Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - INSIDE LOOK: Bengals Assistant GM Mike Potts Breaks Down EVERY Pick in 2026 Draft Class

Starting point is 00:00:00 Mike Potts is back with us today to talk about every single Bengals draft pick. Here, the breakdown straight from the Bengals front office now. You are locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. What up, Bengals fans, and welcome to another episode of the Locked on Bengals podcast. He's James Rapine. I'm Jake Liscoe. We are locked on Bengals.

Starting point is 00:00:34 and we've got another conversation with Mike Potts for you today. So if you're looking for that Daily Bengals content, you're in the right place. If you're looking for a deep dive into the Bengals draft picks from one of the men in charge of that draft room and making the decisions and part of the process that leads to Duke Tobin putting that name into the league, while you're in the right place.

Starting point is 00:00:56 We're going to get into all the draft picks today with Mike Potts. I'm really excited about this. I'm really excited to dive in about Cassius Howe. Yesterday's show, he talked a little bit about where they had him, how surprised they were that he made it all the way to 41, and talked about linebacker and much, much more. So if you missed that, check that out. But yeah, it's time to dive into every draft pick, what Jake saw on the film, what we saw from these guys, and how the Bengals feel about their 2026 NFL draft class. Let's talk a little bit about some of these draft picks and drill down on them. We talked a little bit about Cassius Howl and the surprise that he was available to you at 41.

Starting point is 00:01:38 Obviously, this is a different kind of pass rusher than you guys have employed for quite a while, going to the ghost move, the spin move at a rate that I was trying to think of the last time I saw Cincinnati Bengals, Eddrushar, went on a ghost move. Not to say that the ghost move is like the only move that you should be winning with on the edge. Obviously, we've had a lot of success with guys like Carlos Dunlap and Trey Hendrickson over the years and others, not to take away from any of them, but what about Cassius Howell's different skill set was really appealing to you in terms of bringing a different approach to pass rushing than you guys have had, in my memory, at least, in terms of the kinds of moves that he likes to win with and is effective with? Yeah, it's just a multitude of ways that he can get to the quarterback. It's his overall ability to rush the passer. It's not just his speed. It's not just his power. It's not just his counter. moves, his hand use, it's a combination of all of the above.

Starting point is 00:02:36 You know, I mean, his bend, like you said, you mentioned in the ghost move, which kind of lends to how good his bend is turning and limiting the surface area for offensive tackles the block, dipping low and turning the corner and bending the edge. I think he's very, very high level in that area. I think his hand use is outstanding. He does win on the high side of the rush a lot on top of flashing. inside counter. I think probably the last thing he goes to is his power. He did have like a finger deal that he was running through or working through this year. He may have mentioned that to you,

Starting point is 00:03:11 to you guys in some of the media availability. He mentioned that to us throughout our scouting process and interviews. So I do think there may actually be a, I think he's a powerful, violent guy as it is, but that wasn't necessarily his bread and butter, so to speak, in terms of rush moves. But that being said, I do think you maybe didn't even see the best of him in terms of the power that he has in his game just battling through that that finger deal that he was that he was working through this year so once we get that fully healthy um i think you know it's it's scary to say but i think he could be even better than than what we we saw on his tape this year which was obviously very good ended up as the cd defensive player of the year is is there a reason

Starting point is 00:03:51 why because i think there are a lot of people that would look at his size and say well the bengals look for miles murphy shamar stewart sam hubbard i mean you could go back, like the ends that set the edge and that's it. Is there a reason why you guys were more comfortable going with a guy like Howl? Is it because of what you have on the roster? Is it just happenstance in the past that it's been these bigger edge setting defensive ends? Like what went into that and how did you navigate how he fits based on his size? Yeah. First and foremost, we thought he was the best player. Second, probably. He does what we have in the room very well.

Starting point is 00:04:33 You know, if you're just collecting a lot of the same guys, it's not, you know, it's a little bit easier for those offensive linemen to game plan blocking guys with similar body types and similar rush plans. I think he gives you more of a fastball off of the edge with, like I keep mentioning, just a very big rush arsenal. And when you have the ability to roll those guys through in waves and those defensive ends and then defensive tackles that we've acquired now, I think he complements what we have.

