Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - MOCK DRAFT | Fixing the Bengals with 4 rounds of early contributors

Starting point is 00:00:00 We've got two weeks left to fix the Cincinnati Bengals on mock draft Monday. Let's get into our penultimate mock 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. I'm your host, Jake Liscoe. He's your host, James Rapids. And we've been covering the Bengals on Locked on Bengals since 2006.

Starting point is 00:00:35 your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Shout out to the everydayers. Welcome back to Lockdown Bengals. If you're not yet in every day, or you can hit that subscribe button or follow wherever you get your podcast or on YouTube and you won't miss an episode of Lockdown Bengals. And we appreciate everyone out there who makes us their first listen. Today we dive in to another mock draft Monday.

Starting point is 00:01:04 And this week, we're going to try to get to four rounds, the beginning of day three, and our second to last run through a simulator. If not our last run through the simulator, who knows what the future holds? We will, of course, have our predictive mock drafts that don't run through the simulators at some point in the future as well. Today's episode is brought to you by the all-new 2025 at Nissan Armada. Stay tuned for the Armada Player of the Week later in the show. and James, let's dive on in to the mock draft simulator as we've got four rounds to get through today, and we are notorious for moving a little bit slowly at times. So let's get started, shall we?

Starting point is 00:01:47 Yeah, let's do it. Hit that go on the simulator. If you're watching on YouTube, you see it firing away. If you're listening, we'll buckle up because it's going to be a lot of fun breaking things down here. And a lot of interesting players off the board, some that I know Jake would be, out on at 17. And that includes, well, Jalen Walker out of Georgia. And so you take him off the board and I think it opens things up a bit. Shamar Stewart. I know you're a big Shamar Stewart guy, Jake.

Starting point is 00:02:15 He's gone as well. Kidding, of course. A guy that I am in on, and it does depend on the medicals. Jehad Campbell goes to the Bears at Pick 10 and Will Johnson off the board as well. The big one that I think a lot of people would be in on Jake at pick 15. Mike Green. The Falcons are certainly in on. edge rusher. They're looking for edge rushers. That could be a Mike Green team for sure. He goes

Starting point is 00:02:39 off the board to the Falcons at pick 15. The Cardinals take Jalen Walker and it sets us up with some decent options and starting atop the PFF board with Malachi Starks out of Georgia. And I do think that when you look at his overall profile, the Bengals are going to be very much in on him and view him as one of the cleaner, safer prospects and routes that they can go 17th overall. Of course, the knock on Malachi Stark's is mostly athleticism related when you look at the profiles that we put together from the, you know, the Joe Goodberry, Mike Santagena, draft guy Jared, Neil Engelberger doing a lot of work with the data. He ends up with a pretty solid second round grade after all of those components are thrown in there. And a lot of

Starting point is 00:03:29 that is because of the athleticism score and also his PFF data. But there's also a lot of evidence that says athleticism isn't the most important thing for a safety. So when you compare a guy like Malachi-Starks to a guy like Nickham and Worry, and you see a 10 RAS out of 10, you see a 5.6 RAS relative athletic score out of 10 for Malachi Starks, you would think, well, obviously, take the more productive player here. But how these players will fit into a defense is, obviously a big difference as well.

Starting point is 00:04:01 But James, you're right that the players picked before us here in this simulator, I think do play out pretty well. That's the earliest I've seen Jadae Barang go all the way up at pick six. But Ashton Genti, your dream dies at pick eight with him going to the Carolina Panthers, Tyler Warren, pick seven. But the players that have been picked that I think do make it a little bit of a nice scenario for the Bengals are Shamar Stewart, Michael Williams, and Jaylon Walker all being picked before pick 17. So some of those guys might be guys the Bengals are interested in, but

