The Mo Egger Show -- 4/26/24

Mo is live at Twin Peaks in West Chester! He talks about the Bengals first round draft pick, Amarius Mims. He talks to James Rapien about what is on tap for day 2 of the NFL Draft. Mo also takes your calls to get the reaction to the Bengals draft pick.

Episode Transcript

(00:04):
Broadcasting as Judgment Peace in west Chesterbefore we start our show and Marius mems
is being introduced at pay Course StadiumZach Taylor speaking live right now, that's
a that's a dream come true.Honestly, you know what more can ask
for? Great organization to come inand play great team. Honestly, you
know, I'm just like I said, I'm just blessed man rat that yes,

(00:28):
sure, what do you what didyou think? I took away a
lot honestly from the combine to thethirty visits. Just like I said,
just get familiar with the coaches,Like I said, I have a great
relationship with those guys. Now,like I said, man, coach Pollock,
we're in there. We're not talkingabout players and stuff, talking about
you know where I'm sitting in theroom and all that stuff is Just like
I said, I just feel likeit's a good vibe already and just a

(00:50):
good fit. Like I said,I'm ready to get around some of the
guys in the O line room.You know see how that is too,
So like I said, just I'mjust ready for the next chapter. Honestly,
favorite offense A lot of people watch, uh, I don't really like
have like a like a certain favorites. But I said, I I w
I do a lot of Like Isaid, I do a lot of watching
'em, for like Larry mc thomson, Like I said, Trent Brown was

(01:11):
a guy who watched a lot.You know, me and him, I
feel like we're very similar. Youknow, we're big guys. We both
play, both can play left andright tied go. Honestly, I watched
a lot of Lane Johnson Pinasou thoseguys like that too, So you know
you, uh, the the gameswere student athletes part of it, not
just from the football field. Threepoint six pp. How far are you
with that? I'm very proud ofit, Like I said, my my

(01:34):
mom and dad and they always toldme grades of grades of first so I
said, I was a three timeacademic on honor roll STC student too.
So, like I said, sinceI was a kid, I always knew,
like I said, I could,I couldn't go to college without the
grades. So I always took proudof that. So we been about twenty
hours. Yeah, you first timeyou have different teammates, but the dangers

(01:57):
to reach out you Oh yeah,sir, I I'm not gonna be say
who, but I've I've heard froma good I've heard from a good bit
of him. Man. I'm justlike I said, I'm very thankful they
reached out. I'm glad. Youknow, I got talked to them last
night and this morning. So you'veheard from the guy that will you will
you will be protecting? Oh?Not yet? I hope too soon.
Honestly, that's that's that's what I'mwaiting on. Excited ar you about or

(02:21):
be assigned with the job of protectingis gonna be at least quarterbacks and national
Man, I'm just like I said, I feel like a kid up here,
man, you know, cause youyou always I feel like that's an
old linman. You got guys whoyou want to protect, and he's like
he's one of those guys. Iwould love him. Like I said,
I always wanted to protect and youknow, nah, that's reality. You
know, I'm planning on I planon doing just that. You know,

(02:43):
where do you think the biggest strokesfrom your game? Trying everything? You?
Uh? I feel like that's all. I feel like I can veil
a runner and passed. You know, nobody plays a perfect game as an
office alignment, but it's my jobto come in and find those weaknesses and
turn them into screens. So,like I said, men coach politicans a
good job together, and whatever youneed me to do, I'll do.
You question pretty one, how wouldyou describe your me honestly? Like I

(03:07):
said, I feel like I playpretty physical uh. And I play patient
honestly, cause like in the game, you don't wanna get too anxious and
try to overdo anything, especially asan old line man. As a tackle
too, cause you have to.I feel like you're powering for pounding the
best athlete on the field. Soin my opinion, you gotta be like
I said, you gotta be aggressiveand then sometimes but sometimes you gotta be
patient just because you gotta know theguy you're playing against. So I feel

(03:29):
like you know those two two goodthings to described by my game more too,
would you describe your men? Howare you want to get Uh?
I feel like uh. Like Isaid, f for me, I feel
like I'm a nasty football player causeI feel like an old lime you got
you gotta do that, Like,you gotta be like that honestly, just
because you know you're playing the hardjust on the field. In my opinion,
And like I said, if youhave a mentality, I feel like

(03:50):
you'll be pretty good, especially whenyou got five guys doing at the same
time. Are you spoken with uh, Trenton Brown and Orlando Road being or
together? I might as well go, I say, yes, sir,
those good guys. Is there similarvision size? How beneficial was that for
you to kick struggy? For youguys that man, it's great, Like

(04:12):
I said, both of those guysare used to winning. Both of those
guys won Super Bowls And it's justlike I said, I'm looking forward to,
you know, them taking me infront of their wing, learning much
of them, like like learning fromlike learning as much as much from them
as possible for me. I grewdraft pross just for asking question. What's
probably the ladies state they want topay down? And actually that's the real
plus. Honestly, it was alot of ball talk. But they just

(04:33):
talk about me like figure out meas a person, like you know,
how do I, like I said, how do I react to this stuff
like this? How can I geton the board and about like am I
a visual person? Like? Justlike I said, it was just more
of like it was football, butto just outside of football, what kind
of guy am I So, Ifeel like, you know, it was
like a half and half? Whatwas my Frank was looking for you?

(04:54):
What do you want to do toshow? What did you try to gain
the Uh? Honestly, like Isaid, just see how like like how
can I gratch the offense? Honestly? And like how similar it was to
what I ran at at the Universityof Georgia. Like I said, it
was just stuff like that. I'msure remember what type of learner are you?
You can you touch you off theboard? You have to go on
field and rather than see it alfthe you know what drives which as farther

(05:14):
you? How how do you work? I feel like, honestly, like
I said, it starts in themean room. Like I said, coach
gives you a new play. Firstyou see it on the board, and
then after that after walkthroughs and stuff. I feel like I have a pretty
good grasp of stuff like that.Mar So, I'm pretty sure that the
process you've probably hurt people wanted toknow about your small sample size and snaps
you had what was always your whatwas your response at how'd you explain that
to people and to not you know, your view of that? Honestly,

(05:38):
last year. This past season,I had a freak accident what made me
miss some games. But other thanthat, like I said, you know,
honestly, just come on the tape, you know, I I I
don't wanna argue back and forth andpeople honestly about starts and snaps of how
many I got, how many theother person got in front of me.
Honestly, is just you know,I made the most out of my opportunities,
and you know now I'm here.So can you even that you had

(06:01):
you take any spector Yeah, ahundred percent. Like I said, I
always tell myself I would never putmyself in a situation where I was uncomfortable
or wasn't ready. So, likeI said, well talked to my with
my head coach, my agent,and my mom and dad. You know,
I made a decision and I'm veryhappy with it. I'm used to
this offense. I feel a lotm all the way I'm comfort for you
didn't in a pass for a spotor the passing. I feel like I'll

(06:24):
definitely enjoy that, uh I Ilike to pass pro like the run block
to it. You know, I'lltake pride of one on one blocks,
especially right close while you probably Imean guy with your distract medicos and everything.
Yeah, I was like, uhmuch smaller expect What what are the
sports that you play? I mean, how did you how did you even

(06:44):
become special after? Yes, sir? Uh so? Uh? Originally I
I just strictly football, but thenmy my older brother got me into basketball.
I did not wanna do it,but I didn't stay in shape.
But I'm very thankful I did,cause they kept me in shape, helped
my footwork and all that good stuff. And then I picked up track.
Uh, I started throwing shot puttingdoing this. So, like I said,
I picked up those other two sports. What's see? What's the like?

(07:08):
How would you try to simulate itbefore? What do you those What
did they ever do that could yousell? Uh? Honest? Like I
said, I feel like they're tooabout don very diverse teams. Like I
said, they do it like alot of both run and pass, and
I feel like, you know,a good pro style offense. So I'm
I'm looking forward to, you know, I'm looking forward to, you know,
being the system, learning what theygotta learn, you know, going
out there and play. Don't whaty'all want to talk about? You?

(07:30):
What's your face tambout what it takesto win at how level? Was they
had to keep consistent for that overfirst year. Honestly, just week by
week, not getting complacent. Alwaysfind like something better in your game to
get better at cause, like Isaid, nobody plays a perfect game.
So I feel like as long asyou keep that same hunger throughout the season,
you know, I feel like that'swhat we did pretty good at Georgia,
just not being complacent each week,trying to get better. So I

(07:53):
want to play yours? Uh incollege? Like which year you want?
Like your so oh mm, I'lldefinitely say uh. Tyler Barron from Tennessee.
He was pretty good. I've beenknown since I was a high school
recruit. He was. He hostedme on my official visit of Tennessee.
He's gonna be He's gonna be agreat guy. I felt like coming out
in this this next year's draft,Are you or why did you start playing

(08:13):
footballs my dad six years old.I didn't think I was gonna be all
line, but I was. Iwas in the yard. I remember,
He'll take a ball and throw itin thirty yards and I'll just run up
fronder and catch it and like Isaid. He got me started at six
years old, at early age playingfootball, and ever since then, I
just loved the game of football.What do you learn my mars first career
started the football national Man. Ijust remember, like I said, talking

(08:39):
to my mom and dad, itwas like they asked me my nervous and
I was like one of those nerves. It was just more of like trying
to show the world I'm ready,you know. And I felt like that
was definitely one of my favorite gamesjust because you know it was my first
starting too. I felt like Iplayed, I played pretty good and it
was just like I said, itwas no nerves, just just trying to
show the world I can play,you know at a start. Honestly,
at the SEC, I uh actuallysee a powerhouse. Honestly that could be

(09:01):
you know, you carry that kindof battitude over because the NFL, like
what do you feel about way ahundred percent? Like I said, really
my goal now just come in andlearn from the guys to hit me and
you know, try to be thebest teammate in pro I can be every
day. So did you know anythingabout Cincinnati before you were drafted? Anything
over it? How did you textyous. Uh, I know a little
bit. I'm not gonna say.I'm like, I ain't gonna I ain't

(09:22):
gonna sit up here and say Iknow everything about it. But like I
said, I know a lot alot about it about like the currents on
the current players here, you know, as I that's my time here,
I plan on doing a lot ofresearch, getting to know a lot of
like you know, backstories and allthat good stuff in history of guys came
for me. So what what brandthey? You can end up in anywhere
as any organization to be dropped?Here were a team that's regulated tender.

