Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - MORE MOVES NEEDED | Cincinnati Bengals find floor-raisers early in free agency, but haven't gotten better yet

Episode Date: March 11, 2025

The Cincinnati Bengals made a number of moves to improve the floor of their defensive line as free agency began on Monday, in addition to adding a Super Bowl linebacker and bringing back Samaje Perine to solidify the RB room. We're still waiting for the impact moves that will move the needle more significantly than the floor-raisers they signed early. We're still waiting for extensions for Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase, and a resolution for Trey Hendrickson. But Bengals were active in the lower end of the market in the early phase of free agency's negotiating window. Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetterhelpDiscover your relationship “green flags” with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com/lockedon today to get 10% off your first month. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Cincinnati Bengals were active early in free agency with moves that mostly raised the floor of the team for 2025. But where are the impact signings? Have they done enough early? Let's break you down. 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. I'm your host, Jake Liskow. He's your host, James Rupin, and we are locked down. Bengals on the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day on YouTube and everywhere you get your podcast.

It's about 7.50 p.m. as free agency opened for negotiations, not officially earlier today. And we've got a bunch of moves to talk about here, James. But for the everydayers, you knew this was coming. If you're new to the show, we'll have you covered all week here on lockdown Bengals with all of the breaking Bengals news. And I thought we would have had an emergency podcast by now, James, or at least something that forced us to record earlier today, but instead we've got a number of lower profile moves that I don't think in a vacuum, any of them are bad moves per se, but I think a lot of fans are so frustrated with the

lack of an impact move, the lack of movement on T. Higgins, Jamar Chase, and T. Hendrickson, and the general, no top end signing here. And so I think we'll talk about all these moves individually, but wanted to acknowledge that I was streaming all day, eight hours of live streaming during this free agency process, and a lot of fans are still pretty hot with the way this thing started. Sure, because if you make these moves and Jamar is signed or T is signed, or Trey is signed slash resolved, well, it could make sense, and it does make sense. And all of these moves that they've made to this point make sense.

I don't think anyone looks at the BJ Hill signing in a vacuum and says, boo, BJ, you stink. No, I don't think anyone feels that way. Maybe, but I don't. And we can get into why. I don't think you're looking there and saying, man, 330-pound T.J. Slayton, boo. Same thing goes with Orrin Berks. Obviously, same thing goes with some IJ. Piran.

All of the signings to this point make sense. But there's an elephant in the room. and so when you have the elephant in the room and your big fish are unsigned just swimming out not in open ocean but like in the water before the open ocean especially trehendrickson man he's really trying to get hit that open water it's uh it's awkward and it's a unique place to be in and and so they're trying to navigate that right now and they better i mean because now you're getting into how you structure things and you don't want T in his his cap space to impact how they're thinking.

Not that they don't have enough cap space. I'm not saying that, but how they think and how they view their own cap space. And so that's what stinks about the T. Hendricks and the T. Higgins question mark and the Jamar Chase question mark. So yeah, I think it's a mixture of everything. But in a vacuum, each of these sightings makes sense. We can explain why. But it's not like there's an egregious error here, at least to this. point that the Bengals have made in free agency from who they've signed. I think that they've done

a pretty good job. Yeah, we can talk about those individually. And let's do that here, after I just say one more thing, about the general state of the team right now and the work that's still left to do, because we're about to be pretty positive on these signings. And they may not all work. They never all work. But when the moves happen, you can kind of wrap your head around what the idea is behind the moves and how the guys fit in with the plan. And that's what we're going to be talking about here. There's obviously some risk with them. We'll talk about some of the risks. They send a lot of players right around age 30, which is a big point of contention with

Trey Hendrickson, obviously. And then they do a bunch of smaller deals with guys that are right around that age mark in their careers. But the one thing I want to say before we talk about the individuals, James, is the Bengals are still a team that has a lot of work to do to get better. And that's assuming that they get T done and they get Jamar done. Because that's the way that sounds like is going. Ian Rappaport is sharing on the Pat McAvey Show. a generally positive update on those guys on Monday that the Bengals are close to the $40 million mark which Mark Chase.

