ArmyBengal

I was holding out hope they would get Sweat in the 2nd. I was hoping they wouldn't pass on him even with the DUI. He may be a big partier, drink more than he needs, and look like the 2nd coming of cookie dough. However, none of that kept him from becoming a 1st team All-American and winning the Outland Trophy for the best interior defensive lineman, all while playing next to Byron Murphy at Texas, who went in the first round. He might turn out to be a drunken bust, but as always, it only takes one team. It should be interesting to see what he does in Tennessee and what Brian Callahan gets out of him. Jenkins? Yeah, he wasn't my top choice, but if measures up to half of what is said about him, we should be good. I love his attitude as well. Seems like a pretty down to earth kid who really likes to ball. His nickname at Michigan was the "Mutant". Nice...

I feel you Hoosier, planted 6 new bushes and spread about 60 bags of mulch last weekend. It was an all day affair my back is just now “about” recovered from. Oh, climbed a ladder to pull down leaves that had collected and when I pulled them down, I pulled an ant colony down onto me as well. The ants weren’t happy. Where the fuck was Andre Smith when I needed him most?

My neighbor played with his Dad and Pac Man at West Virginia. The BBQ’s are interesting !! Good people. Rooting for junior !!

Holy Ghosts Batman, talk about spitting out your kid. Without looking at the name at the bottom, tell me who's kid this is... https://www.espn.com/college-football/recruiting/insider/story/_/id/40070413/espn-junior-300-recruiting-five-stars-quarterback-top-prospects

Whenever I hear that now, I can't get Rodney Dangerfield out of my head from the movie Back to School.

Hello darkness, my old friend...

Yeah, I'm on board with that thought. Can never have enough RB's capable of blocking like he is able. That being said, Zack Moss is also known for his blocking as well, so maybe they don't bother?

That was so awesome !!

Couldn’t agree more !!

Don't care. I'm not getting over shit. It's a no. It will get voted for, but when you have a team worth multiple billions, taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook. Should have built a damn dome. I prefer the outdoor games, but a domed stadium vs. what we currently have is night and day. No draft, no possible traveling combine (which is coming), no basketball tournaments, less concerts, less everything. Get rid of whatever they call the Coliseum these days. They will be asking for another $12m in public funds as well. If there is going to be talk about how to put money into the city and actually build the wealth, why not build something that will help achieve that. Open air stadiums will be a thing of the past in decades to come.

I saw the new numbers and Burton gets #81. Would have been cool, since TJ coached him these last few years, to see him in #84, but that went to McClachlan. Guess he will just have to channel his inner Eddie Brown.

Again, while understanding everything impacted by the Bengals being here, I don't give a shit. No chance in hell I will be voting in favor of anything of that sort. Which brings me to my next question. Why is Hamilton County the only county expected to foot the bill somehow? Why not other counties? Why not State funds? Why not the Browns just fucking pay for it themselves? Again, it's a big NO from me. Don't care about the fall out. Bring it.

I like that thought process Stripes. Let me think about it. Had to remember the "relative to the start of last season". QB - no change (Could this be the first year for Burrow to start and end camp without being/getting dinged?) OT - improved (Agree) IOL - no change (Agree) RB - slightly improved (Maybe) WR - slightly worse (Agree, but expecting to end better than last year started) TE - improved (Agree) DE - no change (Agree) DT - worse (Agree, but has the potential to end really well between Rankins and Jenkins) LB - no change (Agree, UGH) CB - no change (There were higher expectations for Awuzie coming back, but it didn't happen) (Dax could help) S - improved (I would say MUCH improved here. Stone, Bell, and Battle along with Anderson and new dude)

I love Steve Smith and his evaluations of WR's, along with the big picture perspective. In the below video, they talk about where the top WR's went and their fit within the team's system. They hit on Burton towards the end. Skip forward to the 1 hour 17 minute mark for their take on Burton with the Bengals. Really good listen from this group and Steve's take on Higgins as well. Some info I never gave thought to. It's a really good watch and Burton gets about 6 minutes of the conversation.

Totally random and has nothing to do with anything being discussed but... FUCK YOU BILLS FANS !!! I just don't like them. That is all.

