Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Cincinnati Bengals DRAFT GRADE: 2026 NFL Draft Recap & Report Card

Episode Date: April 28, 2026

The Cincinnati Bengals started the draft with a pure pass rushing edge defender unlike the guys they already had, and got great value on Day 3 of the NFL Draft. Jake Liscow and James Rapien take it all into account as they grade this year's Bengals draft class, from trading #10 for Dexter Lawrence, to drafting Cashius Howell in the 2nd round, and finishing with Landon Robinson in the 7th. It all comes together with an overall grade for an exciting draft class! Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! 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/everydayerclub Find and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajs Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAg Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengals Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. 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. Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnfl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men. 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.

Everyone loves to grade draft classes right after they happen. We're no better. We're going to grade what the Cincinnati Bengals did in the 2026 draft now. 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 Rapine. I'm Jake Glisco.

We've had you covered here on Lockdown Bengals going all the way back to 20s. Your best one-stop shop for all things. Bengals on the internet between James Rapine and myself. And, well, James, it's the day that we grade the Bengals draft class. We do this every year right after the draft. I actually just went back and I looked at our grades from last year's class to see where we were on things to see if we got anything glaringly wrong. If anything, I think last year we might have been too high on a number of picks.

But as we talk about this year's draft class, it's a little bit different. They didn't have a first round pick, and we've talked about it for the first time since the 1980s, the second time in franchise history. And part of this conversation is, does Dexter Lawrence get included in the draft grade or not? And when you look around the internet and you start to see last year, I remember the Bengals had the consensus worst graded draft class in the NFL, and that was part of our conversation. I don't think that'll be the case this year. I haven't seen the report card of report cards yet and the GPA kind of thing come out from the guy that, and I don't remember who it is, so I apologize.

But the guy who collects every single major draft grade on the internet and throws it into a sheet so you can see who's grading high, who's grading low. But I don't think they will take the Dexter Lawrence trade into account for the most part. And I think there's a separate grade when you have Dexter Lawrence accounted for, and when you don't account for Dexter Lawrence, when you look just of what the Bengals did with. their draft fix. We might have a couple grades here to talk about today, James. Yeah, and rightfully so, we should. It's the Dexter Lawrence trade for me. I don't see a scenario where you can say, all right, let's grade this draft and not include it, because it was such a big piece. And could they have had Caleb Downs, maybe? Could they have had Ruben Bain or Caleb Downs? Almost certainly they would have had one of those two guys.

So they traded that. They gave that path up for one of those guys to get Dexter Lawrence. And do I think that Dexter Lawrence in 2026 and probably 2027 and maybe even beyond that is going to be better than those two guys? I do. So that had a huge influence on me from a grading the overall draft standpoint with Dexter Lawrence. And we can go player by player if you want and then the final grade. but the Dexter Lawrence trade, obviously I'm a fan of it because I think we've talked about the gravity of different players. Jamar Chase has a gravity on a secondary.

I think Dexter Lawrence is going to have an orbit and this entire defense is going to rally around him, revolve around him in a big way, which is going to make the Bengals better. Technically, I think Dexter Lawrence does have the greatest gravitational force of any player of the Bengals. I think, unless Orlando or Amarius are. because of their height up there. But those three guys, because everybody has a little bit of gravity, just not enough for anybody to feel. But yeah, let's talk about the draft picks individually. And when we get to the overall grades,

which usually come at the end, maybe we start with it. Do you want to start with an overall grade this time, James, change it up? How about we do with the Dexter Lawrence trade, an overall grade, then go by players. And then if you just take out Dexter Lawrence at the end, what would it be rounds two through seven? How about we do it that way? Yeah, sure.