That's going to get done. Nothing has really changed in that space, even though Jamar's on Instagram sharing that know your worth then add tax Instagram story. And T. Higgins sounded like it was pretty positive from Ian Rappaport today as well as they continue to work on those. Sounds like positive movement there, right? But we have a big question mark with Trey Hendrickson that lingers over this thing. They did not add an edge rusher as of now as we record this episode.

They didn't add an impact pass rusher on the interior defensive line. So right now, there's a significant concern that the Bengals could have the worst pass rush in the NFL in 2025. There's a long way to go between now and then, right? There's a draft. There's still free agents that they can sign. But this big question on Trey Hendrickson, they're serious concern about the past rush right now. They're serious concern of the guard spots right now because they haven't made those moves yet. Those moves could still be coming.

They are coming in some way, shape, or form. They still need four defensive edge rushers on the scene. They still need another defensive tackle. Now, whether that comes through the free agency of the draft or both remains to be seen. The point I'm trying to make here is, despite each of these moves being moves that generally are passing grade moves. There's nothing here that stands out to me is egregiously bad. They're all least average or close to average or better moves in my mind. And we'll get your opinion here just a second, Jim.

They have a lot of work to do to get to a point where you could reasonably say they have improved the team from 2025. That's giving them credit for two deals they haven't done yet with T. Higgins and Jemar Chase. Agreed. And I think that's what we should talk about now. And then we'll break down these guys because everyone by now knows who they signed and what they signed them for and all of those things. So we'll get into those guys. But as far as this team, I. I'm not going to say I need more on the Monday,

but they better be talking about guards right now. They better be talking about guards and calling Kevin Zitler and communicating with Sarah Zitler about where they can live in Cincinnati and move their whole family back to Cincinnati. I need this, that to happen, or them being really in on Brandon Shurf.

They need a proven guard that is going to come in and be a significant can upgrade. And I think those guys can still do it. I don't care about their age. And actually, I don't know if the Bengals do either. I think the Bengals have been flirting with that 30-year-old mark. I'm going to call Zach Taylor after this and say, hey, if you need a 33-year-old slot receiver, I know of one. But the point is, like, they've, when it's not huge money, it's not like they've shied away from the age part of it. And that's good, because at Guard, I don't care. Treat guard like you've treated the tight end for years and years, up until

Mike Kisicki, where it's just been this revolving door. I'm fine with that, but you just need to protect Joe. And so finding the guy who's going to be able to protect Joe and open up run lanes and all of those things, I think that that's a huge concern for me now because I need to make sure that they're prioritizing it. And it can dry up quickly, and I don't want them to settle there. I think there's still some good guys there.

I don't want them to settle there. So that would be number one. Number two, you mentioned the edge, and I just think it's overall pass rush in general. Like you don't know about Trey. We don't know about Joseph Osai. And even if you sign Osai, he's still a question mark. And so you need to bolster this pass rush.

And I do think mixing in the BJ Hill signing here, I think that is the risk you play with signing B.J. Hill. Not that he isn't solid. But he's not giving you a bunch of juice as a pass rusher. And they would probably say, yeah, well, who is at that price? and I get it, but you need more juice. That's why they went out and got Rankin's last year. Obviously, it didn't work.

But I think the process, from a football standpoint, it made sense. You need some more interior push. So where are they going to get that? Going into the draft and saying, oh, well, this draft is going to be easy to find a three tech. Like, that's a tough place to be in. And I don't necessarily want to be in that place on the Bengals. Yeah, I agree. And I don't dislike the BJ Hill move.

But you have some pretty clear holes here left to fill if you are the Cincinnati Bengals. You mentioned Joseph Osai or Locked on Bengals Insiders. Join subtext.com slash locked on Bengals if you're interested in joining that. Got some text today from us on that channel of communication where you let them know that the Bengals. Before the WLWT report, I think, that the Bengals are talking to Osai. There are a couple of other teams interested. The Cardinals have since signed Daya Oda Ingo. I think that's where he landed.