Starting point is 00:04:34 if you're looking at Malachi Starks at the top of the board, the other names that stand out to me here that we've talked, certainly about in the last few weeks, Donovan Azariaku from Boston College, Kelvin Banks and Josh Simmons, offensive lineman from Texas and Ohio State, Walter Nolan, and Derek Harmon, the interior defensive lineman from Mississippi and Oregon, James Pierce, Jr., certainly a guy that Bengals fans have their eye on. Gray Zabel, has been associated with the Bengals a little bit in the last week as well, the North Dakota State tackle who will certainly kick in to an interior offensive line position in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:05:11 At least that's where he's being projected by most. And honestly, James, every time I get to this scenario, I tend to pick Kelvin Banks. That's my default in this scenario, a guy that you can plug and play at guard and maybe eventually be a tackle for you as well. If you need him to be in a couple of years, you can make that argument for a number of other players in this spot as well. I know that Donovan Jackson has gotten a little bit of extra love in the last week. You could probably make that argument for Josh Simmons if you're feeling really good

Starting point is 00:05:42 about that knee injury and the medical questions there. But that's what jumps out to me at first when I look at the players available. Yeah, I think the other one the Bengals would consider here, and he's down a ways. But Derek Harmon available, by the way, so that's what a lot of people are talking about. Do you see Tyler Booker? Where's Tyler Booker at?

Starting point is 00:06:02 Tyler Booker is definitely way down on this PFF list. We'll just go over to the IOL page. So he's ranked 49th on PFF's board, ADP of 34. He's Dane Brugler's number one interior alignment. He's Daniel Jeremiah, same thing, use him that way. I think the NFL is higher on Tyler Booker than the people that have completely downgraded him because of the pre-draft testing process. And there's a lot of Malachi Stark's comparables there.

Starting point is 00:06:37 Now, what people are going just because of how they tested or didn't test the way you wanted them to. I think he's one of the cleaner prospects too. Like I think the Bengals, and as we record this, it is Sunday for this special mock draft Monday. So 11 days before the NFL draft have not crossed off Tyler Booker as an option, a candidate at 17. And take that what you do with that information, what you want to. But as of today, I would not be shocked at all if in this scenario with the Kelvin Banks on the board, they say Tyler Booker is better. He's going to help protect Joe Moore.

Starting point is 00:07:14 We want a guard. It's why we weren't overly aggressive in free agency to get one. he's the best one in this draft let's get it would not shock me one bit if that happens and again 11 days out maybe it changes but as of now i think that's the case the only reason i would push back and i'm not saying you're wrong to be clear i'm just looking over to my left screen here to look at my pre-draft contact list we don't have any recorded conversations combine any any sort of pro day anything for the bengals and tyler booker and as we've discussed they did have presence at Georgia's Pro Day,

Starting point is 00:07:53 where there are a number of interior offensive linens. But by and large, their attention on guard prospects has been the guys that played tackle. From the Ariante Ursaries and Charles Grants and Jonas Savianez of the world to the Josh Connerly, I mean, that might be a pure tackle prospect. But the guys that they showed interest in have tended to be, the second round tackle, college tackles that many have projected to guard.

Starting point is 00:08:25 And it might be as simple as Tyler Booker is just that clean. And I think that for them, again, I get it. There are people that say, oh, well, the athletic testing is the athletic testing. The Bengals clearly do not prioritize having guards that can get out and be these high-end super athletes. They just don't. And if you're talking about Tyler Booker, the pass protector, Tyler Booker, in run blocking in what they've basically done the past couple of years from a scheme standpoint. I could totally see them looking at it when you combine all of the captainship and all of those things.

Starting point is 00:09:01 He's in play. Now, will they take him in this scenario over a Kelvin Banks Jr? I'm not sure. I'm not sure they'll take him over a Malachi Stark. Honestly, I think that, you know, there are multiple, Nickyman Worry, I think they could go that route with this pick. Obviously, Walter Nolan's on the board. Derek Carmen's on the board. Like, the board fell really nice in a nice spot for the Bengals,

Starting point is 00:09:24 so much so that I think they would try to trade down in this situation. At the same time, I just wanted to make that known because I do think that there are scenarios. And maybe this is one where Tyler Booker is a Bengal in the first round. I think if you're looking for a pass protector, I'm still looking at Kelvin Banks. I get it. I get it.

