Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Draftmas Eve's annual tradition! PREDICTING all 6 Bengals 2025 Draft Picks

Episode Date: April 23, 2025

The 2025 NFL Draft is almost here! It's time for the annual predictive mock draft episode, so Jake Liscow and James Rapien go through 6 rounds of projecting every player the Bengals will select this weekend. In a less predictable draft than we've had in recent years, the guys explore the Derrick Harmons and Shemar Stewarts of the first round, the guard options in the second round, and so much more! 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.

It's time for a locked on Bengals annual tradition predicting the game changing players the Cincinnati Bengals will select in the 2025 NFL draft. 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, part of the Locked on podcast network. your team every day. I'm Jake Liskow.

He's James Rapine. We've been covering the Cincinnati Bengals here on Lockdown Bengals since 2016. And you can find James additional workover at bengals talk.com where he writes about what's going on with your team every day. For the everydayers, welcome back. For those of you that are new to the show, welcome to the annual tradition where James and I try to guess all of the players, the Bengals will draft in each year's draft. we usually get one or two.

Not always the right round, but we usually get one or two. Sometimes three. Have we done three? I think we've done three. I can't remember. Yeah, all I know is we got the first two last year. So if you're looking for the right info,

you've come to the right place. We're going to try to do it again this year. Obviously there is an impossible task of trying to predict all six sticks. So we try. And we try to mention the names that could be in consideration. and that will be the plan today to go through six rounds, talk about the most likely fits, the other guys that we think could be in play for each of those picks.

As we're a day before the draft now, we know about as much as we're going to know. I'm sure we'll find out a little bit more on Thursday for those of you that are members of the Lockdown Bengals Insider page at JoinSeptex.com slash lockdown Bengals where you get direct text from us. You might be privy to some more information on Thursday, depending on what we get.

But let's dive into a final predictive mock draft. What will they do in an episode brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs, who helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster. You can post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash lockdown NFL, terms and conditions apply. James, let's jump into the first round. Yeah, let's jump into the first round. I'm muted, so we're off to a heck of a start.

But I think just full disclosure. or how we do this process, Jake kind of goes through his, on his side. I go through mine on my side, and then we kind of discuss it. And so I guarantee you, we'll mention the Bengals first round pick today. Will we get it right? It depends on how this draft goes. And I think this draft is really hard to predict from a, what happens in the first 16 picks. We can't just cross off three quarterbacks this year or cross off three wide receivers or it do two running backs go in the top 16 or is it just one running back amaran hampton maybe he does maybe he doesn't but but those are the factors and the latest is man there could be a run on offensive lineman the kelvin banks junior dream

probably not happening at 17 for cincinnati and okay that's fine what about the defensive tackles and so i i think that's that was the challenging part for me i don't know about you jic but just going through it. I think we know what the Bengals will do once we know who's gone, but kind of predicting who's going to be gone and who's going to be there was the challenging part here. I think it was a little bit of both. I think part of it is there are a lot of players that you would expect the Bengals to be interested in who could be picked before their pick, but also we don't really want the Bengals to draft or we think are very risky. And the Michael Williams, the Shamar Stuart the

Josh Connerley's Connerley won't be picked but Stuart and and Michael Williams and maybe even Jaylen Walker like those are guys that are going to be picked

we think we think those are guys that Bengals will be interested in and then on top of that you've got the Kelvin Banks idea right? He's probably going to be picked the guy we think

the Bengals will be interested in Walter Nolan a guy that at this point seems like a pretty safe bet to be picked before the Bengals pick at 17 a guy we think the Bengals would be very interested in. So that's part of it for sure is which players go that push guys down

that we think the Bengals will want and which guys that we think the Bengals would be interested in are going to be picked before they pick. And then even when you get there and you have this world of players that could be available to the Bengals that could include Shamar Stewart and maybe Mike Green

and one of the two safeties, Malachi Stark's or Nickham and Worry, or Jahad Campbell, or Josh Connerley, Derek Harmon. Then it's, okay, which of those guys do you think the Bengals land on out of that mix of players? Yeah. Yeah. And I think you nailed some of them at the beginning there. Like, I think Connerley's low on that list. Maybe I'm dead wrong. Maybe he's much higher than we anticipate.

