Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - TRADE OFF THE TABLE? | Cincinnati Bengals reportedly "fully prepared" to extend Trey Hendrickson

Episode Date: March 26, 2025

Is a trade off the table for the Cincinnati Bengals and Trey Hendrickson? Jordan Schultz reported that it is, so Jake Liscow and James Rapien react to the latest as reports continue to indicate the Be...ngals' intention to extend Hendrickson, but we haven't seen movement to indicate they're getting closer to that goal (yet). Plus, we take a look at the early reported points of contact for the Bengals and draft prospects to look for clues for their draft plans to address critical roster needs.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!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.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.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 I told you that at this point, trading Trey Hendrickson will make it very hard for the Bengals defense to be close to better in 2025. And now, Jordan Shultz is saying a trade is off the table. Let's break it 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 Locked on Bengals podcast. I'm your host, Jake Liskow. He's your host, James Rapine, and we are.
Starting point is 00:00:35 Locked-on Bengals on the Lockdown podcast that we're covering your team every day on YouTube and everywhere you get your podcast. And if you're not already in every day and you're looking for that daily dose of Bengals coverage, well, you can hit that subscribe button wherever you get your podcast or on YouTube, hit the bell as well. And you won't miss an episode of Locked-on Bengals. And today we've got a little bit more information since we recorded yesterday on Trey Hendrickson via Jordan Shultz, who seems to be pretty plugged into this conversation.
Starting point is 00:01:03 but of course we have our own information and perspective to share there as well. And we're going to, as draft season is taking more and more of our attention, talk about some of the themes that we're noticing in the Bengals' pre-draft attention to prospects. In today's episode brought to you by GameTime, where you can get the app, create an account, and use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase of tickets. And James, let's get started with the small update, because it's not much of an update if we're being real honest with the people, but potentially something significant here with Trey Hendrickson. Yeah, Jordan Schultz saying that a trade is off the table and that the Bengals goal is to get
Starting point is 00:01:47 something done with Trey. And to your point, I think we know that. I think we knew it. And yet it is significant because he's coming out and saying, yeah, trade is off the table. Here's what I think is interesting about this. And by now, a lot of you probably already saw this report. and I'm not dismissing the report at all because I don't think the Bengals want to trade tray. I think it's fair to say that. At the same time, why would a trade be off the table? I mean, sometimes you just got to peel it back a little bit. Why would a trade be off the table?
Starting point is 00:02:21 And technically nothing's off the table. There's no trade deadline. The fact is, is they didn't get close to what they were looking for in an offer. and that is what I would say we know is that the offers that they received were not close to what they were hoping to get if they were going to consider trading tray and we know that they hold him in in high regard from a trade value standpoint they weren't just going to give him away this idea that they were going to settle for the 60th pick in the draft that was just never something that they were considering and so they gave him permission to seek a trade but I
Starting point is 00:02:59 I also believe in that meeting that they said, hey, it wasn't just his agent. They said, hey, we want a first round pick for you. And I'm not sure they got anything close to that. And so could that change? I think that's the scenario that's interesting for me. It's like, you read this report. A trade is off the table. Well, yeah, well, what if Washington offers the 29th overall pick?
Starting point is 00:03:22 Don't think they will. But what if that happens? And so I don't want to completely dismiss a trade and say it's impossible. at the same time, I don't think that's the Bengals goal now. I think the Bengals goal is to try to sign Trey at some point and get him done and happy so he can be on the team this year and beyond. Yeah, when you think about the way it was phrased, a trade is off the table. They haven't gotten the offers they wanted to up until this point, as you said.