Starting point is 00:09:44 I know you have Kelvin Banks. And I think most do. But you look at Dan, you look at Daniel. Yeah. There will be those that have Tyler Booker ahead of Kelvin Banks is a point you're trying to make, which I think is a fine point to make. I think I'm picking Kelvin Banks here. I think that athleticism does matter to guard.

Starting point is 00:10:03 But like you said, we've seen the Bengals not value that as highly as we would like them to in the past. Are you objecting to Calvin Banks? Can we pull the trigger? Didn't we pick Banks last week? I felt like we picked Banks last week. So, yeah, I'm objecting. Last week, we picked a safety in the first round. The week before we picked Banks.

Starting point is 00:10:21 We have picked Banks at some point. We picked Even Worry last week. Fine. Let's go with Kelvin Banks. We have three rounds to go. We somehow still took 10 minutes to do our first round. So we are going to do rounds two and three next. Did you know that your Fire TV is also an Xbox?

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Starting point is 00:12:09 Let's make a second round pick, James, and I think we're going to end up talking about running backs again for the like fourth straight show but between your favorite your favorite between the bengal's picks here donovan jackson going at pick at 48 who i know a lot of bengal's fans would be interested in seeing make the trip from columbus to cincinnati xavier wats who we think algona would be interested in seeing make the trip from south ben to cincinnati uh at at 46 off the board as well. Caleb Johnson to just hint at that running back conversation, picked it 42. T.J. Sanders,

Starting point is 00:12:45 who I think is a very viable second round interior defensive line option from South Carolina, picked at 39. Derek Harmon getting all the way to pick 37, Gray Zabel into the top of the second round as well. And if you're hoping to get Tyler Booker in the second round, PFF today at least says no. Tyler Booker picked at 25 here. And at the top of the PFF board is a safety that a lot of you think the Bengals can get in the third round because that's what the simulators have told you for the last couple of months. That's Kevin Winston, the safety from Penn State, who we've talked about. And James, you've obviously said many times you'll probably need to use a second round

Starting point is 00:13:21 pick based on what we think the league thinks about him if the Bengals want to draft a safety here. So Kevin Winston at the top of the board, Benjamin Morrison, another Notre Dame player, cornerback at second on the top of the PFF board here, Braden's. Swinson, a notable edge rusher, Carson Swessinger, a very notable linebacker available here. And like I said, we're going to have to talk about running backs because Trayvion Henderson and Quinton Jenkins also stand out as some players that we've talked about recently that are available here as we're considering our options for pick 49.

Starting point is 00:13:55 Yeah, I think instantly pops off Winston very much in play. I think that in this scenario, Kevin Winston Jr., he's ahead of everyone on the PFF board. maybe the top of the Bengals board if this scenario plays out. I think Benjamin Morrison, another one worth mentioning, do they go corner this early? I do wonder that. If they're open to it, are they not? Because I think there are people in the building that want to at a corner, are they going to do it this early, given all the other things that they need and want? And that's a question. Now, a lot of this defensive line options are sort of gone. And that's what makes it tough is you look at it and you mentioned Braden Swinson. I think there's going to be a lot of people

Starting point is 00:14:44 that say, just take Jack Sawyer and go that route here. I would take Traveon Henderson as we go into this running back class. I would take Treveon Henderson over Jack Soey. And maybe that's a take. Maybe that's a take that's going to burn me in three years. I don't think so, especially if Trayvion Henderson ends up in a really good fit, a really good scheme that fits his talents like the Bengals would be. So I would be considering Henderson here. I have him ahead of Quinn Sean Jenkins. The more I think about it from a fit standpoint. And I also, I'm not sure that Henderson will even be here at 49. I think there's a really good chance that he goes sooner. He may go ahead of Caleb Johnson. I think there's some real behind the scenes momentum for him when it comes to

