Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - FACT CHECKING | The Most Talented Bengals Team in the Joe Burrow Era?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Joe Burrow thinks this is the most talented that Cincinnati Bengals have been in his NFL career. Is that true? Let's get into it. 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 Rapien. I'm Jake. Let's go.

Starting point is 00:00:29 We are your host of the Lockdown Bengals podcast, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast and today we're going to dive into the conversation as to whether or not Joe Burrow is correct. That's right. Is Joe Burrow correct about this being the best, the most talented, I should say, roster in the Joe Burrow era in Cincinnati? And there are a couple different ways you could approach this question. As we were talking about it before we started recording James, we were, I think immediately

Starting point is 00:01:04 thinking about it a little bit differently because since Joe Burrough said this in May, I was thinking about where we thought the rosters were around this time of year in previous years. Like coming off the Super Bowl run in 2021, we thought, yeah, they're going to be right back in that competition in 2022. And they were, in fact, right back in that competition in 2022. And going into 2023, they lost Jesse Bates, but coming off of two straight eight AFC championship games, that was still what we thought this team should be doing. And obviously it didn't go that way. Joe Burrow had an injury.

Starting point is 00:01:40 Things went off the rails after that. 2024 was the further degradation of the defense and things went off the rails. But in this episode, we're going to unpack this claim from Joe Burrow that this is the most talented roster in his time in Cincinnati and discuss the competitors

Starting point is 00:01:59 and why it may or may not be the most talented roster that he's been a part of. look here's the path to being the most talented roster one he plays like the guy that he's envisioning himself being which is a 50 touchdown passer i think that's the first thing when you compare any of these these teams and really we're comparing 21 through 23 no one's going to say 2020 and 2024 clearly wasn't good enough and last year clearly wasn't good enough and so it's really a three-year stretch and it did feel like in 2020, when he got hurt, that they were going to push. I've said it multiple times. I thought that they were going to beat the Ravens. The Texans beat them four days prior.

Starting point is 00:02:45 And guess what? That Texans team went on to make the playoffs and surprised a lot of people. And so for me, I look at it and this three-year arena, comparing that to now, well, a big difference. is going to be Joe Burrow. I've seen some people say, oh, well, it's same QB, same receivers. It's like, no,

Starting point is 00:03:07 Jamar is better today than he wasn't 21. Joe is better today than he wasn't 21. And it should be better than he wasn't 22, 23. Same thing goes for T. Higgins. And so that's where I think it starts is like at baseline, the guys that they have. Now they cost, they cost more.

Starting point is 00:03:24 They're impacting the roster more. But talent level wise, they are better. And I do think that that's the case. When I look back at the 2021, team. I think that's where it should start because that's where this run truly started. It's a very flawed football team. And that's

Starting point is 00:03:39 why there were so many ebbs and flows of that season. And there were highs and lows, right? The five and two start. And then they dropped back to back games. And Zach Taylor was gracious enough to join us on the podcast going into the biweek and it's five and four. And then they find a way to get a couple wins and then they dropped some games. I know

Starting point is 00:03:58 there's a San Francisco loss in there, a Chargers loss in there. And so, like, well, what the hell are they doing? And then they go on the road and they beat Denver and they find ways to win. And then they beat Kansas City and clinched the division. And even then, I think we were like, what are they? And even then after they beat the Raiders, I think a lot of people thought they'd go to Tennessee and lose. And they win. And then a lot of people thought that that would be it. And their magic would run out in Arrowhead. And they were down 18. And they found a way to win. But throughout it, they were flawed. Joe Burrell gets sacks.

Starting point is 00:04:33 seven times in Tennessee. They find a way to win anyway. He gets the crap kicked out of him in Super Bowl 56. Like that was a flawed team. So when I look at that roster versus this roster, and I just want to start there, and then we can go roster by roster. I think that's the best way to do it.

Starting point is 00:04:50 I do think that this team is more talented than the 2021 team, not really because of expectations, but even the final result, like if you take AFC championship game 2021 bangles versus current bangles, which one has more talent, I would say current Bengals. When you look at the AFC championship game team for the Bengals in 2021, they were so banged up by them.

