The Opening Day Football Show with James Rapien -- 3/27/25

James Rapien from the Locked On Bengals Podcast fills in for Mo on the Opening Day Football Show! He talks all things Bengals off-season including what the Bengals may do in the upcoming draft, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins new contracts, and of course, Joe Burrow.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh, No one covers the Bengals like ESPN fifteen thirty,
Cincinnati's sports station.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
What'ked up everyone?

Speaker 1 (00:09):
I have the Opening Tho. I'm James or Informo with
your justiness about year ESPs his team thirty. It is
great to be with you on this awesome, awesome Thursday.
Obviously it's a holiday in the Queen City. Hopefully you're
having a wonderful day. And well, I know I am

(00:30):
because I get to talk football with you. It's been
a while since I've sat in this chair. It's always
an honor to do so. And yes, Opening Day is
a huge tradition in the Queen City. But the tradition
unlike any other, is well. For the better part of
the past decade, I've done these Opening Day Football shows
and the Opening Day Football Show lives on this year

(00:51):
as well. And so excited to be with you. Drew
Wester Heidi is Today's producer, his first Opening Day Football show,
and let's dive in and we're going to talk a
lot of Bengals over the course of this show. And yeah,
if you're just joining us, well get ready because we're
going to be talking football. Because it's the Opening Day
Football show. And let's start with the philosophy that I

(01:15):
have this time of year. And obviously it's March twenty
seventh and the NFL Draft less than a month away,
And when I go to pay Course Stadium the day
of the draft, I usually am on with mo right
here on these airwaves beforehand, and I have by then,
I have a really good idea of who the Bengals
are going to pick, and I can usually narrow it down.

(01:39):
Like last year, Very honed in on a Marius Mimes
by then, and the year before that, Very honed in
on what they can do, and obviously they ended up
picking Miles Murphy. The year before that, Dax Hill was
someone I mentioned to Moe on these airwaves. The point
is is things are going to evolve and change over
the next few weeks, and my approach this time of

(02:03):
year is to kind of roll with it, if that
makes sense. And by rolling with it, we're less than
a month out, and I'm open to the Bengals taking
a plethora of positions with their first round pick, just
with their first rounder, like a lot of people view

(02:28):
the draft, especially with the Bengals activity or inactivity and
free agency, however you want to phrase that, and they say, well, James,
you have to go trenches at seventeen. You have to
go guard, you have to go defensive line, you have
to go offensive line. And I look at this draft
and I'm like, yeah, but safety could be the best
player available, or linebacker could be the best player available,

(02:49):
or tight end could be the best player available, or
don't be shocked, there's a scenario where running back could
be the best player available. Now, it's not a likely scenario,
but it's a scenario. And I'm gonna get to more
on that specific spot in a few minutes. The bottom
line is the philosophy I had this time of year,

(03:09):
and I really need to get shirts printed. You draft players,
not positions. The Bengals need to get a really, really
really good football player at seventeen, period, Like, that's where
it begins and ends. They need to get a really
high end football player at seventeen. What position, Well, I'm

(03:31):
not going to tell you how to think, but I'm
going to tell them how to think, because it's exactly
how they should think. Is the position should be open.
It's about getting the best football player. You know why
the Bengals went nine to eight last year? Because they
didn't have enough good football players on their roster. That's it.

(03:51):
They need quality football players, they need quality talent. They
need talent that's going to make an impact, especially with
the seventeenth overall pick. And so when you pigeonhole yourself
into oh my goodness, we better get trenches. Oh my goodness,
we got to do this well. Ideally, yeah, ideally they
would get a blue chip pass rusher or a blue
chip offensive lineman in a perfect world, ladies and gentlemen,

(04:13):
you and I both know the world isn't always perfect.
Maybe that really high end blue chip talent is a
safety or a linebacker, or a running back or a
tight end. Guess what, So what you take it? You
take that position because you're not drafting for position. You're
drafting the player. In three years, no one's going to

(04:36):
care if you take the right running back or the
right tight end, or the right pass rusher, or the
right cornerback or the right safety. It's about getting it right.
That's why it's all about the player. If you draft
the right player, who cares what position? In every single
year it's a tradition. You want to talk about traditions.
Today's Opening Day a tradition unlike any other me having

(04:57):
to tell the world that you draft players, not position,
and what you'll get. And James Arpine in form today
here on ESPN fifteen thirty, it's the opening day football show. Well,
one thing you'll get are the people that's, oh well,
and they think they're so smart. Oh, James, well what
about quarterback? If it's not about position, why don't you
take a quarterback at seventeen? And it's like, well, yeah,

(05:19):
you got to use a little common sense. They do
have Joe Burrow, Like a little common sense goes a
long way here. But you look at the Bengals roster.
They didn't go nine to eight last year because of
Joe Burrow or Jamar Chase or Trey Hendrickson or t Higgins.
Those guys played and put them in contention. Those guys

(05:40):
played like stars. Orlando Brown Junior when he's healthy. They
went nine to eight and not twelve and five, not
because of their stars, but because of players ten through
fifty three on the roster. So could they use more
high end talent? Absolutely, we know that I don't really
care what position it is, and everyone else does. Everyone

(06:02):
else is worried about it. I damn sure hope that
the Bengals aren't, because it's it's tough when you're drafting seventeen.
It's much easier to hone in on a position and
have tunnel vision when you're drafting ninth or sixth, especially
in a draft where if they were drafting sixth this year,
let's say there would be a high end trench player available,
there would be maybe it would be Will Campbell could

(06:25):
certainly be that, maybe it would be Mason Graham. But
to me, it's it's pretty simple here. If a Malachi
starts as available, well, yeah, he's a safety. He's a
twenty one year old safety from Georgia. That's awesome. He
can play free safety, he can play strong safety, he
could play in the slot. He's going to stabilize the

(06:47):
back end of your defense from day one. He's going
to start day one. If he's there at seventeen, it's
gonna be tempting to take him. Johan Campbell another guy,
twenty one year old buyingbacker out of Alabama six three
two forty four. He's someone that could certainly be a
quality linebacker for you, give you some pressure on the

(07:07):
edge and is someone that should be able to be
a versatile piece boom right away for you obviously open
to trenches, Like if they believe in Mike Green at
a pro day this week, great, but they might be
all in on Will Johnson the corner from Michigan that
hasn't worked out yet. That is a stud twenty two
years old, six two two oh two, measurables their tape there.