So the Cardinals may be out of that race. They signed an edge player. Confusing where everybody landed at this point. But they may now be out of the race for Osai. There's still some interesting. Cardinals signed Josh Sweat. Yeah. Sweat.

Okay. Wrong player. Right position. New they signed an Edgeke. Couldn't remember who. I streamed for eight hours before we started recording this podcast. Brains a little bit scandal. But we will get into the players that I spent eight hours for,

reacting to the Bengals signing here as they were active early in free agency and signed a number of players who I do think can help this team and can help raise the floor in a number of important areas. We'll get into those guys coming up next. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Taking care of your mental health can feel like a big investment, but it's just as important as taking care of your body. Traditional in-person therapy can cost anywhere from $100 to $250 per session, but with Better Help, you can save up to 50% per session. Better help offers a flat fee for weekly online therapy sessions, making professional support more accessible and affordable with over 30,000. That's 30,000 therapists and over 5 million

people helped. It's the world's largest online therapy platform. And whether it's something as simple as self-care, self-care, you're thinking you spend money on the gym or getting your nails done or your hair done if you're Jake, let's go, well, you can spend money on self-care with better help as well because your mental well-being is just as important as your physical well-being. Your well-being is worth it. Visit betterhelp.com slash locked on to get 10% off today, and that'll be 10% off for your entire first month.

Again, that's betterhelp.com slash locked on to get 10% off your first month. Betterhelp, hlp.com slash locked on. On a day that Mike Gaseki talked about taking a Joe Burrow tax return to Cincinnati, and we saw some tight-end deals that made his deal look more financially favorable than perhaps it had to, if he had gotten to unrestricted free agency. And he had his press conference after he resigned. The Bengals also resigned BJ Hill. They signed Nose tackle T.J. Slayton from the Green Bay Packers,

who reunites with Jerry Montgomery, who was the coach in place in Green Bay when he was drafted and helped him to come along in his first three years in the NFL. They signed Oren Burks, a veteran linebacker who stepped up in a major way when Nacobo Dean got hurt for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and had a fantastic playoff run. They signed Somaget P. Ryan, who did not go for $8 million a year to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I don't know if you saw that in the middle of the day, for those of you who were watching closely. And Jason Light had to log on to social media to denounce that rumor. Those are the mood. Aaron Wilson reported that.

That was like a legit report. Yeah, no, it wasn't just like a fake rumor account. It was a guy that is generally on it. Some wires got crossed there. Somaget P. Rang backed with the Bengals for about just south of $2 million per year. Which of these guys you want to start with, James? There's some commonalities between a lot of these signings and obviously some different money here. But where do we begin?

Offense, because offense wins championships. Look, Samad J.P. Ryan, I think the reason I want to start with him, I think it's actually the quickest. And this is just, it's a no-brainer. Good pass blocker, cheap, not going to get in the way of your draft plans, but gives you insurance that you know can help you from a special team standpoint, pass-blocking standpoint, can catch out of the backfield, cut the game clinching first down in the AFC championship game for the chiefs over the bills. Like, he's still valuable.

And he's not going to get in the way of you drafting a running back in this awesome running back draft class, which the Bengals are most likely going to do. Spoiler alert. So I think it makes the most sense because if he's your RB3 and not getting many carries but catching the ball to the backfield, pass blocking, and helping on special teams, you feel great. And I think that's what Saman JPM Ryan is going to be.

Maybe not week one, but probably by like week seven or eight, if the rookie that they bring in pans out, that's what you're looking at, I would say. If they draft a running back, which I still think is up in the air a little bit, And this doesn't stop them from doing so I did say when we were streaming earlier, just so I'm consistent with what I said. I do think this makes them slightly less likely to draft a running back because it relieves the pressure there a little bit, right? Like if Somaget Piran is your RB2, it's not ideal by any means.

I agree with you. You would rather him be your depth better in peace, maybe a 2B, even to a 2A that is somebody that has more dynamism and more upside. But it's not the worst thing in the world because he knows your system very well from a pass blocking perspective, from a receiving perspective. And that's still the most important thing in the Bengals offense. But you would lose something as a runner if he needed to play full-time stats because Chase Brown was dealing with anything that caused him to miss any time. And so, yeah, you would like something that is a little bit more dynamic at that position.