(09:45):
Yeah, what's it like as ayoung wolf walking to do a world more
than you guys you respect? Inthe chamionships? Uh, Like I said,
honestly, it was like that,and uh at Georgia h O came
in, we were expecting to win. Like I said, I know that's
college and this is the NFL,but I feel like, you know,
going there prepared me, you know, especially for an environment like you know,
Cincinnati. So like I said,I just I just look forward to
it, honestly, and I lookforward to winning. What's the place for

(10:09):
you not'all that happen when you're gonnahappen to give you or that would lay.
How do you feel like that atplays with you. I feel like
it helped me a lot. LikeI said, I get learned from two
great guys like Trent Brown Orlando Brown. You know those guys. Those guys
had to figured out. Those guysare veterans. So like I said,
I can come in every day andlearn from those guys and you know,
try to re reprehate my game likethem. So they're pretty good at achieved

(10:33):
fool obviously, Marma. Yet mostathlete you want, uh My mom was
a cheerleader back in high school withmy dad. He was definitely the He
was definitely, I say, theathlete. He might have played basketball and
football. Okay, alright, appreciationfor Like there you go. H Amarius

(10:56):
Mems meeting with the media live onESPN fifteen thirty, taken by the Bengals
last night with the eighteenth overall pickin the twenty twenty four NFL Draft.
Good afternoon, My name's Moegar.Glad you're with us today. It is
a beautiful Friday afternoon. We arein Westchester at good Old Twin Peaks,
home of the Tony and Mo FootballShow. First of all, we want

(11:18):
to thank them for the tremendous hospitalitywhen we got here. My producer on
site, Mike Mills, and I. You talk about somebody who's been working
a ton Mike, get that entiredraft show last night, all the way
till midnight. Now back with methis afternoon. We want you to join
us this afternoon Twin Peaks in Westchester, very close obviously to I seventy five
the Union Center Boulevard Exit. Ijust had to meet Ball Skillet. We've

(11:41):
got plenty of cold beer. We'vegot a great venue to start your weekend
and talk about last night, whatthe Bengals did and what they didn't do
in Round one of the NFL Draft, and what they may or may not
do or what we want them todo tonight. So come on out to
a Twin Peaks in Westchester. Wespent a lot of time yesterday afternoon with
our buddy James Orpene, who wasawesome and has been well, frankly,

(12:05):
all over the place. He isgoing to join us to talk about the
selection of a Marius Mimes and somepossibilities for tonight. Everybody's talking about Johnny
Newton, do the Bengals trade up. We'll get James thoughts on that and
so much more when we come back. We're at Twin Peaks in Westchester on
a gorgeous Friday afternoon on ESPN fifteenthirty, Cincinnati Sports Station. It's twenty

(12:30):
four minutes after three o'clock. Thisis ESPN fifteen thirty on Moegger broadcasting from
Twin Peaks in Westchester. Spend yourFriday afternoon with us. We're also giving
away Food Fighters tickets, so you'vegot that going for you, James or
Pen We're gonna move in excuse meabout ten minutes. Obviously is just getting
done covering the a Marius Mims pressavailability, so he's gonna join us at

(12:56):
three thirty five. That is onlyten minutes away. So strapping for that.
So I will be honest, becauseI'm an honest person. We talked
about it on yesterday's show. Ifthe draft went the way I wanted it
to go, Byron Murphy would bea Bengal today, and I feel like

(13:18):
that's an opinion that the majority ofBengals fans share. Right, That's the
guy I wanted and many of uswanted for two pretty basic reasons there's an
obvious need there too. It feelslike he could have made an immediate impact,
and I've prioritized winning the title thisyear, and so Byron Murphy to

(13:41):
me, best represented a guy whocould come in and instantly make the team
better because he's gonna help plug ahole. He's not gonna plug it all
by himself. Well, he wasn'tthere, And we could go back and
forth on whether or not they shouldhave traded up. I'm led to believe
they had a Marius Mims higher andall right, I would have had Murphy.

(14:07):
You might have had Murphy, youmight have had Rock Bowers. Let's
talk specifically, though, about theplayer they took, because there is If
we're doing the list of pros andcons, there's a con. The con
is only eight starts in college.By the way, not only eight games
in college. Eight starts in college. He played in thirty games. So

(14:30):
he's not as inexperienced as many mightmake you think because I've heard this,
Well he only played eight games.No, he only started eight games,
but sure there is a relative lackof experience. That's a con. What
else you got? What's the othercon? So I look at the list

(14:54):
of pros. I'm not going topretend that I have crunched dozens of hours
of a Marius Sims Amarus Mims tape, because I'm I'm not qualified to,
but the opinions that I trust.Let's see, first of all, I
don't need an opinion to measure hissize. He is a massive human being,

(15:15):
close to six foot eight, threehundred and forty pounds. It falls
in line with what the Bengals haveat tackle right now with the two Browns.
So there's the size, there isthe pure natural strength. There is
in every draft guide that I haveread effusive praise for his maturity, someone

(15:37):
who clearly cares about conditioning. Ourbuddy Dame Brugler writes, he carries his
three hundred and forty pounds better thananyone I've ever seen. He allowed zero
saxon college, no false starts,no holding penalties. He played against and

(15:58):
practiced ag against high end competition,and for what it's worth, if such
a thing matters to you, athree point six GPA. Those are the
pros. The con is relative lackof experience, and an injury did contribute
to that relative lack of experience.He had an ankle injury last year,

(16:18):
had tightrope surgery, missed some games, but came back. So here's my
question, is that that one thingthe eight starts. Is that one thing
enough to disqualify him as the eighteenthoverall pick. If you're if you're Duke
Tobin, if you're running the draft, and you know there's these physical attributes

(16:45):
that are off the chart. Andby the way, he might not have
played a lot, but when heplayed, he played well. There's all
of that. Folks always say,like, just turn on the tape.
When you turn on the tape ofMarius Mims, people are thrilled with how
he's played. They will say,there's some raw as to his game,
there are some things that need tobe refined. He drops his eyes.

(17:06):
I've read that in multiple places.Okay, so he's not perfect, but
he's played well. Is the onecon enough to disqualify him when he's got
a pro list that has a lotof other stuff. I don't think the
answer is yes. Again, youmight have preferred a different player, a

(17:26):
different position, a different first roundapproach. Maybe you believe they could have
traded down and gotten them. We'renever gonna know. We can't go back
and back in time. All wecan do is sort of assess what they
chose to do and project whether ornot this is going to work. With
a Marius Mimes, I see alengthy list of pro I see one con.

(17:52):
Like in the con you might say, well, relative and experience,
but he also has an injury history, an ankle injury. He got it
fixed, he came back, andhe played well. He had tightrope surgery,
same surgery that Sam Hubbard has apparentlyhad. Uh. If we're gonna
eliminate every player who had an ankleinjury and surgery on it, we're eliminating

(18:15):
a lot of guys. So I'mnot telling you that he's perfect. I'm
not telling you he was my preferredguy. But you know, you see
folks on social media, we wereat the Grail doing our show last night.
Oh terrible pick, Oh really aterrible pick? Really? Why well
he only started eight games? Okay, what else you got? Because what

(18:36):
all of these other people who havestudied him, talked to him, evaluated
him, and frankly, for me, whose opinions I trust that there aren't
a lot of things beyond the onlystarted eight games to make you not like
the pick again? There's a differencebetween I would have preferred this and I
just don't like the pick. Really, what is there to not like?

(18:59):
I'll open up the lines five pointthree, seven, four nine, fifteen
thirty eight six six seven oh twothree seven seven six, And you gotta
be fair to the kid, rightyou can't. Well, what's not to
like is he's not filling the blank. Okay, he can't help that.
He brings things that look like theycan't be taught, and it feels like

(19:21):
he also brings some things that canbe refined and can be coached, and
so yet to a large degree,maybe we'll finally see how good or even
not so good. Frank Pollack isa lot more on this coming up in
just a bit. I also wantus to know. I want us to
decide once and for all what wewant the Bengals to be. We're gonna

(19:41):
do that a little bit later on. Red's are on the road this weekend.
We'll spend some time on them aswell. And I gotta figure out
a way to talk about the ownerof the Carolina Panthers too. But first,
James Rapine is gonna join us totalk about Marius Mims and what's next.
We're at Twin Peaks in West estertoday. We are brought to you
this afternoon by Zimmer Tractor. Bythe way, our show preview video is

(20:04):
on X at Moeger. Thanks toour friends at Emory Federal Credit Union.
I would invite Marius Mims now thathe's moving to Cincinnati, needs a place
to put his money. Emery FederalCredit Union EMORYFCU dot org. James joins
us next on ESPN fifteen thirty Sincethe deadlines a service to home on d

(20:25):
time powertrain Detection. I guarantee creditapproval from their family to yours for life,
kelseyshev dot com. NFL Draft resumestonight. ESPN radio coverage starts at
six as soon as we're done.Bengals will have the forty ninth, eightieth,
and eighty seventh overall selections in thisevening's second and third rounds. Some

(20:47):
absolutely awful news out of New Jersey. Former UC football team captain and offensive
lineman Corey Cunningham was found dead inhis home in New Jersey at the age
of twenty. He was a memberof the UC football program from twenty thirteen
through twenty seventeen. His last twoyears he was on the offensive line.

(21:07):
He was a team captain. Hewas an all AAC performer and was drafted
by the Cardinals in twenty eighteen.Spent five seasons in the National Football League
and played in thirty one games.A very nice kid in going down there
on Tuesdays every week and chatting withplayers during the season for the pregame show.