Starting point is 00:03:48 And think about the timing of it now. We talked about this on yesterday's show. If they trade to trade now, how much harder does it get to replace those snaps and replace part of that production when free agency has been so picked over and what wasn't a great free agent year in the first place, but there were some guys. There still are some guys. We talked about that on yesterday's show as well. We've been talking about it for the last week. There still are some guys out there that could help you,
Starting point is 00:04:12 but not to the degree that Trey Henderson can help you. And so the timing of it, I do think matters. From a cap perspective, how were they going to use that $16 million in cap space if it was off the books at the beginning of free agency from a players, availability perspective. And if the offer wasn't there then, is it going to suddenly jump up? And then the Bengals are going to say,
Starting point is 00:04:38 sure, we'll take that first round pick and $16 million in cap space in a gaping hole in our pass rush. At this point in the offseason, I think that's where it gets even harder. And so while I agree that a trade probably isn't impossible at this point, I think what off the table means is
Starting point is 00:04:54 they've seen what the offers are. The offers are not. good enough and they don't expect the offers to change. That's probably where they're at, right? And then he went on to say that ownership, Bengals ownership, is fully prepared to negotiate a deal with Trey. He referenced the DeNeil Hunter contract that we talked about after he signed it with the Texans as a comparable for the Bengals and for Hendrickson in those contract negotiations
Starting point is 00:05:19 in terms of cash flow and stuff like that in particular. So it still doesn't seem imminent, James. And when you look at the. the Bengals cap situation, it would only increase Tray's cap hit. I think I mentioned that on yesterday's show as well. Most likely it would increase Trace Cap hit. That would put them pretty tight to the cap. And then maybe you would see some creativity from this front office where they have some restructurable contracts. And Andre Perota mentioned this on the Winston Adi podcast yesterday. And then he called me afterwards because I was texting him. And so he points out that
Starting point is 00:05:56 T. Higgins and Jemar Chase's salaries this year are convertible to pro-rated money. So while we just spent a whole bunch of time talking about how they should have prorated those bonuses, and that doesn't change. If they need cap space, it's not just cuts that they have available to them for Trey Hendrickson and A-Move. If Brandon Scherf decides he wants to take that one-year deal in a month or so, and they need cap-space, they do have tools of their disposal with big salary numbers for T. Higgins, for Jemar Chase, even for Joe Burrow, that they have unilateral conversion rights to change the probated money, if that's something they're interested in doing.
Starting point is 00:06:36 In addition to those cuts, that we're still expecting to happen at some point for some of the players still on the T. Or they could have just done what they did with or should have done with T and Jumar with the money anyways and had that 11 plus million, right? And then you don't even have to have that discussion. But we've spent plenty of time on that. Yeah, look, it's, I felt the entire time as I checked my phone just to make sure, and of course there's no news, but I felt the entire time that this was going to take. Like, you saw the shift after T and Jammar, it was like, oh, well, now the Bengals are shifting
Starting point is 00:07:11 their attention to Trey. I can be honest, Jake. And this is an informed opinion, put it that way. I'm like reporting it, but it's an informed opinion. I don't think anything's changed. I don't think that there's like this hot and heavy negotiation going on up to this point. At some point. But I think the Bengals are preparing maybe.
Starting point is 00:07:39 But I'm just not sure that they're there. You know, Hendrickson's camp in the Bengals as far as negotiating. Now, this stuff I always preface it with that or back it up with this can come together pretty quickly. There are multiple deals. Daniel Hunter is one of them that give you a blueprint to get things together quickly. It may be done by Friday. But as of now, Wednesday at 1223 as we record this, Eastern time, I'm not sure that much has changed over the past 10 days or so with Trey Hendricks and
Starting point is 00:08:13 the Bengals. Or, yeah, I would say about 10 days whenever they would have decided, hey, yeah, we're probably not trading in. We got our offers or trade offers in and we're not going to. to do it like what what's changed i'm not sure that the the negotiations have have taken flight and are hot and heavy so to speak yeah maybe it's a change in intention from the bengals that we've heard over the last few days maybe they've communicated hey we're going to get this done eventually maybe that's what has gotten into the national media and that's where the reporting has come from
Starting point is 00:08:48 but from your perspective, as you're saying, the negotiations aren't currently close. The negotiations haven't really progressed in the last seven to ten days. You say 10 days, let's just call it 10 days. There hasn't been tangible progress from that perspective that we would feel comfortable saying, yeah, they're working on it. They're making progress. They're getting closer.
Starting point is 00:09:12 Yeah, it doesn't feel that way at all. Now, doesn't take much. I also don't think that Mike Brown or Katie Blackburn or Duke Tobin or insert whoever in the Bengals building is just calling Jordan Schultz and saying, yeah, hey, we are. So how does this come about? You know, I think it's, and I'm not dismissing it. I just think it's interesting because it's like, oh, yeah, because Jordan's not alone. Like Ian Rappaport, like you got all this, yeah, I'm expecting this to happen and Trey and you see all this reporting. And then it's like nothing is moved. Nothing has changed. can happen quickly with the right offer. It could get done today. And I think that's what's interesting as well. We're clearly not done talking about Trey Hendrickson this off season. Hopefully they can get something done with him.
