January 29, 2026 • 15 mins
Sam Bruchhaus of Sumer Sports and the "draft fm" podcast joined us from Mobile to discuss some early NFL draft themes and storylines.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
With see Higginson Chase Brown in just about twenty minutes
on Boleger.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hopefully you're having an awesome Wednesday afternoon. We'll do some
college basketball a little bit later on this hour as well.
It is Senior Bowl Week. Senior Bowl Week in Mobile, Alabama,
which is where our guy Sam Brookhouse is from us
SUMER Sports.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Let's get right to it.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
I've got some Bengals specific stuff, but before we do that,
with the Senior Bowl game coming up this weekend, the
practice is unfolding this week. It's sort of the epicenter
of the NFL universe. Give me some over arching draft
themes that are starting to develop.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yeah, I think the interesting thing is trying to figure
out this draft order. Earlier on last week we got
news that Ruben Bain was going to be playing. Now
he's not playing. That's a name that's in the mix.
At the top, you have what seemingly some other top
players in different positions, Fernando Mendoz at the quarterback position,
Man Sword the lane from Lsu at the cornerback position.
(01:00):
But this draft has not really taken form last year
in the way that at least last year's than drafts
previous has. And so what I think we're trying to
figure out is where do the guys that are playing
currently at the Senior Bowl, who are in that twenty
to thirty ten Census big Board range, how do they
stack up against those guys who aren't playing and seem
(01:20):
to be guys that are more locked into the top ten.
And I think that's been the biggest question. Things that
I've been quite impressed with Day one was there was
some true standouts on the offense and defensive line. I
still need a little time for the quarterbacks, particularly at
the Shrine Bowland at the Senior Bowl, to get a
little bit more comfortable with these wide receivers before I
(01:42):
make an evaluation on any of the wide receivers, quarterbacks,
running backs, etc. But overall, this is a very talented group.
I'm just not sure where anybody stacks up as it.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Stands right now, all right here in Cincinnati.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
You know, I would imagine they're not going to just
draft defense, but they could, they could get away with it.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
They've got to overhaul that unit.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Where on defense do you expect this draft class to
be at its deepest.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
I'm starting to really like this in tier defensive line group,
I mean you got guys like the two guys from
Clemson here, you got Lee Hunter, who has looked extremely
well from Texas Tech. You got guys from Tennessee, across
the SEC, Alabama, ALTI, Overton. There's a great group I
(02:30):
found of INTI your defensive linemen. And frankly, that's the
position of need for the Bengals for a certain degree.
I mean, most of the positions on defense one could
call a position of need for the Bengals. So I
think that really is in my head, is shaping up
to be the strength of this draft line.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
All Right, you mentioned the name before, Ruben Bain. Now
the Bengals have the tenth overall pick. There are a
lot of Cincinnati fans who watched the National Championship game
and watch Miami's run to the College Football Playoff title
game and said, like, that's the guy. That's the guy.
We'll see how the next few months play out. Is
there any chance that dude is there at number ten?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
The hope is that people get freaked out about his
armless and some of his other measurables. I don't know
if that's going to happen. That was the skinny on
Will Campbell last year, and obviously ultimately Will Campbell goes
on to get drafted very highly and is now will
be playing in the Super Bowl. We'll be starting in
the Super Bowl. I think the what to expect from
(03:24):
irmyn Bain is he's an extremely violent player, and I
think people really like his ability to kind of fistfight
in the trenches, whether that's at the three tech, whether
that's at the five tech, or whether that's far out
on the edge as an edge rusher. And so I
think she's a really unique player in that we haven't
really seen someone with the physical characteristics of him, you know,
(03:47):
six three two eighty two ninety not necessarily going to
be an athletic freak, but someone who has shown the
ability to create pressure and pass rushing for multiple different spots.