(21:30):
One of the kindest. The termgentle giant might sound sort of cliche,
but I think anybody who was aroundCorey Cunningham would tell you that that
nickname or that way of putting itapplied to him. Tragically passes away at
the age of twenty eight. TheReds hit the road tonight, first of
three in Texas against the Rangers.Graham Ashcraft throws tonight for Cincinnati. Reds

(21:56):
are on the radio tonight at eightten seven hundred at w l W.
James Rapine is with a Cincinnati Bengalstalk, Enter the Jungle, the Book,
and the show, The Lockdown BengalsPodcast. Extraordinarily busy over the last
couple of days, gave us likean hour and twenty minutes of his time
yesterday and kind enough to give usa few minutes today. I know you

(22:18):
have a lot going on. Lookat this Marius Mims pick, like there's
you. You might have preferred adifferent player. You might have preferred a
different position, you might have preferreda different player at this position. But
you can't hate this pick right rightunless you. Let's put it like this,
for a city and a fan basethat's been worried about Joe Burrow and

(22:41):
protecting Joe Burrow from the moment hewas drafted, literally from the moment he
was picked. When he was sittingat his parents' house just over four years
ago with his hat on and holdingup the number one, Everyone's like,
all right, how are they goingto protect him? How are they going
to give him weapons? And we'veseen him right get hurt and battle through
it and take a bunch of hits, and it's just been such a topic.

(23:03):
Well, the Bengals might have gottenthe guy with the highest ceiling from
an offensive line standpoint in last night'sdraft, and they got him at pick
eighteen because he's a little bit moreinexperienced than some of these other guys.
And that's it. That's why hewas there. Other than that, he
would have been much much higher.And he was really high on the Bengals
board. And I think back moto a draft where we actually did a

(23:29):
show together. It was the BillyPrice draft, and obviously they went Billy
Price in twenty eighteen. After thatthey went Jonah Williams and those were both
considered safe picks. Well, doesBilly Price feel safer? Did it not
work out? Well, it didn'twork out, So the safe pick didn't
work out. I'm okay taking thebig swing, the risky pick if it

(23:49):
means there's a ton of upside.Even with Jonah, it never really felt
like, even when he was playinghis best ball, that there was Pro
Bowl upside. This guy has morethan Pro Bowl upside. He has elite
upside. And when I think aboutthe Bengals history of having and I don't
even want to go back to AnthonyMoon News, but let's go back to
Willie Anderson. Let's go back toAndrew Whitworth. They don't have that guy

(24:12):
on this iteration of the Bengals.Well, now maybe they do, and
we'll see, but he does havethat type of ceiling, and that's a
great thing to get, especially atpick eighteen. Yeah. I keep coming
back to this, and I thinkyou and I talked about this yesterday.
The Bengals have this coming season,if it's the five starters who project to
be the starters right now outside ofAmarius Mens, and we'll talk about his

(24:33):
role on this year's team coming upin in just a few minutes. If
I look at the five guys theyhad last year and I apply them to
this year, minus Jonah Williams andadding Trent Brown, that is still,
at best roughly a league average offensiveline. I want one day for the
Bengals to have any elite offensive line. That only happens if I'm drafting and

(24:56):
nailing it when I draft offensive linemenin round two, and so to me,
if the Bengals are ever going tohave an elite offensive line, this
is the sort of player you hadto take based on who was and who
wasn't available absolutely and you look atthere and who was there, and so
they took him over Troy Fautanu,a twenty four year old who a lot

(25:19):
of NFL evaluators have as a guard. But let's say he does play tackle
and the Steelers playing to plan thattackle, his ceiling isn't a Marius Mims.
I mean, Mims has a chanceto be really good. And I
don't want to just talk about theceiling because I think when you do that,
people are like, yeah, buthe could just be the worst tackle
ever. I actually think his floor. I think his floor is pretty high.

(25:44):
And here's why you don't find guyslike him. They're not there.
Even if he doesn't end up havingthe best technique, even though he I
think the Bengals are really comfortable withhim in past protection right now. Even
if he doesn't end up having thebest technique and become the All Pro player,
He's built so different from the restof the NFL that I think he

(26:04):
could be Trent Brown like that couldbe his floor, which is a high
end pass protector that starts for many, many years in this league. And
so getting that oh yes on meup, I just I think it makes
a ton of sense. And thento your point, if you ever want
an elite offensive line, if youever want that elite tackle, well,
who did I name? I namedWillie Anderson. He was a first round

(26:26):
pick, Andrew Whitworth an outlier secondrounder. It's really really hard to find.
And I will say this as faras day two, and I know
we'll get to day two. Itis nice having the offensive tackle already and
not have to worry about, all, right, will this guy be there
to protect Joe Burrow. Where thatguy be doesn't matter because they already got

(26:47):
their guy. And I can tellyou this moment, he was really high
on their board. There were guysthat you've mentioned on this call that they
might have that were already gone,that they might have taken him over.
So it was it was a goodpick for the of the players who were
there at eighteen that others might haveone of them to take. Who is
the player that represents the argument youwill listen to the most Quinnya and Mitchell

(27:12):
out of Toledo, even more soover Troy Polotano. And I think they
would have taken Piotanu over Mitchell.But I would say the argument for going
and getting a bona fide cornerback onethe impact that Mitchell could have right away,
assuming they viewed him that way,and I think they did. I
think they viewed him. You know, I had a first round grade on

(27:33):
him and would have taken him incertain situations. But what would you rather
have, if we just say itout loud, a number one corner or
a number one offensive tackle? Inthis past first offense, I think we
would all pick the tackle, andI think that's how the Bengals viewed it
as well. And obviously that hada higher grade on Men's than Mitchell.
But that's the one I would reallylisten to and be like, yeah,

(27:56):
you're right, Like there's a goodargument to be made because I think that
that guy comes in and plays aton as a rookie. I blame my
longstanding personal and professional relationship with youfor me last night talking myself into Brian
Thomas. Yeah, why where didyou get to Brian Thomas stuff? But

(28:18):
I really want to know, Ihaven't been on If I'm not in on
the receiver, there's no way inhow anyone else should have thought that they
were taking a receiver. And Ireally wasn't in on receiver at all in
the first round. Now I'm inthe receiver market today. Oh yeah,
we're in the receiver market today,mo. But yeah, Brian Thomas.
And it's funny. The first timeI watched him, I was like,

(28:41):
oh, that's that looks like fasterT Higgins with better yards after catchability.
So I get it. I justthink that he was he didn't run as
many routes as they would have liked, and unless they had traded down,
he wasn't really in play. Okay, I mean, look, I'm not
I'm not upset in the least.I understand it. I get it.

(29:03):
I just as things were unfolding lastnight, I think, like a lot
of people, as unrealistic and asillogical as it may be, you start
to think about him and Ti andJamar. But we could do that with
some of the guys that could comeoff the board and could fall to them
tonight. What is the dream scenario? What is the dream scenario for round

(29:25):
two? Well, I think JohnnyNewton falling out of Illinois, falling somehow
to forty nine. He's the secondranked defensive tackle in this class. There
are a lot of evaluators that havehim as the first ranked defensive tackle in
this class. And it's so interestingbecause even going back to the combine in
February, it was very clear tome that the NFL had Johnny Newton lower

(29:52):
than draft analysts on social media orthat the media in general had on Newton.
And you saw it last And soif he somehow falls to forty nine,
or maybe the Bengals trade up andthey do have the AMO to trade
up, I think it would beworth it. So that would probably be
scenario one where you're filling in need. You're getting an elite prospect who's probably

(30:15):
in the top twenty five on theirboard. If I had to guess,
maybe even higher. Who knows,because I think mems is pretty high.
And so if you have a truefirst round grade on Johnny Newton and you
can somehow get him at forty nineor move up a little bit and get
him, that would be a heckof a pick. Do you think moving
up is in play? I do. I do, And here's why I

(30:37):
do. They have the MO andI think if you're looking and in the
scenario is simple one. I gotto know where Johnny Newton is ranked.
I'll just use him. But whateverprospect A is ranked, if they have
a true first round grade, Let'ssay that the players twentieth on their board
in the next closest players thirty firstto start the day, and there's a

(31:00):
clear gap in that guy falls tothirty six or thirty seven in the draft.
Well, now you got to workthe phones and see, all right,
well will they take pick ninety seventhat extra third rounder? So you
can get up essentially a second firstround pick. That's exactly this scenario you
want if you're the Bengals, Sothey have the ammo to do it.