So if you include Dexter Lawrence for me, it's an A minus, not quite a full A, but very, very close. Like the closest I've been on splitting a minus to a regular grade, because I do it with math, right? I throw it into a formula and everything and all those things. I'm shocked. It's like just south of the full A for me. Yeah, I get it. Totally do. I get that just south of the full A, I had A minus as well, but the Dexter Lawrence trade itself is a big reason why it's in that A range. I'm not going to pretend that I was

standing on the table saying trade the 10th pick for Dexter Lawrence. But I'm such a believer in the deal. It's an A plus trade for what it does, what it can do, the juice it's brought and will bring on the field. I believe it will bring on the field. So A plus for that trade, A minus for the draft, and the Lawrence trade is a huge reason why it's reached that A level. Yeah, the effect that the Dexter Lawrence trade has had, and we talked about it yesterday,

on the perception of the team, which doesn't matter, but on the locker room, which does matter, and will have on the field, which also obviously matters, matters most out of all these things. I think it's impossible for me to see that any other way I think it's a fantastic trade for the Bengals. I think that we've talked about it a ton. The national perception of the trade doesn't really,

I mean, there's all this talk this week about understanding the context of teams' draft picks and the consensus board is garbage because it doesn't consider the culture and all that stuff. I mean, that applies to this trade for Dexter Lawrence and the Bengals as well, where critics from the outside are looking at it as, you know, an agnostic or context bereft pick of a trade of a tenth pick for a nose tackle and that's not what it is for the Bengals. It should be transformational for the way they can play defense. So I'm with you there. Let's get to Cassius Howe. The second round pick, the Bengals' most premium pick in this draft class, they go and get a

type of body and type of player at the edge position that they did not have on the football. football team, a speed rusher who goes to a ghost move and a spin move, as his go-to pass-rushing moves, has quick wins on tape, has that burst, that athleticism, that bend, and has been called by some the best pure pass-rrrrrisher in the class. I think that he has some competition in that category, but he's certainly up there, and that is juice. And we've talked about the Bengals need to add juice to the pass-rush for, I don't know, forever, it feels like. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, for sure.

What is that? Yeah, look, this is an A for me. And it's a, it's a pretty obvious why. The Bengals, especially if you're in every day, or you heard us talk about free agency. And one of the things I really wanted is another edge rusher, another piece that's going to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks going to make their lives hell.

That's what you want. That's the quickest way for a defense to become hard to prepare for, hard to play. Why do the Browns, why are they such a thorn in the Bengals side? Well, you know they're going to be able to get pressure. And if they can get pressure, then it allows their corners to cover. And it starts, though, with Miles Garrett in the pressure. And obviously, the Bengals don't have a Miles Garrett, but they can have the waves. They could build the waves that Al Golden described at the combine. And they put themselves in position to do this. My concern, Jake, was that they wouldn't was that they would feel compelled to go with C.J. Allen, who they had ahead of

Jacob Rodriguez on their board, or go with one of these cornerbacks because they felt like that was a major need. But now they have a position of strength, at least on paper. That's what Cassius Howell brings. He's unique. Compliments the room is a true juice setter, past rusher, and is going to get after opposing quarterbacks. And that's what they need. It fits really well with what they have in that room. And I feel really good. It rounds out the Bengals' defensive line room in a big way. Love the pick.

Love the player. Love the fit. I was listening to Trevor Sycambe talk about his vision for the Bengals draft class. And he was actually ready to be a little bit critical of the Cassius, Cassius Howl pick. And then he looked at the next set of Ed Rushers that got picked. And this really was kind of the last significant Edrusher pick that the Bengals could

have made. if they wanted to get an edge rusher who can make a difference, they had to do it here. Maybe you had a different preference like Gabe Accus, Gabe Accus. But when they were on the clock in the third round, there was nothing. And the next pass rush were picked after their third round pick was in the fourth round. And Jayshon Barron went in the third round, I think, after the Bengals pick. But he was announced as an off-ball linebacker, and that might be the plan for him.

So in terms of pure pass-rusher, pure edge-rusher kind of player, the Bengals pick before a plateau. I end up at an A-minus on this pick because I really like the player in general. After watching the tape myself a little bit, the last couple of days, I do have some concerns about his ability to make a consistent impact. And when you think about his role, it's not like this is a guy that's going to come in and be a full-time player right away. So those are the only things that take away from it. But everything you said is positives, I think are reasons that I am high on the pick. And I talked about why I'm not an A, a full A, to lead that, which is probably a little bit too negative of me, because overall, I really like to pick for all the reasons I talked

about when I introduced him as a player and everything that you just talked about. And the value here, I think, is fair. The other thing to consider is who else could they have picked here with this pick? There are a couple players that might have been higher, but Cassius HAL, certainly not a reach by any means. And I'm, like I said, when they draft, I'm really excited to see this different genre of pass rusher on the team. We'll continue grading the Bengals draft class. We've only gotten through one pick after a preamble about Dexter Lawrence and the grade with the Dexter Lawrence trade. So we'll continue the grading conversation next. The NFL draft is over, but the NFL draft is also where preparation meets opportunity