The only player I can really think of in recent
years who was like that was a physical freak at
Aiden Hutchinson, and I think maybe his profile is similar,
but the athletics different.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Sam Brockhaus from Summer Sports is with his Frommobile Senior
Bowl happening this week. I think if you were to
ask most Bengals fans as the season played out the
college prospect that they were most interested in, the Bengals
having a chance to take in round one. Now, obviously
their final draft positioning wasn't solidified until the season came
(04:28):
to an end, but certainly in this part of the country,
folks watched Caleb Downs play at Ohio State and knowing
the issues the Bengals had at safety, knowing the issues
the Bengals just had on defense overall, I think a
lot of folks have locked in on him for months
on end. It has been forever since the safety has
gone that early in the draft, right.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I've seen some.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Say, look, he's a top three player in the draft.
If you're a drafting a ten and a top three
player is there. I don't know how you take him
talk about If you don't mind, just give me an
assessment of Caleb Downs as a draft prospect.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
So when you look at Caleb Downs's approach, this is
a dude who's quality of basically everything. He can do everything,
and he did it. In twenty twenty five, he basically
was a glorified linebacker for the Ohio State Buckeyes. This year,
he's played deep safety, he's played near the line, and
our scouts also think he could moonlight out on the
outside at corner in some more exotic sets to the
(05:23):
defensive coordinator want to use him there. So I think
he has a very interesting profile as a safety that
mirrors a growing trend. In particular, this is a copycat league.
And you see Mike McDonald and the Seahawks in the
championship game in the Super Bowl, and you look across
the league, if thee Zach Orr and the Baltimore Ravens
where Mike McDonald was in the past, and you see
(05:46):
Kyle Hamilton as a guy who plays that type of role.
You go look with the Seahawks, they got Nick Him
and Worry and Jesse Mintter. With the Chargers they used
Derwin James in that kind of big safety guy that
can kind of do it all role and you never
know where he's going to be and he may be
rushing the passer and slightly different role, but telling No.
Hufungo with the Broncos also plays a very similar role.
(06:09):
I think the safety position, if you can get a
premium level of talent there is becoming a position that
people and defenses want to use, particularly as teams run
more twelve personnel. It's going to be important to get
a safety who can kind of.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Do it all there.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
As a result, I do think that he's almost certainly
going to go in the first round. The problem is
is just in terms of the sheer market value of
the safety right now, you're not going to get a
ton of surplus value. It is slightly higher paid than
the linebacking position and the running back position. However, it's
not a premium position, and you can get good safeties
in free agency. We saw guys like Kevin Bayard who
(06:47):
have been in the league for a very long time
being All Pro this year and generate a ton of
term members. So two competing priorities. One old, the market
for safeties is not great. One new defenses are changing
to include safety more to counter twelve and thirteen personnel.
So as a result, I think a team's gonna go
ahead and take a shot at him. I is that
(07:07):
what's best for the Bengals. I don't necessarily know what.
We've seen them go away from Jesse Bates after his
first contract and allow him to go to the Falcons.
At the time, that seemed like the correct move given
their their cap situation with quarterbacks and wide receivers and
other premium positions coming up. You know, you look back,
perhaps that was a mistake. He hasn't been the certified
(07:29):
primo player on the Falcons at all, but he has
been a solid contributor. So all that to say, it's
kind of a gray area. I don't think it would
be a terrible pick if the Mingles went with Caleb Downs,
but I do think that it potentially could fall flat
just out of sheer what we call surplus value, which
is meaning you're gonna have to pay that guy a
lot and you're going to expect him to be an
(07:50):
all pro fairly early.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
All right, So the answer to this question is probably
going to change if I ask it to you in
a month or if I ask it to you in
the middle of April. But as we sit here right now,
the process is just now starting to take shape. We're
weeks away from the combine. Free agency has to happen.
Bengals need to be active in free agency. But let's
flash ahead based on what you know. Right now, it's
(08:13):
night one of the draft. Bengals are on the clock
at ten. They're not going to trade the pick, Like
is there is there somebody that you're like, you know what,
rush to the podium to take that dude, based on
what you know right now.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
I think it's difficult to know how it's going to
shake out. And I think with Joe Burrow's injury and
with general concerns about the offensive line, it's going to
be really hard. It's Spencer Fano or Francis Maligoa is
falling down. Both of these guys have experience at the
tackle position. No I Gooa play at the right tackle position.
