00:00What's the Bengals' biggest need today, less than a month away from the 2026 NFL Draft?
00:05It's a tough one. I want pass rushers, but I think number one for me currently is a linebacker.
00:11Having a starting caliber linebacker, it seems to be, to me, the top need. And I don't know that
00:17it would take much to push this position down the urgency rankings, whether it's signing one
00:24of the Bobbies. O'Kareke or Wagner. This time last year, by the way, give me one of the
00:31Bobbies. That's fine. But think about it, James. This time last year, we knew it was over for
00:36Jermaine Pratt. He was still on the roster at the time, but we knew it was over. I'm sitting here
00:41one year later thinking to myself, what's Jermaine Pratt up to? While Jermaine Pratt's probably out
00:48there thinking, missed tackles or whatever. Did you kill it? There were a lot of missed tackles to that.
00:54Not that much. To be clear, I have a feeling the Bengals aren't going to do much at linebacker
00:57unless it's in the draft at this point. So it's a frustrating prospect, but the idea of running it
01:01back with two guys in Knight and Carter, who I think have a lot of good football ahead of them,
01:06but I'd like for them to have help. Opportunities to rotate with less snaps, develop. So linebacker,
01:13number one for me. They should have addressed it. And while Bobby Wagner sounds good on paper and
01:20would help Bobby Okereke, Bobby Boucher, Bobby Willie May. I don't know. And I don't even know
01:26who that is. The point is, is a lot of people could probably help the Bengals at linebacker,
01:30but it's not their biggest need. You mentioned it. You referenced it.
01:34They need the juice. I know. They need the juice. They need so much juice that we need a juice
01:40sponsorship right here on End of the Jungle. They need the juice on the edge. They don't have enough
01:44juice. And maybe Shamar Stewart brings that. Maybe Miles Murphy brings that, but I don't know.
01:50Maybe Boye Mafi does. But what if he doesn't? What if he doesn't take that step? I need juice.
01:56And so, yes, Barrett Carter had so many missed tackles and Demetrius Knight was playing out of
02:01position. And this coaching staff wanted a linebacker. I keep seeing this on social media.
02:05Like, oh, the Bengals didn't even want linebacker anyway. They draft. No, no, no.
02:09No, no, no. They wanted to seriously address linebacker and they haven't to this point.
02:15Right? Sonny Stiles is very much in play for them at 10 if he's there. Arvel Reese,
02:20very much in play. I'll report it now. Credit me. If they're there at 10, you can maybe not take
02:27it
02:27to the bank because you don't know who else is going to be there. But those two guys would certainly
02:31be at or near the top of the Bengals draft board. But why do I love Arvel Reese? Why would
02:38they?
02:39Because it's going to give them some juice. Sonny Stiles, to a degree, can give them some juice.
02:43And I think that's it is you need to find more pass rush help. The reason you mentioned the
02:49Bobbies is because you just want to raise the floor of that linebacker room. And so while it is
02:57shallow compared to even edge where you have two first round picks and a guy in Boye Mafia that you
03:03feel good about and you paid in free agency, you need more edge. You need more guys to be able
03:10to
03:10rotate and to have those waves of pass rushers that they want. So that would be my priority.
03:15Number one, edge, specifically edge rusher. They need more juice, Andrew. And yet I get it. I get why
03:22a lot of people are thinking linebackers.
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