Maybe Tyler Booker is super high on the Bengals list because he's a plug-and-play guard and that's it. the one that I came back to at 17 is if Shamar Stewart's there, I struggle with them passing on him. If Walter Nolan is there, I struggle with them passing on him. And so those are the two. For me, if one of those two guys gets there, do they take him? Or maybe they're both gone.

Walter Nolan's getting top eight buzz right now. And maybe it's fake. Maybe it doesn't happen. But I think there's a real scenario where he's gone in the top 10 or top 12. Does are the Bengals actually in on Shamar Stewart? Are they out on him? If so, how do they feel about Derek Harmon? That's where I think we're landing at pick 17 here

is we think that Derek Harmon is going to be the next Cincinnati Bengals. That is where I landed. I went back and forth a lot on Walter Nolan, who like at the latest maybe is going to the 49ers at 11. But I've also seen Samar Stewart in that spot. but I was between Harmon and Nolan and Stewart and Green, with some consideration, of course, to Jahad Campbell and the safeties. That was the primary consideration for me.

But I talked to myself in Dishamar Stewart and Derek Harmon being picked, or sorry, Walter Nolan being picked. And there's been some late medical buzz on Derek Harmon that he's got a shoulder thing that might push him down some boards, but it's not like he missed time in school. So hard to know much about that. It wasn't something that made it into the beast for Dame Bruegel. So whatever that is, it's hard for me to make much of the medical concerns for Derek Harmon.

That's where I landed after all the deliberation. You can see all these other things happen for sure. But I think if they're looking for a pass rusher who is multifaceted, Derek Harmon can do those things. And that lines up with what we heard from Duke Tobin. And there's been a lot of smoke connecting them to Mike Green this week, James, and a lot of people's final mocks, which is why he's in that conversation. But I just couldn't quite get myself to go that way.

Yeah, I think there were three guys that I was really focused on here. And none of them were Walter Nolan because I just don't think he's going to make it. And so Shamar Stewart, Deere Carmen, Jihad Campbell. And the reason why I think Jihad Campbell could make it is if there's legit questions about his shoulder, about his knee, injury concerns. otherwise he's probably not there. And so I was tempted to mock him to the Bengals, but then I got in my head about the injury stuff.

So I could totally see Jehai Campbell being the pick if the Bengals give the green light from a health standpoint. And he makes it to 17. But I think that Derek Harmon is someone that they will hold high value on if they give the green light medically. And so I'm fine. Let's mock Derek Harmon to the Bengals in the first round. someone that should give them juice as a pass pressure right away.

And you mentioned this the other night when we were doing the mock, the Bengals board, projecting the Bengals board. He should be fine against the run. It's not like he's a tweener. Like he's a guy that has plenty of size that should be able to hold up, that should be able to do that. And so I don't think the Bengals are going to be concerned there. And so as long as the shoulder is all right, I think Derek Harmon could certainly be the pick

here at 17. I think he was a good run defender in college. It's not like a total projection or anything. He has just a tackling. Yeah, just the tackling. And maybe that doesn't ever go away. Probably not. But the disruption, and if he does solve the tackling issue,

that's where the Chris Jones cops have come from for Derek Carmen, that you may have heard at some point in this process. The thing that makes it hard, the other thing that makes it hard, I guess I should say is, you know, they only have the six picks, right? So anytime you go through these scenarios, it's like, well, if you take an offensive lineman in the first round, it means you're not taking an offensive lineman, most likely in the second round, even though Joe and I double dipped on Monday. Like, you're probably going to a different position where there's some depth in the second

round. You take a defensive line in the first round, you're probably not taking T.J. Sanders in the second round, right? You're probably not taking, you know, whoever your favorite third round, defensive tackle, fourth round defensive tackle, tie Robinson. C.J. West, some guys will talk about a little bit later. So that's the other thing that kind of fits into the whole conversation at that point, too. But let's go Derek Harmon, round one.

