Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Draft Adventure! | Which 3 round mock helps the Cincinnati Bengals most?

Episode Date: April 18, 2025

Given the Cincinnati Bengals' needs heading into the 2025 NFL draft, what combination of players makes the most sense for their first 3 picks? Jake Liscow and Joe Goodberry break down three 3-round scenarios featuring players like Malaki Starks, Deone Walker, Xavier Watts, and Kelvin Banks Jr. in a "choose your adventure" discussion that explores the upside and opportunity cost to each approach.Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Amazon Fire TV Stick 4kDid you know your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV Stick 4K devices — no console required. Head to Amazon.com/firetvlockedon to get started. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and compatible controller required.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Let's break down three, three round mock draft scenarios to find one that fits the Bengals best in 2025. You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. What up Bengals fans and welcome to another episode of the Locked on Bengals podcast. I'm Jake Liscoe, joined once again today by Joe Goodberry, who I will continue to call the godfather of Cincinnati. Benzals draft content creation. You can find him on Twitter at Joe Goodberry. You can find his work on the Bengals on the Brain YouTube show on the first off logistics

YouTube channel as well. Lockdown Bengals has been covering the Cincinnati Bengals daily since 2016 on the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. We appreciate all you every dayers out there who don't miss an episode of Lockdown Bengals and invite you to join that group by hitting the subscribe. button on YouTube or anywhere you get your podcast to make sure you don't miss an episode. Also welcome back to those of you who make us your first listen. We appreciate those of you that have us in your routine.

Today we're going to go through three mock draft scenarios that Joe Goodberry has prepared for this conversation. And we're going to try to choose our adventure here. Find the scenario where we feel like the Bengals are getting the most value with which positions in which rounds and which players in which rounds and talking through the implications of what it means for things to potentially work out in that order. So if you're watching on YouTube, I'm going to pull up a screenshot of those mock draft results. And if you're listening on an audio platform, we will break them down for you.

Joe, we're going to start with a scenario wherein the Bengals address defensive tackle first. Talk me through what your options were in this first scenario and why you landed on the players you did. Yeah, so this one, Kelvin Banks, I think, went 11th or 12th. The only surprise player that was still there was Will Johnson, who actually in a couple of these scenarios was still available. And as we're a week out, I think that could happen. We'll have to see where Will Johnson, the corner from Michigan ends up. So I pretty much had my pick other than Kelvin Banks. and then throwing Will Johnson as a wild card,

I still thought in this scenario, I'm trying to think as the Bengals, players they've been connected to, who makes sense for their needs. And I still think Walter Nolan is going to rank very highly for them. And I landed out in Walter Nolan at 17, which is a very common mock for a lot of us out there. I've seen 100 mocks this week from Bengals fans,

submitting them and sending them to me and asking for opinions. Walter Nolan, I think, is a safe and high upside pick at 17. Yeah, Walter Nolan and the, first round is a pick that will continue to make sense. One of very few players in recent history with 10% or better pass rush win rate and run stop win rate was a stat that I saw shared on I think Thursday was the day that I saw it shared. Maybe it was late Wednesday, but in good company there for prospects. Let's talk a little bit about Will Johnson because we didn't get to talk about him a ton yesterday. Were you tempted? Were you pulled in that direction

strongly. And here's why I ask. I ask because I wonder if Will Johnson is a good fit for what we're expecting from Al Golden, where you are probably looking for corners that are going to be able to hold up in man on islands, be sticky, be technical, be able to play press man and not get totally lost and give up just chunk plays if that's what Al Golden does indeed bring as he played a ton of cover one in Notre Dame. Is Will Johnson the kind of corner that you're looking for to fit that system? He isn't in my opinion. I think he's an off zone corner. You want to angle towards the quarterback, eyes on the quarterback, very smart cerebral player that will take chances, get his hands on the ball. Those are things I want, qualities I want for sure. But he's