Don't get me wrong. I think that they can still use an injection of youth and talent there. But I do think that he gives you that floor in the RB room where you have a guy that, you know, you can trust. He's going to be in the right place at the right time. He's maybe not going to rip off a 20-yard run, but he can get your five and get downhill and be a bigger back to compliment Chase Brown. For sure, no doubt about it.

And by the way, just because it's a great running back draft doesn't mean that it's going to work out where the guy's there when you want them. But I'd be stunned if they, because they need it. I mean, right now, let's just say they bring back, what's it, why am I forgetting his name

from Chicago they traded for? Khalil Herbert. Khalil Herbert. The name thing wore off on me. Sorry, I was drinking water. I would have gotten you sooner, but. So if you bring back Kalil Herbert, then yeah. I mean, I think you have a pretty darn good floor there.

And your running back room is better this year. Really, because you're three deep. And I think three deep versus two deep. And they were two deep last year at this time. They're probably just waiting on the Zach Moss scenario here. But yeah, the Samadjai Piran move. It's a no-brainer. You can have a bunch of different.

different roles and he's egosless. Like if you take a running back, let's say they do take a running back in the fourth round and that running back takes his job on offense. I don't think Samaj Prerun. Of course he's going to want to compete and still get on the field. He can. Like the chiefs had a three running back set by the end of the year. Like you can do that with Samaj and rotate three different guys in and out if you want

to. And you have to rotate more because Chase was just, Chase probably was just on the field far too much. The injury was bound to happen with how much use and just how many snaps he was on the field. So you want to balance that out some this year. So I like the signing. Don't know why anyone would get mad at it. Do you have anything else on BJ Hill? Should we dive in more on BJ Hill? Because I do think that that's the biggest, obviously from a value standpoint, but I think that's the biggest signing of the day. Yeah, three years, $33 million for BJ Hill, as you mentioned from a financial perspective,

the largest contract that Bengals handed out, at least as of 8.05 p.m. as we're recording this, I think it's a floor-raising move, James. It's not the most exciting move in the world, but I think BJ Hill is still a solid player. Now, would he have been my first choice for a solid floor-raising player

on this defensive line out of all the guys that were available in free agency when he signed? Honestly, I don't think so. I might have gone a different direction there, but it's slight. That's a small difference. I think BJ Hill is a valuable veteran piece who's very familiar with the Bengals locker room and culture and is a guy that is familiar with the rest of that defensive tackle room as well where you have a couple of guys going into their second year. That can be valuable.

He'll be able to continue the relationship with those young guys and understand how he plays with them. The place where this gets a little bit sketchy to me, I guess, a little bit touch and go to me is when you think about it in conjunction with the other defensive tackle they signed in T.J. Slayton where both of these players, I think, are. floor-raising players in and of themselves, probably more so Slayton than B.J. Hill, but at least you have competent veterans there now, right? And you have two competent veterans, a couple of second-year players that you're hoping can take a step, can show continued improvement, can benefit from the presence of a no-stack, and I'm getting ahead of myself with the T.J. Slayton move here a little bit. But just increasing the floor there is a good place to be.

The downside is, we've talked about the pass rush quite a bit in this episode already. there's just not really any of that right now on the defensive interior. They're probably rostering five guys there. It gets a little bit awkward to find enough space for enough of a pass rush from your interior at this point. Yeah, I think when you look at Hill and we'll get to Slayton, but that does make sense. But you either need McKinley Jackson or Chris Jenkins Jr. or both to be bunch better as pass rushers. or you need to do what will be the theme of free agency for me, Jake. More.