(31:22):
I think if they want to moveup four or five spots, that would
be pick one, fifteen or fourthrounder tomorrow. I think they could certainly
sweeten the pot with some of thosesixth rounders that they have. They have
two sixes and two sevens tomorrow,and then maybe they do get really aggressive
and use one of those third rounders. So I think they could. It
would be for a very very fewplayers left on the board, like we're

(31:45):
literally talking one or two. Thetwo that come to mind for me would
be kool Aid McKinstry out of Alabamathe corner, and then Johnny Newton out
of Illinois. If either of thoseguys fall a little bit more, I
think moving up could be in play, all right, shift through the day.
Two wide receiver possibilities for me.Yeah, there we do. And

(32:06):
now we're talking though, well,Ladd McConkie. Ladd McConkie, I've already
labeled this the eminem connection. Yougive me Mens and maconkie and here we
go. Marshall Mathers is in Cincinnati, is no longer a member of Detroit,
even though we saw him on stagelast night. So yeah, Lad
McConkie, if he's there, Ithink that's mighty tempting. My question with

(32:29):
him is the medicals. Do theygive him a thumbs up? If so,
I'm in on him at forty nine. I'm in on Troy Franklin out
of Oregon at forty nine. Ithink that he's Honestly, no, I
would not shock me one bit ifTroy Franklin is a better probe than Brian
Thomas Junior. And I think hegives them. He gives them really all

(32:49):
of the things that Thomas does.It would fit their offense in a similar
way that Thomas would, and youget him in round two versus round one.
He's not as big, right,He's a little leaner than Brian Thomas.
But yeah, I really like TroyFranklin, and who knows, maybe
I'm higher on him than they areother guys though, To keep it in
mind, Keon Coleman is someone theycould target. I think that Roman Wilson

(33:13):
out of Michigan is someone they couldtarget. And these are all second round
guys. If we want to letme see if there's any more on my
list here. Oh, and thenAdy Mitchell, I think he's going to
just go right away tonight to theBills. But if Ady Mitchell is there
out of Texas, that guy,I think on a lot of teams boards
from a at least a film perspective, is higher than Brian Thomas. And

(33:36):
it's really just the character stuff.And do they give him a passing grade
there? So certainly someone to keepan eye on. And then if we
get into round three and they stillhave an address wide receiver, I think
Jayleen McMillan out of Washington, DylanPolk either in round two or three out
of Washington as well, keep aneye on him. Brendan Rice is someone
I think that they could target MalachaiCorley. And then I do have a

(33:58):
sleeper that we really haven't talked aboutbecause he's a little smaller, but Maleak
Washington out of Virginia. If theyjust want one of these speedy slot receivers,
he could be their target at pickninety seven. Would not shock me
at off. Malik Washington has inplay a very good You are the best
I know. You have a lotgoing on, man, and a busy
next few days in front of you. I'm sure I'll bother you next week.

(34:22):
Look forward to that. Have agreat time tonight, man, thanks
so much. Give me a receiveror two or three tonight. No,
that's all I ask. One willbe good, Just the right one.
Gimme Johnny Newton and one of thosereceivers. Yeah, and I'll go to
bed tonight. Pretty happy. Soundsgood. I hope you doo oh.
I appreciate you having me. It'sour buddy, James Rapine, Bengals Talk

(34:45):
dot Com, the Lockedown Bengals Podcastand Enter the Jungle with streams every Tuesday
on YouTube, and you can alsofind on Balley Sports Ohio. We are
way late, seven away from fouro'clock. We're broadcasting from Twin Peaks in
west Are. Come on out andjoin us on a nice looking Friday afternoon
on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. Hi. Remember me, I'm Maleger.

(35:09):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty. Goodafternoon, Thank you for joining us.
Hope your weekend is off to anawesome start. We're broadcasting today from
Twin Peaks in Westchester, the homeone of the two homes of the Tony
and Moo Football show during the footballseason. That kind of feels like football
season because we've been football centric.Today we are a guest free this hour.

(35:31):
We have a Marius Men's to respondto, not to respond to,
but to react to. Today we'lllook ahead more to rounds two and three
of the NFL Draft. Just onemore thought on the Trey Hendrickson thing,
which is I was asked a questionabout Trey Hendrickson that I want to answer
on this show. I was actuallyasked it on another show, Brendan and

(35:53):
Jones on baseball. Coming up injust a bit, we have the Reds
and Rangers tonight, FC Cincinnati.He is an action this weekend. Our
show today is a service of ZimmerTractor. If you are out and about
by the way north of town,we are right off the I seventy five
exit Union Center Boulevard posted up heretill six. Come on out, get

(36:15):
a cold one, celebrate happy hour, get a salmon salad. Twin Peaks
known for their salmon salads. Youcan get one of those, So come
on out and hang out with ushere at Twin Peaks in Westchester. I
think there's a difference between a projectand a player who just needs some refinement.

(36:45):
I think there's like a project tome is a guy who has to
be taught how to in sports,how to play the position, like has
to be sort of just started forcratch almost in terms of we're going to
not develop the skill, We're goingto teach the skill, and then once

(37:09):
you learn the skill, we'll developthe skill. And then once we've developed
the skill, we'll smooth out therough edges. Like when I think of
a project, this just came tomind. Remember the first time the Bengals
were on hard Knocks, they hada defensive tackle by the name of Jason

(37:30):
Shirley, and he wasn't gonna makethe team as a defensive tackle, so
they put him over on the offensiveline, and he essentially had no choice.
If you wanted to play in theNFL, he was going to have
to learn how to play the offensiveline on the offensive line, and so
they had to start from scratch andteach him just the basic techniques of offensive

(37:50):
line play. That's a project,like I think of in basketball, you'll
see sometimes like a very raw bigman who is used to just beating,
you know, at like the highschool level, just dominating younger kids or
smaller kids, and not really havingto rely on post moves or any sort

(38:15):
of technique with the ball. Hecould just use his raw physical ability to
do what he has to do.And then he gets to the collegiate level
in some cases, maybe even theprofessional level, and he's going to be
taught how to play. That's aproject. I think there is a difference
between a player who is a projectand one who just needs a little bit

(38:38):
more experience and a little bit offine tuning. I don't think Amrius Memes
is a project based on what I'veseen, based on what I've read,
based on opinions that I trust.Like I'll just for the sake of having

(39:02):
an example, there's a thousand differentdraft evaluations of him. Maris Mims,
maybe you have your favorite, ButI read Dan Brugler the Beast. We
talked to Dane every year. Ithink he's plugged in. I think he
knows what he's talking about. Itdoesn't mean he always gets it right.
Nobody does. But like I readlike strengths here, and I read about

(39:27):
how good his feet and strike timingare. I read about how good his
handwork is. I read about howhis technique is repeatable. Uh, he
has a good base. How goodhe is in space, how mobile he
is. He wasn't flagged for aholding penalty in college. He wasn't flagged

(39:49):
for a false start penalty in college. Rare size, but also rare tools.
Now there are weaknesses here. He'sa little upright in pass protection.
You read that a lot about youngeroffensive lineman. He's got high hips and
so he's gonna have to maybe figureout a way to leverage his body a

(40:10):
little bit better when it comes torun blocking. This is me talking about
the finer points of offensive line play. I don't see a guy who has
to be taught how to play tackle. He needs his skills developed. Which
college player doesn't. He's taking anenormous leap from college football to professional football.
Every player whose name was called lastnight has to have their skills continue

(40:37):
to develop to the point that theycould succeed at the highest level of the
sport. But because of the inexperienceand again its relative inexperience. He played
in thirty college football games. Heplayed for two teams that won national championships.
He played in the best league.He played in high end bowl games,
he started eight games, not aton, right, I don't think

(40:57):
that makes him a project Like thisdoesn't strike me as the kind of guy
who, Okay, he's big,and now we have to teach him how
to play football. We have toteach him the basics of offensive line play.
Everybody learns from experience. Like we'vetalked a lot about the Reds and
Ellie de la Cruz and their youngplayers. There's no projects there. There

(41:19):
are guys who are inexperienced, andyou learn from experience, and then your
skills continue to develop, and hopefullythe two things mesh and the things you
learn from accumulating experience and the continueddevelopment of your skills add up to a
quality big leaguer. I think thesame can be true for a guy like
this, Like I think of project. Remember the Reds had Marcus Hunt,
and he was like he blocked kicksand he threw shot put, and they

(41:44):
drafted him. If I recall,I think in twenty thirteen in the second
round from SMU and Marcus Hunt hungaround the NFL for a while. But
I remember Paul Gunther and Mike Zimmerthat first year twenty thirteen talking about,
well, he's he's a he's raw. We we have to teach him.
He's got great size, He's reallytall, he has an awful haircut.

(42:07):
He can come off the edge andblock kicks. We have to teach him
how to shed blockers in the NFL. We have to teach him pass rush
moves. We have to teach himhow to use his hands. We got
to teach him the the finer pointsof, you know, playing against the
run. So his first season hedidn't play. That's a project. A

(42:28):
project might be one of the linementhey take later on in this draft.
This kid, to me, doesn'tseem like a project. It seems like
a guy who's got enough skill thatwhen he has played, he has succeeded
and he is flashed when you watchthe tape. But sure he he needs
what's going to come with experience.How much of it is is he gonna

(42:50):
get this year? Man, yourguess is as good as mine. I'm
gonna guess that Amrius Simms plays tackleat some point for the Bengals this year,
because I am now. I thinkeverybody's gonna get hurt at some point.
But get hurt might mean you gotto miss a few plays. But
I don't think we refer to thisguy as a project. Raw may be
more appropriate inexperienced. I'll grant youthat unfinished. Maybe we'll go with unfinished.

(43:19):
But when I hear a project,I think of, well, he's
big, and now we've got toteach him. Because this guy is big,
and because he's inexperienced to me atleast, and you could tell me
if I'm wrong, that doesn't makehim a project. He's somebody who could
benefit from really good coaching and youknow, being around other NFL players who

(43:40):
are older and have been around theblock who can maybe help him, and
then the experience that's gonna come withhim eventually playing. This is not a
guy to me. And again,like I read all these reports and I
could tell you I've watched Maria Simmscut ups today because I've had to.
But I read. I read thepeople whose opinions I trust, and I

(44:02):
don't read anybody who says like histechnique stinks or he reaches too much,
or yeah, he's big, buthe's always grabbing and holding, never got
called for a holding penalty, orhe doesn't know how to move in space,
or he doesn't carry his weight welllike I've read or seen nothing that
would suggest that they have to startfrom ground zero and teach him how to

(44:25):
play. When they do have todo that, that to me is the
definition of a project. And bythe way, I'm all for projects,
right, take an offensive lineman lateron in this draft and go, look,
man, we're trying to build someoptions for the future. We like
this guy's physical profile, his measurables, we like his frame. Now we

(44:45):
got to teach him how to play. There's room for that, not in
round one. But this isn't aproject in round one, at least to
me. My way of looking atit is he's inexperienced. He's more inexperienced
than you would prefer. I don'tthink there's any denying that you would maybe
rather have more tape, you wouldrather have a larger resume of snaps.

