going to throw it. If the safety's dropping back and they're only at six in the box, we can run it. But there are times these defenses like to toy with Burrow and show him one thing and then they're going to bail out right at that snap. And he ends up throwing and there's eight guys in coverage.

And it's like, yeah, we probably should have run it here in this. situation. It's going to come up to him. He's got a lot of freedom at that line. I see fans all the time on Sundays. Why didn't they run it more? And I go back, there was eight plays, Burrow checked out of he's killing it or canning it at the line of scrimmage. And I'm like, yeah, I don't know that. You know, I'm not saying he's wrong for doing that. I'm just saying there was eight more potential runs called in this game that who knows what would have happened. Yeah, optimal looks. That's all you want. Yeah. And you know what you have, you know what you have in Chase Brown. And the Bengals had a running game.

or at least some semblance of it when Joe Burrow came into the NFL in 2020, that Joe Mixon had a very good 21 season. This is as good as I feel about the running game with the Bengals since going into the 2022 season with Joe Mixen. Joe Mixen still had a decent 20, 22 season and 23. But for me, you look at all the quarterbacks that we've watched throughout NFL history, particularly the 21st century, Peyton Manning when he first came in. Peyton Manning had Edger and James coach. I'm sure you remember going up against those guys.

Peyton Manning, and I mentioned him because Joe Barrow, he had that freedom Joe that you mentioned the line of scrimmage. Peyton Manning had that as well. He also had a semblance of a running game with Edron James. Joe Montana had Roger Craig. Tom Brady had Corey Dillon for a few years. So if you have the ability to run the football coach, as you mentioned, you're not going to throw when you have to or when you need to. You're going to throw it because you can. Absolutely. I mean, you want to throw it when you want to. You want, as a offensive coach, you want optimal looks, right? If there's too many, too many guys in the box, hey, six in the box, run it.

Seven on the box, throw it. Because it tells you what the coverages possibly. And you know where your matchups are. And that's what this game is. It's about matchups. And you got two great guys outside to have to match up, too. Listen, Dan Pager is going to have just as much to do with the success of this year's team as Joe Burrow and Zach Taylor. He's certainly been that way for the last two seasons because he's proven that he can evolve an offensive scheme with a veteran quarterback like Joe Burrow, a great veteran quarterback at that as an in-house promotion working in the same system.

And yet he still brought out different parts of this offense over the last two years. That's going to make him very marketable this upcoming off season if the Bengals are successful this year, if they're in the playoffs and the playoffs. That does land Dan Pitcher some interviews with some quality teams in the NFL. And then if that happens, in two weeks we'll talk about a name that absolutely should not leave the building that I believe should be the next Bengals offense coordinator. But that's a topic for two weeks from now because coming up, one beneficiary of Dan Pitcher over the last two seasons has been, as we mentioned, Jemar Chase. And the best wide receiver in the NFL now has one national analyst who's not shy about expressing her soft spot for the Bengals, plus a wide receiver legend comparing Jamar Shea's to a Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver and all time great. We're brought to you today by Fan duel, this episode of the Bengals Squad Show.

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Squash show, the twice week long-in-form conversational supplement to the daily lockdown Bengals podcast that Joe hosts with Jake Liska. Coach, give me one word to describe Calvin Megatron Johnson. A beast. That might be two, but a beast. Yeah, to put it lightly. I mean, you're talking about a guy who was, according to Pro Football reference, 6, 5, 237. No wide receiver should be able to move the way he did.

But I bring up Calvin Johnson because Kay Adams, who hosts the Up and Adams show on Fan Dual TV, former host of Good Morning Football, she and legendary Rams wide receiver, Tori Hull, coach. I'm sure you remember going up against him a few times. I was on a team with Tori. Which team was that? St. Luce. How about that? Yeah. Tori was phenomenal. He was. Six straight seasons for Tori Hull, where he had over 1,300 plus yards receiving.

So they both believe that Jamar Chase can break Calvin Jassson's single season receiving yards record of 1964. Joe Goodberry, do you think Jamar Jays can break Calvin Joss in single season receiving yards record this season? I believe in Jemar Chase as a talent and a player and a receiver. I mean, they feed him the ball. They have found a way over the last couple of years since the Dan pitcher offense. Let's roll it into one here has become the offense coordinator, has gotten Jemar into the slot more often, which is where a lot of production happens, especially when you're trying to force feed your best player targets, right?