Let's come back and talk about the plethora of options for round two, round three coming up next. Ever check your bank account and wonder, where did all my money go? Between dining out, online shopping, and entertainment, it's easy to lose track. That's where Monarch money comes in. It's your personal CFO, giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch money isn't just a budgeting app. It's a complete financial command center. You could track all of your accounts, investments, and spending in one place,

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Jake, let's dive into round two here. And I think what you mentioned is a really good thing. Like if they go Nikki Menwari, round one, which is certainly possible, or Malachi Starks, well, then you're not thinking about Xavier Watts in round two. You're not thinking about Kevin Winston Jr. in round two. It changes that exact thing. Andrew McCuba round three. It just changes it.

If you go Derek Harmon round one, well, then you're probably not going with a defensive tackle in round two. And maybe you go edge. Maybe you go offensive line. I think a lot of people have done the trench double dip where it's defensive line or defensive end and then offensive line. And I tend to think that that could work. I do wonder with all the late rumblings of the offensive line run happening maybe earlier than expected,

are they kind of stuck if they wait after round one, if the guy isn't there that they want round one, and then they have to wait till pick 49? Do they have to wait until round three? It could happen. Hopefully it doesn't, but certainly could. Yeah, I think the guy that you would like to see them have that I'm fairly certain won't be available to them, but would believe it will be the pick if he is, is Donovan Jackson, who I don't think gets there.

Give me that. The world of potential offensive linemen for the Bengals in the second round that they have expressed interest in and fit a lot of the things that we're expecting them to do because mostly we're expecting them to take a tackle-to-garde prospect, a guy that has that versatility in his college game at least, that could hypothetically maybe play some tackle. for you in the NFL, maybe eventually play tackle for you in the NFL. That world of players is Ariante Ursuli, Jonas Havanaughanaia, and those are the names,

Donovan Jackson's in the list, too, those are the names that stand out the most to me in the second round for the tackle to guard grouping. I think Tate Ratledge also fits in, and those are the guys we're probably looking at the hardest if it's a first round defensive tackle at the end of the first night of the draft when we convene and talk about whoever they've picked. If whoever they've picked turns out to be Derek Harmon, I think we're probably talking about the top group of interior line choices for the second round.

That's not all we'll be talking about. But those are the guys where I would probably start. Like you said, Xavier Watts, Kevin Winston, the safety group for the second round, I think, are guys that you would have to consider. Carson Swettinger, before there's a huge falloff at linebacker. If he is in the second round, if he makes it there, as there's some first round smoke for him is another name that I think you consider. If they don't go defensive tackle in the first round,

T.J. Sanders, the defensive tackle you mentioned that we wouldn't be considering if they go DT in the first round, I think in the second round we would be talking about. And then there's an edge group where there's a bunch of guys, a couple of Ohio State players, Jack Sawyer will mention. Landon Jackson, another guy that I would mention here. There's probably a bunch of other edge guys that you could talk about in the second round. And I think that says if they do want to draft a corner, probably the best place to do it. If one of those guys falls to them, I'll mention Benjamin Morrison here, Notre Dame connection, a couple of hip injuries there.

But the world of players in the second round is expansive. And it's going to be very contingent on who's available and what they've done in the first. Yeah, it is. I mean, and what's so interesting to me, I haven't really, like I'm big on Colston Loveland at 17 and I still am. but it's not like I'm mentioning Mason Taylor a ton here. I'm not mentioning tight end a lot throughout, and I think that there will be spots where they look at tight end. But here doesn't feel like it.

This feels like there's going to be multiple trench guys. And this could be also why they pass on Harmon, because they say there's going to be depth, there's going to be someone at 49, and we go instead with Nikki, worry because he's 12th on our board and Harmon is 15th or insert whoever like I could totally see that happening and that's what's what's so interesting here because I think that in the player that we landed on for this mock Jonah Savayanaeia and I might have butchered his last name a little bit

I'll get it right if they draft him I promise but he's he's one of those project offensive linemen that's going to make some nervous at the same time the Bengals have done a ton of homework on him. And if there is a run in round one and then they still go with a defensive player at 17 and then Jonah's there at 49, I certainly think that he'll be really high on their board and in serious consideration. So I think it makes sense. And I bet it's something they mocked the Harmon Savinea combo back to back to start this draft. And maybe it's Ursari, right? That's another guy in this range that they've talked to that we would fit the tackle to guard.