(07:33):
If he's there, it's hard to pass on him. It is.
And that's where I'm at. I cannot be and it's
literally every single year. I'm not not going to be
the person that says, oh, well they better take trenches.
Oh well, it's one in the trenches. Yeah, that honestly

(07:55):
is It's true, like you have to be competent in
the tree. No one's debating that, and that's why I
think they should have been more aggressive and free agency
to address them up to this point. But for me,
really really, and I gotta be careful here because I'm
not trying to insult anyone, but I think it's cave

(08:18):
manish to say, oh, wells trenches, trenches, and that's it, like, yeah,
that's what the guy at the local bar says, which
is fine, but I don't want him picking players for
my favorite team. Like, if you're just gonna do that, well,
then just go be okay with Billy Price every single year,
be okay with Cedric Obahey. The bottom line is if

(08:43):
they don't get the player right, who gives a damn
about the position. And I always go back to that
and this idea that, oh, well, you have to invest
in the trenches. Absolutely you do with the right pieces.
Jackson Carman never should have been a Bengal. They never
should have picked him, at least not in the second round.
Maybe in the fourth, certainly not in the second. In

(09:07):
the moment they picked him in the second, it's like, ah,
this is this isn't gonna be good. And that's the problem.
That's the problem with that logic, And you can get
it wrong with any position, there's no doubt. That's why
you have to evaluate the players and stick to your
board and go with what your board's saying. And that's

(09:30):
where I'm at when it comes to the draft. Like,
if James Pierce Junior is eighth on your board the
Tennessee edge Rusher, great if he's there at seventeen. If
he's sixteenth on your board and let's say Ashton Gent
is there and he's in your seventh player on your board.
Or Kelvin Banks is there out of Texas and he's

(09:51):
the fifth player on your board, or insert whoever you
want to. Colston Loveland out of Michigan is there and
he's seventh on your board. You take the player, you
take the player. You need better players, you need good
football players. And it's really simple. The draft is simple.
It's an inexact science, but it's simple. And the teams

(10:13):
that don't reach, that don't have tunnel vision, that look
at their board and they look at the draft and
they take the right player, Well, those are the teams
that are going to have success. Those are the teams
that are going to get it right in the draft.
And the teams that say, oh, well we have this
big need and we have to fill it early in
the draft, those are the teams that are going to

(10:35):
get burned. You just are. And that is something I
don't expect from the Bengals. I expect them to go
best player available. And this is just a little PSA
to kind of set the tone for draft season. And
you better believe I'm gonna be going hard on the draft.
Over the next four weeks here on all of all

(10:55):
my platforms, whether I'm in here for MO or visiting
with MO and a guest on a show right here
on the ESPN fifteen thirty, or Bengals Talk dot com,
the Lockdown Bengals podcast, Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube. You
better believe we're going hard in the draft and draft
commandment number one, and there aren't many because I'm wide open,

(11:16):
always open to essentially any position. You draft players, not positions.
Say it with me now, draft players not positions. Up next,
we'll continue this discussion with a specific player that probably

(11:36):
won't be there at seventeen, but if he's there at seventeen,
he absolutely should be the pick because there aren't many
scenarios where he is not the best player available. We
will get to that as we roll on. I'm James
rpene INFROMO. This is the Opening day football show, a

(11:56):
tradition unlike any other. Thank you so much for joining
us today. We'll can you next on ESPN fifteen thirty.

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This report is sponsored by Rapid Radios. Rapid Radios are
instant push to talk walkie talkies offering national LTE coverage
and Welcome back to Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm James
Rapine informo. This is the Opening Day Football Show. Happy
Opening Day to you and your family and friends. And

(13:01):
obviously it's a holiday in the Queen City and well
myself along with Drew Wester Heidi Today's producer, we're certainly
a celebrating in style here at the SBN fifteen thirty studios.
Let's get into a really important discussion we need to have.
And I threw up this mock draft on Tuesday night.

(13:23):
Threw up this mock draft on Tuesday night. In its
draft season, and we're going to talk a lot about
the draft throughout the show until six o'clock, and hopefully
you're prepared for that. But it's mock draft simulator season.
I do these mock drafts regularly. Most of them, no
one sees. Most of them. I don't put out there,
and I do have to learn the players, get to
know the players, to research players. It's kind of a

(13:44):
fun way to do it because let's say you get
to round one and you're at pick seventeen. You're like, oh, well,
let's go this way, and then how does the draft
look if they go this route in that rounte and
you just you start to get to know guys. I
start to get to know Jeff your Mass out of
Oregon in the fourth round, or rj Open from Notre Dame,
or Junior Tafuna from Utah, prospects that no one's talking about.

(14:08):
And I don't spend three hundred and sixty five days
a year on the draft. I can't. I love the draft.
This is my time to crash course, learn these players,
form opinions on these players, talk to smart people that
know and study the draft year round about these players,
and then for my own opinions and guess what, that's
what a lot of people do this time of year.

(14:28):
I do it. It's no different and where I'm still
in the process of forming, like really really strong opinions
about these guys. And that's why I'm open. I'm like
Chad in his prime. I'm wide open right now. Two
different players at pick seventeen. And there are a lot
of people that had that tunnel vision of it's got

(14:50):
to be trenches, that it's got to be pass rushing,
it's got to be guard and that's just a dangerous
game to play in. It's a dangerous sandbox to play in,
especially when you look at what could be their safety.
Very much in the mixed. Linebacker very much in the mix,
tight end very much in the mix. And So this
mock draft that I did on Tuesday and I put
it out there, I tweeted it out. Some of you

(15:12):
listening might have already been aware because the caption was simple,
roast me, because I put the screen grab out there,
and it's a pro football focused mock draft. Ashtrion Gent
out of Boise State, the star running back, failed to
pick seventy astroon genty, and I knew what the reaction
would be, But it doesn't matter what board you look at,

(15:34):
what big board. Like, let's just say I'll pull up
the PFF big board right now, and I'll tell you
Ashton Gent is fifth on their big board. Fifth. Let's
pull up Dane Brugler's big board and let's just see.
What do you think, Drew, you think that Ashton Gent

(15:56):
is a top flight five players well on Dane Brugler's
big board. Oh what do you know? Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter,
Jalen Walker, Mason Graham, Ashton Genty fifth on Dan Brugler's
big board, ahead of Will Campbell, ahead of armand Membo,
ahead of Tyler Warren, ahead of Colston Lovelin, ihead of
Mike Green. I picked Ashton Genty, and you would have

(16:18):
thought that I sent the Bengals to the CFL. People
were like, how in the world, James could you pick
a running back? There's no way. Don't you like Chase Brown,
Ladies and gentlemen, you draft players, not positions. You cannot

(16:40):
go into the draft and say we are not taking
this player with a first round pick if he's high
on your board. In spoiler, Ashton Genty is going to
be super high on the Bengals final draft board. He's
going to be super high because he's an elite playmaker
that he had just was awesome at Boise State. And

(17:05):
that's what's really tough for me is when I see
these people that are like, oh, it has to be
a certain way, Like I just put up NFL dot
Com and I didn't know who Lancer a Line would
have compared Ashton Genty too, but it's Ladanian Tomlinson. The
point is is, if Ashtrion Genty became the next Ladanian Tomlinson,

(17:28):
the Bengals should gritty their way to the podium and
then on the way back they should thank the NFL
for being dumb enough to let him get to seventeen.
That's what should happen. And instead, there are so many
people that are so focused on trenches and oh my goodness,

(17:49):
what are they gonna do here that they would pass
on an elite blue chip talent because it doesn't necessarily
fit the need on the roster. You get the hell
out of here with that. That is the worst logic.
Like people get on the Bengals for drafting poorly. One
of the biggest mistakes they could make is passing on