(08:46):
Our scouts think you could play left tackle position, by
versa for Spencer Fano. I really think it's going to
be hard if an offensive lineman is there to go
to not go with you know, the third most premium
positions or most premium position in the league after the
quarterback position, just because I think that's the true core
level of talent, and I think those guys could potentially
(09:08):
fall just as a results of the reshuffle of the draft.
That being said, there's gonna be a ton of good
edge rushers. Fulk out of Auburn, I think, is another
name to look out for. Bain if he falls is
another one to look out for, and then Mansword Delan
also at the cornerback position, a place where the Bengals
have struggled mightily, is another guy that I would look at.
So I think tackle, cornerback, edge rusher, defensive tackle is
(09:32):
the four spots where the Bengals could really hit and
get good value at their pick.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Stay at tackle for me, because you know they drafted
Marius MEM's two seasons ago. So far, so good. They
still have Orlando Brown. My guess is he is still
going to be the starting left tackle in twenty twenty six.
They're gonna need the swing guy, and I think they're
gonna need somebody who ultimately is a replacement for Orlando
Brown down the road. So let's say that's not where
(09:57):
they go with the tenth overall pick. Is this a
deep class at tackle?
Speaker 3 (10:03):
I'd say it is. It's still trying to figure it out.
But this is another trend for recent years. And you
look at you mentioned Orlando Brown. Probably want to get
in a younger guy, probably can go in a different
in a different route. The issue is, I just think
Fano and Mago are two guys who are probably the
two most talented guys in the draft, and they pop
up in the data really well. So we've seen the
(10:25):
Bengals be value drafters before. We saw him do it,
frankly last year with Famar Stewart. And and so that's
kind of why I think it could be a little
bit more in the mind than we really think it is.
That being said, the tax position. Right now, we've started
seeing really past the first fifteen picks, a lot of
people just be willing to invest in swing offensive linemen.
(10:46):
You think about a guy like Kelvin Banks last year
who ends up being a left tackle for the Saints.
A lot of people had him projected at guard. There
was a lot going on talking about maybe he plays
right tackle in another setting. They had Fuaga who ends
up being a wing tackle for them, And and so
there's a couple of guys that you can look at.
I've had my eyes on Cage Casey out of Boise State,
(11:06):
who I think can be a swing tackle at the
Senior Boy Boise State traditional guy red shared its first
year at Boise State, played three years now, he's in
the Senior Bowl. I think he struggled a little bit
yesterday at the left tackle position. I'm interested to see
if they move him to the right tackle or guard position.
In one on ones today during practice. However, his data
is extremely good, and that Boise State team has been
(11:28):
very competitive and it frankly played a pretty good level
of non conference opponent over the years. So I'd be
interested to see if that could be potentially a guy,
you know, the hundredths kind of the turn of day two,
day three, that potentially teams could target.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
I one more for you. You've been generous with your time.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
You mentioned Shamar Stewart and and he, you know, was
at the epicenter last April of this discussion about you know,
leaning into the traits and the and the raw physical
tools and what you see when the guys you know,
having a tape measure held up to him versus what
you see when you put the tape up. And Shamar
Stewart didn't have a lot of sex. It wasn't that
he was not disruptive. He actually was, but it kind
(12:10):
of felt like the Bengals leaned into the physical specimen
that he is more than the production or lack thereof
what do you what do you?
Speaker 2 (12:19):
What do you make of of?
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Kind of that position where it's you know what, yeah,
we value what's on tape, but we'll lean into the
traits and we're going to be a little bit more
willing to ignore what maybe a guy doesn't show on
tape versus Look, give me a guy who's making plays.
Give me a guy who's finishing plays, getting to the quarterback.
Give me a guy who's actually impacting winning more than
(12:42):
you know. Here's what the guy looks like when when
he's in his underwear and he's standing on a scale.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Yeah, so I think it's it's really interesting. There's a
couple approaches to this. Obviously, in the data you want
to get a guide who is productive. I think that's
really key, and it just check a lot of boxes.