Starting point is 00:05:02 And again, is going to be able to keep opposing offenses on their heels. So, but again, at the end of the day, we thought he was the best player. We thought he complimented our room. And we thought it was a position that we wanted to continue to upgrade and make a strength on our roster. And I think we've, we've accomplished that this offseason. He obviously dropped into coverage a little bit for Texas A&M. One of the first plays I watched when I turned him on was him peeling on a wheel route and carrying that down the field, led to an incomplete pass down the field.

Starting point is 00:05:29 How much of that part of his game appeals to you when you're doing the scouting report and the, not that he's doing it often, but the experience that he has dropping and playing in some different roles and not just being a guy that's pinned in his ears back on every single play. Yeah, that's certainly a plus. I mentioned the other day a couple impressive clips him dropping against Notre Dame. I don't know if that was the play that you're referring to with him peeling with a back out of the backfield and should have had an interception on one of the plays that I'm thinking of. But it's always a plus.

Starting point is 00:06:03 That's something that Al has laid out in his vision for guys. Again, it goes back to keeping offenses on their heels. You don't know who's rushing. You don't know who's dropping. Caches is a flexible fluid athlete who's comfortable in space. So he can do that maybe better than some of the average defensive ends in the league can. So that just adds to his toolbox in terms of the versatility that he brings. And, you know, it gives Al a multitude of ways to attack.

Starting point is 00:06:34 And, you know, again, just defenses aren't going to say, hey, this guy's pinning his ears back, and he's rushing every single time. He may drop out underneath that slant route and get his hand on a ball and cause an incompletion on a key third and six. So that's something that offenses are always going to have to keep in the back of their mind with a guy like him. Which coach gave you the biggest hug or was most excited about this? Was it Jerry Montgomery? Was it Al?

Starting point is 00:06:59 I mean, they have all these new tools and toys to play with and use on the field. I'm sure there's plenty of excitement from the staff. Yeah, they were all super excited. I don't think it was just one of them. You know, it doesn't even have to be Jerry or Al. I think the guys coaching the rest of the positions on the defense and the offense as well. It makes us a better football team overall. So there was no ego, no selfishness from any of our coaches.

Starting point is 00:07:23 like, hey, you know, I'm going to be pouting if I don't get my guy at my position group. Everybody was completely on board with, you know, taking the guy that's going to make us the best football team. And we really think, you know, I'm not lying to you guys when I say that we really had consensus on this guy, you know, across scouting, across coaching with our ownership. And he's the guy that we thought made us the best football team going forward. I thought it was a nice change of pace. Zach probably appreciated it, the fact that all three assistant general managers got to talk,

Starting point is 00:07:59 and you obviously got to talk about Cassius, and then we're going to get to Takario coming up. But what was it like for you having to deal with people like me on Friday night after you guys make a couple of picks? Oh, that was fine. I don't mind doing that, whatever the organization, whatever they like, you know, like us to do. I did the pre-draft press conference a few years ago.

Starting point is 00:08:23 So it wasn't the first time I had been up there. And, you know, obviously, I talked to talk to you guys, talk to a lot of people after the draft every year and even before the draft. So, you know, I don't mind doing it. You know, just want to do what's in the best interest of the organization. Didn't mind stepping out of the draft room for a few minutes there. You didn't feel like you were missing out on some crucial conversations, nothing like that. Obviously, you guys have a process.

Starting point is 00:08:46 I'm tongue-in-cheek, yeah. I was a little worried if it would go. go too long. You never know. We could have traded up from that third round pick, especially when I'm doing it. And we still have another pick coming up there. So yeah, you never know what could play out scenario-wise. So I was anxious to get back up there and see how everything played out in the third round. We break the news to you that you've traded up. You'd be sprinting out of the room. That wouldn't. I would hope that wouldn't have happened. No, I think they would have called you. I don't think that would have happened.