(45:07):
All very fair, but what doyou see when you watch the snaps?
Everybody seems to really like what theysee when they watch the snaps. He
just doesn't have enough of him underhis belt to make you feel like he's
a finished product. There's a differencebetween completely raw and slightly unrefined. There's
a difference between completely raw and needingthe rough edges smoothed out. There's a

(45:35):
difference between a project and slightly inexperienced. There's a difference between a project and
a guy who just has to toplay a little bit more and benefit from
what comes with playing more and beingcoached at the highest level. So it's
to me just an observation. I'veheard a lot of people throw that word

(45:58):
out. I don't think it fitslike I just I think of like big
clunky dudes who play you know,sometimes even high school basketball, but specifically
college basketball, and it's like they'venever had to post up a guy of
equal height. They have no idea, no idea how to handle the footwork
of trying to beat the guy inthe block. That's a project. Somebody

(46:20):
needing their skills rounded out, notso much a project. So basically what
I'm saying is call a Marius Mimswhatever you want, do not call him
the P word. Eighteen minutes afterfour o'clock, uh five point three seven
fifteen thirty is our phone number.If you want to chime in and tell
us why you love or don't lovethe a Marius Mims pick. You could

(46:45):
also send a tweet or a XUh, thanks to our friends at Delta
Dental. Delta Dental is building healthy, smart, vibrant communities for all good
at Delta Dental, Oh dot com. Uh. We talked a lot about
Trey hendricks and the Bengals did nottrade Trey Hendrickson last night because they're not
gonna and they don't want to.And Trey Hendrickson's agent is, I think,

(47:07):
kind of making a fool out ofhimself. I got a question for
those who kind of see this fromTrey's perspective. Next on ESPN fifteen thirty,
Cincinnati Sports Station, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteenthirty traffic from the UC Health.
This is ESPN fifteen thirty. We'rebroadcasting from Twin Peaks in west Chester today.

(47:28):
Brun him In and Jones on Baseball'scoming up in just about twenty five
minutes. Red's are trying to bounceback after getting shut out yesterday. They
end their series with the Phillies.They split the four, They go five
and two in the Homestead and noweighteen. They swept last year in Cincinnati
that then went on to win theWorld Series Texas Rangers. Tonight. More
on that. Here in the bit, we have folks waiting on hold,

(47:52):
so we should talk to them.Five one, three, seven, four,
nine, fifteen thirty. Keith,you're on ESPN fifteen thirty. Good
afternoon. How are you don't findmo? How about yourself? Never be
better? What's going on? Nice? Meaning you yesterday at long Decker's.
This is Keith from Alexander at WilderSo yet on this a Marius Memes issue?

(48:15):
At first, I want to prefacemy thought with nothing against the young
man. I hope he develops intoa top offensive lineman, which Cincinnati desperately
needs. My only problem with it, Moo is the Bengals haven't proven to
be good di I wires like me. They need ready mixed concrete and not

(48:37):
try to mix it with water andmake it work myself. It the O
line isn't obviously, it's it's anurgent priority for this team to protect probably
the largest asset we've seen in yearsbehind Center, and they need somebody ready.

(49:02):
Now. I get it, yougot to build for the future.
I'm all for that. But unlessthere's somebody that they're looking at in free
agency that we don't know yet ifthat person even exists, I just think
what they're doing Burrow, he's he'sstarting to accumulate injuries in different parts of

(49:23):
his body. He's in the fouryears he's been here, he's played ten
games twice to six teams, andthat's behind average below average lines. So
unless they really try to gel thatlineup, they need to start looking at
at possible quarterback solutions in twenty twentyfive and twenty twenty six in the draft

(49:45):
because this ad he goes as Burrowgoes, since he goes, and this
project or minor tweaking or whatever wehave to do with the Marius Mems.
That's great, that's great, butI just don't have the confidence in this
this crew that they have to developwell. Andrew Whitworth is he the last

(50:07):
one that we've really had who cameout of college that that really started.
And really, I mean they hadthat Kevin Zeitler and Clint Bowling and you
know, say what you want abouthim, he didn't play to the level
of eleventh overall pick. But Imean Jonah Williams was a good player,
and was he the eleventh overall pick? Did he played to that level?

(50:29):
No? And so I mean they'vehad guys since then. I guess I
would say this, Do you knowanybody who's a bad cook? Sure,
all right, so they've got tomake a meal. Do you lessen their
chances of them making a bad mealif you give them the best possible ingredients?

(50:52):
Not really, but you do notreally Like if I've got a bad
cook, right, I'm gonna insulatethe bad cook from being a bad cook
by giving them really good stuff towork with. So I guess my point
is this their recent track record ofdeveloping offensive lineman. You and I both
know it's not great, But allright, let's offset that by giving Frank

(51:15):
Pollack, a dude with an extraordinarilyhigh ceiling. By the way, Tyler
Geiton, who also went last night, a little bit more experienced, regarded
as a major work in progress rawto according to many, to the same
degree that Amarius Mims is so muchso he just started playing the offensive line

(51:38):
in twenty twenty two. So Iguess for me is this. You could
say, Look, they don't havea great track record of developing offensive lineman,
and until they do, I don'ttrust him. Fine, totally understand
that. But if you do agreethey have to start developing offensive lineman,
then what's wrong with giving Frank Pollackin the offensive coaching staff, a guy
whose ceiling you think is almost unlimited. Because while I can find a lot

(52:00):
of folks who say, yeah,man, in the short term, mims
floor is pretty low, nobody deniesthat his ceiling is really high. The
other approach would be, you waittill later. And again, look,
I was all in on Byron Murphyyesterday. I'm not going to pretend that
I wasn't. But if you go, okay, let's wait till later.
So those players, theoretically speaking,don't have his high as ceiling, and

(52:22):
now coaches who have screwed up offensivelinemen in the past and in my view,
have an even greater chance of screwingthem up because they're not working with
players who are nearly as good.True. True. And then the other
the other kind of thing is,you know, we really I know Mims.
His resume is short. I thinkthey said, what six seven games?

(52:44):
You know, I kind of startedit. He started eight games?
How many? Eight? Eight?What you said? Okay, he started
eight? Yes, but the teamshe played against, I mean, you
know, Ball State, South Carolina, Mississippi, Brandon Count's not that great.
Now, he did play against Alabama. I thought I saw in Tennessee.

(53:07):
Yeah. Yeah, So he's gota few games against them. I
don't know how he was against inthose games. I didn't watch, so
I can't judge the guy. Butit's a very you know, limited resume.
And the Bengals, like I said, God love them. They're like
me. They need ready mix.They they otherwise plan on going the home

(53:29):
depot six seven times because you knowthat's on the offensive line. But the
thing is on the offensive line specifically, they have readiness. They they have
readiness on the offense. That's whythey signed Trent Brown. Well, but
in the years, the three fouryears Bro's been here, it's not been
a ready mix. It's been asign these guys. And they granted,

(53:52):
at least the Bengals are trying Iagree with you there yesterday, but I
mean, you look what they have. What they have done the last couple
of years has been done out ofnecessity because that o line they had in
twenty one was awful, Like theygot to the Super Bowl in spite of
it, So they were not goingto go from awful to awesome overnight.
And if you want to build anoffensive line, that's better than what the

(54:15):
Bengals have right now. That isn'thappening with you signing five free agents in
three years. That's happening with youdrafting offensive lineman in the first and second
round. If you want to talkabout Bengals history, look at the offensive
lineman that they have that they havedrafted that have stuck. Kevin Zeitler early
pick, first round, or Andrewwhitt Or second rounder, Eric Steinbach second

(54:37):
round er, go back even further, Willie Anderson. So you know what
they have, what they have doneover the last couple of years is they
have go ahead, no, nogood. Well, which one of those
were drafted with this crew? Youknow? But none of them, None
of them, I mean honestly,none of them. But what they have

(54:57):
done, what they have done inthe short term has worked to a degree.
Right, they took the offensive linein twenty one that was terrible and
made it okay. If you wantto go from okay to really good,
you got a draft offensive lineman early. And again I say this as the
guy that wanted Byron Murphy. That'snot coming with you taking projects on Saturday
and hoping to quickly turn them intoreally good offensive linemen. It can happen

(55:22):
with a guy whose tools you thinkare elite, who does need experience and
projects to be It's not like theBengals or the people who are in charge
of the draft for the Bengals arethe only people that thought a Marius Mims
was deserving of our first round grade. So you know, again, like
if you want to build an eliteoffensive line, that's really only happening through

(55:45):
the draft, and then you couldsign a guy here or there. The
current approach, if you want Jodoeventually play behind a great o line,
signing free agents every year, signingfive in three years, you're gonna get
middle of the road guy for themost part. And what you're then going
to get is the middle of theroad offensive line. Right then we're gonna

(56:06):
end up with the middle of theroad quarterback because he's not gonna be either
in the game and we're gonna behaving Browning or somebody come in the game.
And you know, so I guessthat's our choice. It's in this
window is like you know I mentionedyesterday, it's not getting any easier.
It's you know, I Burrows pricetake goes up every year a little bit

(56:27):
forward when which makes it, whichputs an even larger premium on nailing it
in the draft on the offensive line, and look, you've got to nail
in the draft at a whole bunchof other positions too. But right,
but if you know, if wego into every offseason thinking, God,
they need to tackle, go getthe most expensive guy, that's gonna be
less and less likely moving forward.Keith, I've enjoyed it. Have a
great weekend, man. Okay,hey you too. But yeah, Burrow's

(56:50):
not gonna be here forever though,and we got to protect him wise here
and you take care mo all right, I'll do my best. I think
that's that's what they're they're trying todo here. They're I think they want
I think they want to try towin this year with an offensive line that
they hope is slightly better because ofstuff like continuity. I'm worried about the
offensive line this year because no onegot hurt last season, and that's hard

(57:14):
to carry over from one year tothe next. But I think you draft
a tackle forget the individual they tookfor a second. You draft a tackle
or an offensive lineman in round onebecause you want to start the building blocks.
You want to start putting down buildingblocks for what you hope down the
road is going to be a topnotch, well above league average offensive line.