I want more. One thing Duke Tobin told me two weeks ago, I asked him, do you think it's realistic to get to a place where you are comfortable? And the word I didn't use was comfortable. I forget the exact word I used with your defensive line depth. And he said, I'm not sure I'll ever be comfortable with our defensive line depth. Good. Push the front office to sign a number.

one because there will be bound to be an injury. Some of these roster things that look complicated and complex aren't as complicated and complex. Think about last year, it's like, oh, well, there's all these spots. And then suddenly McKinley Jackson goes down. And then Miles Murphy goes down. And then this guy goes down. And suddenly you're really testing your depth early in camp. And so more. I want more, Jake Liscoe. I want a proven pass rushing defensive lines. lineman on this roster by the end of the week. I'm setting it now. End of the week.

Doesn't have to be one of these big names, a guy that can get some pressure. And I think that there are guys out there that can do that. We'll see if the Bengals listen to me. Yeah, I keep thinking about Callais Campbell being available in the summer. I've been thinking about that today. Like, he's still going to be available in the summer again, right? Like, does he sign a deal this week? Maybe he does.

I would just prioritize him this week if that's what you want. But maybe he just doesn't want to sign a deal until. training camp, right? Well, he signed it like June last year. Like it wasn't camp. Okay. Well, who knows? I just think about him being available in the summer and think, yeah, just had him

done. But there's obviously still a need here. I do want to talk about why it's a little bit awkward, especially with the addition of T.J. Slate into the room as well and how there will be some roster, what's the game you play where there's chairs, musical chairs, in that room a little bit that could emerge in terms of roster gymnastics. So we'll wrap up there with T.J. Slayton on the defensive line side of things. And we'll make sure we get to what's next for the Bengals and what's left to do in greater detail here to finish up the show coming up next.

This is a message from sponsor Intuit TurboTax because Taxes was waiting and wondering and worrying if you were going to get any money back and then waiting, wondering, and worrying some more. Now Taxes is matching with a TurboTax expert who can do your taxes as soon as today. An expert who gives your taxes, their undivided attention as they work on your return while you get real-time updates on their progress so you can focus on your day. An expert who will find every deduction possible on file every form, every investment, every everything, 100% accuracy. Also, you can get the most money back guaranteed. No waiting, no wondering, no worries. Now this is taxes. Get an expert now at turbotax.com. Only available at turbotax.

live full service, real-time updates only in the iOS mobile app. See guaranteed details at turbotects.com slash guarantees. The Bengals have a nose tackle. Yeah. T.J. Slighton, who is 330 pounds, I think, from 3.30. Yep. They sorely missed a nose tackle last year. They tried to play without one for a season.

Didn't go great. We talked to Mike Santagena about how Al Golden's defensive front is going to play the run. their defensive front to read stuff out, not shoot gaps. Slaten is a fit for that. He did have experience shooting gaps in Green Bay because you're always going to mix things up. But what I saw from him when I turned him on because I've never watched T.J. Slayton tape. I turned on the Green Bay Packers tape a little bit today in the middle of our stream, in the middle of the free agency frenzy that was and still is,

he's pretty good to take it on double teams. And being able to eat space and not give up ground on double teams, is a pretty significant hole that existed on the 2024 Bengals roster. And you had, as a result of that, B.J. Hill taken on too many double teams. And you had Chris Jenkins taken on too many double teams. You had all these guys on the Bengals taken on too many double teams. Having T.J. Slayton should raise the floor. And I'm going to continue to talk about raising the floor of this run defense

because now you have a body who is not only equipped from a size perspective to take on double teams, but experienced with it. because McKinley Jackson has the size to do it. It's just not really his play style. And maybe he improves in that area in year two. But T.J. Slayton's presence should help Chris Jenkins, should help B.J. Hill, should help McKinley Jackson all play better against the run in different ways if he's on the field, taking on the center and guard in the A gap, if that is the alignment on that particular play. Yeah, I think this is, it's a two-year, $15.1 million deal. former fifth round pick

2021 draft just got off of his rookie deal Jerry Montgomery was in Green Bay with him for three seasons was there when they picked him I mean it just makes a lot of sense it's what they need they needed a big body they need to be better against the run they need to be more stout they need a guy it's going to be able to eat double

teams and be able to tackle in the middle of the defense and they they found it like this is this is exactly what you're looking for you're looking for an ascending player he has all of the motivation in the world

to ball out over the next two years so he can get paid again. It's really nice strategy by him and I think it's smart by the Bengals because you might be able to get a lot out of this pickup and he certainly from a football standpoint

fits right away and I think look you don't need him to be the one that brings you the juice. If he had juice it was that size and all those things. Well, he'd have a couple more zeros on the end of that contract. Yeah, that's Dexter Lawrence and only Dexter Lawrence.