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Starting point is 00:10:12 Fandle, play your game. I have one last question here on Cassius. and then we can get on to your third round pick, to Cario Davis in day three, which is a lot of fun for us this year. But he occasionally lines up with this perpendicular to the line of scrimmage stance, where he's not two feet pointed at the line of scrimmage, and he's kind of vertical facing the sideline.

Starting point is 00:10:37 Did you talk to him about that in the scouting process? What was his explanation for what that coaching point might have been or the thought process behind that unconventional stance that he sometimes used? Yeah, he could. could probably shed more light on that in terms of his comfort level and, you know, exactly all of the details on why he is comfortable in that way. But we do every pass rusher, even like offensive tackles that we interview, we always ask them which side they're more comfortable on, what stance they're more comfortable on or in 2.3, 4 point, whatever it may be. He actually,

Starting point is 00:11:11 I remember when he was here when we were interviewing him, he got up in that two point stance. I'm not going to give away what side that he prefers or anything like that, but you guys can talk to him if he wants to give that away publicly, then that's up to Cassius, but yeah, he was up and getting animated

Starting point is 00:11:30 in our interview, kind of demonstrating the ways that he feels comfortable and some of the reasons that he does what he does. And, you know, again, I sound like a broken record in terms of keeping offense alignment off balance, but I do think that's

Starting point is 00:11:46 part of it. And if you do that and the defensive front does that, obviously the secondary is going to be happier. You added to that secondary with the Carrillo Davis in the third round, 72nd overall. Obviously, everyone's going to talk about the measurables. But when you went throughout this process, what stood out the most about him? And maybe it is the measurables, but why were you guys so high on him and happy to get him in round three? Yeah, we wanted to address that outside corner spot. But like I said before, we didn't want to. to force a need there in the third round. We knew at some point we wanted to add an outside corner. And he's a guy, yeah, I mean, it's hard to look past the measurables, but he's a good player on tape. He has battled through some small durability injury concerns this year. You know, nothing major that's going to hamper him long term by any means, but obviously

Starting point is 00:12:37 missing a handful of games this year, you know, maybe that production would have been even higher. But we think he has good ball skills on top of the length that he can smother people with. And he's got really good speed. He's got quick feet for such a tall guy. And he's a guy like I've mentioned before. We had targeted going into the draft, but specifically right there in that third round range,

Starting point is 00:12:59 we felt was really good value, had a position we wanted to address. The acceleration was really impressive for a guy, six four, just the ability to stick his foot in the ground and get up to speed was, and it played out in its testing as well. So you can see that very clearly on tape for a guy, guy like Davis, is there something with the reduction in prospects actually doing agility

Starting point is 00:13:22 testing, three cone short shuttle at the combine, doing it at their pro day? Is there something in the GPS data that you guys really like that helps to point to how adept a player is with a change of a change of direction, especially when they're, you know, six, four and dealing with a rare frame at the position that you guys like to look at? Or is that mostly you're looking at the tape? you're seeing how they move on tape. Is there anything behind what you can visually see with your eyes that can help back that up? Yeah, it's mainly the tape and mainly what we see in our live views at games or at practices.

Starting point is 00:13:59 But there is information that we get from the college strength staffs in terms of short area bursts and acceleration in terms of the GPS info that they give us on top of the top end speed in the miles per hour. So we get that not only from the schools, but also from All-Star Games. as well. So there's, you know, some comparisons there in terms of the data that we get and then whether that matches up with what we saw live at practice or on his game film. So there is some context and some added information that we get there, but none of that's ever going to override if we don't think that aligns with the player that we see on tape. When you looked at his career as a whole, and he obviously went to Washington last year, dealt with a couple of injuries, But did he continue to ascend?

Starting point is 00:14:48 Everyone's going to look at the stats and games played and the production from 23 and then 24 second team all Big 12. But did you see him continue to get better even though he was hurt last year? Yeah, I think so. And the, like I said, you look at the production on paper. You know, he missed some games. So, you know, if you project that out and he played all year, maybe the it looks a little bit different on the stat sheet.

