His dip, rip, hop-step, ankle flexion, bend, and acceleration are unique ... I'm not sure I've ever seen that combination in the same player. Especially the hop-step. 🤔

To me he's a classic blitzing 3-4 OLB and we are essentially a 3-4 team now, with Dexter at NT.

7 hours ago, BlackJesus said:

His dip, rip, hop-step, ankle flexion, bend, and acceleration are unique ... I'm not sure I've ever seen that combination in the same player. Especially the hop-step. 🤔

To me he's a classic blitzing 3-4 OLB and we are essentially a 3-4 team now, with Dexter at NT.

Watch his tape vs Texas up-thread before we start fitting him for the jacket. He needs to get stronger.

lol

18 hours ago, T-Dub said:

Watch his tape vs Texas up-thread before we start fitting him for the jacket. He needs to get stronger.

According to this former strength and conditioning coaches he's benching 350lbs and squats over 500 lbs...that's pretty strong.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/college/article/cashius-howell-nfl-draft-texas-am-aggies-21129123.php

He had 22 reps of 225 lbs at his pro day, once again that is NFL level strength. Sure he could improve and become an elite strength guy but he's not some string bean out there getting manhandled every snap.

https://atozsports.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals-news/cashius-howell-tommy-moffitt-texas-am-mike-potts/

Howell had the same strength and conditioning coach at TAMU as Burrow and Chase had at LSU, Moffitt. Moffitt raved about Howell's work ethic and mentality, he said he was one of, if not, the best player he's ever coached and loved the way he attacked improving his strength. When Howell transferred from Bowling Green to TAMU he increased his vertical by 7 inches, bench press max increased by 50 lbs, etc. He's proven he's a hard worker that wants to get better and will put in the work to improve.

I can see a LaRosa's endorsement deal in his future...he's seems like a guy Buddy would have loved...Good, Better, Best...never let it rest, until your good becomes better and your better becomes best....LFG!!

3 hours ago, The PatternMaster said:

According to this former strength and conditioning coaches he's benching 350lbs and squats over 500 lbs...that's pretty strong.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/college/article/cashius-howell-nfl-draft-texas-am-aggies-21129123.php

He had 22 reps of 225 lbs at his pro day, once again that is NFL level strength. Sure he could improve and become an elite strength guy but he's not some string bean out there getting manhandled every snap.

https://atozsports.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals-news/cashius-howell-tommy-moffitt-texas-am-mike-potts/

Howell had the same strength and conditioning coach at TAMU as Burrow and Chase had at LSU, Moffitt. Moffitt raved about Howell's work ethic and mentality, he said he was one of, if not, the best player he's ever coached and loved the way he attacked improving his strength. When Howell transferred from Bowling Green to TAMU he increased his vertical by 7 inches, bench press max increased by 50 lbs, etc. He's proven he's a hard worker that wants to get better and will put in the work to improve.

I can see a LaRosa's endorsement deal in his future...he's seems like a guy Buddy would have loved...Good, Better, Best...never let it rest, until your good becomes better and your better becomes best....LFG!!

Just watch the Aggie vs Texas tape up-thread and tell me what you see

Never said the guy sucks but he fell to the 2nd round for a reason. There's "lift lots of weights" strong and then there's "not get planted in the turf like a petunia and then sat on" strong.

Maybe let's stop trying to turn every draft pick into some mega -badass unstoppable world beater and look at them objectively.

5 minutes ago, T-Dub said:

Maybe let's stop trying to turn every draft pick into some mega -badass unstoppable world beater and look at them objectively.

Why? What difference does it make if someone wants to be excited about a draft pick?

10 minutes ago, spicoli said:

Why? What difference does it make if someone wants to be excited about a draft pick?

What difference does it make if a man is made of straw?

Go read my posts in here again, I am "excited" for this draft pick but I also watched him get handled like an Amazon package vs Texas. I am capable of liking things without insisting they are perfect in every way. I even noted in that post that there is no quit in him despite being repeatedly manhandled and shut down.