And so it's perfect because you're not overspending to get that, to get what you needed, and you're getting, he fits the right age and athleticism and all those things that you are looking for. So, and obviously he's familiar with Jerry Montgomery because of their days in Green Bay. So really like the signing a lot. I think it fits well. But, and then. this is where when you look at the defensive line room now it's like all right well he's starting

imagine bj hill's starting then you have mckinley jackson you have chris jenkins junior and it's like is is that is that what you're rolling out and then you throw a draft pick in and then that's it and that's why i ask for more i want some depth jake lisco and uh yet i i can already feel it the bengals are like nah well we'll address it in the draft maybe at a a low, low end veteran, and that's your defensive tackle room. Would not shock me one bit. Yeah, the issue is that you roster five defensive tackles, almost always. It's rare to keep six.

To your point, however, it's also rare to get five guys, your top five guys to the regular season healthy and even rarer to keep them healthy all year. And just look at last year for how injuries piled up there. So that's where more would make sense, but I also think it's a little bit awkward, like I said, James, because four of your top five roster spots most likely spoken for with a second year, second round pick and a second year, third round pick, and two veterans that are getting paid enough that they're going to be on the roster this year. Those aren't deals that you sign just to cut them in training camp. Now, there might be deals that they do, and that might be the sixth guy of your

point that is a little bit below where you want them to play. But where it gets awkward is, if you're going to spend another premium pick there, say Walter Nolan in the first round, say Kenneth Grant, not really a great fit for what they need at this point. Eric Harmon, the big pass rush win rate kind of defensive tackle, which would be the other one in the conversation, and a veteran, that's where it gets a little bit awkward. You're going to have a very difficult cut to make at the end of that, most likely if you have six guys there.

Now, if it's an edge player with a little bit of hybridization to him, who can kick inside and can play outside on base downs, maybe that's where you get the depth, and that can work. But it is a little bit of an awkward spot from a roster construction perspective that musical chairs game I was talking about. But the fun stat for T.J. Slayton that I found James today as I texted Lockdown Packers host, Peter Bikowski looking for T.J. Slayton download was that he led the NFL in ESPN's run-stop win rate stat in 2024, ahead of DJ Jones, ahead of Grover Stewart, ahead of DeForest Buckner. So some pretty good company he's keeping there at the top of that leaderboard in defeating blocks and run defense situation. Yeah, it's so funny because if you look at his PFF run grade, then it's really bad. And like, so it's just funny which one you look at.

A lot of people replied to my tweet with that stat with PFF grades. And this is why. And I use PFF. And I use these other stats. They're a piece. They're not the whole thing. Guess what? He's going to help the run defense.

The Bengals run defense got better. We could call it that. We could say that today, regardless of the stupid numbers. Good or bad. And all you have to do is go to YouTube and look them up. When there's a guy making run stops in the middle of the Packers' defense, you just look it up on YouTube and it's like, oh, man, there's a clip. And then there's a clip.

And it didn't take long for me to be like, okay, he can play. The other stat from Andrew Russell was when he was in a nose tackle alignment since 2022, where he will be playing for the Bengals, I think, probably more than 3-Tech, just given the other players they have available to them, 71.4 run defense grade. So that run defense grade goes way up, 20% positively graded play rate against a run. That's a pretty good number. And even the pass rush grade from nose tackle, 61.5, comes up quite a bit for Slaten,

although I assume there's a pretty small sample of pass rush snaps for him at nose tackle. Last player, the Bengals signed today as the Bengals improved their defensive line depth, but still leave some needs, some serious needs in the pass rush category as Orrin Burks, who really was pretty awesome for last. of a better term when he stepped in in the playoff running down the stretch for Philly when Nkobie Dean got hurt, putting up great numbers across the board playing a key role in that defense, special teams captain, special teams player on all units as well, looks a lot like the Akeem Davis-Gather deal that the Bengals gave him last year.

