CINCINNATI -- What will the Bengals do with the 18th overall draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft? Trags talks up one of the foremost experts in the business, The Athletic's Dane Brugler, author of The Beast, a 324-page bible of everything on practically every NFL draft prospect. The Bengals are in the market for high-value defensive tackles and offensive tackles. Could Byron Murphy II fall to them or will they go with one of the highly rated offensive linemen.
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Welcome to CLNS Media's Cincinnati Sports Studio, your ultimate hub for everything sports in the Queen City! We bring you in-depth analysis, exclusive interviews, and breaking news covering your beloved Cincinnati Bengals and Cincinnati Reds. As passionate fans ourselves, we understand the heartbeat of the Cincy sports community and aim to keep you ahead of the game with accurate and timely information!
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00:00 Hey everybody it is Trax Mike Petralia back with the latest episode of the Jungle War podcast
00:05 powered by CLNS Media and our friends at PrizePix, North America's largest daily fantasy sports
00:12 platform. My pleasure to introduce and welcome to the podcast one of the definite experts of NFL
00:20 draft preview, that would be Dane Brugler of The Athletic. He does an amazing job putting together
00:28 what is appropriately called the beast. It is 324 pages of NFL draft prospectus on pretty much every
00:38 player in the NFL draft. Dane I want to get right to it. How did you come up with this idea of
00:44 putting together so much data on every single college prospect? At my core I'm an NFL draft fan
00:52 and so I wanted to put together a draft guide that I would want, I would buy, I would want to read and
00:57 consume. So the first one I ever did was my freshman year dorm room back at Mount Union
01:02 and back in the day. Then obviously it's grown over the years, it's evolved over the years and
01:08 become something that at some point along the way picked up the name The Beast. I don't even remember
01:13 who started calling it that. I pushed back at first but it just kept, you know, fans really
01:19 enjoyed it and the readers really enjoyed it. So I decided to embrace it and say you know what,
01:25 it's motivation. If we're going to call something The Beast it better live up to it.
01:28 So and that's the motivation every year is to put together something that is unlike other draft
01:35 previews because no other draft preview has NFL verified testing information for almost 2,000
01:40 players. There's 400 reports with a lot of good background information. That's a key in terms of
01:46 understanding where these guys have come from, what they've had to overcome over the years, just
01:50 you know their story, trying to shine a light on all the people that have helped them get to this
01:55 point. So it's a lot of differing perspectives on these players, a lot of puzzle pieces that you
02:01 try to combine and give you a better, a more clear picture of who each one of these players is.
02:06 Yeah and I want to get an idea from you, how much work do you put in throughout the year,
02:14 both during the season and off season, putting this together? Because in reading 324 pages
02:20 it's not just a list of players. People watching this or listening to this on the Jungle War pod,
02:25 they may think well everybody does a draft preview right of the top prospects, the big board so to
02:31 speak that pretty much everybody has. That's not what this is. This goes in depth, tells maybe one
02:38 off the field story of every single prospect or practically every single prospect. The amount of
02:44 data in this is voluminous doesn't do it justice. So I'm wondering from your perspective, how much
02:52 time throughout the 365 days a year do you put in on this? Each book takes about 18 months
02:59 because even like right now, the past few months, I'm not worried about the 2025 draft yet,
03:07 but you can't help but pick up little nuggets when you're talking to coaches, talking to scouts,
03:11 talking to players. Inevitably something comes up about a player next year, about who's the
03:17 toughest player you went up against, who's the toughest pass rusher you went up against,
03:20 and they bring up someone that is for next year. So really, realistically it's something that takes
03:26 18 months to put together. Usually the month of May I try to take a step back. I coach my
03:31 son's baseball team, my daughter's softball team and try to just take a deep breath, but then June
03:36 1st right back into it. And the summer is one of the most important times. That's where you get
03:41 that base of each one of these players. You build the database and then the season obviously happens.