also not a great tackler. He picks and chooses when he wants to defend against the run. I'm not sure how that's going to fly with the Bengals and Al Golden, despite their tackling issues. Recently, I think that was part of the reason they wanted to make a change there. And then speed is such a big thing for the Bengals at corner that with Will Johnson not running, me, I don't know if he's going to be high on their board. And I think the other part is if you take corner and I fall in this trap all the time, I'm sure everyone else does that participates in mocks. If you color outside the lines at any point in these first three picks,

you're not just forfeiting one need because that's on the table already. you're possibly forfeiting two needs right away. And if Will Johnson ends up being a very good player, we may look back at this in two or three years and go, this is why you fill your needs in pre-adency, so you can have a clear mind as you approach that first round. Yeah, there's a couple of things that that makes me think of. One is what you just said,

if they just get to this draft without a desperate need for guard, without wanting to improve safety, without needing a starting lineback, or without having pass-rush needs across the defensive line, that's a lot of things to need in one draft. And you're looking for guys that can hit the ground running and make an early impact, which is hard enough when you're asking rookies to be instant impact players, especially hard enough when you're talking about guys

picked outside of the top five. And none of the Bengals picks, obviously, are in the top five this year. The other thing is, is what if we just felt like there was a better chance the Bengals would actually go sign a guy if they whiffed on guard? And we felt confident that the Bengals would go emergency. We got to sign Dalton Reisner right now. We got to get the deal done. Just now. Now, now, now, now, now.

If we felt like that was the likely outcome of them not getting a guard in the first three rounds, maybe you would feel more comfortable coloring outside the lines to use your verbiage, which I think is a great analogy. But we don't really have that level of comfort. They have Lucas Patrick on the team. They have Cody Ford on the team. They have Cordell-Voson on the team. they have Jackson Kirkland on the team.

And they have said in different times about each of those guys that they like them or have shown that they like those guys. From the outside, we desperately want them to do better. But given their level of confidence that they've shown with those guys in the last calendar year and going back further, their overconfidence in their own guys on the offensive line in general, we don't really have that feeling, which makes it, again, extremely hard. to color outside the lines. Like, is Colston Loveland in consideration here in the first round as a potential, you said, top 10 player on many draft sports?

But something that the Bengals can hardly bring themselves to consider, if at all. Yeah, and spoiler, Colston Loveland did not make it to the Bengals pick in any of the three scenarios that ended up running through. He got close a couple times. And then he, you know, as I'm watching him, like, all right. And then he was gone each time. So your point, though, at offensive lines. and at guard is why I wanted to address it in round two at pick 49 with Jonah Sabanae.

I think I'm good on that, Jake. I've been practicing on that. And he's a tackle. I'm going to take it. It's slow, but I'm getting closer. Tackle from Arizona, I think he's going to make a much better guard. And I think he needs time to develop, even though he's 3.30. He's played for pretty much three years.

He's got the size, got the power that you're looking for. Tested much better than I expected. I think a lot of the league was like, oh, okay, does he have that type of athleticism? And if you kick him inside the guard, that athleticism stands out even more. He fell on the ground a little bit too much for me, looked off balance too much, was lunging a little bit too much, was caught surprised too often getting to the second level, trying to get to linebackers. That's why I think he may go into the back half of round two, maybe even the start of round three. But in this scenario, there wasn't a lot of options. And I wonder if the Bengals would rather a guy that can eventually move to town.

for them rather than just going with the Tate Ratlidge at 49. If the option is between an Arionte Ursari or a Josh Connerly somehow still there or a Jonah Sabahanaia versus a Tate Ratlidge, do they go for the guy with the tackle versatility? In this scenario, I want the guy with the tackle versatility. So you're saying you would have been able to pick Tate Rattlidge here? Tate was still there in this one. Yeah, that is a tricky conundrum because Tate Rattledge, I think, and the data suggests, would be a more quickly adept guard.