Starting point is 00:05:15 But the biggest disparity is probably the offensive line. Because on the defensive side of the ball, I think it's closer, right? Like this year's Bengals have Dexter Lawrence in the middle. That year's Bengals had DJ Reader playing at the highest level, or one of the highest levels that we've seen him play in the, in the NFL. And in addition to that, on the defensive line, Sam Hubbard was playing really good ball that year.

Starting point is 00:05:39 They had Larry Ogunjobi and BJ Hill, and they have a solid trio on the interior with those three guys. And Larry Ogonjoba obviously got hurt in the playoffs. And so you get to the AFC championship game, the Super Bowl, less Larry Ogon Joby. But that defensive line that year was, relatively speaking, a strength. And you compare it to the depth that they have this year. I think you feel better about this.

Starting point is 00:06:02 depth this year. But there are questions on the edge for this team where you feel good about the interior and Dexter Lawrence is going to be different than anything they had on that team. DJ Reeder was really, really good at the time. Different kind of player. Dexter Lawrence, more to like traditional no-tackle production from DJ Reader, but a transformational piece for that defensive line. You get to the linebacker group and Logan Wilson, Jermaine Pratt, obviously, I think, better than what they have at linebacker this year. Get to the corners. It gets a little bit interesting. this year's corners led by DJ Turner and Dax Hill.

Starting point is 00:06:35 That year, Mike Hilton, the best of that group. But Chadobe Awuzier was really good that year for them. Eli Apple even made plays for them in the playoffs. And so where would you go on the corners, James? I give the slight edge, I think, to the 21 corners because of the high-end play they got from Cheeto and what they got from Mike Hilton, they were a little bit more complete there despite the weak link

Starting point is 00:06:57 in Eli Apple. Like that was a weak link that year. I think that Eli at his position probably a little bit better than whoever you're penciling in as a starter in the nickel right now, assuming that Dax stays outside. It's tough, man. I'm just thinking about O'Dell versus Mike in the Super Bowl. You know, I like, and it's DJ and Dax. And yeah, it's tough. It's close.

Starting point is 00:07:23 But you're right. Like Eli Apple's tackle on Tyreek, it wins them the game. Like, that's it. So really, really tough. Trey Wains on that team. They play, but he was on the team. Oh, no, no, that's what I mean. Like some of the names that were on the back end.

Starting point is 00:07:41 Yeah. Like Eli Apple, thank goodness. What an under the radar crazy signing that saved their rear ends. Yeah. When you think about it like that. I mean, Vernon Hargreaves, biggest impact was a penalty in the Super Bowl. That bum running out there with slides on. Like, man, I'm going current corners.

Starting point is 00:07:59 there's no way Josh Newton's doing that. Josh Newton, it's funny. Like even if you give the edge to Cheeto and Mike and Eli, after that, are you taking DJ Ivy and Josh Newton over Vernon Hargraves and Trey Wains? I am. Trey Wains was so mailed in. I think he was thinking about hunting during Super Bowl 56.

Starting point is 00:08:20 That dude, they didn't want any, they didn't want to put him anywhere near the field. They did also have Trey Flowers on that team for the role that he played. and he was effective in that role. But the big difference, obviously, on defense, Jesse Bates, and now finally Brian Cook is there to hopefully answer the safety problem that they've had since Jesse Bates left.

Starting point is 00:08:39 But the play they got from Jesse Bates and Bombbell that year, better, right? So, like, we're projecting that this defense is going to be better. If this defense is better than it was in 2021, then we're calling the offseason of success, right? Like, we're pretty happy with where the defense is if they're better than what they were in 2021. Would you agree? Yeah, yes.

Starting point is 00:09:00 Yeah. If they're better than they here, if this defense is better than the 21, 21 defense, they're going to the Super Bowl. Book it. The other big difference, I would say. Is that the opposite take to you? No, I think it's pretty reasonable.

Starting point is 00:09:17 Like they have a good shot at it if the defense, because like that defense was good in the playoffs. Like good in the playoffs. And they came up in big games and found ways to slow down some of the good quarter. And same in 2020. To be honest, we'll get to the 2022, 2022, 2023 teams. I think those are the other contenders.

