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Reported this evening that Byron Murphy has been told by Seattle that they will select him if he's still available at pick 16. So it would seem that the Seahawks are the floor for Murphy.

I like Thomas a lot but I don't think he could start as a slot receiver this season. Great outside vertical threat but doesn't have anywhere near enough of a route tree right now imo. So that would mean Chase in the slot nearly all the time. Chase can certainly do it, but I'm not sure I'd want him to do it 80 percent of the time. But Thomas could definitely replace Higgins as an outside receiver in 2025. There are at least 5 slot or inside/outside WRs who the Bengals could take on Day 2 who could start immediately in Boyd's slot though. I different podcasts both Mike Potts and Steve Radicevic were pretty vague on positions and rounds in the draft...except for WR. They love the WR options in the 2nd and 3rd round. Would be shocked if the Bengals didn't draft a WR with one of those Day Three three picks.

JC Latham.

You are usually a go-to guy for decent Dallas info, tex. They seem to always have stuff leak out before the draft. Keep hearing that the Cowboys have settled on Graham Barton in the 1st, RB Johnathan Brooks in the 2nd. Have you heard this?

The draft boards for most teams have already been set. There are some credible rumors that WR Brian Thomas is the player Pittsburgh is targeting at pick 20. Thomas is likely the WR the Bills are trying to move up into the teens to take themselves. Getting in front of Pittsburgh is probably what it will take.

23 out of 27 contestants chose an offensive or defensive linemen. 3 different CBs and one TE received one vote each.

Why wouldn't the Broncos wait until the 1st round plays out before trading for Wilson? We are only talking about Day Three draft pick exchanges for Wilson here. There was plenty of time to make a decision.

TE Mitch Wilcox signs with New England. Cincinnati will surely select a TE at some point in the draft...right?

This might mean the Broncos will select Byron Murphy at pick 12. They reportedly like him a lot.

Latham fits the Bengals current style of OT. WE all know that Burrow doesn't like inside pressure. The idea is to push the EDGE rusher out wide and make him come all the way around. That gives Burrow time to step up into the pocket. Latham is so massive and strong, plus has idea arm length. You can get around Latham eventually but it takes several seconds. Meanwhile...Burrow has already stepped up and put the ball in the air.

"I think you've got to have some flexibility." Especially when you have a massive hole at nose tackle...

Cincinnati should be assembling their big board early this week, if they haven't done so yet. Impossible to know which ones will still be available, but almost certainly two to four of these six linemen should fall to the Bengals at pick 18. Cincinnati will surely pick from this group. In alphabetical order: TROY FAUTANU - Played left tackle and some left guard for Washington in his college career, but many sites list him as a guard because he doesn't have ideal OT height. Fautanu does have long arms that increases his length, and most evaluators believe he has the versatility to play guard or tackle. Extremely good pass protector, which fits a passing team like Cincinnati. TALIESE FUAGA - Played right tackle at Oregon State. An absolute mauler in the run game with a nasty streak that coaches love to see. Some people think he could play left tackle too, but right now is pass protection lags behind his run blocking. Would he be the best fit for Cincinnati's pass-first offense? JC LATHAM - Started at right tackle at Alabama for several years. Fits Cincinnati's current Orlando/Trent Brown tackle mold. Latham is a massive tackle with very long arms. Often called the strongest player in the draft regardless of position. Lateral quickness may be lacking, but his calling card is his length and strength. AMARIUS MIMS - The lowest floor but the highest ceiling of all the offensive linemen here. Size, length and athleticism are all off the charts. Very inexperienced, might need a redshirt year. Could eventually be able to play either tackle position at a high level, but probably would be a non-factor for much or all of his rookie year. BYRON MURPHY - A defensive tackle at Texas who doesn't have ideal length but is very athletic and strong. Played both 3-tech and nose tackle in college. Known as a pass blocker but holds up very well against the run. Was part of a deep rotation at Texas where his snaps were carefully managed. JOHNNY NEWTON - Illinois DT who was considered a top 10 pick coming to his last season. Had excellent pass rushing stats at Illinois. Played hurt his senior season but still managed to take a lot of snaps. Also shows up pretty well against the run as a 3-tech. How would you rank these six linemen on your big board?

Pretty good draft, especially from the 3rd round on. - Ben Sinnott is one of my favorite TEs. Zac always talks about what a great TE coach that James Casey is. How about giving him a mid round draft pick to work with? Cincinnati has gone longer without drafting a TE than any other team in the NFL. Maybe this year... - Tyrone Tracy would be a great RB pick, especially in the 6th round. I do want the RB position to be addressed in the draft, just later on Day Three. The team has too many other pressing needs to go RB early. Tracy is a converted WR, is older than teams might prefer and is very new to the RB position but has so many of the physical traits that teams are looking for. Simmons would love him on special teams too.