Can we please have a nornal discussion about both a player's strengths and weaknesses without calling the Positivity Police? 🚨

34 minutes ago, T-Dub said:

Just watch the Aggie vs Texas tape up-thread and tell me what you see

Never said the guy sucks but he fell to the 2nd round for a reason. There's "lift lots of weights" strong and then there's "not get planted in the turf like a petunia and then sat on" strong.

Maybe let's stop trying to turn every draft pick into some mega -badass unstoppable world beater and look at them objectively.

I see guy who gets to the edge with frequency and was able to produce consistent pressure. He didn't win every rep but he held his own and impacted the game from his position. He lost a rep or two, over ran the QB a few times..but he played like his hair was on fire and he didn't embarrasses himself or look like he couldn't compete...honestly he looked like Trey Hendrickson rushing the QB.

If the Bengals use a hybrid 3-4/4-3/5-2 defense then Howell can be an OLB in a 3-4, the 3rd LB in a 4-3. and the 5th DE in a 5 man front. He's a versatile chess piece that can confuse opposing offenses and replace what we lost when Hendrickson left town.

Howell won't be asked to be an every DE setting the edge in the run game...I believe he will be used primarily as a pass rush specialist on obvious passing downs. Myles and Stewart can set the edge, let's just let Howell come screaming off the corner to put pressure on QB's that are escaping our DT's.

53 minutes ago, T-Dub said:

What difference does it make if a man is made of straw?

Straw man? You specifically told him to pump the brakes and not turn every pick into some mega-badass. I simply asked…why? If someone wants to be ultra excited about a draft pick, what’s it matter?

On 5/3/2026 at 2:50 PM, T-Dub said:

Watch his tape vs Texas up-thread before we start fitting him for the jacket. He needs to get stronger.

I’m not reading anything into a one game sample size. He won SEC DPOY.

55 minutes ago, spicoli said:

Straw man? You specifically told him to pump the brakes and not turn every pick into some mega-badass. I simply asked…why? If someone wants to be ultra excited about a draft pick, so what?

Dubbers(that's my nickname for T-Dub) is an emotional fella but he tries to hide it, but the emotions bubble up and force themselves out in odd ways like nose piercings, goth themed outfits, and blue colored hair that covers his mascara traced eyes...


Dubbers is our resident emo that thinks everything sucks and we gonna die anyways so what's the point amirite..lol


🥷

1 hour ago, Inigo Montoya said:

I’m not reading anything into a one game sample size. He won SEC DPOY.

Exactly, they are not just giving that recognition away like a participation trophy in middle school field day...he earned that shit through consistently whupping ass and taking names. Teams and opposing OT knew what we was going to do and he still had success.

He was an unanimous All-American in 2025, one of 13. 11 were in the most recent draft and the only other DE that received that recognition was the #2 overall pick in the draft...IJS...we got a highly productive player at a position of need what's not to be excited about? I've seen Howell compared to Von Miller as they are both All American edge rushers that played at TAMU, however Von's arms almost 3 inches longer..outside of that I there are pretty damn near identical...if we can get 75% of what Von Miller is/was then I would be ecstatic.

6 hours ago, The PatternMaster said:

Dubbers(that's my nickname for T-Dub) is an emotional fella but he tries to hide it, but the emotions bubble up and force themselves out in odd ways like nose piercings, goth themed outfits, and blue colored hair that covers his mascara traced eyes...


Dubbers is our resident emo that thinks everything sucks and we gonna die anyways so what's the point amirite..lol


🥷

Y'all weird af TBH

You wanna buy a pair of my socks or somethin wtf even is this

7 hours ago, spicoli said:

Straw man? You specifically told him to pump the brakes and not turn every pick into some mega-badass. I simply asked…why? If someone wants to be ultra excited about a draft pick, what’s it matter?

If I'm not in here sniffing jocks, what's that matter.

I come here to talk about football. Seems like a few of you come here to talk about me. Your life must be mind numbingly boring because I'm pretty sure I'm not that fascinating.

This isnt the Pittsburgh Stealers, the team doesn't need a bunch of middle aged men on the cheerleading squad 😆

From the day before the draft began ...