I'm simply looking at the story at face value. IF the story is true and Higgins is looking for a Michael Pittman deal, my point is that it's not a lot of money in the grand scheme of WR contracts. Higgins is already accounting for nearly $22 million this year. Why would the Bengals think that coming in below that number is reasonable? So is the 700 yards from last season the anomaly or are the multiple 1000 yard seasons? WR top of the market is going to be $30+ million per year. A solid #2 WR is probably right around that $23-$24 million point. That's going to look like a great deal come 2027. The talk of Iosivas or Burton (which I've already seen) taking Higgins spot in 2025 is being shortsighted and over confident. NOW... Does any of that mean they should pay Higgins 23-24 million per season? No, not by any stretch. However, to think something less the $20 million was a reasonable offer is just stupid. Again, this is taking everything at face value.

I have been looking into the guys we drafted a little more and if there is one thing that will hold Burton back from more plays, it's Charlie Jones. I think many people see new WR and automatically pencil him in as the #3 WR. I don't think that's a given by any stretch. If nothing else, Chase, Higgins, Iosivas, Jones and Burton look like a pretty amazing 1-5 to me. Add Irwin to that mix and your WR corps is already set unless they go 7 deep to start the season. Anyone else is simply jockeying for practice squad spots.

Was just reading that the Bengals contract offer to Higgins never approached $20m per year. Higgins, it said, wants something where Pittman’s contact with the Colts is. That contact was 3 years, 70 million. if all of that is to be believed 100%, the Bengals would be stupid to not give him that deal. Hell Pittman’s deal is already a value at this point and over the course of the next three years will be a super bargain. Already know he won’t be here next year, but again, if all that’s true, I’m less pleased. Chase is going to get $30m+ per year.

Yeah, looking forward to at least one extension getting done and maybe another pick up along the way. We will see.

Yes, please extend Karras for at least another season and do that NOW. My dream scenario is that some team decides to move in another direction with a player and we can swoop in and make a nice pick up. Who that would be, I have no idea, but an IOL would be nice. Speaking of all that, I am curious where their cap number is at this point?

Yep, forgot about that.

So, in a way too early thought of what the 2025 draft priorities will be: Karras and Hill are both free agents and Karras will be 32 going on 33. Our 7th rounder this year will be it. Hendrickson and Gunter will both be free agents and we better see something more from Murphy this season or this will be the #1 priority. I think Dax will take over the nickel CB spot with Hilton becoming a free agent and getting older, but CB is always a need. 4 DT's will be free agents with BJ Hill leading that group. We drafted two, but could use more here. We should have looked at a OG at some point in this draft as 3 will be free agents. Depending on how they look at Ossai, linebackers could be in line for picks with 4 free agents there. We have two RB with Chris Evans and Trayveon Williams both up for free agency. The OT group is losing 3, WR's are losing 5 with Higgins and Trenton leading the way and then both Giesicki and Hudson both free agents. Call it: C, DE, and OT as the top three to consider for the 2025 draft. Honorable mention is CB.

Thinking through this a little more... I think they are going to have a great season once it gets started. I just don't care what happens until they get there, as long as everyone is healthy. They blew an opportunity in my opinion. I typically give them a pretty large cushion when it comes to drafting and I don't feel that this year. If Mims doesn't start a single game this season because Trent Brown has been great and remained healthy, that will be fine with me. I expect to see Jenkins get many snaps and I expect him to be a solid contributor. I think Burton is going to have the same shot as anyone else on the roster for snaps and will be fun to watch if he doesn't implode. Jackson should be a part of the rotation as well and I won't complain about that. I have zero expectations for picks in rounds 4-7 this year, but am realistically hopeful for both McClachlan and Lee. Newton can go hang on some nuts. Haven't hated a pick as much as that one in some time. Don't care that it was a 5th rounder. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!

God, I'm really trying to stay upbeat about all this. I have never been less interested in camp. Since this is a Mims thread, did anyone catch his news conference? Dude, just steady smiling and a booming deep voice. Makes you want to like him personally.

Exceptionally strong