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"You won't regret it"... Somehow I believe that..

Yeah I felt like that too. I believe the sky's the limit for him. He along with McKinley Jackson give me hope along the Dline this year.

For those who may not have missed it, there is an amazing "life story" video on All as the first post on this page. Without something close to a miracle and an incredibly brave firefighter, All would have died in a house blaze as a toddler. This video may even be the equal to the one on Chase Brown last year. Very well-made videos but what made them work were the life stories themselves.

I specifically looked for Johnson during the draft, and somehow missed him and thought he had already been drafted when I started suggesting late-round flyers at DE. There was some talk about him rising up boards late in the process. He has insane measurables, but also has a couple in particular that are so bad that it's probably what hurt him: his 3-Cone and SS. If anyone remembers the old Waldo formulas for edge rushers that I used to obsess about, I'm pretty sure he'd qualify as a Low-Risk 1 (Power) rusher.

Burton plays football with a lot of emotion, maybe even too much at times with the taunting, but no one has ever called him lackadaisical on a football field, He plays HARD. He is a versatile receiver who may also have the most sure hands in a very deep WR class. Zac Taylor on Burton: You want to talk about Jermaine (Burton) specifically, you can see him see him run all sorts of routes from all positions. You see him making contested plays down the field, you see him run away from people down the field, you see no drops on tape this year — didn't see a single one. And you saw run after the catch. You saw great scramble awareness, getting in phase with the quarterback and creating big plays on scrambles.

I just alluded to this in the McKinnley post, but there is an overwhelming theme I see coming out of this draft after watching all of the highlights and interviews. Sure, this is no doubt a home run vs. strikeout kind of draft, but here's why I'm very positive: They have drafted personalities. Characters. Dawgs. So much of the makeup of this team is about drafting good guys, team-first ballers, and one of the thing that permeates this group is high-effort guys who seem very Alpha, for whom beating up the other guy seems like something that they actually take pleasure in (maybe too much, Jermaine Burton - although even Burton, you can see that he's obsessed with he game, obsessed with winning, and despises losing and getting beat). If nothing else, this team continues to build its culture, which I think has been one of our X-factors (along with having a football god as our QB) to our success.

It's in this video, which I watched after his highlights, but I'm going to have to agree that they nailed the thing that really jumped out to me on: his first step. He's off the ball before anyone on either line so often in his highlights, and it's not uncommon for the opponent to literally get shocked by it (the combination of quickness and the heaviness of the land?). I was expecting a big lump of lead in the middle of the line but two of his spin moves for sacks against tackles had me double-taking. And then I read some of the just-posted evaluations and people talk about him having 3-Tech skills? Whelp, I'm confused, but if he can be that guy that they mention in this video, who occupies double teams and shocks/confuses the OL and thereby disrupts their scheme, hard to ask for much more than that. Now McKinnley, with Anthony the Safety, the two players I was the most ho-hum about on draft day are two of the ones who I'm more excited to see how they pan out. I will say one other thing, but I'll save it for the main thread

I finally had a chance to watch this and I found it interesting. This is right in my wheelhouse as I’m an escrow officer for a title company. I don’t see a whole lot of institutional investor transactions, but that is mainly because they have their own title companies that handle their transactions. However, I do look at the weekly transactions list in the Cincinnati Enquirer, where they list the buyers’ and sellers’ names, and I do see a lot of institutional investors listed as buyers, sellers, or both. I also have seen an uptick in cash transactions to where right now, they’re running between 40-50% of my business. I do also have a couple of “mom and pop” investors that I work with on a regular basis. I do have my agents tell me from time to time that their sellers tell them up front that they will not sell to an investor. Right now with the market being so hot, they have that luxury. You’re right when you say it’s been an issue for years, going back to the housing meltdown of 2008, (which is another whole rabbit hole I could bore you with, but I won’t). I remember I had one closing where the buyer walked in, asked, “Which property is this?” We told him. He pulled out from his shirt pocket a bunch of cashiers checks, pulled out the right one, handed it to me, signed his paperwork, and left very quickly because he had another closing to get to. He did also mention that it was his 5th closing that day and he had 3 more to go to. IIRC, the company was Stillwater Investments, which used to be a big investor. This was like back in 2010?? Question is-how can Congress, the President, or even local legislators regulate this? As for the whole commission ruling, I don’t think you’ll see a whole lot change on that front, in spite of all the supposed drama about it. The agents have to change how they ask for compensation on the buyer’s side and can still ask the seller to pay their commission, and HUD/VA/USDA are already in the process of modifying their guidelines to allow sellers to pay the buyer’s commission without affecting the limits on what the seller can pay on behalf of the buyer, and FNMA/FHLMC is working on that also. The short and long of this whole ruling is that sellers are no longer REQUIRED to offer buyer compensation in the MLS.