Having said that, we're talking about potentially 2,000 yards. 1967 is what Calvin Johnson had. That is the record. that is if you're going to beat that, you're averaging 115 yards per game, 117 gets to 2,000. Yeah. I've looked at this recently because I was like,

okay, is this possible? If you're getting a season like that, it's typically because there is no one else on that offense to give the ball to it. They are force feeding that number one. There's a clear one on that team. And then there is probably Nate Burleson, no offense to Nate, as a wide receiver two.

He really should be a wide receiver three on most teams, right? And he definitely would be in Cincinnati. Netty. Point being is some of these targets and some of the market share has to go to T. Higgins, has to go to Mike Gaseki, has to go to Chase Brown. That would be incredibly tough, but it would be an awesome feat if Jamar Chase was able to accumulate that many targets to even get close to 2,000 yards. Coach, what do you think?

Well, you know what? First of all, Calvin Johnson did it in 16 games. So you add one, right? So you get another one. But I tell you what, that's a lofty. lotting number and no one has come close but if there is somebody uh i would put my money on jemar chase i mean he hasn't because every time he catches the ball whether it's in traffic by itself short or long you can hear everybody just kind of gas like something big is about ready to happen

and i think that he if anybody uh can certainly do that because he has somebody, unlike Jefferson in Minnesota, who can get him the ball and get it to him the ball regularly and often. And I think that Jamar Chase, you know, if there's somebody, and I tell you what, for Tori to come out and say that, because, you know, Tori's been there, he had to split time with Isaac Bruce, and they both got their routes, they both got their balls, and had big yards. but like Joe was talking about, hey, and my son coached Calvin Johnson. And there was only one. And that was him in Detroit at that time.

But he had a quarterback who could get him the ball in Stafford. Well, you talk about the 2012 Detroit Lions. And Joe, that's a good point that you brought up there because the Detroit Lions that year, their second leading receiver was Brandon Pedigrew, a tight end. He had 567 receiving yards. Tony Schaeffler was third at 504, and then Joyick Bell, a running back at 485. Their next leading wide receiver in receiving yards was Titus Young. He only had 383.

Nate Barlinson, as you mentioned, he had 240. So this Bengals team is a little different, not a little different, a lot different in terms of their wide receiver depth because they have Jamar Chase and T. Higgins. Jamar Chase's career high in receiving yards, as we know, is from 2024 at 7.4. 17008. But in that season, he only had 97 yards through the first two games, 62 against the Patriots, and then 35 against the Chiefs. That means in his last 15 games, ready for this, he was averaging on pace to have 1,826 receiving yards over the last 15 games. And it brings to mind two questions. What if he hadn't held in a training camp? What if the Bengals had extended him before training camp even started? Who knows what he could have done that year?

Because the performances and the numbers he was putting up the last 15 games once he got fully acclimated were ridiculous. Yeah, and again, that's a slow start conversation for this offense, right, and for Joe Burrow. Burrough's coming off wrist injury in 2024 as well. So there was some concern going into that year. Like, how is it going to look? How good is it going to be? of course he had an MVP caliber season. But yeah, I think a lot of these numbers and a lot of these things that we talk about at the end of the year,

even though he won't triple crown that year and Burrell was could have been MVP, those first two games matter. And if you're not winning those games and if you're not high flying out of the gate in September, it could affect you and, you know, maybe not just getting into the postseason, but your personal accolades. That's good. That is, you know what, there's a lot to that. Calvin Johnson probably, and I don't know this, started out hot and just sustained it the entire time.

And I think that that matters. That does matter because every point, every yard, every touch, every, you know, matters. And you got to get your hands in it. You got to get the bowl in his hands and allow him to create after because he is such an instinctive route runner. Not only does he do it by the book, but when he needs to be instinctive in those 50-50 balls, shoot, he'll go and get them. Yeah, Calvin Johnson, for the record in 2012, I have the game box pulled up right here on football reference. So in 2012, when he had 1964 receiving there, it's far and away leading the NFL. Calvin Johnson had 111 in week one, he had 94 in week two.

he had only one, two, three, four, five games with less than 100 receiving errands. And he had a stretch of eight streams with 100 spanning from weeks from about early November through late December. So consistency and excellence. It absolutely matched when we're talking about getting into 2,000 receiving errands or even just in 1965. I'll put it to you guys. Google this on the spot. Coach, you were talking about Calvin Johnson having to just get off right from the gate. There have only been seven instances in NFL history.