Starting point is 00:09:36 But the big difference is going to be on the offensive side of the ball, right? The offense this year, certainly better. Like, maybe they're a little bit worse at tight end. C.J. Usama was really productive for them. But the offensive line that year was such a train wreck compared to the guys that running out at an offensive line this year and the expectations on the offensive line for this year. Tyler Boyd, better in the slot.

Starting point is 00:09:56 Outside of that, we've talked. talked about Jamar's improvement, T's improvement, Burroughs improvement. Chase Brown versus Mixin, you can have that conversation. But overall, this offense, because of primarily the offensive line and the improvement from their stars, I don't think there's much of an argument that 2021 was more talented. And Joe Burrow talked about the ability to get more explosive this year. If teams continue to try to commit a little bit more to the box and finding ways to go over the top again, we'd love to see them find a way to be more vertically explosive as well this year.

Starting point is 00:10:26 We'll continue the conversation as we try to find rosters that can stack up to 2021 or sorry, 2026 this year coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by Fandall. Fandall is America's number one sports book in the conference finals in full swing. I'm excited for a big weekend of hoops. And you can get in on all the fun with Fandall right now where new customers can bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. That's right.

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Starting point is 00:11:23 And you can sign up today at fandle.com where you get $150. in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins for all new users. Head to fandal.com to get started. That's fandle. Play your game. All right, Jake, this is the one that is tough for me. It's tough for me because I think about this 2022 team. And I just remember how confident Joe was going into these playoffs and just chatting with

Starting point is 00:11:52 him a little bit, whether you think about locker room vibes, confidence, outside the building, vibes, how they were approaching things. Like this team thought they would go insert wherever, play whoever, beat whoever. Like they felt by the end of the year that they were the best team in football. And obviously the injury bug bit them in the offensive line room. Yeah, well, Collins going down against the Patriots. Alex Kappa went down in the BS game against the Ravens. And then they had another one of who else went.

Starting point is 00:12:24 Oh, and then Jonah Williams got hurt as well. Like they had three starting offensive linemen go down and not be able to play. I think Jonah would have been close enough, certainly not 100%, but close enough to play. Same thing with Kappa in Super Bowl 57 had they made it there. But they fall a player too short and lose to Kansas City by a field goal. And there's a bunch of ways you could point. There's a bunch of people you could point to a bunch of reasons why. Bottom line is that they fell short.

Starting point is 00:12:53 And yet when I think of the Joe Burrow era in that wrong, roster. That's the roster that I've held in highest regard because I thought that, man, they had added Kappa. He worked out. That was his best season of his NFL career. Ted Karras came in, brought some stability to center after Trey Hopkins was what he was in 2021. And then Lyle Collins didn't practice, didn't do a lot, but did bring some stability to that right tackle position. On game day, he was okay. And okay was better than what they had the year prior. And So the offensive line was passable, and it worked enough. And they really, they were able to roll.

Starting point is 00:13:34 And they go to Buffalo and handle business on the road. And that was a huge, huge win in the snow. I just, I think of that team that still had Jesse Bates, that still had a lot of the pieces that we think about. Now, they did lose Chidobe Ouzier, and they lose him on Halloween night in Cleveland. They lose in Cleveland. They're four and four.

Starting point is 00:13:54 And then they rattle off 10 straight in Cleveland. the playoffs, finished 12 and 4, probably 13 and 4 if the DeMar Hamlin incident hadn't occurred. If they win that game, and we're talking about the most wins in franchise history in a regular season, a lot to like about that team. And I just, I was, I would have been shocked if you told me that's where the run ended, but that's where the run ended in 2022 in the AFC title game at Arrowhead. It was the last year that they kind of had the defense performing, right? That was the last year that Trey, BJ, DJ, Hubbard, all really played at a high level, that whole group.