Starting point is 00:15:25 running backs. But if there is a running back I would take here, it would be him. But there are a lot of intriguing options. It's just not like Carson, Carson Swessinger, you'd be fine with him here at 49. But it's not necessarily addressing what you hope to, which I think would be adding some juice to your pass rush, which I think there are some round three, round four options that make sense. And so I'm probably shying away from defensive line here and going with either safety, running back line back. I'm probably going with one of these other needs. This is probably a scenario where you've just missed on some of the defensive line options you would like in the second round. The interior defensive line guys, you've just missed on a

Starting point is 00:16:09 couple of guys. You've just missed on a couple of edge guys. And so I do think that looking at who's available, the edge players that are available here have significant enough holes where I think you might need to kick that down the road a little bit. You might have to defer the interior defensive lines. So if you wanted to make a case for running back, James, you'd be making the case in this instance over the DBs that are available to you. And that's where the conversation would be. Are you taking a running back ahead of Kevin Winston, Benjamin Morrison,

Starting point is 00:16:44 Savon Revell, and Carson Swessinger. And the Swessinger one is really the wrench in the, in the machine. I don't know what the wrench in the thing. Like, because the Schuessinger is there, to me, Swessinger is more valuable to the Bengals and a running back. I,

Starting point is 00:17:01 you always say the position. Travion Henderson isn't just a regular running back. I think Swesinger is more valuable to the Bengals than Trayvion Henderson. There you go. But guess what? The best player on the board is Kevin Winston, Jr. And that's where I would go here, including Travion Henderson,

Starting point is 00:17:17 including the running backs, and everyone likes to give me grief. I'm a BPA guy, and it fits a need. I think Kevin Winston, Jr. will beat out, or would beat out, Gino Stone, if they gave him the opportunity, would contribute right away, would be a guy that could play right away. I know he's coming off of the ACL, wouldn't even be close to pick 49. Might be the first safety off the board if he had never gotten hurt.

Starting point is 00:17:40 Like, might be. And so for him to be here, I would probably go that route. I'd probably take Kevin Winston Jr. I think there's a really strong argument to go linebacker here, but I called Fiat on the first pick, and I said I'm taking Kelvin Banks. So I will give you Kevin Winston here with a second. How about that?

Starting point is 00:18:05 How about me not taking the running back that everyone just assumes I'm going to take regardless of what's on the board? You know, don't assume because you never know. Kevin Winston Jr., you're in orange and black. That's great. And what's going to be painful for people is Andrew McCuba as you hit that simulator still available in round three. I don't care. I think there's going to be a clear tier difference for the Bengals when it comes to Kevin Winston Jr. And I feel good about that pick. That doesn't mean that you can't address defensive line. And I think that would be in an ideal world where they would go here. Of course, Tate Ratledge made it through because he always does in the PFF simulator. Tate Ratledge is not a third round pick. Spoiler alert. That's not going to happen, Jake. I'd be shocked.

Starting point is 00:18:51 Yeah, I think you would take him. Sure. If you could break to the first and you can still get tape ballot. I would consider him in the second. I would consider him in the second, but, you know, I get that we weren't going to go guard, guard. And in PFFs simulator, this happens seemingly every time. You can still get Wyatt Millam in the third round. You can still get Jonas Levi Anaya in the third round.

Starting point is 00:19:12 You can still get a lot of these tackle guard prospects in the third round. James, we have a couple of rounds to finish. We're going to wrap up round two. We're going to get to the top of round three. We will wrap up our second to last at best mock draft Monday here coming up next. The Nissan Armada Player of the Week is brought to you by our friends at Nissan. And the all-new 2025 Nissan Armada. Each week, we're taking a look at our draft prospects to pick one guy that stands apart.