This is according to staffmuse.com. Seven instances where a receiver has had over 200 yards in week one, most recently done by Tyree Kill in 2023 when he had 21 when the dolphins beat the chargers in week one. So that tells you how rare it is to get 200 receiving yards in week one and get going. But if the Bengals come out with the urgency that we're hearing Joe Burrow convey this offseason in week one, and Jamar goes for, let's say, a performance that's reminiscent of week one against Pittsburgh in 22, he's right where he needs to be. If you could just stay on pace, you know, you want to get somewhere around 100 yards a game

because at some point in time, you're going to have a blowout game. You're going to have a game where you blow out, not that you blow out anybody, but that you're going to have a game that is just off the charts that's going to put it out of it. But if you can stay consistently, consistently through it, then you got every great chance. And I think that's what Calvin Johnson did. He had some, you know, right around 1-11. Hey, that's a great day's work. 96 the next year, you're still at 100 yards a game.

As you start to get familiarized in the defense and find out how guys are going to try to play you, as opposed to the other guys on your team. I think that you can do that. Joe, what's a year? The one thing to remember here is we are talking about this season, 2026 and how the expectations, the pressure that's mounting, also the vibes. Everyone's feeling pretty good going into this year of what this team could accomplish.

What they, I think it's real more expectation, what they could, you know, achieve this year because they're good enough. We all recognize that championship is number one goal. But I want people to realize that also players have personal goals. And I think teams want those players to achieve those personal goals as well. So when you hear us talking about this, we're not losing sight of what the ultimate goal is. But these little things, they are things to strive for and motivation. Every player needs to find that motivation.

It could be I want to start my first game. I want to make the roster, whatever it is. It could be lower end or it could be, you know what? This year, I want to set the record for most receiving yards in a season. And for a guy like Jamar Chase is already at the top of. of the mountain. Those things are what push him and get him to the next level. It's not just winning the championships. Everyone wants to do that, of course. Jamar Chase in 2019 in LSU, and I bring this up because Joe Burrow has said that he feels

the same way about this year's Bengals team as did it about 2019 LSU. Jamar Chase in 2019 had 1780 receiving yards in 14 games. I don't remember the game he didn't play. I'd have to go back and look. But if you do that, if you do the math, I just did it on the spot. That's an average of 127.1 receiving yards per game. If you do that over 17 regular season games, that's 2161 receiving yards, which is astronomical in of itself. But we're talking about a guy who when he first broke into the NFL in 2021, he had 754

receiving yards through his first seven games, 201 at Baltimore in week seven. That's a pace for 1831 receiving yards. I mean, it's not impossible for Jamar Chase to do what we're talking about him potentially doing. You read the game capsules and the game notes each week on NFL communications, and you're seeing Jamar Chase being mentioned with names like Calvin Johnson, like Tori, like Randy Moss, like Larry Fitzgerald, and, dare I say it, Jerry Rice. I mean, he's had already almost at 7,000 yards through five seasons. I mean, we're talking about the best wide receiver in the NFL, bar none.

And now we're talking about him setting league records. He's good. He's very good. And, you know, if we could talk about, you know, his skill set and what makes Jamar. Because I was on Reddit this morning. I don't know if you guys ever visit Reddy. It can be a very wild place. I have.

But it can be good. But it was a question in the NFL Reddit. What separates Jamar Chase and Justin Jefferson, basically? What in their skill set they were looking for is the difference between the two? And most everyone was saying, Jefferson's a better Rup runner. And I would agree with that. But for Jamar's case, he is a rare blend of power and strength, especially that lower

body strike. His legs are extremely strong and speed, rare speed, that combo, or he can take a screen pass, smoke route, break a tackle, which he breaks a lot of tackles for a receiver. And he can go 60 yards off of that because it's the fastest guy in the field. And combine that with not just underneath stuff, but the deep stuff as well. the most accomplished deep threats in the league. Burroughs is a great deep ball thrower. They've had great connection.

I think that helps. But Jamar with his late hands, really, I think in one-on-one situations, when corners, even if they're on him and they're in the right position on a 45-yard go ball, they never get that advantage on him or get the ability to anticipate when that ball is dropping. You've got to think of it. If you've never been in a situation, a lot of times your back is to that ball. You don't know when it's coming.

You're waiting for that receiver's eyes to widen and his hands go out. and then you're trying to break it up and split his hands if you can. Jamar never gives you that opportunity. He looks calm and cool. You can see it on slow-mo HD 4K TVs. He's just going down the field and that the very last second sticks his hands out and grabs it. Very late hands, and he has mastered that it's one of his greatest strengths. And I think he's gotten much better as a Rup runner.