03:46 That's where rankings change, analysis change, then the all-star games combine pro date. So it
03:51 is a long process, but when I get to release it and everybody enjoys it so much, it makes it all
03:57 worth it. All right, let's get to some of the players because this is a Bengals centric podcast
04:03 and a lot of Bengal fans want to know who are the best defensive tackles out there and who are the
04:10 best right tackles, offensive tackles, because those are essentially, I think the consensus,
04:15 Dane, is that those are the two areas that the Bengals go into this draft looking to fill holes,
04:21 but not only just fill holes, fill holes at top value spots. So when you take a look at, let's say,
04:29 defensive tackle, there's Byron Murphy II, then there's Johnny Newton out of Illinois.
04:35 What is there after that? Is it very deep? I actually do like the depth on day two,
04:41 the defensive tackles. Now there is a little bit of a drop off. There's a reason we're talking
04:45 about these guys as day two picks and not day one picks, but I do like the variety of talents that
04:51 are going to be available on day two. And some of the some of the guys that I think are worth the
04:56 risk or, you know, worth the investment at that point. So, you know, Chris Jenkins from Michigan,
05:02 Mike Hall from Ohio State, Mike Hall from Ohio State has the fewest number of snaps that I can
05:08 remember a defensive tackle having, but he still has a chance to be a top 50, top 60 pick because
05:14 he's so disruptive when he's on the field. Also very young. He's just 20 years old. You think
05:19 about what he can be after a year and two years of NFL coaching. So that's exciting. A guy like Mason
05:26 Smith from LSU, the NFL wants six, five, 300 pounds on their defensive line. And those types are in
05:33 short supply this year, but a Mason Smith has that, and that's going to help propel his value.
05:38 Brayden Fisk from Florida State, his nonstop motor, his athleticism really stands out, even if
05:44 he is short armed and not really going to be for everybody. Brandon Dorless from Oregon, Ruka
05:51 Rojo from Clemson. So this defensive tackle class, even though it might be lacking in true star power
05:58 at the top, even though I love Byron Murphy the second, I think he'd be a home run pick at 18 for
06:03 the Bengals. I do think that on day two, there's some quality depth. Now, if they're looking for a
06:08 nose tackle, that's where it's, it's hard to get excited about the nose tackles this year, but just
06:13 quality defensive line depth. There are plenty of options. I think that the Bengals would be
06:18 interested in, you know, and when you talk, uh, Dane about defensive line and the Bengals last
06:24 year, even with, even before DJ reader got injured, uh, they had trouble stopping the run.
06:29 And that is the bugaboo that really hurt them in the AFC North where everybody loves to run the
06:35 ball or could, uh, run the ball. And when, certainly when they went up against the Bengals,
06:39 I, they identified that as a weakness. Bengal fans want to know, are there players in this draft
06:46 first day, second day who could help them address the run game? They've obviously already addressed
06:52 part of it, uh, in free agency with Sheldon Rankin's, but he is more a three technique guy,
06:58 right? And he's more of a three technique player. Are there players that run stoppers who could
07:04 maybe step in right away, first year and help the Bengals? I think Byron Murphy can be that guy. And
07:10 a reason why, you know, you're so optimistic about him is you can watch the film and see him
07:16 work over the a gap work as a nose, as a shaded nose, a one technique and hold his own. Uh, you
07:23 know, he doesn't really have their traditional body type you're looking for, you know, he's
07:27 six, six foot and a half, right around 300 pounds. Doesn't have super long arms, but he understands
07:33 how to use his leverage very well. And, you know, he can, uh, you know, it's not just quickness,
07:38 but it's the violent hands. It's how skillful he is with his hands. Uh, and he uses his size to his
07:44 advantage. And this is both getting after the quarterback, but then also defending the run.
07:50 He is very, very, uh, skilled in both areas. And so I, I, you like the traits, you like what he put
07:56 on film. He was productive to me, all signs point to this guy being a really, uh, solid pro as a
08:04 rookie and then growing from there. And that's why if he's at 18, I think he would be a tough guy to
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09:20 Joe Ault, you're moving to the offensive line, will not be there for the Cincinnati Bengals at 18.