Starting point is 00:15:13 But when you watch it on a game by game basis, a lot of times corners or if a guy's getting thrown at a lot more and has a chance to get his hands on a lot more balls, that's not always necessarily a good thing. You know, so I wouldn't put too much stock into the, just with the numbers say on paper. I do think he got better and better throughout his career.

Starting point is 00:15:34 I remember going to Arizona. I mean, he's a hard guy to miss when you see him at practice early in his career before he was even draft eligible. You know, I remember looking at him, and he certainly was a talented player back you know, early in his career at Arizona as a freshman, sophomore, junior, and those things. So, you know, obviously followed his coach up there to Washington.

Starting point is 00:15:55 And, you know, I would have liked to stay healthy all year. But at the end of the day, it's not something that's going to affect him long term. And, you know, we do think he is an ascending player who's going to have his best ball ahead of him for us. A couple of things stood out when I was watching Davis. And one of them is the calm he plays with. there's no panic when the ball is in the air and is going his way, even when he's out of phase. There's no panic at the line of scrimmage. And the other thing that really stood out was, it looks like he was doing quite a bit of pre-snap

Starting point is 00:16:23 communication. Are those things that you notice when you were scouting Davis that you liked in his profile? Yeah, those are always things you notice on tape, whether it's probably a little bit more rare for a corner than it is like a safety or a middle linebacker. So you definitely notice that when a corner is being demonstrative with signals. Obviously, you're seeing that on tape. You would need to be there live at practice to hear him vocally. And then you just pull it all together by talking to his coaches and asking what all he had on his plate communication-wise.

Starting point is 00:16:53 Or maybe he's just encouraging guys and showing leadership. So we pull that all together. We do like his character profile, has some good relationships amongst the Arizona and Washington staff. And, you know, they had glowing reviews for him. So we feel really good about the guy that we're getting. And he is an intelligent guy, you know, that we should be able to, or he should be able to handle, you know, what we're going to put on it mentally. Mike, we appreciate the time before we get to Connor Liu and the day three picks.

Starting point is 00:17:22 I think the stage was set with the trade. And in hindsight now, a few days post draft, everybody that you were able to get on day three, the trade down, still able to get Lou, still able to get young, like just how big was that, especially now that you're out of it and had a few days to kind of process that trade where you move. down in the fourth round, but you get two fourth round picks and you move up in a big way. Yeah, we thought it was huge to be able to get multiple guys out of the grouping that we liked going in to day three of the draft. And we had multiple offers there. We had multiple opportunities to move back from that fourth round pick at 110. And we weighed the multiple different options

Starting point is 00:18:07 that we had there all the way up until when we were on the clock, a couple minutes into that selection before we actually pulled the trigger and decided on that Jets option. So to get up there and another shot there at the back of the fourth round, we thought was our best opportunity to get multiple guys out of a grouping of players. And don't get me wrong, there was a ton of players that we still liked on the board. But in terms of targets and wanting to get guys out of that group, I think really at the end of the day with what was it, the five guys that we added, they were all in a group of players that we had really high regard for.

Starting point is 00:18:41 it wasn't necessarily a drop-off. And you never know. I mean, you're sitting there picking in the fourth round. You don't know who's going to be available late in the fourth, much less all the way in the seventh. But we're really happy with the way it played out. Yeah, I mean, you go from the fourth to the sixth, and we're going to get there.

Starting point is 00:18:58 We're very excited about the sixth round picks and the seventh round pick the seventh round picks this year. I want to group the two interior offensive, well, I guess Brian Parker could play anywhere. The two offensive linemen that you picked this year, It follows a bit of a trend that has emerged over the last two drafts where your offensive linemen selections have had wrestling backgrounds and are both or all guys, three guys, including Dylan Fairchild, all guys that look like they're pretty good athletes. Is there something that is aligned with Scott Peters and the preferences that he brings with him as far as the guys you're targeting there? Is that just a coincidental attribute that the last three offensive linemen you've drafted and possessed? Yeah, I mean, good athletes and wrestlers is never a bad thing. So, you know, Scott's done great work for us throughout the process.