Like you could hit the ground running and that's what they need. Could you hit the ground running with Savadnaya? You would have to. But would it be as pretty? I don't know. I mean, that's part of playing the game in the draft. But if you take Walter Nolan in the first round, I think that getting back to guard in the second round does make sense.

And then you're starting to think about the other. needs and we will get to that third round pick as we wrap up the first scenario of three that we have to talk through and we'll have to speed things up because of course Joe and I go along on a topic who would have thunk getting on a soapbox about luxury picks and we haven't even talked about running backs a single time in two and a quarter days. We'll see if that comes up or not as we continue the conversation of three scenarios trying to choose our adventure coming up next. This episode of Blackdown Bengals is sponsored by Upwork, and Upwork knows that scaling your business requires the right expertise at the right time. And with Upwork, you can find specialized freelancers, whether it's in marketing, development, design, and more.

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That's upw-w-rk.com, upwork.com, to connect with top talent, and grow your business today. Joe, as we dive back into the first scenario here and try to summarize the remaining players here, was there anyone else that was tempting you in the second round? You were looking at only offensive linemen, right? That's the mentality that you end up in in the second round if you don't have one in the first shot.

Yeah, and there was a couple past rushers. T.J. Sanders was still there, which gave me, like, you know, some buyer's remorse to the first round of how could I have went differently there? How could that have, you know, have gone in a different scenario? I thought about Kevin Winston, Jr. at safety. And I guess Carson Swessinger was a guy that I paused that just for a second. Yeah, I think that the Swessinger option in the second round is very interesting.

If he is available to the Bengals there, right, how much pause do the Bengals give to consider a linebacker in the second round if the first round is also a defensive player, whether it's an edge rusher or an interior lineman? And assuming it's not Jehag Campbell, how much do they stop and think? Swessinger in the second round is considerably different from the linebacker options later because you come back in the third round and then you pick a linebacker, Demetrius Knight Jr., South Carolina, 26, 25, one of the oldest prospects in the draft, many, many years of experience, but a very, very smooth player as well, one of PFF's favorite linebackers in the class. What was your thought process here at 81?

Yeah, not a lot of options I like. There was a bunch of linebackers here at the top. There were some corners at the top. I didn't know if we wanted to Jacob Parrish, who I think is from K State, who I think is a slot corner. You know, he ranks high on our board, but I was like, Andrew McCuba was the other one I would have went in this direction as well. Safety from Texas, where I really like.

Maitress Knight, though, to me is a plug-and-play linebacker. I'm trying to think of who would be their linebacker three in this class. And I've thought about this the last few days. They'll probably bug me all the way into day two and day three of the draft, because if it's not Swessinger at two, John Campbell at one, who is number three? And to me, it could be Demetrius Knight

because he could play right away with his given age, his experience. Also, he's a downhill physical run defender that can also blitz. He's a nut. And I think you can add that to your defense, set the tone with a guy like this, put on his Bama tape,

I think it was from this year where he was almost unblockable. And he, one of the plays where he just blitzes and jukes, Tyler Booker, and Booker's just cemented in the ground was the first time I thought, oh, Booker really can't move. And, you know, it wasn't just a combine. It was Knight just running around him like he was a standstill mannequin. And he was unblocked in that game completely.

Just absolutely tore it up. I imagine he graded really well for PFF and that one. So if they loved him, it's probably a lot of it stemming from that game where he was amazing. And I think you got potentially three guys that can start and make an impact for you in the first three rounds here, which is ideal in what we're looking for. Of course, you're talking about measured and measured. where typically first year defensive tackles, typically first year offensive linemen

are not all pros, are not pro bowlers. There are always exceptions to this rule, but Walter Nolan in particular is a guy that I think will need a little bit of development. I think he's a good player, but for him to reach his potential, I think there's a little bit of work to do, right, in terms of being more consistent.