Highlight reels are just that but one thing that really comes out here is his read-react skills and his demeanor. Reminds me some of Mike Hilton in that way. Just looks like a tone setting kind of player, which is as much as you can want with a late round pick.

Maybe the happiest position coach in the draft was James Casey. Even Pitcher noted how excited Casey was after they picked All. Casey may have needed to be revived with smelting salts after they chose to add McLachlan to the room too...

I'm much happier with the draft from the offensive side than the defensive side. Part of that, I admit, is my belief that the 3 best position coaches on the team last season were Dan Pitcher, Troy Walters and James Casey. Pitcher is now been deservedly promoted to offensive coordinator, and I don't think enough has been made about changes he may make to the structure of the offense. Clearly he wants to be less predictable with their personnel groupings than they may have been in the past, especially when Burrow has been healthy. Some of it may be with the way the offense evolved to survive the loss with Browning at the helm. They did better than any of us had the right to expect because of those tweaks. Now the key is to continue to transform the offense with an elite QB like Burrow. The key picks for me were Burton in the 3rd and All in the 4th. Burton may have the best hands in the entire draft class, but he lined up both inside and outside for Alabama even if he was basically known as a deep vertical threat on the outside. I think he will play both slot/outside this season, which means that Chase will have the opportunity to do the same. That's what Pitcher wants. Even with him missing so many games, All has already done a bit of everything at both Michigan and Iowa. He says he didn't even come to Michigan as a TE. The Michigan coaches tried him out as a receiver first, then began to line him up everywhere. Here is Pitcher's comments after the All pick: "He can be the (slot in) 12, he can be the single tight end on the field in 11. He's got experience in wing sets, in multiple tight end sets," Pitcher said. "He's a guy that can play on the move, a guy that can play at the point of attack. He truly is versatile."

CINCINNATI BENGALS: B+ 1 (18): T Amarius Mims, Georgia 2 (49): DI Kris Jenkins, Michigan 3 (80): WR Jermaine Burton, Alabama 3 (96): DI McKinnley Jackson, Texas A&M 4 (115): TE Erick All, Iowa 5 (149): CB Josh Newton, TCU 6 (194): TE Tanner McLachlan, Arizona 6 (214): EDGE Cedric Johnson, Ole Miss 7 (224): S Daijahn Anthony, Ole Miss 7 (237): C Matt Lee, Miami Fl. Mims — Cincinnati beefs up its pass protection in front of Joe Burrow by adding the massive Mims. He’s a fantastic athlete for his size but struggled with injuries at Georgia. Regardless, he allowed just six quarterback pressures across 402 career pass-blocking snaps and should start very soon, as Trent Brown is only a short-term solution at right tackle. Jenkins — Jenkins is arguably the pound-for-pound strongest player in the draft. His 87.2 run-defense grade since 2022 ranked fifth among Power Five interior defenders, while his 82.7 PFF grade in 2023 ranked third among Big Ten interior defenders. Jenkins lacks length and an ideal pass-rush package, but his power alone will have him on the field on Sundays. Burton — Despite sliding a bit due to some off-field concerns, Burton has a three-level skill set with great explosiveness and impressive ball skills. He didn’t drop any of his 57 targets this past season and could be a solid complement to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins from Day 1 due to his downfield playmaking ability. Jackson — Jackson projects as a nose or three-technique in a 4-3 defensive scheme because he excels as a one-gap penetrator. He’s limited by a lack of length, but that didn’t stop him from racking up 34 run stops since 2022 (third-most in the SEC) with 14 of them for no gain or loss (fifth in the SEC). He’ll need to learn to hold up to double team blocks and develop a pass-rush repertoire, but he can be successful in a rotation. All — The Bengals find a potential long-term starter in the fourth round, with All ranking as the third-best tight end on the PFF big board. His 2.62 yards per route in 2023 ranked second among draft-eligible tight ends. Newton — Ranking 12th among Big-12 cornerbacks, Newton earned an 87.7 PFF grade combined over the past two seasons. Across 413 coverage snaps last year, he allowed just one touchdown. McLachlan — The Bengals doubled up on tight ends by adding the safe-handed McLachlan. He didn’t drop a single pass from 45 catchable targets in 2023. His 530 receiving yards and four touchdowns were both career highs. Johnson — Johnson has a solid size-speed combination for an edge defender this late in the draft and offered solid production in his final season in college. From 850 pass-rushing snaps over the past three seasons, he racked up 107 quarterback pressures, including 13 sacks. Anthony — Anthony allowed just one touchdown across 394 coverage snaps in 2023. Opposing quarterbacks managed a passer rating of just 54.7 when targeting him in coverage. Lee — Lee was exceptional in 2023 with the Hurricanes, ranking 10th among FBS centers in PFF grade (79.1). He didn’t allow a single sack on 414 pass-blocking snaps, and his 89.1 PFF pass-blocking grade ranked third among FBS centers. Lee is well worth a swing here for the Bengals, a team that continues to find value late in the draft.

