Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Predicting the MOST LIKELY Candidates For Bengals First Round Pick

Episode Date: April 3, 2026

The Cincinnati Bengals have to hit big in the draft this year with the opportunity to pick near the top of each round. Jake Liscow and James Rapien handicap likely Bengals targets at #10, spotlighting Caleb Downs, Jermod McCoy, Mansoor Delane, Reuben Bain, Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese. The guys weigh positional value debates, what the Bengals' recent draft history suggests, and what mock draft data tells us about who might be available at pick #10.  Everydayer Club If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengals Find 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/id1159723162 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajs Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAg Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengals Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Robinhood You’re no longer just a spectator. Play by play. You decide. Trade Every Play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robinhood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC., a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. During the tournament FanDuel is offering $300 back in Bonus Bets every day for ten days. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. 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 Bengals need to capitalize on their top 10 pick to add a premier talent to their football team. Let's handicap the most likely players of Bengals will select at pick number 10. You are Locked-on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. What up Bengals fans and welcome to another episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. He's James Rapine. I'm Jake Liscoe. We are your host of Lockdown Bengals. and today we take a look at who we think the most likely candidates are

for the Cincinnati Bengals pick at number 10. Hopefully, these guys that are in the most likely candidates list are guys that will be cornerstone players for this team. Or a cornerstone player for this team. They're only picking one guy at 10, but they badly need a cornerstone player, James. And if they can find that kind of guy, a Joe Burrow Jamar Chase kind of player,

And it's hard to do. Those guys are picked earlier than 10. Don't get me wrong. But when you're picking in the top 10, you're looking for big, big impact. The Bengals shouldn't be picking in the top 10 very often. So big opportunity this year. And we need to talk about who we think are some of the likely candidates. We've talked about a lot of the guys that make a lot of sense, right?

We've talked about guys we would target. We've gone through some mock scenarios, James. But the names most commonly mocked to the Bengals, the names we think the Bengals will be in. interested in the guys we think will be available to them are all part of the formula of coming up with who we think the most likely picks are for the Bengals of 10. Yeah, I think it's, it's interesting because we've talked a lot about a lot about these guys for months now in some cases. And I think that the player that fans would mention the most, it's one of two. It's either Jeremiah, no,

I'm just kidding. It's either Rubin Bain or it's Caleb Downs. And I think those would be the two that fans would say if you pulled every every day or every locked on Bengals listener every Bengals fan on the planet, it doesn't really matter what kind of pull you want to do. I think those are the two that fans would mention the most. Are those the two

most likely picks? I think that's where the dilemma is. It's much different to want that versus the Bengals to want that and that guy to fall. And that's what we can kind to do today is take all of those things into consideration.

with the NFL draft a month out, or three weeks out, excuse me, later this month, three weeks out, who do they pick at 10? Well, here's how we view it.

It's probably going to change between now and draft day. More information comes out. You never know what's going to happen. And we might have a better picture of what the Bengals are going to do. But I think this is a valuable exercise, especially where we're at multiple weeks

away from the NFL draft, but it's certainly closing it. Yeah, an exercise we do every year is we set what we think the best, Bengals Board will be, and we have been correct in our prognostications as a collective effort, and we will do that closer to the draft. We'll talk about that on this show. We'll talk about that also on Cincinnati Bengals talk, where we will go through that exercise and come up with what we think the Bengals Board looks like. And of course, the traditional last show for us, James, the day before the

draft or the night of the draft, is what we think will happen, the predictive mock, what we think the Bengals will do. And we tend to get some things right where it's harder the later they pick, obviously. But we, we have identified some of the correct guys over the year, sometimes in the wrong round. Sometimes you talk me out of picking McKinley Jackson. You're never going to forgive me for that. Like it shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have happened. Look, it shouldn't have happened. And the proof is the past two years. That's the proof. The only reason I bring it up is to illustrate that sometimes we're on these things and sometimes we're so on them that we don't want to put them into reality but uh that's exactly what the conversation was like no don't say that yeah that's what it was