We talked about this quite a bit yesterday, so if you missed that show, when we tried to isolate the best case, candidates for the Bengals first round pick and Walter Nolan was a big part of that conversation. Make sure you go check that one out. Jonas Savanaia back in the second round where you could instead be a little bit less specific, maybe with the player here. Maybe you really love Tate Ratledge and you think that the Bengals would go for the pure

guard here. You can plug that in. And then third round linebacker trying to find a linebacker. This to me, Joe, not that I'm comparing these players in terms of caliber of prospect, but going lineback from the third round makes me. feel a little bit like I felt about McKinley Jackson last year. And it's not that there's like similar types of players, Demetrius Knight and McKinley Jackson.

It's just like, you get to a point where you're like, man, we really need a linebacker. We're going to take a linebacker instead of what if there is a tight end here? What if there is a running back here? Maybe this is our running back conversation. I don't know who else was available here. Obviously, I thought. And one of these in the third round made it to them. And I thought, ooh, there's a guy to replace Drew sample.

And at that point, you got to consider whether that's really by far your best player. And I wonder if that will be a point of conversation here. So this is scenario one. And the talking points here are if you go defensive line in the first round or any defensive player in the first round, you're going to feel a heapful out of pressure to go offensive guard in the second round. Third round, again, here we're trying to find which need can we address with the best value. whether it's linebacker, whether it's edge rush or whether it's safety, you're probably missing on the safeties if you wait until the third round.

But if you're not going with the first round safety, maybe there's a scenario where there's a second round safety. Maybe we'll get to that. It gets tricky to find where you can actually address all of these positions. So let's get into our second scenario, shall we? Yep. Talk about taking Malachi Stark's in the first round, Joe. Yeah, this is my most fun one, I think, because I haven't,

hit too many scenarios where I actually take Malachi Starx at 17. And because normally someone is still there that I have a high opinion on, whether it be a Calvin Banks or a Walter Nolan, right? And in this scenario, both went. And I said, oh, man, okay, what are we looking at here? And there wasn't, the fallers were guys like Ted McMillan that I'm not interested in, right? And so I'm sitting there and I'm like, okay, it's either Malachi Stark's. Maybe it's Derek Harmon. Maybe I want to go for that. Each guy, I think, was like 22 and 25 on the board. so a little bit scrolling down, you know, but again, I didn't watch Shador Sanders. He was still available at the time.

I didn't want Tech McMillan. And I thought, would the Bengals take Malachi Stark? And I thought this is the scenario where they would. And maybe they would even take them over Calvin Banks and we'll turn a line. I think there's a chance of Bengals really like Malachi Stark. And given that, I said, okay, we have a plug-in-play safety that can play both safety positions, plus cover the slot, gives you eventual true free safety, and which may be very, very important.

We keep talking about El Golden defense to play, man. You need a free safety to do that. And Malachi Stark can be that and be potentially an all-pro type free safety. And I know some people have cooled off on them. I really haven't. I think he's worthy of the pick, especially in this scenario that laid out. This is one of those finding a player that people are overthinking. It's a don't overthink a pick with Malachi Starks.

When you say Ted McMillan and Shadur Sanders are still available, although there are certainly folks talking about how poorly Shadur Sanders is doing with some of his interviews and some of those visits, it makes me think, is this a scenario where the Bengals could actually trade back? It needs to be more than just one player. It's not going to be just Shadr Sanders as following. It needs to be a handful of guys, I think, for to uniquely impact the Bengals. Because would you trade with the Steelers if they called and let them get their quarterback?

You know, that's a conversation to have. What's the cost? Are you getting that third round pick back? I mean, then the Steelers aren't picking again until day three of this draft. I mean, the Steelers probably aren't offering this year's third round pick. They're probably trying to offer a future pick, at which point probably becomes a little bit less appetizing if you're the Bengals, but more appetizing for another team who doesn't devalue future picks like the Eagles, who don't care if the second round pick is in the future.