(18:09):
a blue chip talent because it doesn't fit their exact
roster needs because it's not perfect. Okay, so what you
don't think that this roster could use another blue chip talent?
Look around? Why do you think it was so important
that they pay Tea not just Jamar? Why did I

(18:33):
enter this offseason and say, hey, you better pay Tray too.
Would be much easier to not pay thirty year old
Tray Hendrickson if you had multiple blue chip pass rushers,
which I get in an ideal world you would have that.
But if there isn't one of those available and there's
a blue chip running back available, when you go with

(18:53):
the running back we just watched, We just watched the
Philadelphia Eagles win the Super Bowl. Do you think they
win the Super Bowl without Saquon Barkley? Like, really ask
yourself that the Chiefs committed every resource they could in
the Super Bowl to stopping Saquon Barkley. Saquon Barkley was

(19:14):
dominating all season long, would have broken the rushing record
had they let him play that final game of the
regular season. Do you really think they win the Super
Bowl without Saquon Barkley? Oh but James they didn't have
the offense. They had a really good offensive line. And oh,
so you're saying that Saquon Barkley is not an elite
running back now, that he's not a special talent, that

(19:37):
he wasn't a game changer for the Eagles. Come on,
sometimes things are simple. Blue chip player, blue chip talent
somehow falls to seventeen. You take him. I don't care.
If it's Will Campbell, I don't care. If it's Ashton Gent,
I don't care if it's Will Johnson, the corner out

(19:58):
of Michigan. Will Campbell, by the way, projects to be
a guard at the NFL, so it would fit perfectly
for the Bengals needs. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't
matter if it's Mason Graham. If Travis Hunter fell to seventeen,
the Bengals better pick him, And you'd say, well, yeah,

(20:20):
of course, why wouldn't they. It's the same thing here.
It's no different. If one of these top guys is
there at seventeen, it is a no brainer. And I'm
not overthinking it, out thinking it, going to complicate it
by saying, oh, man running back, I do not care.

(20:44):
I want blue chip talent. That's it. And odds are
the Bengals aren't going to get a blue chip talent
at seventeen. I hate to tell that to you. You
talk the NFL evaluators, and again I'm early in my
process here, James are pen in form. It's the Opening
Day Football show. Early on in my process here. The
next few weeks are gonna be crash course draft wise.

(21:06):
But most evaluators have like thirteen first round grades on
these guys and then it drops to the next bucket,
so to speak. So the Bengals, if you can get
a player that's in that first group of players because
a couple of quarterbacks go, because there's a reach, because

(21:27):
these teams overthink it with a guy like Ashtroon Gent
because that could happen. There could be teams that say, man,
he's awesome, but you know what positional value, We're gonna
go with McMillan the wide receiver out of Arizona, or
we're gonna go with Sjamar Stewart out of Texas A
and m He's just a really good traitsy pick that
didn't produce, but we're we're gonna roll with him, all right.

(21:49):
You know what, Tyler Booker, didn't he didn't grade out
well from a pre draft testing standpoint, but we're really
in on him, and you could look up and maybe
Jahad Campbell goes, Shador Sanders goes, maybe Matthew Golden goes
earlier than expected, and you'll look up in boom boom,

(22:11):
just like that. Ashton Gent's there at seventeen. They better
pick him. If he's there at seventeen, that's it. I mean,
they better pick him. And I could read these evaluations.
Here's Dane Brugler with his low center of gravity and explosiveness.
Gent has Dan Kennedy and Kenny ability to stay afloat

(22:34):
through contact and be elusive in space. He led the
FBS this season with one hundred and fifty one forced
missed tackles, fifty seven more than the number two player
on the list. He trusts his vision following blocks, but
instead of predetermining his path, he displays outstanding reactionary reads
to sort, cut, and create. Had twelve carries of fifty
plus yards in twenty twenty four. No other FBS player

(22:56):
had more than five. Lancerlin Gent plays a position that
has become devalued on draft day, but his unique talent
and resurgence of the run game in the NFL should
force teams to reconsider that factor when weighing his value.
He's the ultimate yardage creator, with the talent and skill
set to succeed independent of the quality of his blocking.

(23:18):
Gent speed forces linebackers to flow hard outside, creating cutback
lanes and chunk runs, while his vision, balance and elusiveness
get it done along the interior. The threat of what
he can do on the ground should create ideal play
action opportunities for his team, allowing his next player caller
to say, unburden a quarterback or any other passer being
asked to shoulder too much of the offense. He's compact

(23:42):
and muscular, but there are some minor concerns surrounding his
massive workload. This top flight running back is capable of
becoming the face of an offense in a league where
the pendulum might be swinging back to the running game.
Genty has future all pro talent. That's what I want
in the first round. I don't give a damn if
it's a running back. Do you hear that? Take pressure
off of Joe Burrow at explosiveness help a run game

(24:06):
in a significant way, even if the blocking isn't there.
Guess what everyone says, you can find a running back
anywhere ninety nine percent of the time. That's true because
running backs are dependent on the blocking. Once in a while,
a special running back comes around where it's a independent
of the blocking that could overcome it. Ashtingenty projects to
be one of those guys. That's why I would be

(24:29):
in on him, because he's a special talent. As good
as this running back class is. Ashton Genty is head
and shoulders above the rest. That's why it's very, very simple.
The Bengals need great players, and if they have a
chance to get a great player, I'm in and the

(24:49):
Bengals should be into. So yeah, don't overthink it. Don't
look at it as oh man running back. If he's there,
they should dance to the podium wave bye bye, because
that's what Ashton Genty and Jamar Chase and t Higgins
and Chase Brown are going to do in twenty twenty five.

(25:12):
Let's discuss Chase Brown a little bit. How would this
impact Chase Brown, James or pen In for mode today?
If the Bengals take a running back, whether it is
Ashton Genty or any of these other running backs, that
are in this class. It's a good thing for Chase
Brown workload. Did you hear that the one concern for
Lancer Line with genty was workload. You don't want to
run these running backs into the ground. Chase Brown was

(25:34):
playing far too many snaps last year, far too many
towards the end of the year. You have to be
able to split guys and if you can, can you
imagine the Bengals having a guy like Gent who's explosive
and powerful, and then another guy like Chase Brown, whose
explosive runs hard, is going to get yards that aren't

(25:54):
necessarily there, is going to break tackles as well. This
is how you take pressure off of Joe. This is
how you take pressure off of a passing game that
is the focal point. And yeah, they're going to be
a pass first offense. Guess what Gent can catch, Chase
Brown can catch. These guys can make plays in the
passing game as well. It doesn't make sense to me

(26:16):
to completely dismiss any position at this point outside of
quarterback at seventy really in punter, but like corner, linebacker,
defensive line, offensive line, safety. I think I said linebacker,
but I'll say it again. Pass rusher in general. Maybe
it's one of these hybrid guys that is a linebacker

(26:38):
slash pass rusher. I'm open. You need game changers, I'd
say it, that's what I want. I want game changers.
I want playmakers. If you get that, then everyone should
be on board with it. Remember draft players, not positions.
I'm James Rpene Infomo. It's draft season. Maybe I love it.

(27:00):
It's the opening day a football show. We'll keep things rolling.
Next on Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen.