And Akeem Davis-Ga-Ga-Ga-old goes and gets $5.5 million a year on a two-year deal to Arizona, I believe. And Berks will step into that role will likely be the third linebacker in a three-linebacker base defense for Al Gold. Yeah, the moment I saw this, I knew Akeem Davis-Kather was gone. Yeah. Like you just knew that that was the transition, that's who it was going to be. And then Akeem probably within 20 minutes had signed with Arizona.

The Bengals probably knew that. I like this. I like this because I think he's probably better on defense than Akeem Davis-Kather. He's certainly more experienced. He was a big part, as you mentioned, of the Eagles. And in their run down the stretch, started in the Super Bowl. Charlie Goldsmith pulled this one out, pro football reference. He had three missed tackles over the past three seasons.

What mistackles? What mistackles? Yeah, what miss tackles is right for, for Warren Burks. Our daily listeners, our everydayers get that reference. What miss tackles? What you're talking about, Jake, mistackles? The point is, I like it. Really good athlete, productive, going to help Darren Simmy,

You lose a lot with Akeem Davis-Ka-Ther. A ton of special team snaps that just went out the door to Arizona. Well, Berks can help replace some of those. And at the same time, I think he's going to be... I mean, does he... Does he start? I mean, it's a third linebacker. I think he's like a one-for-one of King Davis-Ga-Thayther replacement.

So you think they still sign a starting linebacker? Or draft Jahad Campbell. Or draft a linebacker. I don't know about Jahad Campbell. Ah, Jahad Campbell at 17. is what you're saying. Oh, okay. People are just doing that with a different position.

I might as well do it with a different position. Everyone's like, oh, yeah. Just take the pass rusher and there you go. So I might as well mention the different position. Some good defensive, some good linebacker options, I think. Jack Kaiser, you are a Bengal. I mean, there's more than that, but that's one. I know.

But it'll be like Xavier Watts round two, Kaiser round four. Yeah. So in terms of what's next for the Bengals, obviously a guard is sorely needed at least one. I would say I wouldn't be shocked to see another linebacker given the money that they're paying Oren Berks, although he will have a chance to earn a bigger role. He is 30s.

Largely what he's going to be at this point was playing behind a phenomenal defensive front in Philly. So it's going to be a bit of a different job for him in Cincinnati. Like the signing, don't get me wrong. Wouldn't be surprised to see another linebacker there. But more than anything, let's figure out the big three, right? is Jermar Chase's price that going to keep going up as we keep seeing deals come in potentially at the top of the NFL market?

Let's get T. Higgins done. Let's figure out that cap number before free agency officially opens in the new league year and you have to be cap compliant. And honestly, the way things went today, the way edge rushers got signed today, figured out with Trey. I know that's a long shot at this point. But you got to get back to the table because your pass rush is in dire straits. and trade can go a long way

and helping you have a baseline that you can add to the rest of the way. It doesn't have to be that hard. It can, that can be ironed out. That bridge is not burned. I'll say that. Two, as of 8.21 p.m., which is when we're about to sign off on Monday night,

Joseph O'Sai is very much in play. I think they are really making a push to try to keep their first David Muller get a client and sign him to an extension. He probably wants a one year or a short term. And who knows, the Bengals probably won an extra year or two just in case he does pop this year. And so I do think that that balance is interesting how that works. But I do think that they're trying to make a run there.

If that falls through, Zizo Jolari is someone I think that they could target. But the two things between now and the next time we talk, Jake, hopefully it's guard, protect Joe, and it's pass rush. Get after the other Joe. The not as good as Joe, Joe, that's wearing the uniform on the other side playing quarterback. Yep. And when or if those significant moves happen, of course, we will be back with you here on Lockdown Bengals on YouTube, where you can subscribe and hit the bell to make sure you don't miss an episode and anywhere you get your podcast. Until then, thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Hoodei and have a good one.