09:29 I think safe, fair to say. Yeah, I think that's fair to say. Alou Fashanu, he might be. We'll go
09:37 over some other names here. Bengals obviously like themselves, some big school championship
09:43 game caliber offensive linemen. They did with Jonah Williams, JC Latham out of Alabama could be
09:50 another. Then we take a look at the offensive tackle out of Oregon State, Talese Fuaga.
09:59 Of those three who could be on the board, who do you like the most?
10:02 Out of those three, now I like probably Fashanu the most out of those three, but he was a left
10:12 tackle only at Penn State. And so there's maybe a, if you're looking for more of the right tackle,
10:17 it's a little bit of a projection with Olu. Now JC Latham was only a right tackle at Alabama. And so,
10:25 and same thing with Talese Fuaga, they were both right tackles. So how much would that play into
10:31 the decision making by the Bengals? And I think it also depends on the type of player you're
10:35 looking for. I think with JC Latham, JC Latham is probably the strongest player in the draft.
10:40 I mean, he is so powerful. Once he gets his hands on you, forget it, it's over.
10:44 But does he have enough range for what the Bengals want outside? How do they view him as
10:52 a guard, as someone that could help them? The drafting of the be the right tackle,
10:57 but can you help a guard as well as a rookie if you need that depth right away? So I think,
11:03 you know, these questions are going to be the probably the differentiating factors for a team
11:07 like the Bengals that are in the offensive line market. And this is an offensive line class where
11:12 it's strong up top, it is top heavy. And so how many offensive line are going to be off the board?
11:18 Honestly, that's one of the biggest questions I'm going to have when you look at 18, because there's
11:23 a good chance the four tackles we just mentioned, and even throw Troy Fautanu from Washington,
11:28 throw him in the mix as well. So those five guys, there's a good chance all five could be off the
11:33 board by the time we get to 18. And if that's the case, how do they feel about Amarius Mims? How do
11:38 they feel about Tyler Guyton? Both these guys are immensely talented. But there's also, you know,
11:44 there's development needed. Amarius Mims, eight career starts, you know, there you worry about
11:49 him just staying on the field, but he's so gifted, so naturally talented, that I would certainly
11:56 understand if they come to the conclusion that he's worth the risk at pick number 18, especially
12:00 with your left tackle and right tackle in place, you don't need someone that's going to step in
12:04 from day one. But still, if you need someone to play at some point as a rookie, you want to be
12:10 feel confident in your first round pick to do that. So can do they feel that way about Amarius
12:14 Mims or Tyler Guyton? That's kind of the unknown at this point, because every every team feels a
12:19 little bit differently about these guys and the Bengals included. When you talk to players,
12:25 when you talk to coaches, NFL executives, what do they tell you about the way they value the way
12:33 somebody is going to fit in? Because to me, and we've gotten this, you know, we're recording this
12:38 on Monday, and Jack Taylor spoke to us this morning at PayCore Stadium. And he said, yeah,
12:43 part of it is the talent. There's no question about that. But part of it is how they fit into
12:48 our system. Do you think more and more GMs are trying to project that in your conversations with
12:54 them? Well, obviously, you know, they're not going to give away too much, but in terms of specific
13:00 players, but there's no question that how a player fits schematically, and not just Xs and Os wise,
13:07 but they're the culture of the locker room. And you know, how does the personality fit? That's a
13:12 big part of this. Because if a guy if a player is just not a fit in the locker room, it's not going
13:18 to work out. It is a you have to think of every locker room has its own ecosystem. And you have
13:23 to bring in the players that are going to be good for the locker room, but also good for the
13:28 community. And, you know, that's something that you look back at a lot of the misses teams have
13:32 had in the past. A lot of it has been maybe a miss something miss something with the personality or
13:39 the person more so than just the player. So we can see we can throw on the tape and see the talent
13:44 of these guys. But it really takes a lot of investigating to figure out the person what
13:50 what makes them tick, you know, what's the wiring and that's why these 30 visits are so important.