Strange how the person I was actually quoting doesn't seem all assinjured about being challenged. White knight mofos 😆 you can all relax as it seems I have not dampened his "excitement" in the slightest. As if that was the point and not some rookie Bengals player. Fuckin off-season doldrums amirite lets talk about your feelings headass

& that's what I appreciate about BJ.. that and the annual Bluto man crush.. and the occasional completely unhinged shit-take.

Good article on the flagship about Cashius...

https://www.bengals.com/news/texas-a-m-coaches-scout-bengals-top-draft-pick-cashius-howell-guys-like-him-don-t-come-along-very-often

"His game and his style of play translates great to the NFL level. We ran a pro-style defense, so he'll be ready to do whatever is asked. He's serious about his craft. He sits in the meetings, he takes tremendous notes. There's a switch he flips and he becomes highly competitive. Ultra-competitive. He'll tell you about it a little, too, which I love."

His Vegas Bowl line read a sack, a pass breakup, five tackles, and an interception that Jerod-Eddie says he damn near ran back for a touchdown.

"He played our boundary side end, but he ended up playing both in that game. He played the boundary side and the field side," Jerod-Eddie says. "It shows you he'll do whatever you need him to do.

"An incredible talent who plays the game the right way, who plays the game with a tenacity you want in a defensive lineman. He's a good football player, and a better guy. His life has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination."
......
Among the many things that impressed Moffitt about Howell during his two years in College Station was how he got the most out of the teeming power-conference benefits that weren't available in the same amount at Bowling Green.

For instance, a cafeteria stocked with menus on top of snacks. Supplements. Strength coaches. Howell would talk about it with Moffitt. How A&M had all these wonderful things to give players the edge. The defensive line had two strength coaches. So did the offensive line/tight ends. So did the safeties and cornerbacks.

"He came out of a different style at Bowling Green, and when he got here, some of the stuff he wasn't good at," Moffitt says of the different philosophies of the weight rooms. "There are guys who if they can't do something, won't do it.

"But Cashius would. Rep after rep after rep until he got it right."

The result is this: "He's so fast, and he studies film. He can bend like no other. He gets so low."

A linchpin of "The Moffitt Method," is high intensity, and he had seen and felt enough from Howell that by last season he had Moffitt's full attention. This is what Moffitt says he told the

NFL scouts when they came calling:

"I watched his every rep this past year in the weight room. If we weren't in a team setting for our runs, I watched every sprint he took. He never took a rep off.

"It's because guys like him don't come along very often," Moffitt says of the attention. "The opportunity to watch a guy do an exercise or a rep that says he's trying to break the bar in half. and he was like that very day.

I truly think Howell will be used in a bandit/elephant/jack role in this defense. Basically, a player that plays the edge standing up but can drop into coverage, rush the passer, or play the run depending on the situation.

If you look at what he did in college and what Golden said he wanted in this draft, as he was reportedly very high on Jake Golday, who is a former DE that converted to LB at UC to play a similar role in his defense.

Here's an excerpt from an article on Bengals.com that highlights Howell's versatility and ability to play all over the field.

One of the reasons Watson enjoyed Howell is because he could pretty much do anything they asked. If you think Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden is going to take advantage of Howell's 252-pound versatility, listen to this:

"There were times on tape he was lining up on the X (receiver) from the corner position and played it in the flat," Watson said. "We asked him to do a lot of different things in our system. Rushing the passer, dropping in coverage, moving him around on third down to play multiple positions. And he plays with an edge, with a physicality."

Barely recruited out of high school and used sparingly when he first arrived at A&M from Bowling Green, Howell blows hot with an AFC North chip on his shoulder. Although, Howell admits, he's never been quite sure about the NFL's conference and division alignments.

Like Watson says, he's a quick learner.

"We'd have a practice," Watson says, "and before we met the next day, he would have watched it, really devoured it. He wanted to get everything out of it he could. Being around guys like that is fun."

Absolutely no question, Watson says. Not only is Howell going to make it, he predicts he'll play for a long time.

"He's not going to be a guy that gets a payday, and he floats his way through," Watson says. "He's relentless. A physical player. If you're really smart and you're talented and you play really hard, you can play a long time."