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That's RUG-IET.com slash locked on NFL. Ruggiette.com slash locked on NFL for 15% off Ruggiette. Performance Medicine for MET. All right, Jake. Let's dive into our guide to Cario. And someone that was mentioned on here, Ticario Davis, a few times. I'm going to give the little credit. Ticario Davis.

Our everydayers knew that the Bengals might be in on Ticario Davis. They were in on Ticario Davis. They certainly were prioritizing. outside corner that was something that they said hey we have to leave this draft with one of those guys whether it was brandon czei a hood uh obviously they were high on mccoy before trading the 10 pick and then having everything that that happened with his medicals delane they liked him so true outside corner that's what they were looking for and they get one in ticario davis what's your thoughts now a few days after they pick him and you're great for the pick i've come up

a little bit but not a lot here. I like last year, one of the common things that I said, what I said about Shamar Stewart, what I said about Demetrius Knight, and really focusing on the early picks was that I could see, and I was a little bit higher on the third round pick

on Dylan Fairchild than I was on the first couple of picks last year, what I said about those picks is I can see the vision, and I'm going to say that about a couple of the picks this year. Like I can understand why this pick was made. I understand what this looks like if it comes together for Chikario Davis. And Chuck Berks is one of the positional coaches that I trust more on the Bengals roster. And I think the coaching roster, and I think the Bengals have some really good position coaches in a number of spots. And this is one of them.

This will be a common theme. And we talk about one of the Bengals' fourth round picks as well for me. The toolkit for Ticario Davis is immense. The straight line speed at his size, the length that he can play. play with is indisputably rare and the Bengals made a traits bet here. He also doesn't sink his hit super well, right? This natural for a guy that's his size, the change of direction will at times be a little bit cumbersome again for a guy that is as long-limbed as Takario Davis.

That's not a surprise. It comes with the dimensions of being an extra four inches, five inches taller than most cornerbacks in the NFL, right? And they're pros and cons to that. I do think that this is where I do consider the consensus board, and I do consider how he played the last couple of years. Because as a sophomore, and this also helps to Cario Davis' case, after his second year in college,

he was seen as a guy who could be a potential first round pick because he comes off a year where he has 12 past deflections, and the past deflections are still part of his game. It's just this is a guy that I think will need to develop a little bit. have an initial role, however. Just like Cassius Howell will have an initial role of getting after the passer, trying to dial up one-on-ones for Howell in passing situations. Takario Davis, well, at the minimum, have a role that was immediately compared to the Trey Flowers role. Dealing with tight ends, that's a possible role for him right away. And so if it's just sub-packages

for Davis while he gets his feet under him, okay, and then it's a matter of coaching him up and getting him developed and turning him into a player that can eventually be a starting outside corner in the league. But because of where he was picked and because of the other options that I thought were better at the time and because of the risk in his profile, for me, this ends up being like in that D plus C minus range, just like the picks I didn't love from the Bengals last year, where I can see the vision. And if it hits, this is like a super high upside pick, but it's just one of them that's quite risky in terms of projecting him actually reaching that potential. Yeah, I get it. I totally do. And the see the vision is, it's a good way to describe it

because I see how Ticario Davis fits. And here's my hope. Like in a year from now, what I'm hoping is, is, heck, six months from now, we're talking about Ticario Davis and DJ Turner starting for the Bengals alongside Daxo. I hope Ticcario Davis forces their hand and comes in and is that guy from a couple of years ago that was all over, that was healthy, and was bawling out at Arizona. But we need to see it. And so he's going to have a role. The Bengals prioritized that they really believe in him. They like his competitiveness.

He's going to get stronger, which is something that he's certainly going to need to do at this level. So we'll see. See the vision, understand it. I also think that there's risk with this pick. You're right. The consensus board matters. How these players are viewed. And by the way, Daniel Jeremiah had him in the 70s.