I would say Jefferson is better, but Jamar's gotten really good there as well. Hey, both are very, very, very good. great there are today's top of the line guys and even to be you got two tigers and they're battling against each other who the best one is yeah and it's crazy and you know what i but jemar chase has he continues i mean his greatest thing he's got going right now is his durability the kid unless it's self-induced, he does not miss a game. He does not miss a game. He did miss a game with a separated AC joined in 23. That was the only game he missed that year. That was the week 16 game at Pittsburgh. Joe, I'm sure you remember that game. He did miss four games in 2022 with a hairline fracture in his hip.

That's about really the only major injury he's had. He still came back and still looked like the Jamar Chase. We know, but coach, you're right. Over the last two years, unless he's been suspended, self-induced, he hasn't missed a game. He has not. He has not. He has not. He has not. not missed a game. And to your point, Joe, about what you were saying about Jemar Chase and his abilities on the catch and his abilities as a route runner, Richard Skinner said in his rookie season that he reminds him of Steve Smith. And when you mention the name, Steve Smith and coach, you went up against him twice a year. I mean, you're talking about one of the crappiest skilled wide receivers in the history of the NFL. Jamar Chase is that. The consistency is amazing to go to your point earlier. Three straight seasons at 100 plus receptions, two straight at 125 receptions or more. three seasons at 1,200 plus yards. His consistency is just remarkable. He's got four seasons at 85 receiving yards per game. That's almost an entire length of the football field.

And Joe Burrow, there's a reason. The point is, and Joe, I don't know if I really asked you this in all my years, viewing your work, leading into that 2021 draft, were you team Chase or were you team Sewell? So I had both guys as blue chip prospects. I thought both would become exactly what they have become. Having said that, I thought Sewell is harder to find at that age, size, athleticism profile.

I mean, for him to be a, he's going to end up being like a 10-time pro bowler, five-time all-pro tackle. I think that is harder to find in today's NFL. I think receivers and this next generation with all these seven-on-seven passing camps, receivers every year in the draft are coming out. I think it's very hard to find these linemen that look that clean at that level coming out of the draft. So I sided that way, but I believe both guys would be pretty much what they have been. And they have.

And it's been a great story for both teams. Coach, when the Bengals drafted Jamar Chase, knowing they needed a lot of help on their offensive line with a banged up Joe Burrow. Were you surprised when they drafted Jamar Chase? And then once you saw him, you were like, oh, now I get why they draft him because playmakers win games. You know what I was. but then as I started to look at it and I saw the familiarity that Joe Burrow had with him, I mean, they were both going to be great players and they both are great players. That was a case that you took from not necessarily the best player available,

not necessarily for need. You took who your quarterback worked with before and had great success. and then I think that solidified it for them, and they haven't looked back. They have not. No, they haven't. I mean, and not only that, they took Jamar Chase and now their offensive line is good. Yeah. I mean, it took five years, but still, I mean, they got the best of both worlds in that essence right now. So obviously, Joe Burrow has benefited mightily from having his college teammate in Jamar Chase with the Bengals and for the next few years in the foreseeable future with Chase getting extended last year.

Coming up, which legendary quarterbacks does Joe Burrow most remind you of? I'm going to give you a, keyword a 49ers quarterback. Coach, I'm going to go back to you again. Give me one word to describe Steve Young. Wow. One word. Patient. Okay.

That's an accurate word considering he sat behind one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. Yeah. I'm going to tell you why Joe Burrow reminds me of Steve Young. And not just because Steve Young is one of my favorite quarterbacks of all time. By the way, his autobiography called QB that he co-wrote with Peter King, excellent read it. I read it three years ago. Steve Young, when I think of Steve Young, I think a crafty and I think a gutsy. And I think that's who Joe Burrow is.

When you watch Joe Burrow run, he's not going to slide. He wants to get hit. He wants to get as much yards as he can. Same way with Steve Young. Go watch any NFL films montage of Steve Young running to football. And you can see he's looking for contact to absorb. contact. So the first quarterback that I think of that Joe Burrow reminds me of when it comes to great quarterbacks, Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Steve Young. I'll give you mine from when he was

coming out of LSU, okay? And I was writing for the athletic at the time. And I had to come up with comparables. And I took the, I did two comparables because I think Burrow is a blend of different styles. So number one, I'll explain the first one. I was with everyone else in terms of the spread offense, getting the ball out quick. I think a really good pocket. management accuracy, pinpoint accuracy, to be honest with you, advanced level accuracy, anticipation, a really good processing, pre-snap, post-nap. I thought he could, you can see his mind working at an extreme speed. That was the Tom Brady and him, right, in a lot of ways. Because Brady was doing this. He's getting the ball out in 2.2 seconds. He's just peppering,

middle of the field, hitting these slot receivers. And, you know, he just always knew he could turn checkdowns into eight-yard gains because of the timing and accuracy he would throw up to these running back. I think that's a very underrated thing, and Burrow does that as well. And then the other part was, and this was someone that people weren't thinking of as the other part. Burrough's mobility and playmaking was very similar to Tony Romo. And Romo was one of the best for that generation of creating off script, moving within the pocket, evading rushers, seeing things happen down the field as he bought time to get these balls into the second level, layering them behind linebackers and in front of safeties.