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Speaker 1 (27:44):
Opening day of football show. Off James Rapine and this
is ESNA fifteen thirty, Happy opening Day. I've spent a
lot of time talking about the draft that will certainly
continue here. But I do think when you look at
the NIGHTTI Bengals and what they've done or haven't done,
it's been a mixed bag. And it's been a mixed

(28:09):
bag because you get the T N Jamar deals done
huge deals, important deals, and at the same time, what
have they truly added to their roster? Truly added? And
you say, James, what do you what do you mean added?

Speaker 2 (28:26):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (28:27):
Added? So they added TJ. Slayton, They swapped out Orrin
Burks for a Keem Davis Gather. They brought back Joseph
o'sion BJ Hill. They added some a JP Ryan, but
he's really replacing Zach Moss. They brought back Marco Wilson,

(28:51):
they added Lucas Patrick, but they subtracted Alex Kappa. And
you get my point here, it's been tough to look
at this team and say, all, right, well, where did
they get better? And clearly what they're saying is we
got better by looking at what our twenty twenty four

(29:16):
team was, and yeah, it was all about the coaching.
That's it. They're saying that their coaches and their coaching
staff is going to change things on defense now, Golden
Jerry Montgomery, those guys are going to change things on defense,
and then on offense. The Scott Peters tweak as offensive

(29:39):
line coach is going to make a big difference. And
maybe it's true, but I think that's a heck of
a risk. I can't think that was the case where
it's like, all right, well that's it, that's all you're
going to do. You're not going to go out and

(30:01):
replace Kapa with a true starting guard. And I think
maybe that still happens, but I expected it to happen
early in free agency, like day one of the negotiating window,
which is well over two weeks ago, now almost three
weeks ago, and instead we're still here looking like, all right,
well you released Alex Kappa before free agency? Why has

(30:21):
this not been fixed? Why has this not been solved?
Aggressively addressing your weaknesses makes sense? And what the Bengals'
actions have told you, at least to this point is, yeah,
we know we needed a nose tackle, but we really
like Joseph Osaia, we think bj Hill is a good player.

(30:42):
We needed a backup running back, but really what we
needed is a new direction at certain spots of our
coaching staff. It's what their actions have told you. And
so the Bengals are truly banking on their actions of
because their actions are showing it. Banking on these coaches.

(31:05):
We'll see. It's a bold strategy. I think talent is needed,
an infusion of talent. That's why earlier in the show
I talked about Ashtrion Genty a little bit. It's like, man,
you could use another blue chip player, you could at
any position. And so that's where I look at this
and I'm like, uh, we'll see, we'll see. And what

(31:26):
I don't want them to do is be in a
position now or they have to force guard, or they
have to force defensive tackle. And I don't think they
necessarily feel that way. They drafted to last year edge rusher.
Ideally you get something done with Trey Hendrickson. And so
we'll see what they do. But that that's what it

(31:47):
is is actions speak much much louder than words, and
their actions are saying, yeah, we went and got t J.
Slayton and Orton Burks and Joseph was signed, b J Hilns,
maj P Ryan and Marco Wilson and Lucas Patrick. But
Lucas Patrick replacing someone, Mark Wilson bringing back some, a J.
P Ron replacing someone, and it's like a one for
one swab. I'm not sure someone Jpron is better than

(32:10):
Zach Moss when both are healthy. I think you can
make the case that Alex Kap is better than Lucas
Patrick when both are healthy. Lucas Patrick's more versatile, costs less,
but I'm not sure that Alex Kappa replacements there right now.
And so for a team that should have been looking
to add to their roster, it's it's kind of like,
all right, well, you go from Akeem Davis Gaither to

(32:30):
Orren Burks. Maybe that's an upgrade. You go from Joseph
Oside to Joseph Oside, BJ Hill to BJ Hill. The
big addition was TJ. Slayton, and I like TJ and
I think he's going to make a difference. But it's TJ.
Slayton plus Al Golden plus Jerry Montgomery enough. We'll see.
The Bengals are banking on it being enough when you
combine it with the draft. We'll see if it is.

(32:50):
We'll continue the conversation as we roll on It's the
Opening Day football show. James R. Pen In promo on
ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 3 (32:58):
Thirty ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 2 (33:03):
Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center for National Doctors Day,
we honor the UC Health physicians who are leading breakthroughs
for better tomorrows. Learn more at UCHealth dot com. No accidents,
but plenty of slowdowns around town due to opening day festivities.
That including on seventh between Central Avenue and Broadway. On
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Speaker 1 (33:36):
One hour down. The opening day foot CROs shows going
now a tradition unlike any other. Thank you so much
for making us a part of your day. For this
first hour, plenty to get to. I'm going to talk
about Joe Burrow coming up. We're going to continue the
Bengals conversation, discuss the draft. We're gonna have a lot
of draft between now and six o'clock, because why wouldn't
we have a lot of draft between now and six o'clock.

(33:58):
That's part of the fun when it to the Opening
Day Football show, and we are certainly happy that you
are here. Drew wester Heidi is today's producer. I'm James
Orpin Infomo. We will continue with some thoughts on Joe
Burrow coming up next. We'll do that. We have some
draft like I mentioned, plus at some point I'm hoping

(34:21):
to sneak in a little college hoops as well. We'll
see if there's time for that. But we will talk
Joe Burrow next on Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Genesis Time.
Let's keep things going here on Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
I'm James Inframoe Opening Day Football right now, Football on

(34:45):
Opening Day. It's a timeless tradition here on ESPN fifteen thirty.
He've been doing it for years, and I think they
skip me one year. One year I had to skip
the Opening Day Football show. But I'm back. I'm here.
True wester Heidi is here, Today's producer, and we are
ready to talk ball. Talk to a ton of NFL

(35:05):
draft have more NFL Draft coming up in just a bit.
But let's talk about the most important football player in
the city. One of the most important football players on
the Planet, Joseph Lee Burrow. Joe Burrow is to me

(35:26):
certainly on track to be the best player in Bengals history,
and I know Bengals history. Well, this isn't me being
a young analyst that hasn't done his homework, done his research.
If you don't believe me, check out Enter the Jungle
wherever books are sold. Yes, that's the book that I authored,
and you can check it out, Like I said, wherever

(35:47):
books are sold, including Cincinnati Bengals book dot com and
wherever you get your books. But the reason I bring
that up is because I've been underwhelmed by what the
Bengals have added or not added free agency. And that
doesn't mean I don't like their moves like T J. Slaton,
I like Lucas Patrick, I like Orrin Burk's I like

(36:07):
like I like the players they've kept or added Joseph aside,
BJ Hills, so' my JPR and Marco Wilson. So this
isn't me saying, oh, well, they shouldn't have done those moves,
because that's not the case. But I thought that they
would add another pass rusher starting guard, and obviously they
resign Jamar Chase and T Higgins and that's huge to
get those deals done. And what I and Mike siki,

(36:30):
I should throw him in there as well, And so
they make those moves. And Joe Burrow talked about these
moves last week with Jeff Hobson a Bengals dot Com
And I'm gonna read a couple of quotes about that.
And this is after t Higgins and Jamar Chase signed
their contracts. Quote and this is Joe Burrow said, quote.
I think everybody was confident we'd get Jamar done, but

(36:52):
to be able to get Tea done along with that
speaks volumes about ownership, Duke Zach and their ability to
get those things done. When you can resign guys like
that and keep them around for an extended period of time,
that gives you the best chance to go out and
win Super Bowls and win a lot of games and
win division championships. We got two of our best players resigned.