At some point, that pick is going to pay dividends. It just makes you think of the tradeback scenario. And the reason that somebody asked this in our subtext today, I don't know that it uniquely impacts the Bengals is if those players are available when the Bengals are picking, they're also available before. And at least one of those guys is going to be available after the Bengals picked. There's no reason that a team is going to say the Bengals are the team we need to trade with, unless they're trying to get ahead of somebody else.

And I don't think there are a whole bunch of teams right there that you have to worry about trying to get up. and pass for a Shadur Sanders. Maybe for a Ted McMillan. That one, maybe if he's there that late, is a little bit more interesting. Joe, we've got two more players to talk about here. We, of course, have to make sure we get to a guard in the second round because we've taken a defensive player in the first round. So we will talk about rounds two and three of scenario two.

Then we'll get to scenario three, and then we'll try to pick our favorite and choose our adventure to finish the show coming up next. Did you know, your Fire TV is also an Xbox? Turn any TV into your gaming and entertainment hub with Fire TV stick 4K devices with no console required. You just grab your parent controller, subscribe or sign in to Xbox GamePass Ultimate with EA play included, and you're ready to play. You can dive into hundreds of premium titles from EA Sports College Football 25 to Call of Duty blackout six as easily as you stream your favorite. it shows. It's gaming made simple, and it's all on your Fire TV. Not only does it have that

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third gen. Joe, let's get through scenario number two here. Malachi Stark's in the first round. And if that is the case in the first round, I really like the way this went in the second round. Yeah, I do too. And if James is listening,

Trevion Anderson was also there at 49. And it's funny, the top two guys were Donovan Jackson, Trayvion Anderson. So Ohio State fans were like, okay, give me either one. And I feel that way. If Jackson's there, he is a plug-and-play left guard. And I think he is an immediate upgrade for you. On tape, I think he's really, really good.

And he had to play left tackle for them. And that half a year of playing left tackle, despite it not being great to start, I thought he finished a year really well. I don't think he's a future left tackle. I think Dane Bruegler had him listed it with the offensive tackles. I don't think he's that. He did an admirable job. But the fact that he did.

did so well and developed quickly at it just shows what kind of player he is, I think, mentally and football-wise. And we're talking about a physical, tough guy that can move well. There's a great game to put on from 2023 versus Derek Harmon at Michigan State and Donovan Jackson beats him up all game long at Left Guard. And it's fun to watch. If you're a Harmon fan, you're like, man, he'd really develop from that one year to Oregon. But that's what Jackson looked like the last time we saw him at left garden. He was fantastic. And he did. In his defense, Harmon, did develop quite a bit in that final year at Oregon. If you're telling me that I can get Malachi Sarks and Donovan Jackson, I'm feeling pretty good about that. But I'm feeling like, well, what about the defensive line?

We haven't found anyone to help improve the pass rush, probably not getting an impact defensive tackle at this point. The best you could really hope for, in my opinion, after the first two rounds on the defensive interior is probably C.J. West. And while I really like, like CJ West is a player, you're not getting dynamic pass rush juice from a CJ West. You'll get some. I think he can be like an okay pass rusher, but he's not somebody that offensive coordinators need to game plan for, spend extra time setting protections for. So what's your angle here when you get to the third round and you're looking for

trying to fit another need at this point? We've got the back seven guy in Malachi start. So maybe that takes us away from linebacker a little bit. we've got the offensive guard. Talk to me about your selection process at 81. Yeah, and so T.J. Sanders was also available at 49, and that would have been the other consideration there. But I just thought, again, the need for guard at that spot.

And getting Donovan Jackson, which rarely happens in the mocks, I was like, okay, go for it. It's worth it this time. But isn't that such a difficult choice, that T.J. Sanders, Donovan Jackson choice in the second round when you could address neither of those in the first round, oh, man, like heartbreak for having to pass on one of those. those guys. No doubt. And then I get to the third and it was a run on defensive ends.