Starting point is 00:19:50 He, Mike McCarthy and our personnel staff were on the same page with a lot of these guys in this draft class and free agency class in terms of the offensive linemen that we evaluated this year and last year as well. So, you know, I don't think we're looking to rule anybody out that's not a wrestler or not necessarily a great athlete, so to speak, But obviously, when you check those boxes, it's a positive. So we're really happy with the way we upgraded. We feel the depth on our offensive line. We like our starting five right now. We like Jaylen Rivers and we like some of the other guys as well that we have in the room.

Starting point is 00:20:26 We were able to retain Cody Ford. And I think some of our younger guys in Coker and Foster really have an opportunity to be players for us as well. So with the guys that we added, we went in. into the draft in general, not just necessarily day three. We went into day one of the draft thinking, you know, we can't go wrong, upgrading our offensive line. So we're really happy with the way it played out. We got guys who addressed positions and need in terms of depth right now and potential for

Starting point is 00:20:59 the future to ascend. So really happy with that, really happy with Connor Liu with that center position. And then, like you said, Brian Parker with potential five position versatility. leave it to me to bring up the weapon that you guys added. But 6-4-218 Colby Young, you took him with the 140th pick, part of that trade down slash move up from round six to the end of round four. Why was, I assume you felt like wide receiver was at least a sneaky need and under the radar need. Everyone thinks Jamar and T. Andre's going into the final year of his contract. And so getting a guy like Young, how do you think he can?

Starting point is 00:21:38 can help you ride away and what stood out because, you know, there's going to be the broken leg last year, obviously some of the off the field stuff that people are concerned about. So why, why Kobe Young? Yeah, in terms of the need, it's similar to the corner position. I mean, we always have to be mindful of what could happen in the future. Like I said, with mapping out our off-season plans, it's impossible to map out. You don't know exactly what's going to happen in the future. We don't know what we're hopeful that we'll be able to retain guys like Dax Hill and DJ Turner into the future, but we have to protect ourselves at the corner position and continue to add young talent. We don't know what's going to happen in the future with guys like Andre Yoshivas, Charlie Jones, even Mitch Tinsley is on a one-year deal.

Starting point is 00:22:24 So those guys are on expiring contracts. We have two of the best receivers in the world at the top of our receiver depth chart, but we need to protect that going forward and continue to add young talent. at positions for sure when there's expiring contracts coming up. But even if not, you know, you want to add the best talent. And, you know, let's call it what it is. We have one of the better passing offenses in the league. So we didn't feel like you can go wrong, adding weapons and adding young talent,

Starting point is 00:22:53 which we think we did in this draft. But Colby's the guy that we really like. We think, obviously, you mentioned he's a big strong guy. He's physical, really tough after the catch. He can high point the ball with really strong hands to go up and get it. 4-49, which is a really good time for a guy that big. So, you know, I don't know that there's a whole lot not to like in his game. For a big guy, he can sink his weight at the top of the route.

Starting point is 00:23:17 He's violent and sudden in his cuts, you know, to create some of that subtle separation that, you know, really, really is all he needs for a big body can make really good contested catches. And on top of that, we think in the blocking game, what he can give us in the run game is something that can be an asset as well. He's the guy, again, that we had alignment on, coaching and scouting in terms of the player. And we were really happy to add him. You have to like that fit with Joe Burrow, too, and his ability to place the ball precisely and let Kobe Young attack it, whether it's high pointing, whether it's back shoulder.

Starting point is 00:23:50 And the vertical part of Young's route tree is pretty impressive to me and his ability to work both double moves up the field, up the sideline and working back to the line of scrimmage. Those things have to feel like they fit really well with the particular. skills that your elite quarterback possesses. Yeah, for sure. I don't think Joe necessarily needs any enormous target. He's a super accurate quarterback, but obviously the bigger, the stronger, the faster, the better. We think Colby can potentially play inside and outside. And again, like you said, if T and Jamar and Andre and Mike Gisicki and those guys are covered up and going to get a lot of attention and rightfully so from defenses, this is a guy like you said, that can work back to the quarterback with strong, aggressive hands.