I can't wait to see how the Bengals use Howell this season.

8 minutes ago, The PatternMaster said:

I truly think Howell will be used in a bandit/elephant/jack role in this defense. Basically, a player that plays the edge standing up but can drop into coverage, rush the passer, or play the run depending on the situation.

If you look at what he did in college and what Golden said he wanted in this draft, as he was reportedly very high on Jake Golday, who is a former DE that converted to LB at UC to play a similar role in his defense.

Here's an excerpt from an article on Bengals.com that highlights Howell's versatility and ability to play all over the field.

I can't wait to see how the Bengals use Howell this season.

Same, I suspect he's going to be standing up quite a bit. However we also heard a lot about Golden simplifying things late in the year because his defense was confusing his players. All the clever scheming and versatility won't amount to anything if it leaves the people asked to execute it not knowing whether to shit or go blind when the ball gets snapped.

It will be interesting to see how all his Big Thinks translate to the field. Hope he has the humility to adjust when things don't look how he drew them up.

Ultimately its pretty simple, get the dude with the ball on the ground or don't let them catch it downfield. All this tricksy hobbitses stuff won't mean shit if they can't do that. It's going to come down to how well they cover & tackle, not where they line up.

4 minutes ago, T-Dub said:

Same, I suspect he's going to be standing up quite a bit. However we also heard a lot about Golden simplifying things late in the year because his defense was confusing his players. All the clever scheming and versatility won't amount to anything if it leaves the people asked to execute it not knowing whether to shit or go blind when the ball gets snapped.

It will be interesting to see how all his Big Thinks translate to the field. Hope he has the humility to adjust when things don't look how he drew them up.

Putting players in positions to be successful by knowing what they do well and scheming to their strengths is a core function for DC's and it seems like Golden struggled with that early last season. Hopefully, with all of the new pieces to play with he's ready to get the players in position to make plays.

Here's another article with a quote from Golden that confirms that he sees Howell as a hybrid OLB/DE that can do multiple things for the defense...

https://atozsports.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals-news/al-golden-drops-juicy-hint-about-cashius-howell-2026-nfl-draft/

Pass rush is king, and there’s no question Howell’s main job will be getting after the quarterback when he’s on the field for Cincinnati.

That he’s the size of an old school linebacker also gives him value at that position as well.

The Bengals have been needing another LB who can play on the edge in odd fronts, when there are three down-linemen and two stand-up backers on the edge.

Boye Mafe projects to add value to that role, as he mainly rushed out of a two-point stance with the Seattle Seahawks. Golden expects Howell to bring the same skillset.

“Motor guy,” Golden said. “Can play 4-2 EDGE. Can play outside backer if you go to five-down or bigger people. Showed proficiency with the ability to drop. Can help us on special teams. So just a multi-faceted athlete and really, really twitched up guy.”

LB was pegged as a glaring need for Cincy entering the draft due to a lack of bodies who can aptly fill this role. Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter remain the starting stack backers in the second level, and Knight specifically struggled filling the on-ball role as a rookie last year.

If Howell is backing up Mafe as that Jack, Bandit, Elephant..whatever the fuck you want to call it...the guy who might be rushing, standing up, dropping into the flat, etc..then I think that's a great position to put this player in so he can be successful early in his career.

Just now, The PatternMaster said:

Putting players in positions to be successful by knowing what they do well and scheming to their strengths is a core function for DC's and it seems like Golden struggled with that early last season. Hopefully, with all of the new pieces to play with he's ready to get the players in position to make plays.

Here's another article with a quote from Golden that confirms that he sees Howell as a hybrid OLB/DE that can do multiple things for the defense...

If Howell is backing up Mafe as that Jack, Bandit, Elephant..whatever the fuck you want to call it...the guy who might be rushing, standing up, dropping into the flat, etc..then I think that's a great position to put this player in so he can be successful early in his career.

I like to call that position "Gadzooks!" 🥷

I think this dude has the versatility to effectively do OLB type things but I also don't expect lining him up as a nickel corner would go very well at the NFL level. When he finishes all his "rush the QB" maybe he can have a little "cover the RB in the flat" as a treat.