Starting point is 00:10:01 We'll see if you have any last thoughts. Let's just make it not be like Jamar last year, where we're talking about it ended July and August. I think that's a huge part of this. I'm fine with May. I think now is the time to add another veteran or two that isn't, Trey Hendrickson. There's time to get Trey done, but plenty more to discuss, including, well, what we can learn from Bengals pre-draft visits and maybe an odor to entree as well coming
Starting point is 00:10:28 up next. Today's show is brought to you by game time. Getting tickets shouldn't be stressful. And that's why if you're watching your team live, you're feeling the energy of the crowd, you're witnessing unforgettable moments. Well, there's nothing like experiencing a big game in person, maybe opening day. Red's opening day is Thursday. If, you're a big Reds fan and I think a lot of you are. I think there's a lot of cross there from Bengals fans and Reds fans. Well, if you don't have opening day tickets and you want to go down, it's no problem. Game time is going to take out all the stress, all of the stress.
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Starting point is 00:12:12 Don't be shocked if this goes past the draft. I mean, the draft is quickly approaching. the draft is less than a month away. And if the Bengals aren't trading him and they have levers to pull when it comes to cap, what is the hurry if you know the plan is to pay him? And it doesn't mean you don't want to get it done now. But I also, I'm not sure that they're going to Usain Bolt sprint to the, the Trey Hendrickson negotiating table and get it done.
Starting point is 00:12:43 Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm reading it wrong and it's done this week. But just something I should mention. I wouldn't worry about it getting done from a timeline standpoint because there's really no timeline. I think that- Until July. Yeah, I think you want him around for off-season stuff as much as you can. Certainly for training camp, if you can't get them there for off-season stuff, okay. But certainly for training camp, you want to avoid the distraction.
Starting point is 00:13:11 Again, you want to avoid every single player on the team watching, like they watched Jamar not get paid last. year and watched Jamar hold in last year, you just don't want to deal with that again. And the Bengals, I think, rewarded fans, honestly, by getting T and Jamar done early, much earlier than the normal schedule. These things for the Bengals typically take time, go into the summer, and they got those deals done early. Now, would it have been nice to get those deals done a week earlier and to structure them differently?
Starting point is 00:13:44 Yeah. But getting the deals done period and getting the deals done early. remain something that they deserve credit for. So amid all of our wants and desires for this front office to do things a little bit differently and do a little bit more, they still deserve credit for that. All right, James, let's talk about... Real quick, as we transition to 30 visits and defensive linemen and all of those things, a draft favorite of yours, Tyleek Williams hurt his left leg, left knee hamstring area
Starting point is 00:14:16 area running a 40-yard dash at Ohio State's Pro Day today. And so hopefully, and he needed to be helped up. Hopefully, it's not serious. And this is just like a hamstring pool that was much scarier looking than it was. But he was running his 40-yard attempt. And so, man, that's a Jake, let's go favorite, someone that I think you would be open to at pick 49 in a lot of world.
Starting point is 00:14:41 More than open to, yeah, that's a... I know, I know. A bit of a dagger through the heart. Hopefully he's okay. Duke Tobin at that OSU Pro Day today, notably. It just happened. So like real time. So hopefully it's a hamstring pool and not anything serious.
Starting point is 00:14:58 Yeah. Duke Tobin at that pro day is his annual trip. Yeah, annual trip to Ohio State. Yeah, I think Tyler Williams is awesome. We also have a new top 30 or 30 visit. I guess we're not supposed to call them top 30. The NFL doesn't like that. with another tackle guard convert being reported today.
Starting point is 00:15:19 Charles Grant from William and Mary, who is a great athlete and just may need to kick inside the guard at the NFL. And that is a trend. You want to talk about trends for the Cincinnati Bengals here. And a lot of tackles, a lot of guards, and a lot of tackle-to-guard converts getting attention from the Cincinnati Bengals in the pre-draft process going back to the combine and going to some of the 30 visits they have scheduled.