(57:40):
Now that may come at the expenseof someone who could help you in
the short term. Fully admit that. Again, I wanted Byron Murphy for
that specific reason. I think hecould have helped you more this year than
any of these tackles. But hewasn't there. And so okay, let's
fling it back to the offensive line. By the way, Tyler Guiding.

(58:01):
I don't think Tyler Guidon was thenext offensive lineman who was taken, but
he was a guy that was alsotalked about going to the Bengals. Jordan
Morgan from Arizona went. And bythe way, there are a lot of
evaluations of Jordan Morgan that didn't havehim as a first rounder. You talk
about role, Tyler Guidon two yearsago was playing tight end. Amarius Mims

(58:21):
was recruited as an offensive lineman andplayed at Georgia as an offensive lineman.
I get this, and you knowagain, I don't think he's a project.
I think he's a guy that needsmore coaching, but has the fundamentals
of offensive line played down enough.Again, no false starts, no holding

(58:42):
penalties, and then all those snapsas a starter didn't allow sack. That's
prey damn good. We are waylate twenty five from five o'clock on ESPN
fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station Cincinnati EasySports. Headlines were service to Kelsey chevlt
Home of lifetime power train protection andguaranteed credit approval from their family to yours

(59:04):
for life kelseyschev dot Com. TheNFL Draft will continue tonight at six o'clock
on ESPN fifteen thirty. The Bengalswith the forty ninth overall pick unless they
trade up for Johnny Newton or someoneelse. Cincinnati with two third round selections,
eightieth and ninety seventh overall. Verysad news today out of New Jersey.

(59:27):
Former UC football offensive lineman Corey Cunninghamwas found dead in his home in
New Jersey. He was drafted outof UC by the Arizona Cardinals, went
on to play for a couple ofseasons with the New York Giants at the
University of Cincinnati. He was anall AAC performer and just a nice,

(59:50):
quiet kid, big man friendly demeanor. Loved getting a chance to chat with
him for the pregame show and passesaway way too young at the age of
twenty eight. His last two years, he was on the offensive line.
He was also a team captain atthe University of Cincinnati Reds and Rangers.
Tonight, first of three, Cincinnati, We'll send Graham Ashcraft to the mound.

(01:00:15):
The Red starting lineup tonight is hopefullymade well. It's a service of
Madewell Restoration. Go to Madewell Restorationdot com. Benson Eli, Dela Cruz,
Spencer, Steer one two, three, ce S Stevenson behind the plate,
India is dhing tonight. Candelario atthird, Santiago Espinal is playing shortstop

(01:00:35):
and batting eighth. Stu Fairchild incenter in the ninth spot. What else
do we have? I think thatwould be it Ato five tonight, And
I think I said before the firstpitch was at eight forty. I lied,
I didn't lie, made a mistake. Aight oh five tonight on seven
hundred WLW all right. I appreciateeveryone who has waited patiently. Tyler,

(01:00:57):
thanks for hanging on. You're onESPN fifteenth already get after him. No,
how are you doing, brother?I'm doing great? What's up?
Uh? Just wanted to touch baseon kind of what I wish. You
know, maybe some of the Bengalsfans might need to look at what's going
on in Atlanta, and I canonly imagine how we would re responding up
here in Cincinnati. But everybody wantsto talk about eight games. I think

(01:01:22):
you guys have talked about this before, where a lot of the transfer issues
now where kids get basically they runfrom the competition. Oh I'm not playing,
I'm gonna go find somewhere else toplay. Kind of that selfish mentality.
Well, n's in transfer. Andwhat I kind of took away was
last night when Saban the first thinghe says with small towns did is he

(01:01:44):
going to compete with the you know, the level that the NFL is requiring.
And first thing I thought of wasmaybe he sounds like a little bit
salty that he didn't get him tocome into Alabama. So I looked into,
you know, his Scout profile,you know, booked about what they
said about him in high school.He's obviously from a small town. The
guy that was with the bank,he might still be with the muffensive lineman

(01:02:07):
Tray Smith. I believe maybe he'salso from that same small town. But
the coach goes on and tell storiesabout how he is such a people person.
You know, basically he's that's whatthat's his motivation. You know.
He was talking about how he's beenpraying for an opportunity to or pray for
an opportunity to play for a guylike Joe Burrow. You know, we

(01:02:28):
talk about the transfer portal and youknow, compare that to now, you
know, you go work for somebody, and maybe it's somebody that you absolutely
despise. You know. Some ofthese free agents they follow the money and
maybe they go there they find outthat maybe the people that they signed up
for they're they're not actually the bestpeople. You know what, maybe I'm
not going to give my best effort. Well, this kid sounds like he's

(01:02:50):
a pig and a you know,or a pig and a pigski. He's
gonna be playing behind Joe Burrow.He's a people person. Once he meets
Anthony Munez, you don't think they'regonna get a good relationship. I mean,
and that's what I don't think peoplethink about. Yeah, the drafts
hard. How many times have youseen people lose their jobs because they draft
the wrong person. That's part ofthe game, that's why we love it.

(01:03:10):
But everybody automatically wants to write thiskid off in a way because he
wasn't this or that. Dude,it's not even been twenty four hours.
Let this whole thing play out.They met with him thirty times. You
don't think that relationship has been established. And that's kind of the thing we
need to think about. Yes,it's football, but it's also relationships.
You tell this kid to go protectJoe Burrow, you don't think that a

(01:03:34):
little bit more with all this hiddenbehind the scenes stuff that we didn't know
about. But maybe they've become bestof friends. You know who knows about
all that stuff. But everybody theyhe's a six foot eight guy who went
to one of the best colleges inthe nation, the top recruit coming out
of high school. He still isthe same talent if everybody you know,
all if he is at the veryleast, you know, a doable ten

(01:03:57):
year NFL veteran. I mean,right now, we have got three six
foot eight offensive linemen. The likelihoodof everybody on our offensive line staying healthy
is a very high chance. Thenyou also got to think about what happens
if he comes in and he blowsit out of the water. He's tearing
up everybody, and then they say, you know what, now, we
haven't a bunch of assets. What'sthe very what's what worse? Can he

(01:04:19):
be in whenever everybody's looking for offensiveline help. Juth Tobin's that's the toys
to play with. Yeah, noquestion. I mean I'm on the same
page with with everything you said.It is he did, and he pulled
himself out. He did put himselfin the portal. And I think he
actually visited, if I'm not mistaken, Florida State and then circled back and

(01:04:42):
played at Georgia. But he didwait his turn. He did get better
by the way he went up inpractice against dudes like Travon Walker and Nolan
Smith at Georgia during a time wherethey, you know, were winning consecutive
national championships. There is there's nonothing to not like about what he did
at college and what he didn't doat college. Yes, there was an

(01:05:05):
injury, okay, now it wasan injury that he came back from last
year. Also, it's worth pointingout his first start, he gets thrown
to the Wolves in the college footballplayoff right Georgia, Ohio State, and
he plays great in that game.There's something to be said about that the
level of readiness and preparation that playingagainst all those dudes in practice contributed to.

(01:05:30):
Again, I'll keep saying this.I'm not gonna pretend like I spent
the last three weeks banging the drumfor Amaria Simms, but I will acknowledge
there's a lot to like here.And I don't think you know, people
talking about the eight games, thoseare eight starts. He played in thirty
college football games. He went throughhundreds of practices against first round talent while

(01:05:53):
playing at Georgia, and you can'tfind anybody who watched him play that says,
you know what, what he puton tape was bad. What he
put on tape. They'll say hedidn't put up enough of it because he
didn't start a thousand games. ButI don't know that there's the rawness that
a lot of people are associating withhis relative lack of experience. I come

(01:06:17):
back to what I talked about atthe at the top of the hour,
and Tyler, thank you very muchfor the phone call, which was I
think there's a difference between a projectand a guy who could just use further
developing a project to me as aguy who's got to be taught skills,
I think with Amaria Simms, wemight have here somebody who has the skill.
He just needs it to be refinedand developed and sort of smoothed out,

(01:06:41):
and he needs to gain experience.I've said this often. You want
to build an elite offensive line,you're gonna have to start nailing it in
the draft, in the first andsecond round. And yeah, you could
acknowledge the Bengals recent track record withdeveloping offensive lineman isn't great. You know,
you also have to go back overthe last decade. They've drafted two
in the first round. Now,Cedric Boy, he did not work.

(01:07:03):
Uh, that has nothing to dowith this staff. That was twenty fifteen.
That's Marvin Lewis, it's Paul AlexanderJackson. Carman hasn't worked. I
don't really know that that's on theBengals. They the guys who made up
that offensive line in twenty twenty one. I'm not sure any of those players
had the draft profile or the collegecareer as brief as it was of Amara

(01:07:27):
Simms and By the way, JonahWilliams was Okay, I'm actually gonna ask
a pole question. Five point threeseven four nine fifteen thirty is our phone
number. I'm gonna make a Ithink I'm gonna make a comp the first
Brendanman and Jones on Baseball ESPN fifteenthirty. Hey, it's the Cowboy Jeff
Brantley. Hi, uh remember me, My name's Mulager. This is ESPN

(01:07:54):
fifteen thirty. Hoope, your weekendis off to a great start. It's
the five o'clock Happy Hour thanks toour friends at michelob Ultra. I am
at Twin Peaks in Westchester, whereI'm like moments away from having a michelob
Ultra. That sounds amazing right now. Perhaps if one of my colleagues here
was thoughtful enough, they'd go getme one. If not, if not,

(01:08:15):
I'll I'll take it upon myself.It is the michelob A Happy Hour.
We are at Twin Peaks in Westchester, broadcasting until six o'clock. ESPN
Radio takes over for rounds two andthree of the NFL Draft. Bengals with
the forty ninth overall pick, theeightieth overall pick, and the ninety seventh
overall pick. We've been spending alot of time today on obviously what the