and Romo was a playmaker in every way. And an athlete could play basketball. We've seen him playing golf. You know, he's had a good successful post career. But the playmaking aspect that Brady didn't have, not to say it Burrough is better than Brady, obviously, but Burrow had that Tony Romo playmaker in him. How about that?

Tom Brady and Tony Romo. And by the way, both of them are now number one network color analysts. If you want to make that connection. So there's a post career. Yeah, we'll see Burrow in 15, years, right, doing the same? Only 15 to 20. Okay.

Hey, you know what mine was? No, this, I mean, you got to remember I'm an old dude. But I thought I, he reminds me a lot of Jim Kelly. Whoa. Nice. And I think that what Jim was capable of doing, very accurate, could move when he really, only when he decided he wanted to move. He wasn't a scrambler.

He wasn't a creator. He would sit in the pocket and pick you apart. And that was a lot scheme and a lot just his demeanor of how it is. Tough mentally and physically, extremely tough. And emotionally kept everything close to the vest. And I kind of see that similarity in Joe Burrell. And I think that Jim Kelly reminds me of, or Joe Burrow reminds me of what Jim Kelly was. I had an opportunity to work with the bills for about nine weeks back when Kagan was rolling.

They had just come off a number four of defeat in the Super Bowl. And boy, you would have thought he was as hungry then as ever. And he was exciting to be around. He also had that brief career in the USFL before he started in the NFL, played 11 seasons for the bills, Jim Kelly, over 35,000 passing yards, 237 touchdowns, let the NFL and touchdown passes with 33 back in 1991. The K-gun offense. That's a good point there, coach, because what I think of the bill's offense from back then, I think of Jim Kelly, Andre, Ree, James Lofton, Thurman Thomas. I mean, you want to talk about a running game. The bills definitely had that in space. Their offensive line was tremendous. Their defense was really good. Those teams had eight Hall of Famers. when you combine players, executives, and their owner, of course, Ralph Wilson. Oh, by the way, their head coach, Mark Levy, also a Hall of Famer.

Let's just leave out the O and four from Jim Kelly when it comes to Joe Burroughs. We obviously hope that he wins a Super Bowl for the Bengals. I mean, those are great names that you guys are bringing up there. Can I bring one more? Yeah. Well, you can bring up as many names as you want. Because you brought up Jim Kelly, and I thought, you know what? What about the comp for Jamar Chase?

And it jogged my memory a little bit. was Eric Molds. If you remember Eric Molds, it was just after the Kelly era, but Molds was an extremely rocked up dude that was fast. They had him on kick returns and part returns early in his career, but he could take a slant to the house. He was also a really good deep receiver. Great blend of both.

I tell you what, that year that I was with Buffalo, Eric Moles was a rookie coming in. And what a combination they had. And this was the latter part of Jim Kelly's years. And you know what? I mean, it was great. Eric Moles is a great player. Mississippi State. Oh, phenomenal. Eric Moll. I didn't realize Eric Moll. That's a good name you bringing up their show. I didn't realize Eric Molles played 12 seasons in the NFL and had he was five yards away from 10,000. Yeah. I didn't realize how great he was. Yeah, and that was with no real quarterback, you know, because that was after the Kelly era, they were trying to figure it out.

There was a little bit of the Rob Johnson, Doug Flutty era mixed in there, sprinkled in. J.P. Osmond? Yeah, a lot of losing for the bills. So they, you know, it wasn't a great team and a lot of people don't really know who he is at this point. Three-time pro bowler, Eric Maltz, out of Mississippi State. Wow, that's a great name. Joe, formerly of the Athletic, you may know this name I'm about to bring up here. Larry Holder, who used to cover the athletic sports for the athletic down in New Orleans. So prior to the 21 playoffs, I think he covered the science, Larry Holder, great writer. he wrote this article in 2021, well, it was January 22, after the bank was beat the chiefs to win the AFC North. And the opening sentence was this.