Starting point is 00:14:30 Behind them, you still had Logan Wilson and Jermaine Pratt playing competent plus at linebacker. The secondary was still intact. You mentioned they lost Cheeto, but Cam Taylor Britt be in the fourth corner or Eli Apple be in the fourth corner, Cam Taylor Britt pretty good as a rookie, right? Made some plays for them as a rookie. Still had Trey Flowers on that team. Had Dax Hill for depth on that team. Joseph Osai. depth on that team.

Starting point is 00:14:55 And obviously it was on the wrong side of an unfortunate penalty in the AFC championship game. But in terms of depth, it's there on the defensive side. The argument for 2026 ahead of 2022, again, to me, comes down to offensive line improvements, projecting Dylan Fairchild to be better this year, and projecting a Mario Smith to maintain his trajectory and right tackle, even if you think Orlando Brown isn't much better than Jonah Williams, which I don't know that we need to get into today. I think he is the offensive line overall because of Mims primarily. Like you're talking about Mims versus Hakeemadeney.

Starting point is 00:15:33 By the time they got to January, so Kemeadentery, Tadnery playing right tackle for them. And Jackson Karmine had to play guard for them. I had to play tackle for them in the playoffs. Right? Am I wrong? Jackson, Carmen, I felt like he played... You played guard?

Starting point is 00:15:50 I thought he played guard, but I can look here. He played, didn't he play every snap against the Bills? Yeah, it's a Bill's game that I'm thinking of. Was he a guard that game? He was a guard that game, wasn't he? I feel like he was. The other piece is like, how much better do you think Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase C. Higgins are now than then?

Starting point is 00:16:09 Where do you come down on Joe Mixon, in 2022 Joe Mixen versus Chase Brown? And the Tyler Boyd factor, because Tyler Boyd was set to be the X factor in that AFC championship game is how it appeared before he went down with the injury. So yeah, I mean, I think 22 probably the toughest competitor. Akeem-a-Denegi, Cordell-Voson, Max Sharping, Jackson, Carmen, Ted Carras for the starters. So Carmen had to have been playing tackle then.

Starting point is 00:16:37 Had to have. Had to have. Yeah. Had to have. Yeah, because it was Sharping and Volson and then Caras. Oh, boy. Yeah, they got hurt. They got hurt. And that's it because otherwise they were. solid enough and you get by but uh i mean imagine if this team didn't have three of their their got like we would not be feeling good about this offensive line if that was the case

Starting point is 00:17:02 but checking the snap counts by the way i went to the official page just to make sure here in jackson he's still he's still listed at guard but he had to play tackle there's no way he did i'll check the the other thing is the the depth on the offensive line like how how do you feel about the depth if the depth is like max sharp I mean, Max Sharping, Trey Hill, and Jackson Carmen versus, you know, Brian Parker and Connor Lou.

Starting point is 00:17:30 Like, how are we going to feel about those guys? Guys that we're pretty bullish on as day through draft picks. You would certainly hope that Lou and Parker, and even Ford have the advantage by the end, right? And Rivers is in that mix too. Like, and I think they would, right? Like, I think that they would.

Starting point is 00:17:48 That, that seems realistic. to me to think, all right, those guys are going to be better, but they have to go out and show it. And that's, that's it. That's the projection. But overall, I think offensive line-wise, it's, it is the best that we've seen it in the Joe Burrow era. And it's because of those young, promising guys.

Starting point is 00:18:12 Like Cordell Volson was an instant starter in 2022, he would have no shot to start on this team as a rookie. and I like Cordell, but there would be no, there would be zero point zero chance that he would start, no matter what he did. And when it came to him as a rookie, all he had to do is beat out Jackson Carmen for the starting job, which was Cakewalk. Like Brian Parker would have beat out Jackson Carmen for the starting job. Connor Lou, if they play the same position, I would bet on Connor Lou to beat out Jackson Carmen for the starting job. So from that perspective, yeah, I trust the 2026 offensive line more and I think the depth is better. Cameron was playing left tackle throughout the playoffs,

Starting point is 00:18:53 starting in the Baltimore game when Jonah got hurt. He was playing left tackle against Baltimore, against the Bills, and then against the Chiefs. Help, Help City. Starting left tackle for the playoffs for the Bengals, Jackson Carlin.