Braden Swinson went just a couple of picks ahead, LSU defensive end, who I think is extremely fun on tape. I reminds him of a smaller Carlos Dunlap. But Ashton Jolodi is still there from Louisville and he's expected to be there at this spot. And maybe he goes higher. Maybe other teams are using analytics. Watch the Eagles take them in top or at the end of round two, right? But Jolode scores really well for us. And I wanted to talk about him. I even asked, can we talk about Jolote, you know, a couple times in the last couple episodes with you because to me he is a power defensive end left end a traditional left end that's good against the run good tackler can move all around and kick inside it works well on stunts and twists and when i say kick inside if you watch his highlights a lot of his pass rush production happens over guards and i think that's great if i have not gotten a pass rush and interior pass rusher yet at this point in the draft man give me the probably the best d-n that kicks inside in this draft and that's ashen gelotti so i can still I ain't got a little bit of upside with Miles Murphy and Joseph Osai.

I can let Jolodi play some rundown. And because I'll be honest, I don't know that Osai and Murphy have shown enough as run-down defensive ends the way Sam Hubbard did. Even when the Hubbard on one leg, it seemed like for the last year and a half, he seemed to be a better run defender than those guys, or at least more consistent. So can Jolote do that? And then kick inside and provide the interior pass rush? I am sold on him if he's the pick at 81. I would give this very, very high marks. Yeah, I will be all about Jolode at.

that point in the draft and if that's the way it goes and you have that player specifically in the third round i'm into it now i wonder who else was available to you who did you have to pass on to pick to lodi here honestly there wasn't much because the safety was already addressed i think andrew mccuba was still there i think kevin winston was still there in this one uh there was a couple guards that i was interested in but i do i want to double up guard and it really came down to he was the only there was a couple of defense mentally later just i steward's supposed to go he was I scrolled down a little bit to find out where he was. How close could I get him?

Could I get him in round four if I address something different in round three? There really wasn't too many guys here in round three. If I leave defensive line to the third round, and I like the D&Class, Jolodi stands out amongst all of them. No doubt. I agree with you 100%. The only other question I would ask here before we get to our third scenario is, who are the other third round, fourth round,

run defending defense events? Obviously, Landon Jackson in the second round. Because if you're thinking, and if you're of the mind, and I know Max Descano, if you're listening, this is speaking to you directly, if you're of the mind that they cannot afford to pick a Mike Green, James Pierce body type, because they're going to get washed down the line of scrimmage by a tight end and condensed boxes or even a wide receiver at times. And you're looking for those bigger body guys. Who else besides Jolati stands out to you? A couple guys. Jack Sawyer, obviously, is a guy that would be mocked to the Bengals a bunch. he went just a couple of picks before we were on the clock there at 81. I don't know that I would take him over, Jaloti,

but he's someone to be aware of that the Bengals could make that pick. I think Sabian Jones, an end kind of de-tackle type from LSU. He's 21 years old, 6-5-2-80. I think he's in the old mold of what the Bengals would do, and maybe they still want that for a left defensive end. Again, he's another guy that can kick inside. He's supposed to go fourth round. I wanted to be surprised if he went a little bit earlier.

So those two I would look at and say, yeah, they probably fit the mold of what the Bengals are looking for if they have to wait until round three. It's too bad Jared Ivy tested the way he tested because otherwise we would probably still be talking about Jared Ivy in that spot as well. But Sawyer in the third round, you can definitely talk me into.

And just run it back with Sam Hubbard. This is the same kind of pick, right? Third round, you're getting him a little bit later than you think you might have to take him, can get him to come and play the run at a high level, and he'll contribute production, while he might not be a game-changing pass rush or the way a Trey Hendrickson type of player would be. But Jalati, a lot of fun there.

I really like this one. And without having seen the third one yet, I'm leaning toward this choose my adventure. But let's get to scenario number three here where we address the offensive line issue immediately in the first round. Yeah, and Kelvin Banks is still there for the first time in any of these scenarios. Left tackle from Texas, super young. I love his size. I love his game. I think he'll even be a better guard in the NFL.