uh and obviously hoping mckinley jackson can can contribute to this team this year but uh at the time he was seen as a reach and he was a reach and so uh we go through every year trying to figure out who the most likely guys are for them to pick we talk about the guys we think will have the biggest impact on all these things, but it's a different conversation to talk about the most likely guys to be available to them, the most likely guys they would consider. Because take Caleb Downs, for example, just to start the conversation, right? Is the most commonly mocked player to the Cincinnati Bengals, according to Benjamin Robinson's grinding the mocks where he keeps track of a bunch of mock draft data.

And Caleb Downs is number one in his tracking. Joe Goodberry also tracking this stuff. Caleb Downs, number one in his tracking as well, at 30% in the, the drafts that Joe is tracking Mansour Delane second for Joe at 16% Mansour Delane second for Robinson's grinding the mocks data at 12%. So those two guys, according to two different sources who are tracking mocks, are considered to be the most likely picks according to those that are putting together mock drafts.

And obviously those guys don't always get things right, but the collective wisdom often is on to something. So let's dig into Caleb Downs first, the most likely according to these couple of sources. And certainly one of the likelier picks according to fan consensus, I would say as well, and a guy that they would like to see picked. Part of this conversation, James, is, well, the Bengals invests a top 10 pick in a safety after paying Brian Cook. And all the praise for Jordan Battle.

Some of that probably a little bit of coach speaks. Some of that probably real. Will the Cincinnati Bengals front office use a premium pick on a non-premian position and invest that draft slot and that money in Caleb Downs when they've just paid Brian Cook? After years of being like, we don't need to pay safety. We don't need to pay Jesse Bates. Look, we can do this cheap with Nick Scott. Look, we can do this cheap.

Look, we can save money. Geno Stone, mid-level deal. And then they finally pay up. After all of that, would they still invest that pick? in Caleb Downs. And that's where it gets interesting, right? It's because of the way the Bengals like to use our draft picks, typically not where they have guys under contract for multiple years,

typically don't like to challenge their entrenched starters who are young and in the prime of their careers. So I do think it gets a little muddy as to whether or not the Bengals would really consider Caleb Downs at 10. Yeah, I think, I don't think it's as cut and dry as some believe, right? And part of that is, you mentioned history. Dax Hill is a prime example here where they took a player that had some versatility that did a little bit of everything in college and had that athleticism.

And I think they had a plan for him. Like I remember Zach Taylor on draft night being like, Jeff, he was talking about chops. We're not going to draft him to play special teams. He was the first round pick. And then what did he do his rookie year after Jesse Bates got back into camp? Like that man was on the bench, played a little corner, played some special teams, was not on the field nearly to the level that he should have been as a rookie.

And you need to have a plan. Totally fine with Caleb Downs. I think there would be a lot of people that are excited. But you need to be able to maximize what he can bring you. And that's where it does get interesting is, would they be willing to take Jordan battle off the field some? Would they be willing to play three safeties and be comfortable with Caleb Downs,

essentially being that nickel corner part of the time? Questions that we don't know about. The answer is yes, and they feel comfortable that he can do that. Well, then he's going to play a ton of snaps and he's going to be valuable and he's going to make an impact, and he should be one of their top targets. But we need that answer. Because if you're drafting him to be the Jordan battle replacement

and kind of learn and do those things. And no, I need you on the field right away. Whoever they pick at 10 needs to be on the field needs to be making an impact now. And they are in position to get one of those guys. And so they need to have a plan in place with whoever they pick to make sure that that guy gets on the field. So what do you think the bottom line is as far as Caleb Downs goes?

Like how much do we think? Because I think that this is a real thing. I think that the fact that they've paid Brian Cook is a real thing that will be in their minds when they're thinking about investing an additional asset in a safety. How much of a factor do you think that is? I think it's a factor. I think that they, he checks everything but that, right? Everything but the position.