Starting point is 00:19:06 So the theme for me, as we look at these two teams, these two deep playoff teams for the Cincinnati Bengals, is that a big difference, like the big delineator, one would be Dexter Lawrence, versus DJ Reader. And if you get the version of Lawrence that is like DJ Reader plus pass rush,

Starting point is 00:19:26 then that's a pretty big talent jump, right? The other on defensive side of the ball is Trey Hendrickson versus what they get out of the combination of players that they're going to try to replace Ray Hendrickson with. The other big one is the offensive line. The offensive line in many ways is tilting me toward the 2026 team when I consider the offense and the stability that you expect would come along with returning all those starters that played at a high level down the stretch for this team last year. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:19:55 It's, I, it's, it's sort of a 180 for me, because you're right. Like offensively, it was like run it back from last year to this year from a trench perspective. And then you look at the 21 to 22 and Cheeto gets hurt, but it all the good players, a lot of the good pieces were back on defense. and now outside of Larry O. And so it's an interesting element here because now it's kind of flipped. And it's like all the offensive line pieces are back.

Starting point is 00:20:34 All the offensive pieces are back. But then you flip it. And on defense, there's a lot of new faces that the Bengals are banking on. We'll continue the conversation. Is it the best roster of the Joe Burrow era? We'll continue next. Today's show is brought to by Square. Support for today's show is brought to you by Square

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Starting point is 00:21:37 Right now you can get up to $200 off Square hardware at Square.com slash go slash locked on NFL. That's SQUARE.com slash go slash locked on NFL when your business smarter with Square. Get started today. Learn a valuable lesson about the importance of safety in 2023. And when the Bengals went to Nick Scott and Dax Hill as their starting safeties, that really didn't pan out. Jordan Battle added to the team that offseason as well. But like overall, the expectations going into 2023 were still sky high. And so when you think about what we thought about the Bengals in May of 2023 and what we think about the Bengals in May of 2026,

Starting point is 00:22:19 I think that that does get interesting. They had just added Orlando Brown. That was her big ticket ad that season. and still had DJ Reeder, BJ Hill, and the defensive interior, but had questions behind those guys where Josh Chupos, Zach Carter, who didn't make it for very long.

Starting point is 00:22:35 J. Tufele were part of the team, Miles Murphy, the team's first round pick that year to come compete and contribute behind Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson, still had the linebackers intact, and still had Cheeto on that team, still had Chidobe, Abu Zia, Cam Taylor, Britt, Mike Hilton. So, like, the safeties were the big question mark on defense. But we could not have imagined that it would go as badly as it did in the off season.

Starting point is 00:23:00 Like we were not, we thought they would be fine. Not good, but like the drop off was not something that I think we saw coming quite as severe as it occurred. Yeah, not even close. And part of it was Dax Hill and how good he was in the rookie camp basically in the rookie portion of, training camp until Jesse Bates showed up the year prior. And it was like, well, Daxel was playing well. And he had a good preseason. And so he's going to come in and he can be the guy.

Starting point is 00:23:34 And Nick Scott's solid and a Super Bowl champ and a guy that can come in and just be a solid veteran. And it turns out Nick Scott wasn't confident in the scheme, didn't really fit. Daxel wasn't vocal and ended on a really sour note, I would say, at the end of that year. And that impacted them. Lou didn't trust him. and so they go get Von Bell they draft a guy in Jordan Battle that

Starting point is 00:23:58 you know that they really started to rely on and that's what's tough for me is like I look at that and I'm like Jordan Battle is the we didn't think that they were going to go to that route but because Nick Scott didn't work because Dax Hill was someone

Starting point is 00:24:19 that they felt like we should move him because of all the things that transpired, they had to keep addressing it. And so you think about all the safety additions they've had and that Jesse Bates loss is like a huge, huge regret because they've invested far more in safety than they should have. They had just paid Jesse.