Hopefully it's Ratlidge. Booker could beat Fallen, you know, even though Ratlidge would be better. But, you know. You could certainly see Tyler Booker fall. And if that's the case, I think they would be very interested in the second round. I'm not expecting him to make it all the way to their second round pick, although I wouldn't shock me to see him get to the beginning of the second round. I think that the NFL still likes him enough to go in the first round.

Agreed. the reason that I didn't land on Tate Rattlidge here personally is largely because he's just a pure guard and well I think he's a good player I think the NFL is a little bit lower on Vatledge than the public not a lot but like a half round maybe and I think that the Bengals shown the level of interest they've shown in the tackle guard guys

is just hard to overlook here if that That's the direction they go in the second round. Yeah, I think they want to leave day two. I don't think they're going to force it here. Like I, they very well, like Kevin Winston Jr., someone when I did the BengalsTalk.com mock, I had him go off the board because I think he could be really high on the Bengals board. Like, I don't think they're going to force offensive line here, say if whoever they want at 49 in an ideal world isn't there. But I think in an ideal world he would be.

And they're going to be pretty open to going defensive playmaker slash pass rusher and then go offensive line here. Just because those are your two biggest questions at positions that directly impact either Joe Burrow. So position of value or pass rush, clearly their biggest weakness for most of last season during the season. So that's where I think they want to go. And I think if they end up with their Carmen and Jonas Savayanaia in the first two rounds, they'd feel really good. And then it would open things up a bit. I know there's still a ton of weaknesses. But in rounds three through six now, they've knocked off two big things that just takes a little, almost takes the edge off a little bit from a, oh my goodness, we have to have this.

Yeah. And so that's, that's where those pressing needs could dictate things a little bit early for them. And maybe they don't, but we've seen them react that way to pressing needs in the past. And so, like, maybe it is that they go DT edge and they come back and consider guard in the third round. And they really make sure they do it in the third round. But I think day one, day two, the most likely outcome is a couple of trench picks. And maybe we get some other splashes in there. Let's come back, talk about round three, day three to finish up the show coming up next.

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This is the first spot where I've got a tight end in the players to be considered list, although we should have mentioned Colson Loveland more in the first one. I did. You did, but I did not put him in the list of possibles, and he probably should be. I hope they take him. Teres Ferguson is a very interesting name to me here in the third round. If they want to address safety, there's probably a cliff after the third round. Maybe you can still get Kevin Winston here.

We talked about him in the second round. Andrew McCuba, the other name here. They haven't addressed the interior offensive line here. there are Georgia interior lineman that I think would be in play here. Tate Rattlidge is still available, as he is in all of the mock draft simulators. Obviously, Tate Rattlidge. But Wyatt Millam and Emery Jones, two late-reported 30 visits for the Bengals, I think are a couple of guys that would be in play on the interior offensive line

if they hadn't addressed it at this point. This is another place where you can talk about linebacker. There's probably a couple linebackers that the Bengals could be considering here. I kind of feel like that waits till day three, given the texture of the draft and where we expect the Bengals to make their picks. But what we've said is Derek Harmon and Jonas Savatanaia. So while I would like to talk about Charles Grant would be the other interior lineman that I think will be in play here, what do you think?

Is this the Ashton Jalati situation that we've been talking about for a few weeks? Yeah, he's my favorite player in the draft probably. I love him. I've brought him up a ton for weeks. And so this was Jake's idea to mock him. Because in my head, I'm like, oh, he's going to be a raven. Or he's going to go, he's going to go somewhere that's really annoying. Usually it's Baltimore that takes your draft crush, like it just does. But Asht Angelotti to me, Bengal, like he's everything that people think Jack Sawyer is. Like that's it.