Starting point is 00:19:44 The guy we believe showcased the strength and power needed to push the Bengals forward as we head into. next season. And this week's Armada clear-cut player of the week is Kevin Winston, Jr. out of Penn State. Obviously, we just made him the Bengals' second round pick at 49th overall. But you're talking about someone that if he did not come off of and isn't coming off of the ACL injury, by the way, expected to be back at the start of training camp, is someone that would be well off the board, would be long gone, would be a top one to two safety in this class. I think we would be having a different discussion about him. And when you read what different evaluators are saying about him, it's pretty easy to see the path to him becoming a quality NFL starter pretty early on in his

Starting point is 00:20:32 NFL career. And the Bengals kept Gino Stone. So this is the perfect kind of setup. Assuming they still plan on keeping Stone, then yeah, maybe Stone is in there taking reps as Winston comes back from that ACL, but Winston will be the long-term answer and should play. pretty much right away for the Cincinnati Bengals. Has great size at 6-1-213. Kevin Winston, you are this week's locked-on Bengals. Nissan Armada, player of the week, go forth and conquer. That's exactly what I think Kevin Winston Jr. can do here,

Starting point is 00:21:04 just like the 2025 Nissan Armada can do for you. It's clear that Winston is ready to conquer the road ahead, and so is the Nissan Armada or any of Nissan's other outstanding vehicles, including the Nissan Armada, Rogue or Pathfinder. go find your next big adventure by shopping nisone usa.com two rounds left james we have picked a guard we have picked a safety we probably Kevin Kevin Kevin Kevin Kevin Kevin Kevin and Kelvin Kevin we're probably looking for some names that don't start with K and that's our most important mission here

Starting point is 00:21:42 Kyle Williams come on down a couple of a couple of j guys on lockdown Bengals you got to got to get off the case, but we're looking probably for some trench players here. And we'll talk about some of the other positions as well. But let's start with the trench players that stand out. Jordan Birch, who is not very high on the Goodberry Sands, etc., the board that I mentioned earlier, has some productivity questions, but is a bigger player at end stands out to me here. Dion Walker, I know will be popular for Bengals fans.

Starting point is 00:22:18 Olu Oledejo from UCLA is a top 70, top 75-ish player for Dave Bruegler, Austin Jalati in a similar position. We've talked about Jamari Caldwell quite a bit, more of a nose tackle type player from Oregon. So those are guys on the defensive front that certainly stand out. I think like we talked about, all of those interior offensive line options are still there. Some running backs, James.

Starting point is 00:22:45 You want to talk about running back again? You got RJ. Running back? running back. Yeah, Damien Martinez from Miami, DJ Giddens from Kansas State, Devin Neal from Kansas. How many of these guys do you want to draft? Oh, I really like DJ Giddens.

Starting point is 00:22:59 I want to do more homework on Martinez and Harvey. I've heard good things about Damien Martinez, haven't done a deep dive on him. RJ Harvey's the eighth ranked running back in the draft, according to Dane. I like Jaden Blue as well, probably not here, but he's available too. So, yeah, there are some running backs.

Starting point is 00:23:15 And this is when I think the real conversation does start. but for me and Jeffrey Bassa available and who knows maybe he's someone Andrew McCube I mentioned that he fell but to me this is is very cut and dry we're talking about the Bengals adding a starting guard they've added possibly a starting safety day one it's really about health for Kevin Winston Jr and can he hit the ground running literally by the way he ran a four five at his pro day just five months removed and into rehab from that ACL But for me, I'm all in on Ashton Jalati. I think Jalati is the perfect.

Starting point is 00:23:55 Like if he's here at pick 81 and the Bengals have an addressed edge, he's what everyone thinks Jack Sawyer is to the Bengals. Like a lot of people think, oh, Jack Sawyer's like the perfect. Like go get, I think Ashton Jalati is a great fit. I'd be in on him right now. I don't care what the PFF simulator says from a value standpoint, because you know they're going to give it a really bad pick. But that's probably where I'm leaning.

Starting point is 00:24:18 here is a little Ashton Jalati. You make the trek from Louisville up to Cincinnati and help bolster this Bengals pass rush. Yeah, man, you don't even have to convince me. I think that I could get behind that pick very easily as well. The only things that you're passing on here are probably guys like Josh Farmer, maybe Dionne Walker, if you're interested in those guys on your defensive interior. Ty Hamilton, by the way, is just not in the PFF simulator.