Starting point is 00:24:40 Who could have seen this coming? Who could have predicted that they should have paid Jesse Bates? And I say that monotone and as sarcastically as I can because we did. was so obvious and it looked like history repeating itself and it was and it was so affordable and it was and honestly like just so disconnected if if you had kept von bell for a rookie jordan battle does that change things just just a year prior because there's continuity because the communication would have been there because of all those things that you didn't get with nick scott that daxhill certainly wasn't in position to do could they have done like all these different

Starting point is 00:25:23 things, all these ripple effects. But yeah, it's a huge downgrading. It led to a ton of big plays. And after the season, after the season, pretty sure after the season Joe Burrow talked somewhere. I don't know. I don't think it was to us. And maybe it was to us, but he said we weren't good enough.

Starting point is 00:25:43 And like, he didn't think that they were good enough in 2023. Now, whether or not they were, I don't know. But the safety part of it is what he's. thinking, I guarantee it because they were giving up a ton of plays that they just wouldn't have given up. And you think back to even 2020, Jesse Bates puts the fires out. He's the, you know, the extinguisher, the fireman, fireman, whatever you wanted to call him. And even when they were bad on defense, he was a guy that helped them a ton. And when they lost that, they, they didn't recover. They haven't recovered. Hopefully they finally do recover with Brian Cook. I think the other thing

Starting point is 00:26:21 that's a big difference is their, their defensive tackle. death was terrible like Josh Dupo Zach Carter J2 fell late to start the year as as their backup defensive tackles like it just wasn't the the difference in the defensive line room in general in terms of that significantly tilts toward 2026 and then we look at the offense still and Tyler Boyd on this team and so they still were better at wide receiver 3 they just added are they are they I thought yeah Boyd was still fine in 2023 Was this last year?

Starting point is 00:26:55 Yeah. I'm just saying, was that a product of the offense or was that just Tyler Boyd's healthy? I mean, he was more productive than, I mean, there was no. I know the numbers of the numbers, but like, I think he was still solid, at least solid. Like, he was so trusted. He averaged 10 yards to catch 667 yards. So no, I'm just, I just think they use Andre different, right? Well, they do.

Starting point is 00:27:18 That's why I mentioned Mike Keseki and I was even going to mention Tanner Hudson. Like, they have these other guys that Joe and these. quarterbacks trust yeah that that do some of what what Tyler did but the the three receive I mean the tight end room I think was worse or Smith did not work out that was their one that didn't work out but like they just out Orlando Brown we still had confidence in Karrison Kappa they moved Jonah to right tackle but and Jonah didn't work out super well but like he was still okay you're almost like the offensive line again still tilts toward 2026 largely

Starting point is 00:27:53 again because this wasn't the best year for Kappa. The expectations were higher for him that he would bounce back, but I think expectations at this point for Dalton Riser this year are higher than what Kappa gave you in 2023 in hindsight. And I think our expectations are higher for Dylan Fairchild than Cordell-Voson. And the expectations for Marius Mons are much higher than they were for what Jonah Williams gave you that year. So Chase Brown versus Joe Mixon in 20203.

Starting point is 00:28:25 I think we're taking this year's Joe Mixen versus Joe, or this year's Chase Brown versus Joe Mixen in 23. Correct. Yes. So what do you think? Is this in fact, because of the strength of Dexter Lawrence and Brian Cook, the most talented roster, the Bengals have had, and the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:28:43 I think of Margie Smith is a big part of it, the most talented roster that Joe Burroughs had in Cincinnati after these teams we've talked about. It could be. It's close, though, right? Like, it's a little bit closer than I thought it would be. It's close. And honestly, that's kind of a testament to what Joe's done, too, and what they've done.

Starting point is 00:29:02 Because you say it that way and, like, there were like some serious flaws with both of those teams. And I think I lean 2022 close. This defense could get there, but I'm not sure it will. but like Von Bell, Jesse Bates, Dax Hill, better than what they have at safety. Close though, especially if Jordan Battle takes a step, then it gets real close. Kyle Dugger, great depth at safety.

Starting point is 00:29:35 Best safety depth they've had. You think better than Dax? I don't know. I don't know about that. I don't know. I mean, Dax wasn't very good as a start of the next year. I think he could have been offended tremendously from just having Vaughn or Jets.