I think he was Daniel Jeremiah, a 73rd player. So there might have been other NFL teams in on him. Like I said, the Bengals loved him. And they're not the only ones. There were draft analysts like Jeremiah that really liked to Carter Davis. And so Bengals loved him. NFL teams, I think, where those draft analysts come from, there are going to be some that know because teams loved him.

And at the same time, you can see the measurables. We don't have to look hard to see that he's unique and different. So I see the vision. I think the potential's there. How much development is there? Can he produce right away? Will he be able to help right away? Play, of course.

They're going to have to. They need him to play. But will he be able to help them right away? I don't know the answer to that. I think this is an average pick. It's an average third round pick where there's upside, but there's also plenty of question marks, plenty of reasons to be skeptical.

I'll give this a C. Yeah, I think that's fair. I can see the case for this being an average third round pick because it is a third round pick, right? We're not talking about second round at this point. It's a Bengals' second pick, but not a second round pick. And so remember when we were talking about this before the draft night, we were talking about the players on position sing a little bit.

And that's part of what's happening here for me as well, is like they wanted to prioritize outside corner, which is targeting a position where instead, what if they go get a better prospect that can only play the slot? And you get a potentially better prospect. And maybe Ticaria Davis-Sense of being a better player than there are other considerations at the time. So, you know, we'll see how it plays out.

There's a reason these draft braids are often dismissed as, like, too soon, and you got to let these guys play and get on the field and all that stuff. But, yeah, that's part of it for me, too. Like, could they have gone with one of the better slot corner prospects here and gotten a better player or even just with another position altogether? Oscar Delt, the very next pick, is a tight end that we talked about a couple of times. and I don't know if they felt like they could pick a tight end here, but a prospect that we really liked.

So again, I get the vision here with Ticario. I hope he hits the ceiling. Obviously, we're rooting for all these guys. The post-draft snap grades is just a reaction to all the information that we have at the time of the draft, and we'll see how they develop. James, we have a bunch of players to go. We have one, two, three, four, five day three picks to talk about.

We will do that to finish the show. next. Day three starts with Conner Liu, the Bengals' first fourth round pick, once seen as a potential top 50 prospect and potentially the best center in the draft class tour in ACL last season for Auburn. This one gets an A minus for me, James. I'll just get right to it. I love the upside here. I think this is potential starting center of the future, which maybe means it should just be an A. And if you give it an A, I won't blame you. bit for that for Connor Lou because of the upside because of the pedigree coming into the draft. The only thing that knocks it down at all is that there's a little tiny, it's incy,

beancy, bintzy, whatever that phrase is. I don't talk to kids enough to know how that's supposed to be pronounced, James. Connor Lou at that ACL tear. There's just that little tiny bit of uncertainty and risk there, but sounds like that's going great, shouldn't knock it too much. It's closer to an A than a B. B plus to me, but fits with just a little tiny deduction for the ACL tear. So A minus.

Yeah, I totally get it. In the irony of your grade is that the A minus, the minus part of it is why he was there. It's why they got the great value. And I give this a B plus. I love the value. I think he could pay off. I think he could be their center of the future. Worst case, he fills the backup center need.

ideally this year. There's some uncertainty with the injury, but love a lot about it. And so similar to you, like the injury is an unknown, but you like the swing, you like the value. I love the trade down that led to this,

and that's a big factor too. And so if I take that into consideration, this would be even higher, but just landing Connor Lou where you did, I think that's a B plus, a really good pick that I feel good about, and you should feel good, I think, about him being the backup center this season.