Starting point is 00:24:47 And I think if you look at Dane's board, for example, I think he is a guy that would be in play in the third round. And then the other position that we've looked at in the last round in the second round that we're not addressing here is linebacker. Jeffrey Bassa is a top 100 player for Dane. But a guy that we haven't talked about a ton that comes out really well in the analytics process is Cody Simon, Ohio State linebacker who's probably later on day three. Barrett Carter, linebacker the Bengals did meet with. from Clemson. Also very likely a day three target. But this is where you would start to probably talk about him

Starting point is 00:25:24 with the way certain players end up getting drafted a round or two earlier than expected sometimes. I'd say that the third round is probably that the earliest you would see for Barrett Carter. And obviously Jack Kaiser, a guy that is very familiar for Al Golden. I don't think you're considering most of those guys in the third round, although Jeffrey Bassa, I think there's probably an argument for. And then, of course, if we were to pretend that we believe this world where Tate Ratlidge is available in the third round and Jonas Savait and Naya is available in the third round and Wyatt Millam is available in the third round, and even Jared Wilson, who may be more realistic, but another very athletic Georgia Interior lineman is there in the third round. I think we would be considering very strongly a double dip here if we were willing to play the simulator and say, ah, maybe we can get Jalati in the fourth. But I think in real life, outside of the simulator, unless there are things that we don't know about, some questions we don't know about for Ashton Jalati, I think that the third round is if you want him into the Bengals where you would have to take him.

Starting point is 00:26:23 Yep. Yep. And that's why I would take him. It's just, it's similar to Winston, where it's like, oh, well, sometimes he falls. And it's like, yeah, in the simulator. In real life, I think Jalati is going to go in the third round. And if you're the Bengals, you hope he's there at 81 if you're targeting him. The good news is as you get Jaladi, you address your pass rush.

Starting point is 00:26:41 He's a quality run defender as well, but going to give you some juice. And now this is when, as we enter day four, where I think running back becomes a very real, not that it wasn't real before, but I think it's a very real consideration. And the good news is if you want to continue to address the defensive front, Jamari Caldwell continues to fall and is still available there. And I think fourth round probably makes sense for him. Jack Kaiser there, if you want to address lines. linebacker here and Riley Mills if you go on defensive tackle route and you're looking at the

Starting point is 00:27:12 Notre Dame options. And then the guy that I think similar to Jalati that I would consider right now would be Ty Robinson. You mentioned Ty Hamilton. Ty Robinson is someone the Bengals are interested in out of Nebraska. I think he's a fourth rounder. If he gets this far, this is where the Bengals are considering taking. I'm not sure that he will, but if they do and they're interested in him. And then at this stage of the draft, this is when I'm really looking at Jaden Ballou out of Texas and Trevor E.TN out of Georgia. I think those are two guys where you really start to have the conversation if they're still here at running back. What about Bay Saul Tutton? Tutton for sure. And I didn't know if he was still there or not. It's tough. Spoiler. Yeah, Tutin's still there.

Starting point is 00:28:00 And honestly, he may be the top back on a lot of boards at this stage of the draft. if he's there when the Bengals are on the clock, pick 119. You're just talking about a high-end athlete tested really well, 200-plus pounds, and so the size speed part of it might give him the edge over, say, a Jaden Blue, who is like 195-ish or so. At least that's what he's listed at. You're not drafting a wide receiver here, James?

Starting point is 00:28:31 I'm not, see, I don't think you can really make that joke. I've been pretty reserved on wide receiver. You haven't talked about wide receiver at all this year. I'm worried about you. I hope you're okay. But Kyle, Williams, and Isaac,

Starting point is 00:28:43 Taisla, I don't actually know how. Tesla. Tesla. Is it that simple? I have no idea. I don't think it's Tesla, but a couple of receivers here that,

Starting point is 00:28:53 in some other worlds, I think you would be considering. But if we're looking to add our fifth guy to the defensive interior room, or maybe a linebacker, that's where my mind, is going. So you look. Can I give you my Kyle Williams take real quick? Yeah, go. I want him because Kyle Williams also works for the Bengals. And there's a Kyle Williams already in the building.