Joe Burrow is playing like Brett Farr, and Drew Brees right now. And basically what he was doing was that he was taking Joe Burrough's accuracy that reminded him of Drew Brees and his risk taking that reminded him of Brett Fav. And Joe Borough was both of those in one. when you mentioned Joe Burrow at that time in his second season, 26 starts into his career. And just over 13 months removed from a torn ACL. And the same sense as Brett Farve and Drew Brise, you know you have someone special at quarterback in Cincinnati. I would like to say, if there's anyone watching that isn't a Bengals fan and we sound insane right now, bringing up some of the names we are about Joe Burrow, like we're at, you know, off a rocker completely.

We understand it's blasphemous, excuse me, to bring up the news. names of Tom Brady and Brett Farr, and Steve Young and Jim Kelly, we understand it. That's how good we believe Joe Burrow is. That's why we're mentioning these names. And he's only got the toughness in the cool of Joe Montana. Just throw another name in there, coach. They are, I'm telling you what, every quarterback and every great quarterback, they all possess something that it combines them all. And I think Joe Burrow has, and that's the competitiveness. And with that, there are quarterbacks. in the league who can run a football team, take control, do what's necessary, a la

the Tony Ramos, and then there are throwers and guys that just, hey, no matter what, they're going to throw that ball. And to combine them both, and I think that that's that group that we've all talked about, their competitiveness separates them from all the other ones. And I think that's where Joe Burrow lies. You took it right out of my notes, Coach, because I said Burrow being a student of the game, that he is, son of a coach, that he has, that he is, rather, a student of the game. He has so many quarterbacks combined in his repertoire that make him who he is on the field.

I mean, I've seen the Brady comparisons. I've seen the man in comparisons. Mike Sandow last year in the athletic, Joe, you may remember this in his quarterback tier, so he does every year. He had Joe Burrow in that first tier unanimously tied with Mahomes for number one overall. and comparing him to a modern day Joe Montana. I mean, when you compare Joe Burrow to Joe Montana, and by the way, the two did a Guinness partnership in 2023,

that tells you how great Joe Barrow is. He's got to stay healthy. We know that. But if he does, we know what he can do. Speaking of which in that article back in 22, when Joe Byr was being compared to Brett Farb and Drew Brie, something stood out to me that's going to help us answer a question of would you rather do that next on the Bengals Squad show?

Training camp is four weeks from today. The first Bengals training camp practice be at the Kettering Health Practice Fields. Be on Paycourt Stadium Wednesday morning, July 29, Thursday, July 30th is day two. I'm hoping to be at both of those. And then, of course, we've got the Bengals squad show that Wednesday afternoon, right after the first training camp practice. So the Bengals have had a very good offseason. Don't look at what ESPN gave them in their grades.

They gave them a C, which I really would love to know who graded them a C. But they've had a really good offseason. But if they were to make another addition, which they could, they made some additions late offseason last year, would you rather, let me ask both of you this question, would you rather have a veteran linebacker or a veteran-wide receiver? Start with me then, I guess. I'm going to say a linebacker.

I would like to talk about the receiver spot, but I'm going to make the case for the linebacker. And I think it's, people may see that as obvious. So I'd like to hear your thoughts out when it comes back around if you're on the receiver part of it. But at linebacker, you have two young players in Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter as a starters. There isn't much depth.

Orrin Berks has been around the league. He has had his moments of spot starting and being a linebacker three type, linebacker four type. I don't feel great about the depth there if one of those two starters had to go down. And that's without even saying, like, these guys got to take a step forward in year two. And I expect they will. Linebacker is a very tough position from college the NFL. It's a much different game.

and they're asking them to do a lot of things that, frankly, they didn't have to do in college, number one, and number two, a lot of communication, a lot of relaying that and checks on the field that I just don't think they had much experience with. So that should all slow down. They should be able to get faster and quicker and process better in year two, and they'll be better. But having said that, like, there's still some guys out there, Bobby Wagner, who at least can come in as a run defender, has played a lot of Sam.

So when they get to these over and underfronts, if they want to kick a linebacker down onto the line of scrimmage. Wagner has done a lot of that. You really got to keep him in a phone booth, though. He doesn't move well laterally anymore. I don't think he's really good in coverage anymore, despite being extremely smart and experienced. I think he understands what he is, and he's waiting for the right hole to attack and shoot his gun when they want to run, and he has to play downhill. And that's what he's still good at.

I think that could help you. And there's other guys out there. I think Shaq Thompson could be a fine rotational player for you, maybe even a nickel guy. He spent last year with the bills. He's a former first round pick out of Washington. That is a really good athlete, former type safety hybrid box star defender in college. That ended up being a full-time linebacker in the NFL. He still got that speed with him.