Starting point is 00:29:50 You know, like, that's it. It was just weird that he didn't get to play with a guy who knew what he was doing. So it's really tough. So, yes, we're splitting hairs here because it ultimately, linebacker-wise, they're better than the defensive front. I lean towards now because I think it's the best defensive front they've had in 15 years, 12 years. For depth especially. 2015, since 2015, probably.

Starting point is 00:30:18 For depth especially. like there's no individual star like there was for tray hendrickson in terms of sacking the quarterback but instead you get a different kind of player in dexter lawrence who if he's dexter lawrence he's better than dj reader was and dj reader was awesome but they had dj and tray and tray and competent players in bj hill and sam hubbard on the same defensive lines but the death this year much much better yep and uh and that's it is like trey and hubbard are better than any end any end combo and best case scenario that they had like hubbard was great in 22 like really really good and uh it's crazy how he got old quick but he did so i lean 22 it's it's close i lean 22 and i definitely see a path like if dexter is the best defensive tackle in foot like if if we're saying hey he's the best nose tackle in football and that's what we're saying halfway through the year and brian cook is what we think he could be and dj is is this real true cb1 and They feel like he is internally.

Starting point is 00:31:22 And you got Dax with the chip on the shoulder. Like it's really easy to see this defense being a pain in the rear to deal with. And we know what's on the other side. 2026 Joe Burrow is better than 2022 Joe Burrow. 26 Jamar Chase is better than 2022 Jamar Chase. And part of that is they've unlocked his game to a different level, partially because Tyler Boyd isn't on the roster. And that's what I think is kind of interesting.

Starting point is 00:31:47 You don't have a slot only anymore. You have these guys that. kind of move in and out and in your offense is far more uh can adjust and in tight ends wise i think 2026 is better and man oh man if eric all is healthy and i know he's working his butt off talk to him today or yesterday excuse me so like there's a lot a lot there really interesting really interesting dilemma debate i see the path for 26 i need to see more and that's that's the beauty of talking about this in may the bengals have had three pro bowlers in most of the Joe Burrow years.

Starting point is 00:32:24 Three in 21, three and 22, two in 23, three and 24. And then they have four in 2025 because Joe Flacco was a pro bowler. T. Higgins was a late ad as an alternate as well. Joe Burrow was a late ad to the Pro Bowl where they were desperate for quarterbacks. But if they can get to like Burrow, Jamar, Dexter, Dexter, maybe Mims. Cook's ever been a pro bowler? I don't think. No, I know.

Starting point is 00:32:51 Last year. And yeah, if Cook gets there, yeah, then you're talking six real pro bowlers and impact players. If they get there, then we're going to be looking back and thinking, yeah, of course, this is the most talented team because I do like the debt they've built this year. And then if they get there with the top end talent and they get those kinds of performances from these guys, I think that will seal the deal, so to speak. Yeah. Yeah, it certainly could.

Starting point is 00:33:15 And that's the exciting part, is you can see the path of this being the best roster in the Joe Burrow era. And if they're going to win the Super Bowl, it's going to be. It will be if they get that far. But there's a lot that needs to happen. But the fact that we're having this conversation, Jake, if you would have told me two months ago we were having it after the first, second and third waves of free agency, I would have laughed at you. I would have laughed at you. And so, man, oh man, what a difference, a six foot four, three hundred and forty pound man that does a sexy dexie can do. It makes a big, big difference. It does. That really has changed the way we're thinking about this football team. This season has changed the way that we perceive the talent level on the team. It's changed the way that we are concerned about the linebackers and the degree to which we are concerned about the linebackers and just adding stability with some of the other pieces, adding depth where they've added depth throughout the draft and free agency. Those things give their roster some resiliency. And Joe Flacco is included in that as well. Pro Bowl quarterback. Joe Flacco.

Starting point is 00:34:18 That's going to do it for this episode of the Locked-on Bengals podcast. Until next time, thanks for listening. Ho day and have a good one.

Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - FACT CHECKING | The Most Talented Bengals Team in the Joe Burrow Era?

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