(01:08:40):
Bengals did last night, a MariusMims. I have a few more thoughts
on what was really kind of thebig topic yesterday, which was the Trey
Hendrickson trade request and the Bengals notgiving him a pay Ray contract extension.
Spend a little bit more time onthat later on. With a Marius Mims,

(01:09:01):
there's there's a big con like,if you were to do the you
know, the list of pros andcons just taking a Marius Mims not necessarily
taking a Marius Mimes instead of tradingdown or trading one of these other players,
whether that obviously or selecting one ofthese other players, although that obviously
is a part of the equation onthe the con list is relative in experience,

(01:09:27):
right he is. He has playedin thirty games, he has only
started eight, so there's not avery extensive body of work. But the
pro list is pretty extensive. Withhis size, his natural strength, how
he carries that three hundred and fortypound frame, by all accounts, somebody

(01:09:48):
who takes physical conditioning very very seriously. Somebody who's disciplined enough to not commit
any penalties during his college career.Somebody who's played against pretty good toad times,
really good competition gets it done inthe classroom. The film, the
film what he puts on tape?And you hear people say all the time

(01:10:11):
like tape, don't lie or justdefer to the tape. Well, I
haven't found anybody who thinks he's inover his head or completely raw, or
has to be taught skill or nobodythinks he's perfect and who is? But
everybody seems to believe that there's alot to work with here, but that
there's some refinement that he could benefitfrom, and experience that he could benefit

(01:10:38):
from, and NFL coaching that hecould benefit from. I guess the question
that I've had all afternoon, andI appreciate those that have chimed in already.
Is that one con enough to disqualifyhim for the Bengals? Obviously the
answer was no, But is isis that one thing, that one thing

(01:10:59):
in the con column? Is thatenough to disqualify him from being a guy
you would take with the eighteenth overallpick. There's also the Frank Pollack angle
here. Frank Pollack, you knowit's interesting this is obviously his second go
round with the Bengals. He wasnot on Zach Taylor's original coaching staff.
That was Jim Turner. Frank Pollackcomes in and that twenty twenty one offensive

(01:11:25):
line, let's face it was terrible. Since then, Frank Pollack has been
given free agents good free agents,some better than others. They haven't had
a great offensive line. It's beenkind of league average at best. But
he hasn't been really given this rightwe are. We're not gonna We're not

(01:11:46):
gonna trade down for a defensive tackle. We're not gonna take one of the
corners. We're not gonna take awide receiver. We're not gonna trade up
for Byron Murphy. We're taking aguy your position group, and we're gonna
give you some time. I'm righta Marius Mims might not be asked to
play Week one because obviously they've they'vealready addressed that right tackle position with with

(01:12:09):
Trent Brown. You know, thisto me is like the Bengals are gonna
be on the clock tonight. Theywere on the clock last night. Frank
Pollack is kind of on the clock, right. Frank Pollack is is actually,
I think very much on the clock. I'm not sure there's a position
coach that has been talked about morethat has gotten more scrutiny, and frankly
has has kind of deserved it.I do think that for the most part,

(01:12:31):
the offensive line the last couple ofyears has played to the level that
you would have expected. You know. I go back to two years ago
when they signed Kappa and Carris andLal Collins. We all wondered like,
all right, what is the ceilingfor this offensive line? And then did
the same thing when they added OrlandoBrown. It feels like the ceiling for
Amrius Mimes is pretty high, right, and so now it's up to Frank

(01:12:57):
Pollack to in the short term racesflow and in the long term see that
he reaches that ceiling. There's riskhere. Paul Danner Junior wrote about that
for the Athletic Right that the riskis obviously doesn't have a ton of experience.
The risk is you've you've got todo some coaching and you've you've got
to do some instructing that maybe youwouldn't have to do had he played more

(01:13:20):
extensively in college. I do thinkthere's something to the validity of we're not
talking about you know, a guywho didn't play a lot in college because
he was at North Dakota State.He didn't play a lot in college because
yes, there was an ankle injurythis year, but he was behind other
really good players. Other players wereon a team that was the national champion

(01:13:41):
in twenty twenty one, in twentytwenty two. But yeah, sure there's
some risk here, and maybe there'sless risk than something else they could have
done in the draft. I kindof like the Bengals are taking a little
bit of a risk on, Likethat's you know, ordinarily not something you

(01:14:03):
really associate with this team, rightThey they typically play it safe and,
by the way, sometimes with reallygood results and sometimes not so much.
This team has kind of taken on, you know, even like with with
free agency, they used to alwaysside with well known quantities. They like
continuity, and then a couple ofyears ago they move on from William Jackson,

(01:14:26):
bring in better players, they moveon from Carl Lawson, bring in
Trey Hendrickson. They're stepping outside oftheir normal comfort zone and have now for
years. But also I think there'ssomething about, you know, taking on
a little risk here, by theway, in terms of the offensive line
itself. If it doesn't work,it probably shouldn't have a very big short

(01:14:47):
term impact on the overall offensive line. I think there's something about taking on
some risk here that I kind oflike that I think is calculated. Again,
it's it's taking on a risk here. Every single draft evaluator that I
trust has talked about how good aMarius Mims has a chance to be.

(01:15:10):
Now, you can say that abouta lot of draft prospects. Truth is,
none of us really know how goodor bad these guys are gonna be,
but the consensus seems to be reallyhigh ceiling. I like taking a
risk for a guy who's got areally high ceiling who could help you solve
what you're looking for at a certainposition for a really long time. So

(01:15:32):
again I've said this often today,I'm not gonna pretend like I waive the
Amarus Mims flag for the last sixweeks. If I had my way,
Biron Murphy would have been there ateighteen if I had my way. I'm
not saying that I wouldn't have tradedup to try to get them. But
I'm not going to be dismissive ofa Marius Mems. Just because of that
one that one item on the listof cons which is the again relative lack

(01:15:59):
of experience, and the word thereis relative something else I think is interesting.
I was talking about this with acoworker of mine last night. Amarus
Mims hopefully long term, ends upbeing kind of a building block on the
offensive line, especially when they eventuallystart to transition away from the guys who

(01:16:20):
are on the offensive line right now. And so talking at the draft show
last night, I said, youknow what if with the eighteenth overall pick,
Marius Mims is Andre Smith, Ithink I'd be okay with that.
And Andre Smith was taken by theBengals in the two thousand and nine draft,

(01:16:40):
and as you probably recall, ratherfamously ran with his shirt off at
the combine and that was in avery flattering photo and he held out which
that was the year the Bengals wereon hard knocks the first go around,
and he dealt with some injuries thosefirst couple of seasons, and maybe he
never played to the level of sixthoverall pick, but his first stint in

(01:17:00):
Cincinnati, and remember he actually hada couple of different stints from two thousand
and nine through twenty fifteen, hesolved right tackle for the Bengals. He
was the starting right tackle in twentyfifteen for a team that had an excellent
offensive line, probably the last reallygood Bengals offensive line. I asked this
not I think a Maria Simms islike Andre Smith. Although Andre Smith,

(01:17:25):
you know, big dude six seventhree thirty five. Mims is six seven
and a half three thirty five.I'm just kind of curious, and to
me, more has to do withthe perception of Andre Smith than anything about
a Marius Mims. But I askedon social media on x thanks to our
friends at United Heartland Assurance, ifMarius Mims ends up being Andre Smith two

(01:17:48):
point zero, will last night's pickbe considered a success? Now I just
threw this out there a few minutesago, so we've got a couple of
hundred votes. It's fifty to fifty. It's legitimately it's actually now fifty one
percent, No, forty nine percent. Yes, that's if a Marius Mims

(01:18:08):
ends up being Andre Smith, I'llbe okay with that. Like hold down
the position for the next six sevenyears, be a part of some very
good offensive lines. I I thinkI would I would sign up for that
as a good player the Bengals atand again he held down that position,

(01:18:28):
and really since his last season inCincinnati before he came back and then came
back again, right tackle has beena bit of a revolving door. Hopefully
Amrius Mims does what Andre Smith didand stops the revolving door. U five
point three seven fifteen thirty and eightsix six, seven oh two three seven
seven six are our phone numbers.Uh, we'll get to those who have

(01:18:53):
been waiting. We appreciate everybody's patienttoday. And just one more thing on
the the Trey Hendrickson story, whichwe talked extensively about yesterday. We'll get
to all of that between now andsix o'clock tonight. We're at Twin Peaks
in Westchester on ESPN fifteen thirty CincinnatiSports Station, Cincinnati's estion twenty nine after

(01:19:14):
five Where at Twin Peaks in Westchester. This is esp AT fifteen thirty on
Molegar. We Uh, are welistening to music from the Rocky fo thing
Wow, thro Westerhide getting it done. Let's see. I appreciate everybody who's
been waiting patiently. Mike, goahead. You're on ESPN fifteen thirty.
Thanks Mo, welcome. You seemto be extremely upset with the mister Hendrickson's

(01:19:41):
agent, and possibly his motivations werewanting to leave Cincinnati. I wonder what
that was about. I'm not upsetwhat's going on there in the background,
Mike well Man, I'm not upset. I have an opinion about it.
I think what Trey Hendrickson is doingand what I think what his agent is

(01:20:03):
doing is stupid. And since theagent represents Trey, then by extension,
Trey looks stupid. I think whatthey are doing is ridiculous. I don't
blame anybody for trying to improve theirfinancial or professional situation. Trey had a
terrific season last year, had oneof the best seasons any Bengals defensive lineman

(01:20:26):
has ever had. I cannot blamehim at all for coming to the Bengals
and going, look, I'd liketo get paid more and like a longer
term deal. But I could certainlyunderstand why the Bengals would say, yeah,
that's not gonna happen. And Ican't believe that Trey and his agent
don't understand that. Yeah I did. I could get into a long talk

(01:20:47):
with you about that time. Well, am I wrong? Am I wrong?
No? No, no, No, you're not right. You're not
wrong at all on the level you'retalking about it. On that we have
no idea what kind of personal thingsare going on with him, whether he
wants to stay here, whether hisfamily. You know, we just don't
know what the real motivations are.But on the surface, yeah, I

(01:21:10):
agree with you, it seems goofy, But I mean, all I can
do. All I can do isis make comments based on what I know.
What I know is that he hasrequested a trade that has been confirmed
by his agent. His agent hasalso said he wants to stay in Cincinnati.
What he has going on, Ihaven't seens. I don't know.