(37:13):
That's a big deal. Plus Mike g we're doing the
right things. We're playing, we're paying the right the right guys,
excuse me, guys who work really hard for us for
what they have. I'm gonna read that again. At the
end there we're doing the right things. We're paying the
right guys, guys who really work, work really hard for
what they have. What does that mean he's Joe Burrow's

(37:35):
please Joe Burrow praised Duke Zach ownership to get these
deals done, Mike Kasicki, T Higgins, Jamar Chase huge praise
that matters. This offseason was big. It's big for a
bunch of reasons. But the biggest reason this offseason was

(37:56):
so crucial is because you want to keep Joe Burrow happy.
A happy Joe is the exact Joe that you need.
If you're the Bengals, you gotta keep Joe Burrow happy.

Speaker 2 (38:06):
You just do.

Speaker 1 (38:07):
It's no different than Lebron, James and Cleveland when he
was there. You have to do what it takes to
keep your stars happy. You do that and you have
a shot, and it's no I promise you it is
no different with a star quarterback. And honestly, it's no
different in radio. I'll go the analogy route right now.

(38:33):
Do you think as I sit here that the powers
that be at iHeartMedia give a damn James or pen
and from Oh, by the way, if James or Pene
is unhappy, like if I'm unhappy with my role, if
I don't think I'm feeling in enough for if i
don't think that I'm getting enough reps, or if i
don't think that I'm on the air enough, Like do

(38:54):
you think that they really give a But if Bill
Cunningham said he had his deal was up, or there
was some uncertainty about his future, and he's like, hey, hey,

(39:18):
not only do I want Seg Dennison continuing to do
the news, not only do I want my current set
up on seven hundred WLW, but I want James Orpene
to join me weekly. I want James Orpene to do
more Bill in shifts, or to do more this, or

(39:41):
to do more of that. You don't think that that
carries a little more weight? Do you see my point here?
Joe Burrow is the one wielding the sword. Joe Burrow
is the one with the power. Jamar Chase had some power,
had some leverage. Same thing with Tea and I using myself,
and that it would be like if Bill Cunningham said, man,

(40:03):
you better give Lance McAllister a new deal, and not
just Lance McAllister, but Scott Stone. Oh and by the way,
you gotta pay Tony Pike and Austin know more big money,
and you gotta get Moegger done as well. And it's like, yeah,
we got Mike g done, we got t done, we
got Jamaar done. They're working on Trey, and I do
think that they're gonna keep working on Trey and maybe

(40:25):
get to a deal. I just think it's gonna take
some time. But you get the point here. Joe Burrow
had the power. You want to keep Joe happy. Joe
is in his prime, unlike Bill Cunningham. Don't tell Bill,
I said that, don't tell Willie. I said that, Well,
you're will You're in your prime. I'm just kidding. I'm
just kidding. The point is that he's twenty eight years old,
he's a face of the franchise. He's a starting quarterback,

(40:47):
but he's more than the starting quarterback. He's the most
important person in the building. So of course you gotta
make moves that have him saying, we're doing the right things,
we're paying the right guys. Of course you do. They
remember Carson Palmer and say what you want about Carson Palmer.
The moment Carson Palmer walked away. Even though they got

(41:08):
it right with aj Green, and Andy Dalton. Even though
they drafted really really well for a stretch there and
did a lot of the right things and were well
coached and had a lot of talent, it was never
enough because if you don't have the right quarterback, it's
never gonna be enough. You're gonna come up short. I
sat in the Bengals locker or stood in the Bengals

(41:28):
locker room, and I talked to Ted Carris and Alex
Kappa and I think Cordell Wilson, and we were talking
about the playoffs and playoff matchups and they were like, man,
Detroit's really good. And I said, yeah, they're not winning
a Super Bowl. They're like, what why? And I said
Jared Goff And They're like, Jared Goff's really good. And
I'm like, yeah, he's good, but he's not great. When

(41:49):
you have great at quarterback, it is different.

Speaker 3 (41:51):
Man.

Speaker 1 (41:53):
You have as much of a shot as any Like
the Lions have such an awesome roster, a better roster
than the Bengals. If the Bengals had gotten into the playoffs,
they would have had just as good of a shot
as the Lions, just as good of a shot to
make it to the Super Bowl. Why because they have
number nine. Welcome. It's a quarterbacks league, and if you

(42:15):
have an elite one, you do what you have to
do to keep him happy and to keep him motivated
to go get that ring and not eyeing other teams
other situations, and with T and Jamar that should be
the case. You keep those guys, you're working on things
with Trey. I totally get it. I get why those

(42:35):
guys are priority. Because when Joe Burrow puts his fist
down and says, damn it, you better give me my guys. Well,
you have two options. You can play hardball with Joe
Burrow knowing that he's more important than you think about that.
There aren't many players that can look at the CEO,

(42:55):
many employees that can look at the CEO and say, hey,
I want this and you're gonna do it. And even
if Joe didn't say it like that, it's exactly what
it means. It's exactly what it means. You better get
these deals done. You better give me my guys. You're
not gonna make our roster worse. And he's right by

(43:16):
the way, keeping Jamar and t absolutely the right move
on the right move. So when Joe Burrow talks with
Jeff Hopson a Bengals dot Com and says, we're doing
the right things. We're paying the right guys, guys who
work really hard for what they have. That's really noteworthy.
It's really noteworthy, especially in an off season where I've

(43:39):
been critical of what they've done. Are not done because
we're talking about t J. Slayton and Oron Burks and
Joseph Oside, Mike Kasicki, BJ Hill and tomaj pire On
and Marco Wilson and Lucas Patrick, and even when you
throw in T. Higgins and Jamar chasing there, I didn't
hear a starting guard. I didn't hear a key guy
that's gonna really bolster the pass rush. You could argue
t J. Slaton will do that because he'll be the
nose tackle that's gonna eat up double teams and let

(44:00):
these other guys work. Fine, but you don't know that's
going to happen until you actually see it happening. Joe
is the one with the power. Keeping Joe happy had
to be priority number one, not two, not three, not seven,
not nine, because with nine you have a chance week
in and week out. Mike Tomlin on hard knocks this

(44:26):
past year. I should have pulled the clip. I did not.
He said this, SOB is dangerous talking to his coaching
staff when you have that, When you have a guy
that strikes fear in every defense in the NFL, when
they face him and they know at a moment's notice

(44:46):
he can just pop off for a huge play, you
keep weapons around him. I want to upgrade guard too,
but you keep weapons around him like this idea James R.
Pen In fromo here on ESPN fifteen thirty. This idea
that oh, I don't know about paying T Higgins. Stefan

(45:08):
Diggs is making twenty six million dollars this year, coming
off of a torn acl and clearly not entering his prime,
clearly past his prime in his thirties. T Higgins would
have gotten thirty five million per season on the free
agent market thirty five. The Bengals got him for twenty
eight million per It's a steal. I know they waited,

(45:29):
but it was still a steal. They stole him. That's
why they were always going to franchise tag him. I
reported that on February sixteenth, that they're going to franchise
Tag T Higgins. What did they do they waited till
March second and franchise tag T Higgins. He had zero
chance of making it to free agency because they knew
his value. They wanted to keep him. There was never

(45:50):
a doubt that that was going to happen. They were
never trading T. Higgins. I don't care what anybody says.
T could call in right now and guess what I'd say, Te.
They were never trading you. It was never a discussion.
It's never a real thing. Why it goes back to
number nine, good luck telling Joe can't wait to watch that.