Like, he'll be able to do everything for the Bengals that people think, I'm just saying it again, that if you're big on Jack Sawyer, and if you can get him at 81, I would take him ahead of Jack Sawyer at any point. But if you could get him at 81, I'd be a static. And so let's go there. This was your idea. I tried to again, almost block him out of my brain because it just seems too good to be true. But Jake was like, hey, I'm thinking Ashton Jalati round three. And it's like, well, hell yeah, you don't got to convince me. Let's do it. So I hope that this pick, of all the picks that we're making comes true. Because I just, I think he's going to be a guy who makes an impact. And you're going to notice it maybe it takes him a little bit.

like it did with insert whoever you're thinking from a defensive line standpoint. But I think we'll be able to be versatile, good against the run, give your pass rush a little juice. And that's what they're looking for at the edge and someone that can do a little bit of kicking inside as well. Yeah, the inside outside versatility is what gets me here. The fact that he can be an interior pass rusher potentially and he did a lot of that in college. That's what put him squarely in the conversation for me. I would say you're talking about Jack Sawyer.

This is probably the late end of the range for Jack Sawyer, although I've seen him go much later as well in like a scant few mocks. I think this would be for many people the late end of the range for. I would take him here. I wasn't trying to knock him. I would take him here for sure. Very much the Sam Hubbard 2.0 if he ends up in Bengal in the third round. Yeah.

I just think Jolati's a better player. and so that's why I'm there. But it totally would get it. People would be so excited if Jack Sawyer was a bengal at either round, but certainly at 81. Let's go third round, third day, day three, fourth round. Yep. And again, so many players here.

This is where running back, I think, is really in the conversation. You know, we didn't really talk about the running backs in the second round, but a DJ Giddens, a tootin out of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Martinez, those running backs, there's a bunch of early day three running backs that if you want to get a guy before there's a bit of a run, if they wanted to draft one, I think this is where it would be. This is where another list of interior defensive linemen, I think, could be in play as well, or flexible defensive lineman in the case of Savian Jones. So I'm going to mention here, but CJ West, Dion Walker, Ty Robinson, a bunch of interior guys that if they haven't gotten that, yet. This is where I think you could see them go in that direction. I would mention again another tight end here, Gunner Helm, if they want a guy with a little bit more of a blocking upside,

run after catch kind of tight end. This is another place where I'll mention tight end. We should mention Jaylen Rivers here, a guy that they have had some pre-draft contact with. And again, I'm going to mention Emery Jones here, who I think we mentioned in the third round as well. But I think this is his range, third to fourth, and a guy that the Bengals were connected with late, and if they wanted to double dip on the offensive line with a couple of tackles, college tackles, that couldn't play NFL guard, could very well see Emery Jones here being the double dip. Yeah, and I think they will. I think they'll ultimately double dip.

We've seen this before. They've done a ton of homework on this offensive lineman. They clearly were confident in this offensive line class, which is why, even if they won't come out and say it, which is why they didn't do as much in free agency at guard. I think that's a big part of it. And we saw them triple dip at linebacker once upon a time. We've seen them double dip in the past. I think they do it again.

And Emery Jones is certainly someone that they may have like 85th on their board, and they're considering him in round three. And so if he falls to round four, I certainly think they'll be like, all right, look, we got Jonah, but let's get Emery Jones as well and really hammer things. home, especially because they can still get out of that Cordell deal. I think that's important to mention. We talk about like Jermaine Pratt as kind of a cut candidate. Like Cordell Volson is very much a cut candidate still or a trade candidate. And if you could get got two young guards that you really like that you think can contribute early, do it. And maybe one

is contributing by being your eighth lineman on game day. Doesn't mean he's starting. But Emery Jones here, I think makes a ton of sense. And is one of the guys where you hope he's the second lineman they get, not the first one. I think that's fair. Like we've reached that point of the draft. Like Luke Candra, I really like him out of the University of Cincinnati. He needs to be the second lineman they take, not the first one. Yeah, I think that's fair to say.