And I think he could help you a little bit in coverage. Coach, where are you? Well, I think that I think Joe's correct. I mean, as I looked at it, they still got money. Who are you going to add? What I would look at is who's available, number one. How do they fit? okay and is it worth it the the Wagner I think he's done and I would go for somebody that was a veteran but that was younger

like Jack Thompson I think he's a great add to that but I would go I would lean towards the linebacker thing I there is no insurance policy at the second level and without it you didn't upgrade you did not use state status quo you lost a couple um and so that's where i would lean and now that that joe has redone his deal there is money out there they can go out there and hey i would say okay if you're going to add somebody ad linebacker trade a defensive tackle in there for him and get somebody that's actually playing now as opposed to at the end of his career i'm going wide receiver And I hear both of your points. I really do.

And coach your point about not having an insurance policy and linebacker, that's a big thing. But for me, they've done enough on defense around the linebackers that it gives me confidence in those two guys improving. And I don't think you want to give up on them right away. Because if you keep recycling on players, you're never going to know what you really have once you have all the tools and infrastructure around them.

It's the same. way a quarterback. I mean, we've seen teams be so desperate at quarterback, so desperate a head coach. The Bengals have never been a desperate organization. This offseason, they've gone all in. They traded for Dexter Lawrence, which was great. But when I go to wide receiver and gain a wide receiver three, the obvious reasoning is because there's enough visual evidence to suggest they need one. Andre Yosey Bosch, I'm sorry, it's not it. He could be this year, prove me wrong, but like right now, he's not it. So that means do you go out of? get a proven veteran. Do you go out and get like a D'Andre Hopkins? And then I thought about, okay,

what about Tyler Boyd, who obviously left in free agency in 23? Can you imagine Tyler Boyd in a Dan pitcher offense with Dan pitcher as the offensive coordinator being able to free up Jamar and T. Here's a stat that's really interesting to me. This was in 2021. T. Higgins and Jamar Chase ranked sixth and ninth and least separation created on average with a 2.3 yard rate. That was via NFL NextGen stats. That was in that article I talked about in the last segment. So Jamar and T are really great at creating separation. What if a wide receiver three comes in and helps them get more separation?

Like a Tyler Boyd. Tyler Boyd was here in the early stages of the borough offense. That was a Brian Callahan. Now you got damn pitcher. So what could that look like? Do you bring Tyler Boyd back for one more run at a ring with where he started? That's an intriguing scenario for me that I can get behind when it comes to a wide receiver three. And I think that need is great enough that it can overshadow the need for a veteran linebacker

because of what you've done on defense around them. Now, I'm going to say this as respectfully as I can, Alex. I think you're out of your mind. Okay, number one. So first, let's look at the neat at wide receiver. Because I think you're right. You're not wrong there. They aren't really reliant on that wide receiver three. I'll tell you what they do on film with that wide receiver three and why Hopkins and Boyd don't fit it anymore. That wide receiver three, Yoshi, he's still fast, vertical threat.

He is running clear out routes all day so we can function this offense and involve T. Higgins and Jemar Chase as much as possible. It's not fair to Andre, but hey, he's not the same level player that these guys are. If we want 180 targets going to Jamar, you want to hit that 2,000 yards? Well, I need guys to clear out sometimes and do it fast and get downfield and get that safety out of there. So I can run a backside dig with Jamar or T. Higgins and give my targets to my best players. So Hopkins doesn't fix that. Tyler Boyd doesn't fix that. It was 2019.

Maybe they'd fix that 2020, 2020, 2021. They can't run anymore at the same level. If we want separation, it's not those guys, right? We want to get these, we want Yoshi in there to run his clear-out routes. We would hope Charlie Jones can do something. Kobe Young was just drafted. There's a lot of young guys that, I think, fit what they want. They don't want to throw to wide receiver three.

Wide receiver three is really Mike Keseki. And really the number three guy in terms of targets in this offense is Chase Brown. So in the pecking order of things, if you're going, Jamar T, Chase Brown, Mike Keseke, you don't have any more targets left to give to Tyler Boyd, who's probably done now. We haven't seen them in a year or a Dandre Hopkins. That's a fair point. No, you know what? I think that, and I think we've hit it on previous shows, you know, you get somebody in the slot who's a little different than just the clearing out guy.

You know, you can find fast guys all the time. What you need is you need somebody, that West Welker type of guy that, that can do things underneath, that the other ones may not, they're quicker than fast to create. And I don't know if that person is out there for them to be able to. to do that. I think that, you know, when everybody talks about and the GM talked about it, hey, we help these guys out by how we built around them. Linebacker is this position all on its own. And offenses will find a way, because that's what they're paid for, to get them in situations where they cannot be helped. And it takes a veteran linebacker to understand. the nuances with how to play that.