(46:14):
That's the reality for the Bengals, and for the first
time in franchise history, that's their reality. Joe Burrow has
more power than anyone in that building, more power than
Carson ever had, more power than Chad Johnson ever had.
You want to go back an error or two, because well,
the nineties there was no one with power. But I'll say,
Corey Dillon, Carl Pickett's more power than those guys, more

(46:35):
power than Boom or, more power than Ken Anderson, more
power than insert whoever you love doesn't matter, more power
than Anthony Munyos he does. He does, and so finding
a way to keep him happy has to happen, and
my hope is that he's not done wielding that power.

(46:58):
I will discuss that coming out next. I'm James repen INFROMO.
It's the Opening Day Football show. We will continue. We
have some draft stuff next hour. Maybe a little draft
stuff this hour, but certainly heavy draft next hour. As
we roll on, James repene in framo, we'll talk about
Joe Burrow wielding his power more next right here on

(47:19):
ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 3 (47:19):
Thirty Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.

Speaker 2 (47:26):
From the UC Health Traffic Center for National Doctors Day,
we honor the UC Health physicians who are leading breakthroughs
for better tomorrows. Learn more at UCHealth dot com. It
is an accident on elboron Avenue over at eighth Street.
Southbound seventy five. Traffic remains stop and go between Hopple
and Fort Washington Way and on westbound two seventy five

(47:48):
that's down to one lane. Four construction on the Carrol
Crawford Bridge. Traffic moving slow back from the Petersburg exit.
I'm at Ezelic with traffic.

Speaker 1 (47:57):
This report is. I'm James peen in framo. Welcome act.
You're on ESPN fifteen thirty with You Till six o'clock.
Drew wester Hiding is today's producer, and boy, oh boy,
am I excited to be here? You know who else
is excited to be here? Joe Burrow. He's still excited
to be in Cincinnati, happy to be in Cincinnati. And

(48:18):
I hope he's not done wielding that that Joe Burrows sword.
When it comes to the Bengals moves and future, he
needs to continue to push them. And the reason is
is because their track record is sometimes they will do
the minimum, Like during the Marvin era, didn't they do

(48:40):
the minimum at times? I think they kind of slipped
into that the past couple of off seasons. Their free
agent hall in twenty twenty three wasn't a hall at all.
They lost Jesse Bates, they lost Von Bell, They were
losing guys left and right. They resigned Jermaine Pride, who
I thought was the least likely guy to return. They
resigned Ermaine Pratt, and then Orlando Brown Junior found of

(49:02):
their lab and it kind of salvaged what was a
poor free agency. And I'm gonna tell the Orlando Brown
Junior story. Well, right now, let's do it. And this
is why Joe Brow needs to continue wielding his power,
is because the Bengals weren't prepared to run make a
run at Orlando Brown Jr. The Bengals didn't open free
agency and say, hey, we're gonna go get the star

(49:23):
left tackle from the Kansas City Chiefs that helped them
win the Super Bowl, that helped them beat us in
the AFC Championship game. That wasn't their strategy. It was
the other way. Orlando Brown surveyed his options, the Jets,
the Steelers, certainly, both of those teams interested. And he

(49:44):
looked around and he's like, where can I go and
be the dude and win? And by be the dude,
I mean be a star left tackle for a team
that needs me? And he's a football savvy person, and
he looked around and he said, Oh, I can't go
to Cincinnati and black for Joe Burrow. Orlando Brown Junior's

(50:06):
reaps reach out to the Bengals in free agency. Orlando
Brown Junior's rep said, Hey, would you or Orlando's interested
in coming there? If if you guys are interested in him, Oh,
or we could get Orlando. We could get Orlando. Hey, Frank,
go what Frank Pollack, go watch Orlando Brown Junior tape?
Like what what? The Bengal should have already had the

(50:29):
entire evaluation don and should have targeted Orlando Brown Jr.
They knew he was going to be a free agent
when the Combine, when the report came out at the
Combine that the Chiefs weren't tagging him, which was a
mistake by the Chiefs. They've been searching at left tackles since.
Should have kept Orlando Brown Junior. What a dumb decision
by them. Everyone praises to the Chiefs for all these
awesome decisions, and yeah, they win and they have elite

(50:50):
coaching staff, I get it. But awful decision. And so
they let Orlando Brown Junior walk And the Bengals hadn't
even thought about the idea. And if they had thought
about it, they never thought it was a serious consideration.
And that sucks. That should never be the case in

(51:12):
the Joe Burrow era. There should never be a free agent,
specifically an offensive line free agent that you completely rule
out because you just don't think it's going to work
money wise. Never. Now, if the talent doesn't line up
with the money, fine, I'm not saying spend on ridiculous players.
But yeah, Joan Williams, entering in the final year of
his contract a fifth year option, had had an injury history.

(51:38):
I think Orlando Brown Junior has been a better player
since entering the league. Pretty reasonable to at least have
that discussion. Pretty reasonable. And I get it. He was
projected at twenty plus million dollars per year and you're thinking,
like eh, and that you get him for sixteen million
per But that's why you make the call, That's why
you stay aggressive. That's why I need Joe Burrows or

(52:00):
Penan from I need Joe bro to continue to be
the power wielding. He needs to keep that sword that
he has, that wielding, that power that kept t Higgins
in town, that got Jamar and t paid, That could
very well, that got Mikeasicki paid, that very well, could
get Trey Hendrickson paid. He needs to keep that sword
in his hand, don't put it down, keep it up,

(52:20):
keep the pressure on, because there's never been another time
in Bengals franchise history where there's been a player that
has had that power. And he needs to keep it
and keep the pressure on and keep the pedal down.
They need to do unprecedented things during the Joe Burrow era.
They've done some that needs to continue. Period. If they

(52:44):
go four, four and four, what four and thirteen? This
year needs to continue. They need to be aggressive. If
they go thirteen and four, this year needs to continue.
They need to be aggressive. They could win the super Bowl.
Needs to continue. They need to be aggressive. There is
no at no point can you say, see what we

(53:13):
want to win or see where this No, no, no,
because the moment you're aggressive and you get a deal done,
it's onto the next thing. It's a very unforgiving world
when it comes to the NFL. But it's the world
that the Bengals are in. It's the world that the
Kansas City Chiefs are in. You get embarrassed on the

(53:34):
Super Bowl and Super Bowl fifty nine. You're back to
the drawing board. All that talk about a three repeat
and being the first team to three peat and all
those things. You're that close to history. You get your
doors blown off by the Eagles and boom, back to
the drawing board. The Eagles. They lose the key pieces
in free agency. Back to the drawing board. Got to add,
got to add pieces, and they have a bunch of

(53:54):
draft picks and they are loaded for the future. Boy.
And so that's why if you're the Bengals, you have
to keep on, keep doing it, keep the pedal down.
And and that's where a guard can come in. That's
where guard could come into play. That that's that's something
that I I need to see from this team and
they need to add We'll see if they do it.