(01:21:32):
All I can do is make acomment based on what's out there. And
what's out there is a player whonine months ago signed to play for the
team in twenty twenty five, thenasking at this stage of his career to
get twenty twenty six and beyond isridiculous. And any criticism aimed at the

(01:21:53):
Bengals for how they're handling this,I don't get it. I don't relate
to it. I don't understand itwouldn't on again on that surface, I
wouldn't, but I maybe I'm gettinga little too deep into it. I
don't need to do that, butI understand where you're coming from on that.
I was real happy regarding the draftwell tonight, real quick with the

(01:22:15):
Reds. Got a good matchup tonightof Alldi and Ashcraft. That should be
a dandy hope, So yeah,should be uh Graham Ashcraft has We've seen
flashes. We could say this abouta lot of guys on the staff,
but unfortunately at times they've only beenflashes. I need more than just flashes
against a good Texas team tonight.Yeah, and of all these pretty studley

(01:22:40):
guys. Record doesn't show it,but he's e R does. I was
real happy with the Chargers pick lastnight. They looked out and got that
Debt. Dude looks like a guaranteedalmost winter that all kids from Notre Dame.
He looks. I don't know ifhe was considered the best tackle coming
out, but he certainly got impressivecredentials. So I was happy for Dustin

(01:23:05):
Herbert to finally get somebody to protecthim, just like we're trying to have
for jail. Yeah. No,I mean he regarded by nearly every analyst
as the best tackle. Many hadhim as a top five player in the
draft. Jim Harbaugh came to townand instantly started talking about the offensive line,
and so I don't think it wasat all surprising that that's where they

(01:23:28):
went with the fifth overall pick theNiners. I didn't get that pick.
Well, this pinsall guy out ofFlorida, and everything I've been reading from
the guys who really know what they'retalking about, they're equally perplexed by this
pick for the for the Niners.Not that anybody in Cincinnati cares about that,

(01:23:48):
but I just wanted to share thatwith I think I think what it
reflected was that they're not going topay Brandon Ayuk, right, Yeah,
now I saw it. Think itwas I think it was Matt Miller.
They have at some point they allrun together. I think it was Matt
Miller of ESPN this morning who saidit was a bit of a reach,
not because of the position, buthe just had other wide receivers slotted ahead

(01:24:12):
of him who are now going tobe drafted tonight. But I think what
it does is it suggests the fortynine ers kind of like they the Bengals
with t Higgins. They're not goingto go a long term with with IU.
Yeah you take now, Now,Andy Reid and the Treats are taking
some criticisms for this up ex Worthyguy, and I guess they're trying to

(01:24:36):
rekindle the Tyreek hiltype because the guyis blinding class. But he's they're taking
a lot of heat on this pickmofight. I guess one sixty five that
is pretty well. Yeah. Imean, look, there's a really good
chance that even if you think thisis a bit of a reach. So

(01:24:58):
you're talking about Xavier Worthy from Texaswho ran the fastest forty in like twenty
twenty one years at the combine.Look who's throwing him the ball. So
there's a very good chance that evenif you think it's a reach, his
just physical profile is going to addup to proving to be a pretty good
pick. But I think with whatthey did to get him, trading up
again, you'll have a lot ofthe same analysts who say that San Francisco

(01:25:20):
reached with Piersoll three picks later,who will say, you know, you
could have gotten a really good widereceiver, a high end wide receiver relative
to draft position that Patrick Mahomes couldthrow to and not have to trade up
to get it. You could havesat there at thirty two and let one
of the guys who's going to comeoff the board tonight, you know,

(01:25:41):
be there if you need a receiver. But you know, just watching the
highlights and watching what he did ontape late last night, the dudes an
athlete, and then you start tothink about what he could do with Patrick
Mahomes, and boy, that's something, Mike. I got a run man,
thank you, you know, quicklyhere because we are late on the

(01:26:02):
Trey Hendrickson thing. I beat thisto death yesterday. There's really no new
news on it, I know forsome Look, Trey's a very good player,
very good player by all accounts ofgood dude too. So you'll have
folks that will say something along thelines of, well, look, he
had a great year. He's beena very good player. You got to

(01:26:23):
reward him for that, because that'sthe nice thing to do, it's the
right thing to do. I'm notinterested in the Bengals being generous. I'm
interested in them being smart. Whatthey did with Trey Hendrickson last July was
really smart. All Right, We'regonna lock him up for one more year,
give him a little bit of asecurity, and now they've got their

(01:26:45):
best outside rusher, one of thebest in the sport, on a pretty
good value contract. Trey Hendrickson.Again, he and his agent had every
opportunity last year to say, youknow what, we're not gonna do this.
We're gonna see what we can puton the field in twenty twenty three
and then with a year left onthe contract, revisit this and then maybe
get something long term and get somethingthat's going to pay more. But you

(01:27:08):
know, I'm not interested in theBengals doing what's generous or what's right by
the player. I'm interested in themdoing what's right by the franchise. Sometimes
what's right by the franchise is atodds with what is best for the player.
I want the Bengals to put themselvesand the overall health of the franchise
first ahead of anything with the player. I want them to be smarter more

(01:27:30):
than I want them to be generous. Twenty three away from six o'clock five
point three, seven four nine,fifteen thirty is our phone number. It's
the michelob Ultra five o'clock Happy hour. We're here at Twin Peaks in Westchester
on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station. Cincinnati's ESPN sports headlines are a service
of Kelsey Chevrolet, home of lifetimepower train protection and guarantee credit approval from

(01:27:56):
their family to yours for life kelseyshevdot com. The NFL Draft resumes here
shortly. ESPN radios coverage starts atsix o'clock as soon as our show is
over. Bengals to be on theclock with the forty ninth overall pick,
and then two picks in round two, numbers eighty and ninety seven. This

(01:28:18):
is awful news. Corey Cunningham playedhis college football at the University of Cincinnati
and after a couple of years,transition to the offensive line, where he
played well enough to become an AllAAC performer. He was a team captain.
Was eventually drafted by the Arizona Cardinalsin twenty eighteen. Played in thirty

(01:28:41):
one games over five seasons, mostrecently with the New York Giants in twenty
twenty two. He was found deadpassed away earlier this week, and excuse
me, the news came out thismorning at the very young tender age of
twenty eight years old. Awful newsfor the UC football family and obviously those
who loved to loved and were closeto Corey Cunningham. Meanwhile, the Reds

(01:29:06):
and Rangers hook up tonight in Texas. Eight oh five is your first pitch.
The game is live on seven hundredWLW first to three. Red's trying
to bounce back after losing the Philliesyesterday afternoon. Red starting lineup a service
of made well restoration. Let's hopethat this starting lineup proves to be made

(01:29:27):
well against Nathan Valdi tonight, WillBenson, La de la Cruz and Spencer
Steer one through three, Cees Stevensonin India four through six, Candelario Espinal
and Fairchild seven through nine. Yourd H tonight is Jonathan India. Graham
Ashcraft throws tonight for Cincinnati. Thatwould be it. Excuse me for your

(01:29:49):
local sports headlines. I mean,just you know, quickly, one more
time on the on the on theTrey Hendrickson thing, like I came off
as I guess upset talking about Treyyesterday. It's it's not upset. I'm
amused. I'm sort of amused bythe idea. Of well, we want
more money, and we want moreyears, and we want more security,

(01:30:13):
and if we don't get it,we're just not gonna take any money because
we're gonna retire. That doesn't,That doesn't, mesh. I mean,
the Bengals have deserved and have earneda lot of criticism for some of the
decisions they've made as it's related toplayers that they just wanted to take care
of or just kept around when theywere a little bit past their prime.

(01:30:36):
We're all ways away from twenty twentysix. I just for anybody looking at
this through the lens of the Bengalsnot getting this right, What is the
harm in watching Trey Hendrickson play thisseason, knowing he's under contract for next

(01:30:56):
season and using the time in frontof us, of which there's a lot
to make a determination about whether ornot you want to invest in him.
Even further, twenty twenty six isforever away at muleger on Twitter our poll
question thanks to a United Heartland insurance, it's still pretty damn close to fifty

(01:31:21):
to fifty. If Amrius Mims endsup being Andre Smith two point zero,
well, last night's pick be considereda success. If you said I got
Andre Smith. Like the twenty eleventhrough twenty fifteen versions of Andre Smith at
right tackle for the Bengals for thenext four to five years. I'm signing
up for that. I'm also signingup. We talked about like the Bengals

(01:31:44):
being kind of risky here and beingaggressive. I'm I could very very easily
sign off on trading up to takeJohnny Newton and think about, like if
that were to be the case,because I don't think he's going to be
there at forty nine. Johnny Newtonis regarded by most as the second best

(01:32:08):
defensive tackle prospect in this draft,kid out out of Illinois. By the
way, for what it's worth,our buddy Joe Goodberry last week told us
he thinks that Newton is the betterprospect. They don't get Murphy last night.
They do get a lineman that theycoveted, a lineman that they think
has a lot of upside and anextraordinarily high ceiling. Chris Jenkins is also

(01:32:31):
obviously a name that has been talkedabout as maybe being there at forty nine.
But think about what you would feellike if you're a Bengals fan if
you get a Marius mims an offensivelineman, a tackle that clearly had a
first round grade, and then youcould get the second best defensive tackle in
this draft. It'd had to tradeup in all likelihood to get him,

(01:32:55):
but you could definitely sign me upfor that. It is twelve minutes away
from six o'clock. We're a twinPeaks in Westchester. ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati
Sports Station,