Yeah, he certainly has the toolkit to develop into that role. Next up is Kobe Young, the most controversial pick, I think, of the Bengals draft, largely due to some of the off-field stuff with him and the allegations that surfaced and the time away from the team at Georgia. This is another one where from an on-field perspective, I can see the vision, just like Takario Davis. Like if this guy and Troy Walter is another good coach, the Bengals, despite what happened with Jermaine Burton, have equity in terms of their ability.

to identify draft and develop wide receivers. They've been really good at this for a long time. So they get a little bit of a benefit of the doubt here with Kobe Young. And he certainly has the ability to be the type of wide receiver three they don't have. The big body contested catch fits great with Joe Burrow, can be a vertical threat. He just didn't really get on the field enough to show exactly how he was coming along on a consistent basis. and part of that was injuries that he dealt with, and part of that was his time away from the team

when he was, I don't know if it was a suspension or what exactly the terminology they used at Georgia was, but with the off-field allegations, the domestic incident that was eventually pleaded out to a lesser charge. We talked about it after they drafted him. For me, because of the overall profile here, the lack of production on field, the lack of him actually hitting the upside.

It's a D. It feels very early for him to me for most of where we thought he would be picked. Most thought he could be a much later day three pick. At the same time, I get the upside here. Like I get where this can go for Kobe Young. If he hits the upside, if he hits the upside, that's a wide receiver three upgrade. And that's something that they need. But again, there is risk here because he wasn't.

on the field a ton and the off field incident should be and is under a lot of scrutiny from a lot of fans. Yeah, it should be. And look, this is another guy where I see the vision. I see what they're thinking. They're thinking of a guy that's going to be a very physical player, big bodied guy in one-on-one situations always that can play the slot, block well, be physical, win at the catch point. I get it. But for a lot of the reasons you mentioned, consensus, production, the questions over the past couple of years. Because if you go back to Miami and then him going from Miami to Georgia,

like after the first two years, it's like, oh, well, he's going to crush it at Georgia. And then he gets in trouble off the field and suspend it. And he comes back, and then last year he breaks his leg. And he comes back. And so there are real questions about this guy. And I don't think anyone doubts the physical traits, the tools, but haven't seen it consistently.

Haven't seen the production. He's going to have to show it C-minus for me on Colby Young. below average, see the vision in really close to a D plus. But I think he just from a physical trait standpoint, I get it. Like at least he's not a six foot 185 guy, right? Like you can see where, all right, they really were all about the size here. And I am excited to see Ticario Davis in Kobe Young go head to head in a training camp. I think that that's fun.

That could be cool. And so C minus for me. but this is kind of where the draft turn, Jake. Can I just a couple of closing thoughts real quick on Young? The opportunity cost here is part of it for me too, because they had an opportunity to take Keith Abney or Chandler Rivers here, a couple of slot corners that I think could have really helped

that we were really high on. Yeah, I would have taken Abney for what it's worth. I would have taken Abney. And Jalen Kilgore as well, also in the mix here, like a number of guys in the secondary that could have been apics here, Kamari Ramsey even, went with the very next pick

if they wanted like a safety, depth, safety future developmental piece there. So part of it is also the opportunity cost of this one for me, even though I, like I said, I can see the upside for him. He's a little bit older coming out. That's also a factor here. But yeah, this is where it turns, James.

Let's talk about the six and seventh draft. Yeah, let's dive into it because Brian Parker, this is where it turned. This is where, because, you see Connor Lou and it's like, oh, well, good pick, but it was after Takario Davis where there's questions. Kobe Young, there's questions. Even Connor Lou, as much as we like it, there are questions with the injury. And then Brian Parker falls into their lap. And local kid aside, this gets an A plus from me because he's a guy that can probably play all five positions. And the Bengals

are treating it that way. Internally, certainly. When asked about it, certainly. That doesn't mean that he doesn't project to be an interior type of player. I think guard center is the long-term future, but when he's active on game day, he's played enough tackle over 2,300 snaps at Duke at tackle, a lot at rate tackle. Can he get you through a game? And I think we know the answer is yes for that. Like assuming he is what we think he is, right, at the NFL level, he's a really versatile player, athletic, and just a really good piece to have in your offensive line room. So where does he start eventually? Who knows? Plus, the other thing that I love about this is he is insurance for Connor Lou. What if Connor Lou just isn't ready? What,

what if that knee just isn't ready? And that's not, well, Brian Parker can be your backup center if you need it behind Ted Carras. So I just, I love his versatility. I love what he brings. I love that he was a great value. Like if you would have swapped out young here in round four at the end of round four in Parker, it would have felt a little different. And so for Parker to fall all the way to 189, I think this is great value. Yeah, I always love that when it's like, well, Yeah, if you just flip these picks, how different are greats. Because it is interesting, and you have to think about that. There's also a real where they don't do the tradeback and they pick the same players.