Cincinnati Bengals ROUND PICK PLAYER GRADE 1 18 Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia B- 2 49 Kris Jenkins, DL, Michigan A- 3 80 Jermaine Burton, WR, Alabama A 3 97 McKinnley Jackson, DL, Texas A&M B 4 115 Erick All, TE, Iowa B 5 149 Josh Newton, CB, TCU A- 6 194 Tanner McLachlan, TE, Arizona B+ 6 214 Cedric Johnson, EDGE, Ole Miss A 7 224 Daijahn Anthony, S, Ole Miss A- 7 237 Matt Lee, IOL, Miami (Fla.) A- The Bengals attacked their needs with authority in this class. Defensive tackle. Tight end. Edge rusher. Even added a pair of offensive linemen, and started with Mims who, if healthy, can eventually be the best blocker from this class. Jenkins and Jackson are two different defensive tackle types. Jenkins was the finest run defender in the class. Jackson is a nose tackle by frame and has three-technique talent getting up the field after the quarterback. I am a tick concerned about his poor workout. Burton is not your classic Round 3 receiver -- he has borderline first-round talent as one of the truly premier vertical threat. All and McLachlan are two reasonable talented pass-catching tight ends, and keep an eye on Johnson as an ascending rusher who can climb the depth chart because of his explosiveness and glimpses of hand work. Grade: A-

Cincinnati Bengals: B Top needs entering the draft: Wide receiver, defensive tackle, offensive tackle The Bengals hit needs with all four of their top picks. Amarius Mims (18) might have been a top-five pick if he had a little more experience; he made just eight career starts at Georgia. He has outstanding physical abilities and some of the longest arms I've ever seen. He'll likely slot in as a rookie starter at right tackle. Defensive tackles Kris Jenkins (49) and McKinnley Jackson (97) are better run-defenders than interior pass-rushers, but they'll immediately help a defense that ranked 32nd in yards per play allowed (6.0) a year ago. I graded Jackson as more of a fifth-rounder, though. Cincinnati reached for wideout Jermaine Burton (80) over guys I had graded higher including Jalen McMillan, Roman Wilson and Troy Franklin, and Burton also has some off-field concerns. He's a talented player and deep threat for Joe Burrow, but he's no guarantee to be a future Tee Higgins replacement. Cornerback Josh Newton (149) is undersized and ran an underwhelming 40-yard dash at the combine, but he was super productive in the Big 12. Tanner McLachlan (194) finished at No. 100 on my Big Board, and the Bengals got him nearly 100 picks later. I had him rated higher than the other TE they took --Erick All (115) -- because of his upside as a receiver. With 10 selections here, the Bengals were able to target their roster holes, but they overdrafted a couple of guys, which limits the ceiling on this grade. All Of Cincinnati's 2024 Draft Picks ROUND/PICK NAME POS COLLEGE 1/18 Amarius Mims OT Georgia 2/49 Kris Jenkins DT Michigan 3/80 Jermaine Burton WR Alabama 3/97 McKinnley Jackson DT Texas A&M 4/115 Erick All TE Iowa 5/149 Josh Newton CB TCU 6/194 Tanner McLachlan TE Arizona 6/214 Cedric Johnson EDGE Ole Miss 7/224 Daijahn Anthony S Ole Miss 7/237 Matt Lee C Miami

Damn! I can’t wait to see him do that to a couple of Squeeler receivers! 💥

He has that Cam Taylor Britt personality in him. I like it.

Not impressed by either RB signing. Seems odd that they haven't grabbed a solid UDFA RB lately when Evans and Williams and arent studs.

5-10 222 4.7 Year School Conf Class Pos G Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD Plays Yds Avg TD *2019 Penn State Big Ten FR RB 10 84 443 5.3 8 7 52 7.4 0 91 495 5.4 8 2020 Penn State Big Ten SO RB 1 3 13 4.3 0 0 0 0 3 13 4.3 0 *2021 Penn State Big Ten JR RB 13 106 350 3.3 4 19 114 6.0 0 125 464 3.7 4 *2022 LSU SEC JR 14 76 409 5.4 10 9 76 8.4 0 85 485 5.7 10 *2023 LSU SEC SR RB 13 37 181 4.9 3 1 6 6.0 1 38 187 4.9 4

The eternal tendency is to artificially place immediate expectations on these young men. Used to be, it would be at least 3 seasons before the dreaded “not living up to draft status” tag would be placed on them. Now, it’s as early as first year. Everything looks great on Draft Day. This one, no different. Now the weeding out begins.

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