Starting point is 00:29:17 And so I could have a lot of fun, I think, with Kyle Williams, the one that I know and work with and interact with regularly versus Kyle Williams, the Bengals wide receiver. That would be fun for me, for my amusement. But I'm not, I'm not sure the Bengals would go that route in a draft. So you mentioned Ty Robinson. He gets. It's a third to fourth round grade for Dane Bruegler. Here we are in the fourth round, of course. And Jamari Colbel, a Lockdown Bengals favorite or a Jake Liscoe favorite,

Starting point is 00:29:44 gets a fourth round grade from Dame Bruegler. Like football a lot. JJ Peggis, Peggwis. I'm just messing his name up forever, too. From Mississippi, very fun player because he's played a lot of offense. He scored seven touchdown. Piggies. Piggies.

Starting point is 00:30:04 All right. Pagis. Pagis. But. Pagis. I think it's geese. Pagis. Ty Robinson, I think very interesting here.

Starting point is 00:30:13 And then linebacker is a position where if you're hoping to get a guy that might be able to start, I think you're kind of at the precipice here. Do the Bengals think that after meeting with Barrett Carter, he can be a day one starter from Clemson? Do they think that Jack Kaiser can be a day one starter and get him a little bit later? Do they actually have an opinion on Cody Simon, who I know a lot of Bengals fans think highly of because of the Ohio State connection. I wonder, I think that Ty Robinson here, given the Bengals level of interest and what he could do for you in terms of rounding out that room, very interesting, a little bit more in terms of a pass rush profile.

Starting point is 00:30:52 As you can see, if you're watching on YouTube, a 10.4% pass rush win rate with six sacks in 2024 versus Caldwell, a little bit lower, 9.3% pass rush win rate, much lower in productivity where he had six sacks in 2023 on 14 total pressures in just one sack in 2024 when he had many more pressure. So between those two guys, I mean, my personal bias leads me to Caldwell here, but we want to make sure we're giving ample time to discuss Ty Robinson because I do think that that is an option for the Bengals in this spot. Get Caldwell and good luck running the ball, right? You just put Caldwell in there. You put Slateon in there and you say, let's go. No, I'm fine with Caldwell.

Starting point is 00:31:37 I would be in on Robinson here, but let's go with Caldwell. Let's round out the defense and buckle up Bengals fans because there's no way in any world where I'm endorsing three out of four picks being defense. No, I'm just kidding. No, I think we did pretty good here. Kelvin Banks Jr., Kevin Winston Jr., so two juniors, Aston Jolati, who got a C-plus from PFF. I thought it was going to get an F.

Starting point is 00:32:02 and J. Marie Caldwell, look, the defensive line, huge upgrade. Kevin Winston Jr. should be a big upgrade on the back end and someone that can play and contribute right away in a day one starter in Kelvin Banks, Jr. I mean, this is a pretty darn good mock draft, Jake. I feel like every time we finish mocks, and most people, I think, often feel this way. You look at who you got, you think, all right, got Kelvin Banks, he's going to start. Got Kevin Winston, he should start. Jolati, he should be in the rotation right away.

Starting point is 00:32:31 called well he should be in the rotation right away we got four players that are either starting or contributing right away that's how we feel about it i'm sure many of you out there feel differently i know that draft prospect opinions are divisive and there are a lot of strong opinions out there so you can as always yell at us in the comments yell at us on social media about how much you love or hate this mock draft and we're going to wrap up there for this episode of lockdown bangles until next time thanks for listening hoodeh and have a good one i think we need more wide receivers there it is

Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - MOCK DRAFT | Fixing the Bengals with 4 rounds of early contributors

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