And that's interesting because we both love the tradeback. And so, like, I do find that fascinating. Yeah, I think A plus for me too. This is my A plus of the draft. There are a lot of A's in this draft, especially when we get to six and seven. But A plus for me as well, he's the second team, All-American last year at Duke. I watched a little bit, and he has the athleticism to play tackle, but there are some tool limitations there.

There's some technique limitations there. I think it looks like he'd be more comfortable playing guard or more comfortable playing. Not exactly in a phone booth, but there are times when the corner gets a little bit soft for him and guys are able to get around the outside hand. So the projection inside does make a lot of sense to me, but the fact that he could be a tackle in a pinch

if you need him to be a tackle, right? Maybe NFL strength program helps him a little bit. Maybe NFL technique helps him a little bit. Maybe he does stick a tackle working with Scott Peters. Has that background that we like to see in terms of versatility and look the part at the East-West Rhein Bowl in terms of playing center, playing on the interior. So I think there is another potential future starter here,

and you've gone that way in the sixth round. And what I love about this as well for the Bengals is a lot of times we get to these picks and they're going way off the chart. Here they get the best player on the sheet, literally the best player available, I believe, at this point in Brian Parker in the sixth round. So that's an A plus for me. Let's get to the seventh round where I've got a couple of A's. I've got an A for Jack Hendries.

I've got an A for Landon Robeson. And a couple of players that both have a great chance to stick, have a great chance to develop into either eventual rotational pieces or pieces that maybe tight end two potential for jack entries or low end starting tight end for jack entries and when you're getting that in the seventh round that's phenomenal like absolutely awesome to identify guys that can do things for you and i watched some jack andries tape i watched him against ohio state right after the draft and they're using him a lot like ericol pulling him across formation putting him behind the line of scrimmage putting him in those move block situations and he's he's getting to his

target at the next level. He's displacing safeties by a couple of yards. He's getting enough on sunny styles to spring his running back for a good hole for a good gain on a play. He's getting to Rvel Reese at the second level or coming across the formation and doing a good job on all these guys for Ohio State that got drafted early. So I really like the upside for Jack Andrews. He showed it as a receiver when he was playing with Mendoza at Cal was in a different role at Texas. this, but 22 years old coming out, can't do much better than that in the seventh round to get a tight end who can eventually be a real contributor for you, really excited for Jack Andrews. Yeah, me too, me too.

I love this pick. I mean, he's someone that you thought round five, end of round five, probably earlier, maybe four. Yeah. Or earlier. And with the way tight ends fell, like round three, like with some of the tight ends that actually went, like I would have thought injuries would have went ahead of them. So that's why he did fall. And thanks NFL.

I mean, this is one of those gifts. This is an easy A for me. It's great value. It's a guy who could make the team at pick 221 and someone that could make the Bengals better and fit in and help. And that's what they need. They needed a tight end that could come in and be not just Eric All insurance, but just long term an option at tight end.

And entry says a chance to do that at pick 221. As for Landon Robinson, it's also an A. And you're right. It's just one of those. He's a character fit, but he's physically, like I think he's got a real shot to make the team and push Chris Jenkins. Chris Jenkins was a second round pick, and this is the seventh round. And whether or not that actually happens, we'll see.

But I do think that he's going to be disruptive, and we're going to notice him. And I don't know what number he's wearing yet, but we're going to be like, oh, did you notice Robinson on that play during training camp? And that's great. You love to see that. So bolster that depth, have a pipeline of defensive tackles. I feel really good about the Bengals defensive tackle room and rounding it out with a guy like Landon Robinson. Easy, easy, easy A.

Yeah, I'm with you on that one. So the sixth, seventh round, A plus, right? Dexter Lawrence trade, A plus. Awesome stuff. Connor Liu, A minus. Cassius Howe A minus for me. It's just Takario Davis and Kobe Young that are small blemishes on this class

in terms of the only picks that don't get A or B, I guess you had a B plus on Conradleau. I was A minus there. So overall, I think I'm at an A minus overall. Oh, no, that was with Dexter Lawrence. So without Dexter Lawrence. Yeah, I was going to say. Without Dexter Lawrence, it's more of a B class to me because I do weight the earlier picks a little bit more heavily.