And what I mean by that is leadership wise. Can he be the face of your defense in a big way? Can he be a captain? Could he help give you an identity on defense? the way we talk about Joe Jamar T. Can he be that guy on defense where it's like, oh, the Bengals got Caleb Downs too. If they think yes, and I think they will think yes,

I think they're going to be very much in on Caleb Downs. Does it mean that they're going to pick him? But NFL drafts a few weeks away, if he's there at 10, he's going to be at or near the top of their board. Maybe there's another guy that falls that's ahead of him, and they go with that guy. But it's hard for me to envision a scenario where Downs doesn't get serious consideration and isn't a top two player, regardless of who's there, top two or three player on

their board. And so, yes, I very much think the Bengals are in the Caleb Downs business. We'll talk a little bit more about Caleb Downs and wrap that up with who he will be competing with, we think, at this point, early April. This will probably change in the next three weeks at the top of the Bengals board for pick number 10 coming up next. The NCAA tournament is, well, it's almost over. And it's been a lot of fun. And there are four teams remaining. And regardless of who you think is going to win, maybe you're still in it, bracket-wise, maybe you're not.

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Game picks, futures, even same game parlays for even bigger payouts. All you have to do is go to fandle.com right now. That's fandle.com to get in on all the action. I think that the primary competitors with Caleb Downs are going to be, and according to Joe's data, this lines up, Mansour Delange, Ramon McCoy, who we talked about a lot yesterday, and Ruben Bain, if he falls. And we talked about why Ruben Bay might fall a little bit yesterday, too, and we'll continue to discuss that.

If like one of David Bailey, Sunny Siles or Arvill Reese have an inexplicable fall as well, I think they'll be in consideration as well. And we'll talk about probably some of those guys a little bit today. But this is a spot where I wonder how much positional value will come into things when the Bengals are weighing a Caleb Downs against a mansler Delane and against a Drummond McCoy. And each of those guys has their own question marks, right? There's a reason they're not sure thing, top five, top. eight picks.

They might, you know, you might see them at 7, 8, 9. You might see those guys going that early, but not like surefire can't miss corner prospects. But for the Bengals, when you combine the investment they've made at safety, the premium value on the corner position that I think they still hold corner and in high regard as far as how they see positional value. And the potential that they will lose one of their two starters on the outside. if they only managed to extend one of Dax Hill and D.J. Turner, their proclivity to draft to replace guys in the future,

which is part of what goes in going back to Dax Hill. What goes into that Dax Hill pick is anticipating the future loss of a guy who might get to free agency, who they don't necessarily expect to retain. That really pushes you toward corner, potentially, when you look at the Bengals history. The other confounding factor here that I'll just throw out is the Bengals have generally since Billy Price, been pretty good in the first round about drafting guys that are not consensus reaches. Billy Price, big consensus reach. Jonah Williams drafted right around where he was expected to be drafted. Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, obviously not reaches. Dax Hill was picked after consensus.

Miles Murphy was picked after consensus. Amarius Wins and Chamars Stewart both picked right around consensus. So I don't think we should be worried about a significant reach, but I do wonder if we'll see that habit of drafting for the future need, the guy that's on the last year of his deal, and we need to start her next year. And if that would push them toward corner here at 10. Yeah, I think what I would want them to do is obviously go with player.

And if they think Caleb Downs is going to be better or McCoy is going to be better, go there. And it's interesting because Ohio State fans especially might not want to hear it, but there are a lot of scenarios where I think McCoy does have the edge. and before you get to the position and the health is going to be the one that everyone talks about but an ACL happens man like ACLs happened we saw it with that so they happen he did everything he could to get back

if there's no flag there why wouldn't you look at Tremont McCoy and be like he's he's that guy he's like that and so I wonder if the league views it that way if the league's taking into account the positional value and all of those things, because it wouldn't shock me one bit if McCoy's ahead of downs. But even then, just from a plan standpoint, the plan is interesting because then you've got to kick Dax back inside. And at least for a year, that's it.