Starting point is 00:15:50 Josh Connerly, the Oregon tackle, he's 6'4, 33-5-inch arms. We know that Scott Peters likes long arms. Could mean they see him as a potential guard convert or a guy that can play guard in the NFL while providing swing tackle flexibility in addition if needed. Ariante Ursory, Minnesota tackle, who, again, could kick inside the guard, 33-inch arms or so. He's 6-6-3-30, had a up and down time at the Senior Bowl, I would say, but some really impressive reps at the Senior Bowl as well, where he looked
Starting point is 00:16:25 absolutely locked down. They had a presence of Marcus Mbo's Pro Day at Purdue, another tackle-guard convert, Ozzie Trappolo at Boston College, who's 6-8, and I wonder if he's too tall to play guard, but another potential tackle-guard convert there. And the list goes on. We'll talk about some of the other specific players. They also had, of course, Scott Peters at the Georgia Pro Day, where he got a look at Jared Wilson and Tate Ratledge. The 30 visit that I just mentioned, Charles Grant, a guy who played tackle in college,
Starting point is 00:16:56 who might have to kick inside in the NFL as he takes a big leap in the quality of competition. Graze Abel is another guy that fits that mold. We don't have any reported contact between those two. Dylan Fairchild, the other interior lineman at Georgia. So a lot of names here, that are either swing tackles or tackle guard converts or some of the true guards in this class that the Bengals have expressed some interest in
Starting point is 00:17:20 in this pre-draft process. Yeah, I think that is going to be, that's the blueprint. You have Scott Peters, you brought him in to mold these guys. I'm fine. Like people are scared away. I think some fans are like,
Starting point is 00:17:36 man, I'm done with the guard that played tackle in college. And you can't be done with that. Like, that's part of it. Not this year. That, that's, but that's part of it. And honestly, a lot of good college tackles become guards and end up being really good NFL guards. Like, that's not like some outlier thing that you're making a receiver play tight end or something.
Starting point is 00:17:58 Like, it's not that at all. And so it's, it's why Scott Peters is here is finding these values and getting it right. And maybe it's right at pick 17, but maybe it's not until round three. and around four and much later than you would prefer. And I get it. We would all sign a veteran. But finding those guys. And honestly, it would be nice.
Starting point is 00:18:26 Like, it's nice having a guy that, I don't think either of us really trust Cody Ford to do both. But can you imagine have a guy that can play a guard and then kick out the tackle if you needed him to? And maybe it is a fifth round rookie that isn't starting at either spot, but has the size. you're looking for our fourth rounder now the kid out of Boston College was it Trappolo Ozzie Trappolo he's going second who knows yeah he's going second third round like I mean he's gonna go earlier maybe what maybe for I don't think he falls to four though I think he's a day two guy so you're if you take a guy on day two you're hoping he can kick inside to guard and in the six eight part is there a question
Starting point is 00:19:12 maybe, but maybe it's just a guy that can start for you at guard and also take reps at tackle and be this, this awesome piece that you have that that's helping solve the guard issue, which obviously the Bengals have a serious, serious guard issue. I don't think any of these guys are first round players that we've talked about. Josh Connerley is the closest on the consensus board. He's 33 on the consensus board. Ariante Ursary is 47, so that would be your second round pick. Marcus Embo, 64, 65.
Starting point is 00:19:41 So maybe you're hoping you could get them in the third round. Maybe they do see him as a second round pick. Ozzie Tripilo or Trappolo, who someone will correct us, surely, in the comments. Consensus 83 and a half. He's also an older prospect. He's a fifth-year player. But one of several very tall players that the Bengals have met with. Logan Brown out of Kansas, 6-6, not very tall, but Holland Pierce, 6-8 and change.
Starting point is 00:20:08 Jalen Travis, 6-7, almost 6-8. Xavier Trust, 6-7, Brandon Crenshaw Dixon, 6-7. All players at the Bengals have had some contact with in the pre-draft process. So, interesting to see this trend of tall players. But for the most part, they're looking at day-two players here and some day-three players.