I think the list of running backs here, the reason that we don't land on a running back is at least partially influenced by Zach Moss. and the fact that there's guaranteed money in a renegotiated deal for him to return this year that suggests he'll be healthy enough to play if there's guaranteed money involved as was reported that's why the basal tootin virginia tech isn't the pick here or the DJ getton's pick isn't happening here even though those are fun players damia martinas that's why those guys aren't the pick here they still might they still might yeah but it's not something i'm as convinced will happen it's more of a question i i agree agree. A week ago, I would have bet a lot of money they're taking a running back that they think can play right away.

I'm not sure now that they're going to feel as compelled to do that because I think they're going to believe in Zach Moss since they kept him around. I think the three guys that are on the team are probably on the team. And you would like more depth there. You would like more dynamism, but they have three guys. And they're not going to have more than that active on game day in most situations, I would think. The other guys I would mention here are a couple of linebackers. I think I started to say Barrett Carter Clemson, they had pre-draft contact with. This is about where you would start to see Jeff Bossa from Oregon considered as well. A couple of Texas linemen, Baron Sorrell and Vernon Broughton are some names that we haven't talked about a ton. I think this is about the range for them as well.

And finally, I'll mention Logan Brown here as a swing tackle potential kind of player if the Bengals wanted to go that route in the fourth. Let's get to the fifth. This is where things really get dicey. We're late in the draft at this point. Nobody knows what's going on. But at some point, we're expecting Al Golden to get one of these guys. And if it's not Xavier Watson the second round, why not Jack Kaiser in the fifth?

Yeah, I agree. I think why does he make it here? Because he's a pretty good athlete, not an elite athlete, but a good athlete. He's 25. He's 25. So I think he could certainly make it to the fifth round. And if he's here and the Bengals have an addressed linebacker, it makes too much sense. He has nearly a thousand special team snaps.

He knows Al Golden's defense in and out. He's someone that if you need to play him, you probably think he can play, but doesn't need to start. It's not like there's a ton of pressure there where he would have to start right away. No, he would just play special teams and probably back up Orrin Berks. Or maybe they keep Jermaine Pratt around. Who knows? but I think one, I think he would make the team. Two, he fits exactly what Al Golden has done defensively

and has made a bunch of starts under Al Golden over the past three years, 25 starts to be exact. And so I certainly think that if they haven't addressed linebacker and he's here in round five, Jack Kaiser will be a Cincinnati Bengal. The other guys to consider here, depending on what's happened, before this election, we haven't selected a linebacker yet. So that's a very clear reason to go in the Jack Kaiser direction. You could very well see a linebacker earlier if they're looking for a guy they feel really good about starting.

But Ty Hamilton, Ohio State defensive tackle, they had a local visit with. I would mention here. Antoine Powell Rylan, just because he is the sheet favorite. But a couple of defensive backs as well. Caleb Ransaw, potential nickel back out of Tulane, Sebastian Castro, nickel slash safety from Iowa. Malachi Moore, similar role out of Alabama. RJ Mickens and Jalen Reed, a couple of true safety prospects, I think, from Clemson and Penn State, are a couple of other guys that if they wanted to go safety at this point in the draft,

I think this is about where they would come into play. This could also be the Cody Simon pick, although you can also see Cody Simon potentially go in the sixth round. Also earlier, who knows. And if they wanted to go running back again, this is a Jarquez Hunter part of the draft, I would say as well. Jaden Blue, if he's there, round five. Yep. Bengals, give me him.

Give me him in round five. Because what he would do, Jake, because they're not going to ask him to pass protect, but he gives them such a dynamic that they wouldn't have with these other guys anyway. Outside of Chase Brown to a degree, but even so, he would be on another level, I think, just from a speed element, so that would be fun. So Jaden Blue in round five, sign me up. Round six, this is one of those spots where it's like, all right, are they going to get a safety?

are they not? We've seen them go the late round safety in the past. Obviously, Tyson Anderson, someone that comes to mind. Last year, Desjohn Anthony. Yes. And so how about a guy, J.J. Roberts out of Marshall. Athletic freak. Mike Green praised him, said how freakish athletic, athletically he is, could totally see the Bengals saying, freak athlete, teammates love him. We could certainly use that on the back end. Let's get him in the building. Let's see what we can do on special teams for us and work him in on defense as he progresses. Yeah, and if they haven't taken a safety, why not throw a dart in the sixth round at that point? If they have taken a safety, if they haven't picked a linebacker, Nick Martin is going to be a very popular projection for the Bengals in the sixth round, a guy they spent time with.