And you want to talk about replacing, I think Daxil is better than Jordan Battle. I think D.J. Turner is better than Jordan Battle. I also think that Jordan Battle is going to make less on his next extent. than Dax or DJ. And so there's all these factors. And that makes me nervous, to be quite honest, because I don't want the Bengals to consider those factors or overly consider them too much

because you want the best player and the player that's going to instantly contribute. Like, if they picked Jermad McCoy and he's, and he's their fourth corner this year, fourth corner's play and there's health and all those things, but I don't love that. Do you love that? I don't love that.

If Caleb Downs is picked and he's not getting a ton of snaps and they're not finding ways to get him on the field and he's just kind of in that reserve role where he's the third safety here and there and guarding tight ends here and there. And it just doesn't feel great. So I think that that's a factor. But like most likely to be picked, I think Jermond McCoy is very high on that list. And when you take into consideration, who could go, who might not go, and what the Bengals will prioritize. And to me, it's going to be a top playmaker on defense. You could totally see McCoy being that for them in their eyes. So, Drummond McCoy or Caleb Duns, because I think it's between probably, right?

Like, it could be between those two guys who are number one. Maybe you throw Mansellor lane in there, too, as the top three contenders so far. As of today, honestly, I. I hear that and I think a lot of people would go, will Downs be there? I hear that and think the other way. And maybe it's because I'm wearing the Tennessee Orange if you're watching on YouTube, will McCoy be there? Because if McCoy is there, he might be my pick for most likely to be picked by the Bengals as of today.

And so, yeah, I would go McCoy than Downs. I think the combination of potential availability and potential for the Bengals to pick them if available leads me to those two guys too. Yeah. And I think Mansour Delane is in that conversation. I think there's some recency bias with McCoy's pro day being more recent and impressive and that being significant news, right? Like we didn't know if he was going to be able to do that and show that he has

recovered from that ACL and is still moving well. But then he did. And so that's very fresh in our minds right now too. The other guys that I think would be in the conversation are potentially Sunny Siles, if we think there's any chance that he makes it to 10, and that feels less and less likely. It seems like he's a top six, top five kind of pick, but maybe not.

Maybe he gets to 10. And Ruben Bain, who is kind of trending in the other direction right now where the arm length concerns continue to be a big, big topic of conversation. And if he is available, while the Bengals make an investment at a premium spot and add another body to an edge room

where they have two first round picks on rookie deals right now from our steward and miles murphy and they just paid boy amoff it's the same kind of conversation that i brought up around safety where again there's a high level of investment for them on the defensive line at edge do they sunk cost fallacy it and think you know we've already put all these resources there we can't put more resources there or do they evaluate where they are and realize that they have a potential and throw david bailey into the mix too even though i think it's less likely that he falls do we we have this opportunity to add a potential game changer well do they take it and so let's explore the possibility of some of these guys

we think are maybe a little bit less likely to be available and if they were available i think could be interesting candidates and whoever else you want to throw into the mix change if you want to talk about some offensive lineman maybe you want to talk about the the case for peter woods that we haven't heard about since january for the most part i would say uh we'll continue that show that conversation coming up next well jake let's start here there's no way i would take peter woods 10 so hopefully that's not on the list of of likely i'm glad you mentioned it though because it has kind of gone by the wayside i did see one mock this week i think with woods in the first would be would be yeah would be pretty underwhelming yeah i've seen some in in the second which fine yeah that it just completely changes it

when you're you're talking about that i just think all of the guys were going to name uh both corners probably two safeties, not just one, two safeties, two edge rushers, like should all be ahead of Peter Woods. Not likely for the Bengals. I'm not saying that ahead of Peter Woods. I don't think that Peter Woods is on the radar for the Bengals at Pick 10. I think that there's still a few mocks out there, and especially when you go back in time, there's still a few connections that at Peter Woods at 10,