The problem is you can ask the data scientists like myself,
the correlation be wildly over fifty percent, and that's fifty
out of one hundred. So there's still a lot of
(13:10):
complexity that we do not understand how to quantify. But
that makes sense if you can check boxes, that's what
you do in terms of production. One of my favorite quotes, however,
which is a guiding light in my data science research,
is from Mike Tomlin. You know, no longer the Pittsburgh
Steelers head coach. You don't have to see him anymore
in Cincinnati so maybe you can be a little bit
more accepting of this quote than you were in the
(13:32):
previous years. But he says that a lot of the
stuff that he sees in scouting reports and production is
actually a result of coaching, and it's the job of
the coach to take those traits and mold them into players.
We saw him do that again in again at the
wide receiver and addressing positions, and so I always try
to keep mind of that, particularly when you evaluate offensive linemen, cornerbacks,
(13:52):
stuff like that, because sometimes the coaches just ask them
to do stuff that they can't do, and if they
get in a new scenario, it may look better. So
as a result, I see both sides that the former player,
I also tend to believe in the traits and that
it's the coach's job to put them in the position
to succeed, and the player's job to get their body
ready for the season and develop their technique and develop
(14:15):
their skills. So I kind of see both sides. I
like to use analytics as kind of the checkboxes, especially
when it comes to things that you know are threshold
statistics and stuff like this, But at the same time,
I think you have to believe in the traits, and
you have to kind of take the context away, take
the team that they were on a way and really
(14:36):
evaluate the player as they are themselves.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Well said, enjoy Mobile. Can't thank you enough for the time.
We'll check out sumer sports dot com. Love having you, Sam,
Thanks so much.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Make sure you check out Sumer sports dot com. That's
s U M E R Sports dot com. Sam joining
us from the Senior Bowl in Mobile. We'll be joined
next by t Higgins and Chase Brown. This is ESPN
fIF Team thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station
With see Higginson Chase Brown in just about twenty minutes
on Boleger.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hopefully you're having an awesome Wednesday afternoon. We'll do some
college basketball a little bit later on this hour as well.
It is Senior Bowl Week. Senior Bowl Week in Mobile, Alabama,
which is where our guy Sam Brookhouse is from us
SUMER Sports.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Let's get right to it.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
I've got some Bengals specific stuff, but before we do that,
with the Senior Bowl game coming up this weekend, the
practice is unfolding this week. It's sort of the epicenter
of the NFL universe. Give me some over arching draft
themes that are starting to develop.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Yeah, I think the interesting thing is trying to figure
out this draft order. Earlier on last week we got
news that Ruben Bain was going to be playing. Now
he's not playing. That's a name that's in the mix.
At the top, you have what seemingly some other top
players in different positions, Fernando Mendoz at the quarterback position,
Man Sword the lane from Lsu at the cornerback position.
(01:00):
But this draft has not really taken form last year
in the way that at least last year's than drafts
previous has. And so what I think we're trying to
figure out is where do the guys that are playing
currently at the Senior Bowl, who are in that twenty
to thirty ten Census big Board range, how do they
stack up against those guys who aren't playing and seem
(01:20):
to be guys that are more locked into the top ten.
And I think that's been the biggest question. Things that
I've been quite impressed with Day one was there was
some true standouts on the offense and defensive line. I
still need a little time for the quarterbacks, particularly at
the Shrine Bowland at the Senior Bowl, to get a
little bit more comfortable with these wide receivers before I
(01:42):
make an evaluation on any of the wide receivers, quarterbacks,
running backs, etc. But overall, this is a very talented group.