But also, I've seen the Notre Dame defensive lineman go undrafted in a number of box. So Riley Mills is anywhere from top 100 to undrafted, is where I've seen him this week. Is this a spot where they would consider another Notre Dame guy, Howard Cross in that conversation as well? Ty Hamilton, I mentioned earlier, probably could be in consideration here as well. A running back could certainly come back up at this point. If there's a possibility, a Notre Dame guy on the other side of the ball, that Mitchell Evans coming off an injury is still available in the sixth round, I think that would be an awesome roll of the dice to take. I think there's probably some other tight ends that could be.

be in play here. Luke Lechay from Iowa stands out to me as well. But once you get this late in the draft, it's a real, who knows what's going on. A lot of undrafted guys getting drafted. And this is the Bengals' last pick as of today in the draft. Yeah, this late, just pick a player you like that you think has a shot. Mm-hmm. And it could be a wide receiver here. No doubt. I mean, it could be anything. It could be, by the way, if they take Nick M. Wem and worry, but they really believe in JJ Roberts, maybe they just take him. Like, I'm not predicting a double dip at safety necessarily, right? But they're not going to shy away from it in round six because they already have one.

If that's the clear best player on their board. Not that it will be. Never say never, though. And so that's, boy, it's almost here. J.J. Roberts, I would be excited about, even if it does seem, it's probably about right. I think he's going to get drafted. It's just someone's going to take a flyer on those traits, even if he's a small school guy. Mike Green's out there advocating with all of his pre-draft visits to every team considering Mike Green to draft JJ Roberts.

And I think that certainly helped JJ Roberts case. So we've got Derek Harmon, Jonas of Anaia, Ashton Jalati, Emery Jones, Jack Kaiser, and JJ Roberts. How many do you think we got this year? Ah, man. I think there's a real chance that Harmon is the pick for sure. Obviously. Seva and Ia could certainly be it. And I think I got it right there. Savanaya. Seva and Ia. Yeah. Savanaea. It's Aya. I've heard Ayah. When he says it, it's Ayah. Savanaea, according to Brewer. But yeah, maybe not. Sevaenaeia. Either way. Sevena. The way I learned how his name is pronounced as I heard him say it.

Got it. Okay. Well, Jonah could certainly be the pick. Ashton Jalati. I'm not sure if he makes it to 81, but could be. Like, I think we have a good shot of at least two. And maybe Emery Jones is in round three instead of round four. Maybe Kaiser's in round four instead of five. Like maybe they got desperate at line back. Like, I could see that. But I would say two. I think we get two right.

I would say the overrunner is probably one and a half. You think? Yeah, probably every year. This year was harder, though. This year is harder. I think this year is harder. It doesn't feel as predictable. I think we get one at least, right?

I hope. We haven't withed, I don't think. I don't think we've had an over. We've named, I guarantee you we've named probably 80% of their picks. We've named them. We've named like, that's what I'm saying. But that's what I'm saying is like we better have covered that. And surely there will be a couple picks that we haven't talked about or heard of. That always happens. Yeah, we've got to the draft. We're here. We've gotten there. We'll be back with you after the first round. Are you doing anything live tomorrow?

Yeah, I'm going to be live at Paycor Stadium. Okay. I'm not going to be live from there, but I'll be alive at the stadium. I'll be live with Joe Goodberry somewhere. Keev and I on social media for those links. We'll probably be on YouTube or Twitch or Twitter or something. We'll figure that out. So you can check that out if you're looking for some live coverage.

We'll have you covered, of course, immediately after the pick. We'll have a show coming out a little bit of time after the pick as well. so you can keep an eye on the YouTube page for those things. Until then, thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Hootay and have a good one. Three shows this weekend, Jake. Buckle up. Let's go.