and there was a time that we were sitting on this podcast and saying, yeah, Peter Woods at 10, of course, that's the most likely, but, you know, things have changed since then. I'm yes that they have changed and so when you explore these other possibilities I think that there is a a decent chance that one of these guys surprised guys makes it right rubin bain kind of feels like he may make it like our valris would floor me if he made it I think he would be the pick I'll just throw it out there I just don't think he's going to make it David Bailey how do you pass on him if you're the bengals

and you need pass-rest juice, and David Bailey's going to bring that. And I think that's what's interesting is I think David Bailey's held in higher regard than Rubin Bain for NFL teams. Could be completely off on that. That's just my vibe, the vibe, the feel. And so Bailey feels like a top five guy.

If he's there at 10, I would expect him to be the pick. Sunny Stiles is the one that I think is interesting because there are some similarities to Caleb Dynum. in the sense, not that he's just an Ohio State Buckeye. You look at the cost, the position, what he's going to be. You can't sell yourself like you're going to on Arvell Reese as an edge rusher. He's going to bolster your pass rush a ton and all those. Like, no, he can run the show at linebacker, but he's going to be a linebacker.

Do teams look at that and say, yeah, we are going to go with Rubin Bain. We are going to go with two corners. We are going to potentially take Caleb Downs. We are going to take David Bailey and a receiver or two, an offensive lineman or two. Like, I think there's a decent chance. Sunny Stiles is there. And if he is there, I think the Bengals would pick him because the Bengals are very much in on linebacker, despite the weirdness around that and the discourse around that.

They would love to add a real dude there to that room. And Sunny Stiles is a dude. And there's going to be some concerns and thoughts about him as well. if you take him second or third overall, like some have said. So I certainly think that he could fall to 10. If he, okay, but you need to consider like the likelihood that he falls to 10 and then the likelihood that the Bengals pick him if he's there at 10. And so based on that, I do think he's behind the guys we've talked about.

Would you agree there, like behind the corners behind Caleb Downs? Because of the likelihood. I think the Bengals would pick Sunny Stiles over everybody we've talked about probably, like both corners in Downs. Yes, go ahead. I can see that. It's just when you take it all into consideration together. Like, would they pick Sunny Stiles ahead of Rubin Bain?

They might. I think yes. I think yes. I don't know that for sure, but I would have done it. We'll try to. I think they would take Arvel Reese over styles. Yeah. I think Arvall Reese over anyone, probably.

Probably. Probably over anyone. Sign me up. That would be fun. Yeah. I mean, there's a reason that he's expected to be like the second pick in the draft. Arval Reese. So we've got Caleb Downs.

And overall, no bend. No bend. That's what they call him. No Bend Reese. We've got Caleb Downs in the corners. Yes. And then Sonny Stiles probably behind them because of the likelihood of him being available. He's expected to go earlier than all of those guys.

Caleb Downs expected draft position according to grinding the mocks is seventh. He's fifth in average. in expected draft position rank, but that puts them somewhere in the top seven in most scenarios, according to grinding the mocks. And grinding the mocks is, again, they're sourcing every mock draft out there. So this isn't necessarily where he's being ranked on big boards.

This is where he is being projected to be picked in people who are doing mock drafts. Arval Rees is second behind, obviously, Mendoza. He's expected to be picked second or third. Jeremiah Love is expected to be a top five pick. So where do we think Jeremiah Love fits into this? conversation. Is he even an honorable mention or is it just like he's not going to be there

and if he is there, he's not going to be the pick? I think that the world in which the Bengals pick, Jeremiah Love is just like an impossibly narrow scenario that I can't imagine actually coming to pass. Do you think that they pass on Jeremiah Love? That's the real question. I think they could, yeah. I do think they could pass on Jeremiah Love

for one of these defensive players that we've talked about. Who would they? So let's do that. Let's say he's there. I can see almost any of the guys we've talked about being the pickover Jeremiah, I love for them. Like that wouldn't surprise me.