While I love what they did on day three at the end of day three in round six and seven, the thing that those guys have to overcome is the pedigree of being six and seventh round picks. sometimes there are guys that we love that are picked in the sixth and seventh round and they just don't get the same opportunities as guys that are picked earlier unless they really, really force their way into those opportunities, right? And so that is the uphill battle for the guys that they picked in the sixth and seventh round. At the same time, when I look at what they did in college and what those opportunities are for them and how they fit with the Bengals,

you can absolutely see those guys sticking around and being game day active pieces. And when you get that in round six and seven, it's hard to argue with that. So overall, I think I land on a B. It's an above average class. I love what they did at the end of the draft. I have some questions about Takario Davis. If he hits his upside, then we're eating crow happily eating crow on that one because you can see the vision, right?

You can see the vision with Kobe Young. But the reason that it's a little bit lower for me when you don't include Dexter Lawrence is just because there's a little bit of risk with those picks. There were other options they could have gone with there that I would have liked a little bit more. but it's just a personal grade, right? The Bengals feel like they crushed it with these guys, and we're always going to have a little bit of a different opinion than the Bengals do on all these drafts.

Yeah, for sure. And for me, this is a B. It's funny you were going through it, and I was totaling it up. And look, Cassius Hau, Ticario Davis, that's an A and a C. Well, that's a B. Connor Lou, B plus, Colby Young, C minus, cancel each other out a little bit. And that C minus does bump up because of the three, day three,

round six, round seven A's. So it's right there BB plus, like you're probably like an 87, 88 overall where you're right on that fringe of B&B plus. It's a good draft. There were some big upside swings, some good values. But it's tough because the upside swings were early. And you'd prefer like in an ideal world, you'd want those upside swings later and you'd want the good values earlier. Obviously, that's harder to do. I get it.

I understand it. The longer you go, the more likely it is that someone falls. But overall, really solid draft. I just, I love, love, love. I can't reiterate it enough. I'm still shocked that they did it. As we sit here, we're 10 days out from the Dexter Lawrence deal. But it just is completely shifted the energy around the team, around the organization, players, coaches, front office, obviously fans, obviously us.

It's changed the way they're viewed. in the way they view themselves. And so that's why it was an A-minus with the Dexter Lawrence trade. And that's the one I want to end on because I think that's such a huge part of it. I mean, had they drafted a Caleb Downs or Ruben Bain, then it's probably an A-minus draft again for me because that first-round pick is going to get an A. You know, so the fact that they got Dexter Lawrence, he's going to help as much over those rookie deals,

probably more over the next few years in my mind, that's huge. Yeah, no doubt about it. I think the only other thing here that we didn't really talk about is, and we'll maybe get into this on another episode a little bit more, didn't really feel like there was a huge draft positions, draft for needs feel to this draft. At the same time, you do like to see that marriage of value and need. And so not getting a lineback or not getting a slot guy. I think that is part of the equation for me as well. And that comes up mostly with the Kobe Young pick and the ability to draft a slot corner there. there maybe was an opportunity to draft a linebacker at some point that they didn't end up doing.

So that's part of it too, where you don't want to see them draft for need and reach, but you love it when need meets value. There was at least one opportunity for that. So that's part of it as well. That goes into the individual player grade. And yeah, that's why it's a B for me when you don't count Dexter Lawrence, but you have to count Dexter Lawrence because that's what they use our 10th overall pick on. So generally, quite pleased with the way this.

draft went the draft week when you include the Dexter Lawrence straight at the beginning of the week. Quite pleased with the way that went for the Bengals. I added a lot of players that should be able to help them, should be able to find roles for this team early and grow those roles through their time in Cincinnati. But we'll wrap up there, James. Next up, we've got Mike Potts, the Bengals assistant GM. We'll be talking with him about what was going on with the Bengals throughout the draft blast and get his thoughts on the players they picked and some things like that. always love talking with Mike Potts. Until then, thanks for listening to this episode

of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Good day. And have a good one.