I'm just not sure where anybody stacks up as it.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Stands right now, all right here in Cincinnati.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
You know, I would imagine they're not going to just
draft defense, but they could, they could get away with it.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
They've got to overhaul that unit.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Where on defense do you expect this draft class to
be at its deepest.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
I'm starting to really like this in tier defensive line group,
I mean you got guys like the two guys from
Clemson here, you got Lee Hunter, who has looked extremely
well from Texas Tech. You got guys from Tennessee, across
the SEC, Alabama, ALTI, Overton. There's a great group I
(02:30):
found of INTI your defensive linemen. And frankly, that's the
position of need for the Bengals for a certain degree.
I mean, most of the positions on defense one could
call a position of need for the Bengals. So I
think that really is in my head, is shaping up
to be the strength of this draft line.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
All Right, you mentioned the name before, Ruben Bain. Now
the Bengals have the tenth overall pick. There are a
lot of Cincinnati fans who watched the National Championship game
and watch Miami's run to the College Football Playoff title
game and said, like, that's the guy. That's the guy.
We'll see how the next few months play out. Is
there any chance that dude is there at number ten?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
The hope is that people get freaked out about his
armless and some of his other measurables. I don't know
if that's going to happen. That was the skinny on
Will Campbell last year, and obviously ultimately Will Campbell goes
on to get drafted very highly and is now will
be playing in the Super Bowl. We'll be starting in
the Super Bowl. I think the what to expect from
(03:24):
irmyn Bain is he's an extremely violent player, and I
think people really like his ability to kind of fistfight
in the trenches, whether that's at the three tech, whether
that's at the five tech, or whether that's far out
on the edge as an edge rusher. And so I
think she's a really unique player in that we haven't
really seen someone with the physical characteristics of him, you know,
(03:47):
six three two eighty two ninety not necessarily going to
be an athletic freak, but someone who has shown the
ability to create pressure and pass rushing for multiple different spots.
The only player I can really think of in recent
years who was like that was a physical freak at
Aiden Hutchinson, and I think maybe his profile is similar,
but the athletics different.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Sam Brockhaus from Summer Sports is with his Frommobile Senior
Bowl happening this week. I think if you were to
ask most Bengals fans as the season played out the
college prospect that they were most interested in, the Bengals
having a chance to take in round one. Now, obviously
their final draft positioning wasn't solidified until the season came
(04:28):
to an end, but certainly in this part of the country,
folks watched Caleb Downs play at Ohio State and knowing
the issues the Bengals had at safety, knowing the issues
the Bengals just had on defense overall, I think a
lot of folks have locked in on him for months
on end. It has been forever since the safety has
gone that early in the draft, right.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
I've seen some.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Say, look, he's a top three player in the draft.
If you're a drafting a ten and a top three
player is there. I don't know how you take him
talk about If you don't mind, just give me an
assessment of Caleb Downs as a draft prospect.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
So when you look at Caleb Downs's approach, this is
a dude who's quality of basically everything. He can do everything,
and he did it. In twenty twenty five, he basically
was a glorified linebacker for the Ohio State Buckeyes. This year,
he's played deep safety, he's played near the line, and
our scouts also think he could moonlight out on the
outside at corner in some more exotic sets to the
(05:23):
defensive coordinator want to use him there. So I think
he has a very interesting profile as a safety that
mirrors a growing trend. In particular, this is a copycat league.
And you see Mike McDonald and the Seahawks in the
championship game in the Super Bowl, and you look across
the league, if thee Zach Orr and the Baltimore Ravens
where Mike McDonald was in the past, and you see
(05:46):
Kyle Hamilton as a guy who plays that type of role.
You go look with the Seahawks, they got Nick Him
and Worry and Jesse Mintter. With the Chargers they used
Derwin James in that kind of big safety guy that
can kind of do it all role and you never
know where he's going to be and he may be
rushing the passer and slightly different role, but telling No.
Hufungo with the Broncos also plays a very similar role.