And I think that, you know, I think that they are really, and on the other hand, they just drafted a white out. You know, give him an opportunity. Let him see what he's got. They didn't even touch that linebacker group. They didn't have, they lost, but they didn't add. So that's where my vote has always gone since we've been doing these pre-draft during the free agent period.

And especially after last year of watching them. And I was like, whoa, you know what? That's their need right there, you know. And they didn't touch the slot corner. They could probably still use an RB3 if Todd Brooks doesn't take a step. You know, if Brown or P-Rine go down, they are really weak at running back. And then I would also always, I think teams are always doing this, looking for that swing tackle if they can find one.

I don't really think there's one out there just by looking at the list. But those are things that you would always keep your eye on in case the guys released or something pops up. Yeah. Definitely some positions, not just lineback or potentially wide receiver three that could be addressed as we head into the final stages of the off season and get ready for training camp, which starts for the Bengals on July 29th. That is going to do it for us here on the Bengals squad show on this Wednesday, July 1st. hope everybody has a great 4th of July weekend, 4th of July celebration.

I want to end with two things before we go today. I just want to get Joe and coach your thoughts quickly because Monday morning, a good morning in America, former Tennessee Titans running back, Chris Johnson, revealed to Michael Strayhan that he has been diagnosed with ALS. And when I saw that, I was just devastated for him. We're talking about one of the great running backs, one of the great running back seasons authored in NFL history. This guy is 39 years old, and he is now living with this incredibly cruel disease.

Your thoughts when you heard the news. His thoughts are with Chris Johnson and his family, man. I mean, he's going to need a lot of help and support. And, yeah, it's a shame. It's a shame to see our, you know, because I'm a fan first, see these guys that look like gladiators out on the field to see them. You know, sometimes we don't see them for a while when they retire. And then 10 years later.

It's a shock to see someone in that situation. I feel terrible. Absolutely. Coach. Crushed. I was with Chris in Tennessee, and I know what kind of human being he is, what kind of person he is,

what kind of giving person he is, and I was crushed when I heard it to the point where I thought it was not right. And then after making some phone calls, and calling people. You know what? I said it. I said, hey, all my best to Chris, his family.

Hey, we're praying for him. And, hey, if he needs anything, shoot, give me a call. Yeah, absolutely. Our thoughts and prayers with him, his wife, Brittany, and his children. Let's add on a positive. The United States tonight against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Are you guys going to be watching the match? Do you have a score prediction you want to offer for the red, white, and blue tonight

out in San Francisco. Full disclosure, I haven't watched a minute yet of the World Cup. Yeah, you know, we've got three kids. I'm right in the middle of life in summertime. It is tough. I don't have cable TV during the offseason. I turn cable TV back on when the NFL season starts when preseason gets going again. Hey, coach.

Let's go. Let's go USA, baby. You know what, when this whole thing starts, you know what? There's nothing greater, nothing greater, whether it be the Olympics or the World Cup especially at home, when you're saying your country is represented and you wear all the, you wear the stripes and the stars because of all of us. And you know what? At the beginning, I wasn't quite sure because I'm not really a soccer fan. But then all of a sudden I saw all the Europeans flock to the United States. You have nothing but love for American.

It's people. And I'm going, that's who they're representing. And throw me. on the wagon. I'm all for springing the world together, honestly. It's a great point there, coach. I'll go to one United States tonight. The exact final score of the first match today, England beating Democratic Republic of the Congo, two to one down in Atlanta. Harry Kane with the game winning goal. Joe, coach, and I are back next Wednesday. We got a great show coming up for you. I'm going to tease it. So if I were to tell you that the Ravens are not the biggest roadblock in the Bengals path to the AFC North Tucker. I'm just going to say that.

Hint, hint to next week's show. Then the following week, a wide receiver focused show. That'll be an interesting show on July 15 next Wednesday, July 8th. Everybody, have a great 4th of July weekend. Thank you so much for listening for Joe Goodberry. I at Joe Goodberry on Twitter for Coach Arifallaro, 45-year coaching veteran, Super Bowl 37 champion with the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I'm Alex Frank and Frankie underscore Natty.

Have a great rest of your day. Have a great Fourth of July weekend in celebration. go USA and we'll talk to you next week right here at the Mangal Squad Show for our lockdown mangles and the lockdown podcast network, the number one sports podcast network in America and the world celebrating 10 years of being your team every day.