(54:15):
By the way, as I as I look here and
kind of think and reflect as we're having this conversation
James orpen and promo, it's the opening day Football show.
The other thing that kind of stands out to me
Ian Rappaport, how to report this week on Trey Hendrickson

(54:38):
And this isn't about Trey that this is about kind
of the narrative and and and so here I'm gonna
pull up I'm gonna pull this up here because I
think it's interesting. Rapaport basically said that the Bengals are
working on a new deal for Trey Hendrickson. Right here,

(54:59):
I have the Well, this was on the Pat McAfee show.
He said, I know the Bengals are working on it,
and I know they would like to keep him in
the building. They would like to pay him, and I
think they would like the people to stop saying why
don't the Bengals pay their guys, because they do. And
I think getting Hendrickson done at a money and a
value that makes sense for both sides will be a
great way for the Bengals to be like see see

(55:22):
as in like see, we pay our guys. And how
I'd respond to that is, there's no such thing as C.
You don't get to say C until it's ce that
Lombardi Trophy, so everybody wants to see. And until you

(55:45):
get that, you're going to be criticized, You're going to
be nitpicked, You're going to be made fun of at times.
It's part of it, especially when you have a generational
quarter back and you have star receivers and you have
really high end players, build around them. Be aggressive, address

(56:07):
what you need to address. So in September you're winning games.
In October, you're winning games in November when you finally
wake up and you're playing your best ball. In December,
when you're playing your best ball, now we're talking about
a Super Bowl contender. That is how you say, see
this idea that, oh, well, they can pay their guys
and say, see, see what doesn't I'm not seeing anything.

(56:30):
Doesn't mean you don't deserve credit for getting deals done.
They deserve credit for Jamir and t and we'll see
about track. But if they get the deals done, then
it's about winning. Then you can say, see as it's
all about winning, winning, winning, winning, winning, winning, winning, It's
it's literally everything. I'm gonna talk a lot about the

(56:52):
draft next hour a lot. And why do we talk
about the draft? Well, you want to put the tea
in the best position to win. Well, how do you
do that? Will you take the best players? That's a
little foreshadowing. Team with the best players, best quarterback usually wins.

(57:13):
Pretty much that simple. Now, the Bengals made some tweets
of their coaching staff why because they need to win.
I know they get it, I know they understand it.
But as far as saying, see, you can say see
when there's a trophy in your trophy case. And I'm
not talking about the Lamar Hunt Trophy. I'm talking about

(57:35):
the big one. That's what they need, that's what they're
missing at pay Course Stadium. That should be their goal,
that should keep them up at night, that should keep
them up in March. It should keep them up in April.
They should wake up in July wondering why in the
world it has taken so long. They weren't founded in
two thousand and eight. Nineteen sixty eight. Okay, sixty years

(58:01):
is coming fast. It's a long time. Some of you
listening remember when the Bengals were founded. Right, It's time
to win, and so you don't get to say see
until you win. To the name of the game, it's
the expectation, it's the standard, and I will not deviate

(58:24):
from that. I will, certainly on all my platforms make
that very very clear. And I do think that they
understand that to a degree. But Joe Burrow wielding that power,
wielding that sword, that says, hey, we got to be
more aggressive here. That is important because they've never had
that franchise history and you know what, they haven't had

(58:46):
a Lombardi trophy. Maybe this is what puts them over
the hump. Maybe this is what makes them do that
extra move. Maybe this is what gives them that initiative
and that aggressiveness to push for that trophy. James epene Infomo,
it's great to be with you on this Thursday opening day.
This is the Opening Day Football Show. We'll continue next

(59:09):
on Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 3 (59:13):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.

Speaker 2 (59:17):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. For National Doctor's Day,
we honor the UC Health physicians who are leading breakthroughs
for better Tomorrow's learn more at UCHealth dot com. He
s found two seventy five between the Combsale Bridge and
Kellogg Avenue, three lanes blocked from an accident, traffic getting
by in fact only using the right shoulder there elboron

(59:38):
Avenue still got that accident on eighth Street, and over
on Plainfield Road. A new crash in at Glendale Milford
Road on that ezelk with traffic.

Speaker 1 (59:47):
This report is sponsored to do something in the draft
that I'm not sure many of you are prepared for. Hi, everyone,
welcome back to ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm James Orpen and
this is the Opening Day Football sho show and I'm
in for Mo Agger until six o'clock. And you heard
that right, And I told Mo this for everyone that

(01:00:09):
listens regularly or daily. The last time I was on
with Mo on these airwaves, I told him, I said this,
and I delivered this. So this will not be a
shock to you. This will not be a shock to
locked on Bengals listeners or viewers or listeners of Cincinnati
Bengals Talk, or even if you read Bengals Talk dot com,
and those are all of the platforms you can find me.
By the way, shameless plug. The thing that I expect

(01:00:32):
the Bengals to do in this draft is very very simple.
They're going to address multiple skill positions. And you say it,
You're like, oh no, youze trenchers. It's got to be
the trenches, James. What does they do have to address
the trenches? There's no doubt. I want them to get

(01:00:52):
a guard. Hopefully they sign a guard right now. I
want them to bolster their pass rush. Hopefully they sign
a pass rusher right now. Like those are knee and
concerns and worries, There's no doubt about it. I'm not
debating you, but I will debate though, is this idea
that they can go into this draft draft and well,
they only have six picks. A lot of people say
they only have six picks. You realize in a normal

(01:01:14):
draft you only have seven. I know they had ten
last year and they didn't trade up, which was a mistake.
They should have traded up. They should not have added
ten players to their roster. It kind of hurt them.
They shouldn't have done that. They should have added about
six or seven last year to their roster and gotten
quality over quantity. But they didn't do that, and so
that cost them some. I would say. I would also
say that this year, with the six they do have, well,

(01:01:36):
they can address the trenches. They should also address tight end,
and they should also address running back at some point.
And that doesn't mean you force it, but like, let's
look at the first round. The first round, there's a
pretty decent chance that a tight end is the best
player available. Like Tyler Warren could fall to seventeen Colston Love.