Yeah. None of that was surprised me. Like you think he can be the quarterback of your defense. You pick him. And there's just such a desperation to improve on defense. Maybe not. Maybe we're overselling that, but that's my perception. Yeah, I get it.

To me, that's just playing with, because you want to talk about like, dude, like you could easily say he's, I get it. everyone's focused on defense the bengals have invested in weapons i understand it's really hard for me to to see the scenario where he is there where he's not by far the best guy there and that's what's yeah because probably these other guys have been picked they would have to be right like so it would be like let's just play out the scenario a little bit it probably means tie simpson gets picked right yeah you have mendoza so there's two let's just do that a couple offensive lineman none of the offensive linemen are ahead of jeremiah love for probably not for the bengals no

really any team i'd be surprised now they i wouldn't i wouldn't be surprised there's an offensive i'm going to pick the head of jeremiah love not picked ahead ranked ahead there's a big difference these teams are dumb yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah like so i because they need an offensive lineman they don't want to take the running back or whatever yeah because running back positional value sure Reese, Stiles, Bailey. And then it's like, yeah. And then Tate goes, did I mention the corners, both corners? No, like one corner maybe is another one.

Yeah. And so then it's Downs and love. Downs, love in a corner. I think they would take. I can see them going downs or the corner over over, over love. I could see it. Which, yeah, which corner? Does it matter?

That probably matters. Yeah. I think that that matters. I certainly hope that they're at least open to it because the world where they take I don't know. I mean, man, I've seen Mox this week where they take the, what is it, you only, you, Yoni, from Penn State. And it's like, okay, but you're taking Yawani over, over love?

Like, probably not. I'm thinking I'm thinking Bengals here right like with the Bengals do it I think probably not but maybe for sure and so not what I everyone knows what I would do that watches but yeah trench fans for the Bengals like yeah how much the pressure is there in in how in high regard do they hold love like that that's that's the other element here because if they do view him as a game changing talent, then that is going to be in consideration. And I don't think they're going to be like, oh, well, the world says this, so we have to do it. I don't think the Bengals feel that nearly as much.

This is the same team that drafted Jackson, Carmen, right? They, they, they. McKellie Jackson. Oh, Demetrius Knight. Look at you. Just, oh, the night one. Anyways. They reach in the second round.

What do you look? And so in love would be the opposite of our reach. He would. Yeah. So. But, but like you could definitely see people tearing into the Bengals immediately, right? Like he's,

he's not in my top five because I don't think he will be there. I think the combination of factors just makes it like, like I said, the scenario where he is the pick for the Bengals, like is so impossibly narrow for me to say that is a thing that will come to pass. And that makes it so unlikely. I really hope. one, I hope that Zach and Duke watch right now,

because please, please, please have the courage to take him if he is there. And it's him or insert whoever that you don't believe it. Like if they don't have a plan to get Caleb Downs on the field for 800 snaps this year, boom from the jump, then I'm out on the idea of that. I really am because I need that impact. And people are going to go, oh, well, how's love going to impact? always going to be your wide receipt. He's going to lead that backfield in catches,

and you're going to have a crazy playmaker. So that's it. Anyways, I'm not trying to make the Jeremiah love argument. I think it's extremely unlikely. He wouldn't be in my top five, most likely, because I think he's going to be long ago.

So our top five right now, do we have a top five? I think we've got Caleb down. So in the conversation, Caleb Downs both corners, McCoy and Delane. I think Ruben Bain, have we spent the time talking about Ruben Bain?

Ruben Bain is probably ahead of like one of the corners if I had to guess. I don't know which corner, but probably ahead of one of the two corners. And do we think he's ahead of Sunny style or sorry, ahead of Caleb down? Sunny Stiles we also have. Sunny Stiles might be five because of the likelihood that he's there. I think that it might be more likely that Ruben Bain is there. Maybe not. Maybe the edge rush or value is just too much for these teams to pass up.