13:56 You can bring an Amarius mims to the building and see how does he interact with everybody in the
14:01 building, everybody that he sees, you know, you get to know the person a little bit better than
14:06 just you know, the few minutes you have him at the combine or, you know, a little bit of an
14:12 interview after the senior bowl or what the area scouts have done on the road. This is a chance to
14:18 really dive deeper into into the person maybe answer some questions that you had. So these 30
14:24 visits are a lot of times it's more of a process of elimination. You know, a lot of guys go to 30
14:30 visits and the team crosses their name off the list as soon as they leave just wasn't a fit. But
14:35 a lot of times we can make those connections where the 30 visits matches matches up because they
14:40 really feel strongly about the player and they were able to ace that that interview test once
14:45 they got to the facility. We have to wrap it up here with Dane Bruegler, author of the quintessential
14:51 NFL draft Bible that would be the beast. It's available on the athletic for subscribers.
14:57 Look, I don't think it's overstating it. If you subscribe to the athletic for one thing
15:03 and yet that one thing is the beast, it's worthwhile. We wrap it up here.
15:07 Bengal fans have always been offensive driven and there are two wide receivers that could be
15:14 in the mix here or at least one that that stands out to me and he's from LSU and that would be
15:21 Brian Thomas Jr. Brock Brock Bowers probably won't be from Georgia, the tight end. But when you take
15:28 a look at those two players, could they be fits for the Bengals? Brock Bowers would be a no brainer,
15:34 my opinion. The goal of your first round pick is to come away with a difference maker.
15:38 Brock Bowers qualifies and I get it. If you focus on the fact that a lot of tight ends drafted early
15:44 haven't panned out, then you're going to probably be pessimistic about the pick. But when you focus
15:49 on the talent, the traits and the biggest thing is trusting your offensive coordinator to understand
15:55 how to best use a talent like that. If you focus on that, then it's a home run, especially with a
16:01 team like the Bengals when Brock Bowers, he's not just a tight end, he's a slot receiver. He's,
16:05 you know, he can be an outside receiver if you want him to. He can line up in the backfield.
16:10 You can do so many things with a player like this that helps everybody on offense because it's
16:15 someone that the defense has to account for in a lot of different roles. So the versatility that
16:20 he offers, I agree with you though, I have a hard time seeing him fall all the way to 18. I think
16:26 the Jets at 10, Broncos at 12, the Colts at 15. I'd be surprised if he got past those three spots.
16:33 But if he did, the Bengals, he shouldn't get past 18, put it that way. Brian Thomas, he might not
16:39 make it to 18 either. He is a really talented receiver, 6'3", 210 with awesome speed, can win
16:45 deep. And he's a little inexperienced as a route runner just because they asked him to run an
16:52 abbreviated route tree at LSU. But he has the talent to be much more than just what we saw on
16:57 film. And so I think he's inexperienced, but not raw. And for a team looking for a true X receiver,
17:03 but also someone that can line up across the formation, Brian Thomas is going to be awfully
17:07 appealing. And as long as the medicals check out, I think he's going to be off the board pretty
17:13 quickly. He is Dane Brugler of The Athletic. Be sure to subscribe to The Athletic if you want
17:20 the, again, quintessential NFL draft Bible for the 2024 draft. It's coming up in Detroit. The
17:27 Bengals will be selecting 18th overall. The Bengals have 10 draft picks in this draft. That
17:32 also could factor in what they do in the first couple of rounds of the draft. Dane, thanks so
17:38 much for taking time out of your very busy schedule. Any time. Thanks, Mike. All right.
17:43 He's Dane Brugler. I'm Mike Petraglia, Trags. Thanks for watching and downloading this episode
17:49 of the Jungle War podcast powered by CLNS Media and PrizePix, North America's largest daily fantasy
17:56 sports platform.
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