I think all pro level upside at guard in the NFL. And that can sell me every time he's there. He's one of my prime targets. If he's available, I'd give that pick an A plus for the Bengals. It'd be very similar to in a different class. I think Banks goes higher in another year. Banks probably solidifies himself as a top eight pick, very similar to Marius Mims pick last year,

where if he's in this draft, I think he goes top eight as well. So that's a good way to secure your offensive line in back-to-back years. and if he's there, I'm in. Yeah, it feels increasingly unlikely that the Bengals will have the option to select Kelvin Banks, but if they do have that option, I think Dame Bruegler had them passing on Kelvin Banks for Derek Carmen in the first round, and then Banks ends up going to Baltimore. It was an AFC North team, I think, unless I'm mistaken. Let's not do that.

Let's not do that. But there will be inevitably some player that Bengals have passed on that the AFC North rivals will have an opportunity to pick that we won't feel great about. But Kelvin Banks in the first round, you're never going to catch me complaining if that's the way that things shake out for the Bengals. Kelvin Banks in the first round makes a ton of sense and then talk to me about your

second round options where you land on an Al Golden guy in the second. Yeah. And I think this is a guy that's probably being pegged to the Bengals in round two pretty often as well. I think Al Goldman would love to have his free safety and Watts does it all too.

He can play against the run. He can play field and boundary safety. But his, the amount of time he gets his hands on the ball is unlike any other player in this class. From the safety position consistently, whether it's range from the deep safety spot, playing man coverage, or just in zone and kind of understanding the route combos and what's happening and sifting his way into position before the quarterback even throws it to that spot, I think Xavier Watts is a fun player.

I wonder what his upside is. Did we already see the best of them at Notre Dame? If we did and we get that, that's fantastic, right? That's what we should be expecting. But I would have other safeties ahead. I would even consider Kevin Winston before Watts, but in this scenario, both were there. And I thought, you know what? I think a lot of people would lean towards Watts and maybe the Bengals would too because he is a

plug and play player right now while Winston is coming off an injury. Yeah, the big question with Watts is, does a long speed issue hinder him in the NFL? Because that is really the glaring issue in his game where he does so much. at such a high level. And if he was just a little bit faster from a long speed perspective, it would cover up the real significant hole in his game. Not considering a running back here if you get your, your offensive linemen in the first round, Joe?

There were not. It was Caleb Johnson. And I don't think he's a great fit. They run a wide zone scheme in Iowa. And a lot of his runs were to the outside and shotgun wide zone type thing. So, you know, from the pistol, I don't, I don't know how much the Bengals will do. would they always fall into the trap every off season? I fell for it again type thing where the Bengals are going to do it a little bit more.

But until they do, I'm not going to mock someone like that to them. All right. So you've got a safety in the second round here. And I think at that point, if it's Watts and you're considering maybe a Swessinger, instead they're fine. I think those are both guys that could fit into that similar kind of role. And then third round, another guy that will be familiar to many Bengals fans. That's right. I didn't try to go that way, I guess.

But Dion Walker defensive tackle out of Kentucky. When I said Jolodi was pretty much the only D-end I wanted at that spot in the last scenario, the only D-tackle, really, that has the pass rush upside and maybe has full-time special player-type upside is Deon Walker. And I know he's got the back injury. You could see it on tape this past year. He played upright. He's pretty stiff. I went back and watched from recommendation to go watch the previous year, and he was fantastic.

And he was even in flashes this past. season too. For a guy that of that height, for him to be able to win that often as a past rusher, and he's so, even last year, he was standing up, upright. And so I don't blame it all in the back and things like that. He's standing these guys up and just tossing them to the ground and then running the arc on them. And it's like, oh my God, you should not move that way. And I understand why is at one point, people are like, man, this guy could be a top 20 pick. You know, if you go back to 2023. And then he didn't test it that great. He didn't look that great this past season. He is still young.