Starting point is 00:20:27 Tate Ratledge, a day-two player. Charles Grant probably a day-two player. Jared Wilson probably a day-two player. Most of these guys probably late-day-two. And then some day-three players as well, Dylan Fairchild Marcus. Sorry, Marcus Enbo is the second-day player. but Dylan Fairchild, Jackson Slater, Jonah Monheim.
Starting point is 00:20:43 And who knows, honestly, where Charles Grant ends up coming from William and Mary and the impact that I can have. But it's not just offensive linemen, James. Trapilo! Trapilo! There we go. I found it. Plenty of other positions outside of the offensive line that we need to get to as well
Starting point is 00:21:01 coming up next. Are you sure you don't want to keep talking about Ozzie Trapilo, now that we know? He's very tall. He's full. name. Ozzy, good name. That's all I got. Great name. Bangle. All right. Let's, where do you want to start? Where do you want to go? I mean, there's a lot of positions. Everyone's focused on the trenches. So maybe defensive front. Yeah, we could go defensive front. They honestly haven't had a ton of contact that we've tracked there. It's a position that you
Starting point is 00:21:37 would expect them to be very interested in. We'll see how that proceeds, obviously. They met with Walter Nolan and Dion Walker at the Combine. They had a presence of the Indiana Pro Day where C.J. West is notably there, but a lot more on the edge where they had combine meetings with Mike Green, with James Pierce, with Nick Scurton, with Shamar Stewart, with Mikel Williams. And of course, they had offensive coaches, but they were at the Georgia Pro Day where they might have seen Mikel Williams as well. They haven't had any reported 30 visits yet on the defensive front. I would expect that we'll see some over the next few weeks.
Starting point is 00:22:15 and a lot more attention to the combine that we were able to record for the edge rusher position compared to the interior defensive line. Of course, they are at Ohio State's Pro Day today. They will have presence at Pro Days for many of these guys. And hopefully, Tyleek Williams is okay, just going back to that note. But not a whole lot of trackable contact yet here. I would expect to see that increase in the next few weeks, wouldn't you? or they're just fine on defense. Yep, fine on defense.
Starting point is 00:22:50 Moving on to the offense. Let's talk wide receiver. Maybe they don't need, no, I'm sure. Yeah, let's talk wide receiver. But like, maybe they just don't need pass rush. That was funny. That was pretty good. I'm just kidding.
Starting point is 00:23:02 No, I expected the ramp up too. And it's got to ramp up. And I, they have time. They've met with these guys. They've had touch points. they also have the Notre Dame connections, which matter. Like, you don't really need to talk with Xavier Watts. You don't need to talk to Benjamin Morrison.
Starting point is 00:23:23 You don't need to talk to RJ Open probably. Like, you probably want to a little bit. But Al Gold knows those guys. So I wouldn't be shocked if they don't spend any of their huge visits on those guys, to be clear. Morrison could be a visit for the medical reason because he's got the hip stuff. You'd have gotten him at the combine, though. Yeah, but sometimes. Sometimes you see teams bring guys in.
Starting point is 00:23:47 Sure. And Morrison is one that definitely would qualify as potential in that category, in my opinion. But talking about safety, Xavier Watts, not on the list of players that the Bengals have had formal contact with the We've tracked. But Nick, I'm in Worry, very notably, one of the Bengals 30 visits, one of the early reported 30 visits for the Bengals and could be in play as early as the first round. Consensus 22 right now had an immaculate work. out has fun tape, 21 years old, right in the Bengals age range. Joe Goodberry pointing out on Twitter, I think this was a subscriber-only tweet. So make sure you're subscribing to Joe Goodberry on Twitter for information like this.