Starting point is 00:24:38 Even if he is covered, he can go up and get it and make those contested catches. So just another young talented guy to add to what we think is already a really good room. And we're excited for Troy Walters, who's a great receivers coach, to get his hands on him and get a chance to work with him and really develop his game. With Sock, seventh round picks, Jack Andrews is a guy that, to me, had no business being around in the seventh round. He looks like a tight end who can do it all, whether it's putting. him on the move and pulling him across the formation and having him go pick up linebackers against Ohio State and going back to his tape at Cal where he was more prolific as a wide receiver.

Starting point is 00:25:15 Is that something that you see with him, the ability to kind of do all of the things that tight ends are asked to do in the NFL, whether it's in line, move or split out in the slot and have a lot of versatility in his game? Yeah, a lot of tight ends coming out, not necessarily just this draft class, but we feel a lot of guys are one-dimensional. We think Jack has a versatile game in terms of giving you some nice things in the run game as a blocker. Like you said, he does really good work on the move. He's not a throwaway, just putting his hand in the dirt as a true Y tight end in the run game. So I think he can do a little bit of both of those, whether it's F or Y in terms of the traditional sense of tight-end blocking roles.

Starting point is 00:26:00 So it can give you some things in the run game. And then in the past game, He's got really, really good hands. I mean, probably some of the best hands at the tight end position in this draft class. Super smart. I interviewed him at the East West game. I mean, he's – and the coaches at Texas will tell you, I mean, this guy's one of the smartest players on their whole team. And that translates to the game tape in terms of his instincts, just as natural feel and ability to get open versus zone and man coverage. And he tested and he ran well.

Starting point is 00:26:30 You know, he's got good speed. he's a 4-6 type of guy in the 40 and he's got good size. So I was very surprised personally. I don't know what you guys thought or what the consensus rankings or anything like that externally specifically said off the top of my head. But I was very surprised that he was there in the seventh round and we thought it was great value. Yeah, I think he was surprised too and was ready to prove people wrong. I don't know if you heard the clip.

Starting point is 00:26:56 It was probably my favorite quote of the draft. He said he's going to make every team regret it. I'll say it that way. I'll paraphrase. I heard about that. Yeah. I like that. Like I said, he's a really, really smart guy interviewing him, really nice guy, but still has an edge about him.

Starting point is 00:27:12 So that's not surprising that you heard that. And you want a guy with that drive and that chip on their shoulder. And, you know, if that's the little extra motivation that it takes, then that's great. We have a guy who's motivated coming in. Yeah, I'm sure Landon Robinson, five picks later, is going to be the same way because he's heard he's two small for probably three years and certainly during this process the same thing a five 11 three nine or two 90 two 93 in that range you guys had so many touch points with them i think it's pretty obvious that he was a a a fan favorite i i would say a lot of fans were asking about landon robinson similar

Starting point is 00:27:52 size did g know working with erin donald all of those things and so what stood out the most about getting a guy like that at pick 226. Yeah, he's a guy that we really liked throughout the process. Andrew Johnson went through Navy in the fall and scouted him. But really, I think for the rest of our personnel staff, he really hopped on the radar there at the East West game, where he was one of the stars of the week. We had multiple coaches also coaching the game, so we got more access and time with him behind the scenes in the meeting room in terms of the Bengals staff and then got to interview

Starting point is 00:28:27 him obviously and he was phenomenal. So, you know, when you align the performance on the field, the intelligence in the classroom, meeting room, and then just getting to know him and being blown away with the interview, there's a lot of things to like about him. And, you know, you're going to evaluate everything, the size included. You're not going to overlook any aspect of his evaluation. But I do think he uses the size to his advantage and plays with natural leverage in his game. And it's not necessarily all negative. terms of the size that he does have because there are some positive that positives that come out of it with the way that he plays the game so very excited i mean we did have a lot of touch points