Pretty easy to tell what the Bengals are most focused on with this draft. A whopping 15 of their 19 listed top 30 visits were with offensive/defensive linemen. DT Evan Anderson, FIU DT Johnny Newton, Illinois DT Justin Rogers, Auburn DT Maason Smith, LSU DT McKinnley Jackson, Texas A&M DT T'Vondre Sweat, Texas ED Chop Robinson, Penn State ED Gabriel Murphy, UCLA ED Xavier Thomas, Clemson OT Amarius Mims, Georgia OT Bayron Matos, South Florida OT Giovanni Manu, British Columbia OT Javon Foster, Missouri OT Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State OT Troy Fautanu, Washington S Daijahn Anthony, Ole Miss TE Erick All, Iowa WR Jalen McMillan, Washington WR Joshua Cephus, UTSA

There was some recent talk about Fashanu sliding down some, but I don't believe it. Alt and Fashunu are the two top pure left tackles, no projection necessary there, I think Fashanu goes no later than pick 14 to New Orleans.

With the new kickoff rules in place, LBs for special team units will likely be a focus in rounds 6-7. I wouldn't mind another late round punter to challenge Robbins either. Should also take a stab at a nose tackle or two late, even if they might be available after the draft as an UDFA. Last year the Bengals got outbid on most of their priority free agents. Unless they plan to spend more money this year, they will have to draft them late or risk being outbid.

We would all like to think there will be a few good nose tackles available next weekend, but that seems to be the weakest position in the entire draft. Maybe more show up with decent grades elsewhere, but The Beast has only a pitiful handful. This is actually a better than usual draft for 3-techs, but the nose tackle position looks pitiful. T'Vondre Sweat - 4th round (important to note that Sweat earned the 4th round grade BEFORE the recent DUI) Fabian Lovett - 5th-6th round Khristian Boyd - 6th round Jordan Jefferson 6th-7th round (one of 3 LSU DTs expected to be drafted, a sort of tweener closer to being an actual NT than the other two obvious 3T types) McKinnley Jackson -6th-7th round (a few other sites have Jackson rated more like a 4th rounder) ...And that, sadly, is the entire list. The Bengals have shown some interest in Auburn's Justin Rogers, who is listed as a Priority Free Agent in The Beast. My guess is that Rogers will be drafted by some NFL team anyway, if out of desperation if nothing else. In fact, I'm guessing that this small handful of serviceable note tackles will be over-drafted, with demand so high and supply so few. Nose tackle is a position that Cincinnati absolutely needed to address in free agency, and somehow it never happened. So they have a position problem that may not have a draft answer at all, unless they want to roll the dice on Sweat before another desperate team decides to do the same.

A big part of the appeal of Murphy to me is how effective he is at defending against the run at his less than ideal size and length. Obviously Murphy isn't the immovable object that Sweat is, but it still amazes me that Murphy got about 70 more snaps in the A gap than Sweat did, even with fewer overall defensive snaps than Sweat. Murphy handled double teams well at the college level, as he is incredibly strong physically. Here is part of what Dane Brugler's The Beast said about Murphy (and how he might be used gap-wise): Overall, Murphy doesn’t have ideal length, but his rare combination of lower-body twitch, natural leverage and power throughout his frame sets his apart. With his disruptive energy, both as a pass rusher and versus the run, he projects as an impact starter who can play shaded nose or three -technique, similar to Grady Jarrett.

I feel like Latham with his 30-plus starts in the SEC is far more likely to be taken before Mims with his paltry 8 starts. This would be a weird stat to look up, but I'd be willing to bet in the the history of the NFL there has never been an OL with less than double digit college starts taken with a top 20 overall pick.

2 teams that could take possibly Murphy - Minnesota at 11 and Denver at 12 - are also trying to move up to get a QB. Minnesota has 2 number ones as a starting point. Denver doesn't have a lot of draft capital, but there's been talk that Patrick Surtain could be available. Both Arizona and the Chargers could use an elite CB. I also wonder if Penix could be an option for one of these teams if they can't trade up into the top 5.

Less than a week to go until the draft, and there seems to be a growing consensus that there are 12 players who are an absolute lock to go in the first 17 picks. Not saying they will be the first 12 picks or who might select each and every one, only that they will surely be off the board before pick 18. 5 QBs - Williams/Maye/Daniels/McCarthy/Penix (Penix might seem like a reach, but there are so many teams in the top 16 or so that need a QB...Seattle at pick 16 feels like his floor) 3 WRs - Harrison/Nabers/Odonze 1 TE - Bowers 1 OL - Alt 1 EDGE - Turner 2 CBs - Arnold/Mitchell That would 5 other players will be selected before pick 18. The Bengals have to be hoping that an EDGE or 2 like Verse/Latu go in the first 17 picks. There will be some other offensive linemen taken ahead of pick 18, depending on team grades and scheme fit. Denver at 12 definitely could take Murphy if they can't use the pick to solve their QB problem. The Broncos don't have the draft capital to move up. The New Orleans at 14 will definitely be going OL but which one... Fashanu, Fuaga, Fantanu or Latham? Seattle at 16 is another team that could go OL. Jacksonville would like to go CB but maybe both Arnold/Mitchell are off the board. If they don't have a particular OL prospect they covet there, the Jags could trade back like they did last year. Some team might want to come after Murphy (if he's still on the board) or a sliding OT that they fear the Bengals would select.

This is thinking ahead to an extension contract down the road.