Starting point is 00:24:26 The Bengals in the first round are picking guys that are younger, picking guys that are younger than 22. And Nick Eminem where he certainly fits that bill in 21 years old. They also met with Kevin Winston at the combine. Speaking of guys coming off injuries, he is currently 79 on the consensus board. state safety. They met with Malachi Starks at the Combine, 21 and a half out of Georgia, certainly in play for the first round. They are doing some work on safeties, I think, and that should tell us the safety is on their radar if the value is right for them at some point in this draft. Yeah, it's why they didn't go get a safety and why I think they're keeping
Starting point is 00:25:10 Gino Stone as they're like, all right, well, we know Gino Stone is okay. We're going to to draft one, let's take a look. I think they like Kevin Winston Jr. a lot. I think he's certainly in the mix. I wouldn't rule out a safety in round one. Like, Nick him and worry, like you bring him in, you testamentally to see if he can be that deep, give you that deep option, give you some flex there. And if so, there's a lot to like about him otherwise, about what he brings, what he can bring from a playmaking standpoint. So he's one that I would certainly just be, be interested in. And I think that would be a controversial like if they did like him enough to pull the trigger at 17. He won't make it to 49, though. Like that's not a guy
Starting point is 00:25:56 that will, I'm not sure Xavier Watts makes it to 49. Like if you're looking at it, it's probably got to be pretty early, I would say. I would say that there's a, and you could say this about a lot of positions, but there is a cliff that happens. And so if you're not going day one or day two, I think it's going to be tough to find a guy that you could give meaningful snaps to as a rookie. Unless is Hunter Woller, the Wisconsin safety, whose consensus 200, but is currently looking like a fantastic prospect from a production perspective, from an athleticism perspective, from a PFF score perspective. And there's a day three guy for you potentially. Speaking of day three. Just a couple other quick ones here, James. A day three guy that's behind Tyson Anderson. Go ahead.
Starting point is 00:26:46 Just a couple quick trends. A lot of the receivers they've met with are day three wide receivers, but there are quite a few points of contact with potential day three wide receivers. So don't be surprised to see them look at receiver on day three if they end up going that route. A lot of the tight ends that they've talked to, not day three. Round one, day two. at the tight end position in terms of the guys they've had contact with so far, Tyler Warren, Colston, Loveland, Gunner, Hell, Mason, Taylor. There, at running back, we only have reported contact so far with Ashton Gentie and Can Scatabo if either of those guys are available.
Starting point is 00:27:27 And at Corner, I think interestingly, Will Johnson, if he were to fall to them in the first round, they had that combine meeting, and Trey Amos, who I often select for the Bengals in the second round, certainly on their radar at linebacker a combine meeting with barrett carter out of clemson and a 30 visit with nicholas martin out of oklahoma state who is on the smaller side at 511 220 but very fast player yeah it was productive in 2020 got hurt um as someone that you could see coming in and being like a special team or in along with oren burkes maybe fill in some some role on defense at some point. You hit on one, you went through a bunch of them,
Starting point is 00:28:10 but Will Johnson, circle them, definitely in play at 17. Like, would not be shocked one bit if he's in play at 17. He's got a workout, private workout coming up in April. We'll see if the Bengals attend that. Would be surprised if they didn't. But it's certainly someone I would think, like everyone's focused on the trenches, but like these safeties, corners, a tight ends,
Starting point is 00:28:33 Like they are going to be at least semi-employed. They're going to be looking at these guys and evaluating them for sure because Will Johnson could certainly be a real candidate at 17. I think that the takeaway here, if I were to summarize everything we just talked about, is the first round, they're looking at first-round players, and then we're seeing kind of a day-two trend on the offensive line a little bit.
Starting point is 00:28:57 Day-3 trend at wide receiver, day-three trend maybe at linebacker, and safety kind of threw out a little bit, but mostly at the top end, like you mentioned, where the Emmen Worry and Malachi Stark's are first-round options. Kevin Winston would have been a first-ride option, if not for injury, that we'll probably push him down a little bit. Yeah, Winston, you obviously have Xavier Watts.
Starting point is 00:29:23 Who knows? They haven't talked yet with the Texas kid. So we'll see if Andrew Mukuba is, is in play. But yeah, like, there are options, but all these guys we just talked about outside of your sleeper from Wisconsin. We're talking day one, day two.
Starting point is 00:29:40 But, yeah, could you imagine? Man, I could see a world where it's like Will Johnson, then they go defensive tackle, then Kevin Winston round three, and people are like, what are they doing? Like, but it could happen. And that's why they're doing other due diligence now. It's going to be interesting to see
Starting point is 00:29:55 which of these defensive linemen we end up seeing on 30 visits. That's what we'll be watching. I'll be watching anyway very closely here over the next month, less than month, until the NFL draft. Until then, well, until tomorrow, that's going to do it for this episode of the Locked-on Bengals podcast. Thanks for listening. Hoodei and have a good one.

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