HoosierCat

Dehner: Cincinnati 5 picks out. Notable #Bengals options with position/value/connections still on the board: OG Tate Ratledge, UGA S Xavier Watts, ND DT Darius Alexander, Toledo Edge Mike Green, Marshall OL Jared Wilson, UGA OL Aireontae Ersery, Minn

Lol Sanders getting hosed

Injury issues

Yup they a having a good draft

Saviinaea gone to the fins

Judkins to Cleveland damn

Emannwori gone to Seattle

Now army has Higgins on both teams

Schwesinger to Cleveland

All right, here we go again…

I gotta say, between the clips of him at the draft last night, then today at the stadium and with the media, I couldn’t help but instantly like the kid. He’s almost painfully earnest, and all his answers to questions seem good without being football-speak. He’s clearly jazzed about the whole situation. Whether he ever amounts to anything, we’ll see, but I’m rooting for him.

Re the RAS scores, you have to be careful now because they’re starting to get gamed. Guys who know they won’t do well on one of the drills will just not do that drill. Stewart took a lot of flack for skipping the agility drills at the combine, allegedly due to a tweaked hammy from the 40. That’s not to say he isn’t a freak athlete, he is, but you know how guys look for any edge because there’s lots of money involved.

Interesting write up on Shemar here. https://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2025/3/20/24390518/2025-nfl-draft-shemar-stewart-scouting-report-texas-am-edge-defender-pass-rusher-defensive-end

Trepasso with basically the nightmare situation here. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/2025-nfl-mock-draft-for-day-2-shedeur-sanders-jalen-milroe-taken-in-round-2-wrs-fly-off-board-in-round-3/ Not only Green and Emannwori gone, but also Kevin Winston, Landon Jackson, Schwesinger AND Ratledge. He gives Al his college corner, Morrison. Then we watch as pretty much every OL we like comes off the board, before trading up (with KC no less!) for Darius Alexander. And then after trading our third to do that, bonus pain watching Watt go at 83 in the third. Yuck.

So I'm catching up on my reading this morning and there's something a little weird about the pick. Not having to do with Stewart directly, but something about the process seems kind of strange. Stewart told Trags that he couldn't recall any contact or communications from the Bengals. According to another reporter, he thought he was going to Dallas. Apparently he had spoken with Jerrah and their d-line coach early yesterday and was "stunned" when they passed on him at 12. Now, the Bengals did meeting with him at the combine, so there was some contact, but everyone meets with everyone there. But they didn't have him in for a visit or do anything beyond that until apparently early this week. That's when Golden said he called Stewart's college coach to pump him for intel on the kid. That's interesting. Not what you'd expect. They should have been, and I'm confident, were, done with with al their information-gathering, visits and interviews, etc., and had their board set, before last Monday. So what changed? OK, maybe they were locked in on Shemar from day 1 and completely ignoring him was some strategy to make other teams think they weren't interested, but they have never been afraid of talking to guys they ended up drafting before. Also it's kind of risky. What if Al had called his coach and been told all bad stuff? No, that doesn't really scan to me. I wonder if the reason they didn't show any real interest in Stewart was simply that they expected he would be gone by 17. Then last weekend or early this week, they got some intel that that might not be the case? Maybe something slipped in conversations with other teams about possible trades? And that led to the last minute check by Golden that there was no hidden red flag that could explain him falling? That makes sense to me.

PFF gives us Watts then Wyatt Milum in the 3rd. Fine by me. https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2025-day-2-nfl-mock-draft-shedeur-sanders-lands-with-browns-bears-grab-treveyon-henderson

Oh, he is 100% a stereotypical Bengals pick. Sky-high upside player who dominated (relatively speaking in this case) on the collegiate level because he won the genetic lottery, but will now have to learn to play football in order to succeed in the NFL. They adore guys like this. Remember Stacey "the dancing bear" Andrews? But they rarely seem to work out. All we can do is hope this time is an exception.

I am ALL IN on Quinshon Judkins at 49!

Well, does have an atrocious 25% missed tackle rate, so at least he will fit in with our defense there…

Ugh. Anyhow, here’s the best available: https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft/bestavailable

After yesterday I now dread what they may do today.

It’s Stewart *** damn it. Fuck this team.

Seconded. Get Jihaad now.

Oh thank god Walker gone

I would not have complained. Might be DJ Reader 2. Decent pick. TE Warren to Indy