But with the short arms thing, he could certainly be there. And so then it's slotting Bain and probably is the last guy. if we're talking about a top five. Yeah, I would do, I don't know, man. I think Bailey's in there. I don't think Bailey makes it. I think Bailey's like top four. Long gone.

Yeah. That's like if he makes it, sure, I think he's ahead of Bain, but I don't think he makes it. So like that's why for me. So for me it would be McCoy, then Downs, then I want to say styles. Do you think, okay. Bain.

Delane? that's the natural one but but to me it's like do i want to do bailey like that that wildcard do you want to do that but like delane is the natural one but like i i think you could easily make an argument like delane bailey on the off chance that he does make it for whatever reason because delane goes and mccoy goes and there's a carnell tate goes and there's an offensive line I'm in there. Like there's there's a path where Bailey can make it to 10. Yeah, I think it's I think it's pretty narrow. I do think it's pretty narrow. I think that offensive lineman is somewhere in the top seven too.

Whether it's Vega, Fano, Maui Noah, I think one of those guys is probably in the top seven or eight for the combination of availability and likelihood of pick. I think it's like pretty narrow, pretty unlikely. Did you have that offensive line ahead of love? For them, I don't I don't think so, but maybe. I wouldn't be shocked. I wouldn't be shocked. Okay. So, I mean, like, in likelihood, like in these rankings that we're doing.

I think based on availability, maybe. Because, like, I think there's more likely to be like one there than, yeah. Like, it's really hard to combine those without a mathematical for me. Like, I need math to help me put together a list for this. The other thing that I do have in the back of my mind, because you remember me with Gibbs three years ago, it was the Miles Murphy draft, is how good. Gibbs talked about how the how interested the Bengals were and like all that stuff like oh well I thought the Bengals were going to trade up and like like weird like I didn't never in my mind did

I think the Bengals are trading up for Jim not that far certainly so wild right but like yeah there's a reason to believe love is a better prospect that Jamir Gibbs and so that that that that to me is it's just interesting it's been in the back of my mind from a how they rank standpoint because I do think the Bengals really liked him. I think the context is also a little bit different. We're like Chase Brown, where he is an escrower versus mixing. Yeah.

I think that is probably a little bit different for the context. But when you bring that up, I do want to throw out Kenyon Sadieke's name because we know that there are some tight ends that they've really liked that they haven't been able to pick. I don't think that it's very likely. It's way down on the list. There's a reason it's getting mentioned at minute 33 here as we're wrapping up the show.

But I think that we should. mention the name. I'd be surprised at any of the wide receivers. So we haven't talked about any of the wide receivers. I think they would be more surprising than probably anybody we've talked about so far. Because I think they're day two guys. I think they're like day two or by by round four. You know who we should have mentioned that we haven't mentioned those Keldrick Falk. And I know we're at minute 33, but we should have mentioned Keldrick Falk probably. We should have. This is like the, like he's fine. Like I don't think he's as bad as like social media says. I also don't want him at 10 because there's a better player that will be there.

Yeah, he's probably not a good pick at 10. Good pick at 28, right? Good pick at 24. Like, fine, 10, there's going to be a really good player at 10. Yeah. Well, when we reflect on this episode over the next few days, we'll probably find other things that we maybe should have mentioned. And we can come back to it.

You know what I, really this whole show, So we're minute 34 now. Yeah. Got another name. You know what, though? I love this time of year. I hope it came through in this show. I love discussing this stuff and going back and forth and like discuss.

Hopefully it was entertaining because it was literally like, all right, well, where did they have this guy? I love that we're in this mode, my friend. Three weeks. Dylan Thaderman, so we have mentioned him? I don't know. Probably not. I think he's in that trade down bucket. Yeah.

It was fun. I agree with you. It's one of our more off-the-cuff conversational shows that we've done in a while. And we do a fair amount of those these days. That's going to do it, though, for this episode of the lockdown Bengals podcast. Until next time, thanks for listening. Ho-Day. And have a good one.