His past brush productivity is still super high. If you're going to take a swing on it and now I've got to get a defensive lineman with going offensive line and then safety, I'm fine with taking a swing on Dian Walker. Yeah, there are some trends in these three drafts that I'm noticing. One is that each of these drafts features a defensive lineman and an offensive guard or tackle slash guard prospect, each of these. As I click through them on YouTube,

you've got Kelvin Banks and Dian Walker and 1. Jonathan Jackson and Ashton Jaloti in one, Jolati in one, and Walter Nolan and Jonas Savatanaia in the third. Which of those just eliminating the third player? And let's say those are the two most important things we can get done in the drafts, which is oversimplifying, but which of those pairs do you like the best? And say that maybe it's a different, it doesn't have to be Savatanaia. It could also be Tate Routledge.

Well, if it's Tate Routledge, I like that scenario the most. I think Tate is a plug and play, right guard. So I would say that, but having it be in Sabanaia, who I'm not the highest on, makes us very, very close. And the best player could be Banks, might be Nolan, maybe I'd just lean on the best player there and hope for the other guy to pan out too. Yeah. And then you add in the window dressing, Demetrius Knight, Malachi Stark's being the first round

pick in scenario two, and Xavier Watts being the safety in the second round in scenario three, you're getting a defensive back seven player, safety or a linebacker, guys that you could expect to make a bigger impact of their positions in year one, despite what the position value might say about the spots those guys play. I, Joe, have a hard time going in a direction that is not scenario two here. You got great value in round two with Donovan Jackson. I like Malachi Stark. I like Ashton Jalati. That's a really fun three-player scenario. to me. You can also talk me into Kelvin Banks, Dion Walker.

Xavier Watts is a little bit scary to me, I'll admit, but the familiarity with Al Golden System maybe gets him to play up a little bit in Cincinnati, but the upside for Walker, while there are reasons for concern, if you're taking a swing, that's a fun swing. Walter Lundle in the first round is really the thing that draws me to scenario one. If I were to have to have, if I were to have to defend it, I would probably prefer Ratledge here. I'd probably prefer a different option in the third round.

At that point, if you don't get a linebacker in the first two rounds, you don't get one of those top two guys. Like I said, it makes me feel those McKinley-Jackson vibes of forcing the pick in the third round. Is there one of these that you like the best? I love your scenario. You're parallel to McKinley Jackson there of talking about that. You know what? McKinley Jackson, and it was a great.

nose tackle class remember not great there was a ton there was like 10 guys from rounds three to seven other than to bondry sweat before that right and there was to bonry sweat and there were a bunch of guys that were like rounds five to seven and then we're like just wait just wait on them you'll get one on day three just wait that's where they get drafted and then they took like the first one after tondry sweat right they said no we're gonna take mckinley jackson uh so that would be that would feel very similar with demetris knight like because there's so there's 10 linebackers that to go between rounds three through six and you might as well just wait and get one of those guys. You got a just as likely chance of hitting on Jack Kaiser or Sean Dolack or

insert your linebacker there. My daughter's got an opinion on which linebacker she wants, I guess. But I think I'm with you. I think number two is the most fun. I wonder how the people will feel in the comments. I read these comments, guys, all the listeners and watchers on YouTube. I read them. I like to see what you guys say.

What is your favorite scenario? Everybody go yell at Joe in the comments. That's going to do it for this episode. of Lockdown Bengals. We're planning the next episode to be a mock draft Monday. It'll be Joe and I running through a simulator, barring other news between now and then. Until then, thanks for checking out this week's

Locked on Bengals podcast with our special guest, Joe Goodberry, at Joe Goodberry on Twitter, Bengals on the brain on YouTube, doing great work around this time of year. We'll have another episode with Joe coming up for you soon. Until then, Thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Ho day and have a good one.