(01:02:00):
They might like Colston levelin better than Tyler Warren. It's possible.
And this idea that trenches, I'll throw safety in the
mix too. Malachi Starks Nick even Worry. Starks is from Georgia,
even Worries from South Carolina. Even Worry has a pre
draft visit with the Bengals. The point is, like, you
gotta be open and a little flexible, and I think

(01:02:21):
the Bengals are, by the way, but like if you
are just so tunnel visioned in on this position, or
they need to go Like I got a tweet yesterday
the guy was like, and I assume it was like, yeah,
it was a guy that the guy was like, they
better take trenches their first three picks. It's like, well, no,
like maybe like maybe they do that, that's fine, but no,

(01:02:45):
And it's a fight. I fight every single year and
I don't really know why because drafting is very simple.
It isn't complicated. The draft is it's a very simple process.
You draft good football players, You add good football players,
and when you reach for needs, when you have huge

(01:03:08):
gaping holes to fill and you can't do what you
want to do or what you should want to do,
which is trust your evaluations and take at pick forty nine,
you take the fifty ninth best player on your board
and there's the thirty fifth ranked player on your board available.
That's how you get burned. It is, it's how you

(01:03:29):
get burned. I would much rather a cornerback in round two,
if he's thirty eighth on their board at pick forty nine,
then the defensive end on their board that's fifty third
on their board. I just would it's fifteen spots different
Like that's how I That's how I would always approach it.
So when I look at this draft, I see the

(01:03:51):
tight ends, I think that there's a really good chance
they take a tight end on Day one, or Day
two or early day three. I think running back is
in play really throughout the I'll get the astron jent
next hour, but if Jenty isn't there, I think running
back is in play rounds two through six. Like they
may take a running back in round two. I'm not
saying they guaranteed well, but they might. They might, and

(01:04:14):
I wouldn't blame him. Wouldn't blame him for taking a
tight end round two. It's the right tight end if
they think that that tight end can play around three.
They've been pretty darn good at evaluating running backs and
tight ends, and with the tight end position, they've passed
on those tight ends. They've evaluated well. Sam Laporta they
thought the world of him, Tucker Craft thought the world

(01:04:36):
of him, and they passed on those guys For Miles
Murphy and DJ Turner. Who would you rather have today?
It's interesting. I'm not saying Murphy won't have a breakout year.
DJ Turner. I like him as a player, and I
think he's his best balls ahead of him. Like, I
get that, But would anyone have blamed you if you
take you took Sam Laporta looking back? Oh? Would anyone

(01:04:57):
blame you if you took Tucker Craft looking back? No? Oh?
And that's that's where I always come back to. It's like, yeah,
if you get it right, the position is much less relevant,
like this positional value thing. That was positional value. And
I do think there's some value in certain positions. And

(01:05:18):
you look at the elite players in the league and yeah,
they're taken in certain certain rounds. But I'm not forcing
it out a position because well, the last elite player
that was drafted at this position worked Like I don't care.
I don't care. The evaluation is what matters. And when

(01:05:40):
you look at these guys, like people bring up, oh, well,
first round tight ends don't work out. Yeah, Like we
kind of always knew Kyle Pitts was a souped up receiver.
You kind of knew that. Now you fell in love
with the athletic and tangibles like a lot of people did.
I didn't. I was Jamar seule Heck. I would have
been in on the Alabama receiver. Why am I forgetting

(01:06:05):
his name? Not Devonte Smith, the other one Dolphin Jalen Wattle.
It took me a second. Like it's about finding the
right guys and if you evaluate properly, like brock Bowers
was easy. It was like, yeah, no brainer, take him,
Like absolutely no brainer, take him. And yet you look

(01:06:28):
at it now and it's like, well, yeah, so don't
overthink it. I don't want the Bengals to overthink it.
That's another thing that you certainly don't want them to
do during this draft season. Well, we'll get to Ashton
gent next hour. We're going to get to my slogan.
It is very very simple when it comes to the draft.
We'll get to that at five five. As we keep

(01:06:50):
rolling here, I'm James rpin In FROMO. This is ESPN fifteen.

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Thirty, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic on.

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got that accident on eighth Street, and over on Plainfield Road.
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Speaker 1 (01:07:32):
Welcome back to Cincinnati, ZESPN fifteen thirty one. James Viertein
in Formo real quick thought on Xavior. I would have
hired Chris matt I get hiring Richard Patina. It makes
some sense. You get him from Villanova. It looked like
the Villanova thing was done, so I think that's interesting.
Big Chris mac guy. I think Chris mack is a

(01:07:54):
really good coach. I think he's a better coach than
Richard Patino as of today. That could change, of course.
I also think that ever, to be honest with you,
when I look at Zavier Hoops, they've been so darn
consistent for more than two decades now, for the past

(01:08:15):
twenty five years, and going outside the family, it's interesting.
I don't know if it's going to be better. I
don't know if it's going to be worse. I don't
know if it's going to be the same, but it's
interesting and by outside the family. I mean an outside
hire that doesn't have strong ties to the program. I
think that sometimes fit it just proved fit matters, Like

(01:08:38):
Travis Steele's clearly a good basketball coach, like what he's
doing in Miami. Right, it's not just about basketball coach.
And so maybe Zavier said, hey, you know what, Chris
is a better coach, but for this reason, this reason,
this reason, we're gonna go with Richard Patino. It's interesting,
that's all. I also look at it from a University
of Cincinnati lens and west Miller's seat is hot going

(01:09:04):
into this year. It is. I'll be on the you
know they're going the Crown Tournament next week and all
that stuff. But like he's got to start winning. And
so if Chris Mack wanted to come back to Xavier,
would he look at Clifton. I all I'm saying is

(01:09:25):
is it it could be an option down the line.
But I'm intrigued by the Richard Patino higher and I
was messaging I don't think he would mind. I was
mentioned messaging Rick Brooring about this on Tuesday night, like
after the news dropped, after Mac announced he wasn't leaving,
and then after the Richard Patino stuff came out and
I was like, Yeah, all I can say is I

(01:09:47):
root for interesting and it's interesting, and I'll be paying attention.
Crosstown shootout just got interesting. Two games a year against
his dad. That is interesting. Does Patino the name Caro
little nil power behind it? Who knows? But it's interesting.
I root for interesting. Going outside of the Xavier family
is intriguing and it's certainly something that I'll be paying

(01:10:09):
attention to. We'll see how it works out, of course,
but there you go. There's my quick thoughts on Xavier.
But this is the Opening Day football show for a reason,
So we're going to get back to football next. James R.
Penin from oh this is ESPN fifteen thirty going to
do it for another Opening day football show. Thank you
so much for listening all afternoon long. Drew wester Heidi

(01:10:33):
was today's producer. Just crushed it and certainly hope you
enjoyed everything from our Ashton Genti discussion, to our Draft
players not Positions discussion, to what we said about Joe
Burrow and so much more. I really love during these
opening day football shows. They're fun and if you're looking
for more on the Bengals this draft season. Well, I

(01:10:54):
certainly have you covered Bengals Talk dot com, Cincinnati Bengals
Talk on YouTube, the Lockdown Bengals podcast, And if you're
looking for Reds coverage, I get it. It's Opening Day.
We didn't talk Reds on the show today, but that's fine.
All you have to do is go to Cincinnati Redstalk
dot com or you can google Reds on SI and
it's going to be there. We're going to have you
covered from a Reds baseball standpoint, a Bengals football standpoint,

(01:11:16):
all year long. And for Drew Wester Heidi, I'm James Erpaine.
Thank you so much for listening to the Opening Day
Football show right here on ESPN fifteen thirty