(06:09):
I think the safety position, if you can get a
premium level of talent there is becoming a position that
people and defenses want to use, particularly as teams run
more twelve personnel. It's going to be important to get
a safety who can kind of.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Do it all there.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
As a result, I do think that he's almost certainly
going to go in the first round. The problem is
is just in terms of the sheer market value of
the safety right now, you're not going to get a
ton of surplus value. It is slightly higher paid than
the linebacking position and the running back position. However, it's
not a premium position, and you can get good safeties
in free agency. We saw guys like Kevin Bayard who
(06:47):
have been in the league for a very long time
being All Pro this year and generate a ton of
term members. So two competing priorities. One old, the market
for safeties is not great. One new defenses are changing
to include safety more to counter twelve and thirteen personnel.
So as a result, I think a team's gonna go
ahead and take a shot at him. I is that
(07:07):
what's best for the Bengals. I don't necessarily know what.
We've seen them go away from Jesse Bates after his
first contract and allow him to go to the Falcons.
At the time, that seemed like the correct move given
their their cap situation with quarterbacks and wide receivers and
other premium positions coming up. You know, you look back,
perhaps that was a mistake. He hasn't been the certified
(07:29):
primo player on the Falcons at all, but he has
been a solid contributor. So all that to say, it's
kind of a gray area. I don't think it would
be a terrible pick if the Mingles went with Caleb Downs,
but I do think that it potentially could fall flat
just out of sheer what we call surplus value, which
is meaning you're gonna have to pay that guy a
lot and you're going to expect him to be an
(07:50):
all pro fairly early.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
All right, So the answer to this question is probably
going to change if I ask it to you in
a month or if I ask it to you in
the middle of April. But as we sit here right now,
the process is just now starting to take shape. We're
weeks away from the combine. Free agency has to happen.
Bengals need to be active in free agency. But let's
flash ahead based on what you know. Right now, it's
(08:13):
night one of the draft. Bengals are on the clock
at ten. They're not going to trade the pick, Like
is there is there somebody that you're like, you know what,
rush to the podium to take that dude, based on
what you know right now.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
I think it's difficult to know how it's going to
shake out. And I think with Joe Burrow's injury and
with general concerns about the offensive line, it's going to
be really hard. It's Spencer Fano or Francis Maligoa is
falling down. Both of these guys have experience at the
tackle position. No I Gooa play at the right tackle position.
(08:46):
Our scouts think you could play left tackle position, by
versa for Spencer Fano. I really think it's going to
be hard if an offensive lineman is there to go
to not go with you know, the third most premium
positions or most premium position in the league after the
quarterback position, just because I think that's the true core
level of talent, and I think those guys could potentially
(09:08):
fall just as a results of the reshuffle of the draft.
That being said, there's gonna be a ton of good
edge rushers. Fulk out of Auburn, I think, is another
name to look out for. Bain if he falls is
another one to look out for, and then Mansword Delan
also at the cornerback position, a place where the Bengals
have struggled mightily, is another guy that I would look at.
So I think tackle, cornerback, edge rusher, defensive tackle is
(09:32):
the four spots where the Bengals could really hit and
get good value at their pick.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Stay at tackle for me, because you know they drafted
Marius MEM's two seasons ago. So far, so good. They
still have Orlando Brown. My guess is he is still
going to be the starting left tackle in twenty twenty six.
They're gonna need the swing guy, and I think they're
gonna need somebody who ultimately is a replacement for Orlando
Brown down the road. So let's say that's not where
(09:57):
they go with the tenth overall pick. Is this a
deep class at tackle?
Speaker 3 (10:03):
I'd say it is. It's still trying to figure it out.
But this is another trend for recent years. And you
look at you mentioned Orlando Brown. Probably want to get
in a younger guy, probably can go in a different
in a different route. The issue is, I just think
Fano and Mago are two guys who are probably the
two most talented guys in the draft, and they pop
up in the data really well. So we've seen the
(10:25):
Bengals be value drafters before. We saw him do it,
frankly last year with Famar Stewart. And and so that's
kind of why I think it could be a little
bit more in the mind than we really think it is.
That being said, the tax position. Right now, we've started
seeing really past the first fifteen picks, a lot of
people just be willing to invest in swing offensive linemen.
(10:46):
You think about a guy like Kelvin Banks last year
who ends up being a left tackle for the Saints.