Starting point is 00:29:08 with him but really it's it's not any more than for whatever reason his became public whether it was through interviews or you know saying he wanted to be a bengal which obviously we're very happy about we we wanted him to be a bengal and he wanted to be here so that's a perfect combination um but you know, I wouldn't say that we gave him necessarily any more attention than a lot of guys throughout that All-Star process, Pro Day process, scouting them in the fall, and then bringing guys in for visits as well. So, you know, we weren't necessarily trying to announce it, but, you know, maybe that was the way it was portrayed by some people. I have two equally important questions about Landon Robinson to finish up our questions about

Starting point is 00:29:49 guys in the draft first. And the most important question I think I've asked you all day, Mike, is Landon Robinson could follow in a great theme of Bengals' defensive lineman playing fullback. Obviously, Sam Hubbard involved with the offense a couple of times, Damada Peco involved with the offense a couple times. He had some fullback snaps at Navy. Can he play fullback in the NFL, Mike? Is that going to be part of the evaluation for Landon? I wouldn't put it past him.

Starting point is 00:30:17 You know, he's done some fakes on special teams. He's worked there, some in high school, and he worked out, some as a fullback at his pro day. So got to see him run a few routes and catch some balls there on the pro day tape. Like I said, we're not going to put it past them. We'll use them any way you can help us win games. We haven't traditionally been a heavy fullback usage type of offense. We have used a fullback sum, and that'll be up to Zach and the rest of the coaching staff, whether he's the number one guy for that type of role.

Starting point is 00:30:45 But, you know, I wouldn't say that he can't do that. And we're going to keep our minds open to, to, you know, any way that he can help us the best beyond just the plan on the defensive line for us. Fullback of the future Landon Robinson, in terms of his fit on the defensive line, a lot of penetrating kind of style for him from a number of alignments at Navy playing a lot in the A gap and the B gap. They like to move their defensive line right before the SNAP that I noticed on tape as well. How do you see that transition to the NFL and fitting in with the Bengals scheme and what Al

Starting point is 00:31:19 likes to do with those defensive linemen in terms of the stylistic differences or similar similarities between, you know, the attack react versus react or react, react attack, kind of schools of thought for defensive linemen. Yeah, I'm not going to speak for Al or Jerry or those guys in terms of how they're going to use them. I agree with you. He was on the move a lot there at Navy, and he's a very explosive athlete. So I think you're going to want to utilize his gifts to maximize his talents. But at the same time, he's an extremely strong, powerful guy who can just sit in there and take on blocks and get knockback at the point of attack and shed and make plays on the ball carrier.

Starting point is 00:31:59 So I think whether it's a traditional one gap upfield type of utilization or if you ask him the two gap, I think he can do a little bit of both. And again, it comes back to some of that leverage that he plays with in the run game. He can split double teams. And he clearly, you know, as anybody that saw the east-west saw, he can rush the passer and win with lateral quickness, upfield speed, hand use. You know, he's got a lot in his arsenal as a pass rusher. So I wouldn't limit him to just being scheme specific, but that'll be up to our coaches in terms of how they best want to utilize him.

Starting point is 00:32:35 He's Bengals Assistant General Manager, Mike Potts. Mike, we really appreciate the time. We know it's been a huge offseason. I know our listeners and viewers are excited to hear from you every time, this time of year, every year post-draft, and especially this one with so many big moves. So we appreciate the time. Thanks for coming on. Thank you, guys.

Starting point is 00:32:55 I appreciate you having me. Always really enjoy that episode with Mike Potts. If you missed yesterday's show, we talked with him about the rest of the Bengals off season, the Dexter Lawrence Trey, the linebacker interest, and more topics about how the defense came together. And today, like you've just listened to, awesome conversation with Mike Potts about the draft class and love the insight every year that there is to be gleaned when he gives us the time for this episode. That's going to do it for this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Until next time, thanks for listening.

Starting point is 00:33:27 Ho-Day and have a good one.

Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - INSIDE LOOK: Bengals Assistant GM Mike Potts Breaks Down EVERY Pick in 2026 Draft Class

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