A lot of people had him projected at guard. There
was a lot going on talking about maybe he plays
right tackle in another setting. They had Fuaga who ends
up being a wing tackle for them, And and so
there's a couple of guys that you can look at.
I've had my eyes on Cage Casey out of Boise State,
(11:06):
who I think can be a swing tackle at the
Senior Boy Boise State traditional guy red shared its first
year at Boise State, played three years now, he's in
the Senior Bowl. I think he struggled a little bit
yesterday at the left tackle position. I'm interested to see
if they move him to the right tackle or guard position.
In one on ones today during practice. However, his data
is extremely good, and that Boise State team has been
(11:28):
very competitive and it frankly played a pretty good level
of non conference opponent over the years. So I'd be
interested to see if that could be potentially a guy,
you know, the hundredths kind of the turn of day two,
day three, that potentially teams could target.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
I one more for you. You've been generous with your time.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
You mentioned Shamar Stewart and and he, you know, was
at the epicenter last April of this discussion about you know,
leaning into the traits and the and the raw physical
tools and what you see when the guys you know,
having a tape measure held up to him versus what
you see when you put the tape up. And Shamar
Stewart didn't have a lot of sex. It wasn't that
he was not disruptive. He actually was, but it kind
(12:10):
of felt like the Bengals leaned into the physical specimen
that he is more than the production or lack thereof
what do you what do you?
Speaker 2 (12:19):
What do you make of of?
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Kind of that position where it's you know what, yeah,
we value what's on tape, but we'll lean into the
traits and we're going to be a little bit more
willing to ignore what maybe a guy doesn't show on
tape versus Look, give me a guy who's making plays.
Give me a guy who's finishing plays, getting to the quarterback.
Give me a guy who's actually impacting winning more than
(12:42):
you know. Here's what the guy looks like when when
he's in his underwear and he's standing on a scale.
Speaker 3 (12:48):
Yeah, so I think it's it's really interesting. There's a
couple approaches to this. Obviously, in the data you want
to get a guide who is productive. I think that's
really key, and it just check a lot of boxes.
The problem is you can ask the data scientists like myself,
the correlation be wildly over fifty percent, and that's fifty
out of one hundred. So there's still a lot of
(13:10):
complexity that we do not understand how to quantify. But
that makes sense if you can check boxes, that's what
you do in terms of production. One of my favorite quotes, however,
which is a guiding light in my data science research,
is from Mike Tomlin. You know, no longer the Pittsburgh
Steelers head coach. You don't have to see him anymore
in Cincinnati so maybe you can be a little bit
more accepting of this quote than you were in the
(13:32):
previous years. But he says that a lot of the
stuff that he sees in scouting reports and production is
actually a result of coaching, and it's the job of
the coach to take those traits and mold them into players.
We saw him do that again in again at the
wide receiver and addressing positions, and so I always try
to keep mind of that, particularly when you evaluate offensive linemen, cornerbacks,
(13:52):
stuff like that, because sometimes the coaches just ask them
to do stuff that they can't do, and if they
get in a new scenario, it may look better. So
as a result, I see both sides that the former player,
I also tend to believe in the traits and that
it's the coach's job to put them in the position
to succeed, and the player's job to get their body
ready for the season and develop their technique and develop
(14:15):
their skills. So I kind of see both sides. I
like to use analytics as kind of the checkboxes, especially
when it comes to things that you know are threshold
statistics and stuff like this, But at the same time,
I think you have to believe in the traits, and
you have to kind of take the context away, take
the team that they were on a way and really
(14:36):
evaluate the player as they are themselves.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Well said, enjoy Mobile. Can't thank you enough for the time.
We'll check out sumer sports dot com. Love having you, Sam,
Thanks so much.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Make sure you check out Sumer sports dot com. That's
s U M E R Sports dot com. Sam joining
us from the Senior Bowl in Mobile. We'll be joined
next by t Higgins and Chase Brown. This is ESPN
fIF Team thirty, Cincinnati Sports Station
Mo Egger News
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