Category: Latest News

Bengals rookies try Cincinnati chili for the first time

A welcome-to-Cincinnati moment for Bengals rookies.

The Cincinnati Bengals had 10 picks in the 2024 draft, and each of them are in the city for mini camp that started Friday for their first appearance as Bengals.

But they aren’t able to say they are an official Cincinnatian until they go through a very important rite of passage, which a few of the rookies now have.

The Bengals’ official Twitter account shared a video on May 2 of first-round pick Amarius Mims, second-round pick Kris Jenkins and third-round pick McKinnley Jackson trying Cincinnati chili for the first time.

Each of them seemed to like the new food, so they are fitting into Cincinnati well already. They will each have a lot more chances to get more chili during their time with the Bengals, and Jenkins especially seems like he will take advantage of that, since he ate the entire bowl he got for the video.

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Where does Joe Burrow fit in latest QB rankings?

Joe Burrow sits near the top alongside names like Allen and Mahomes.

Quarterback rankings are all the rage right now during a quiet stretch of the offseason, with Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow landing in some interesting spots.

One set of rankings, for example, shocked plenty of onlookers because it had Burrow ranked under San Francisco 49ers passer Brock Purdy.

One from Touchdown Wire’s Jarrett Bailey, though, has Burrow third overall behind only Josh Allen in Buffalo and Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City:

Burrow’s another guy that people have just forgotten about this offseason. Maybe it’s because guys like Stroud and Love showed up to the scene and tore it up immediately, but Burrow and the Bengals were a few plays away from beating the Chiefs in consecutive AFC Championship Games on the road. The Bengals are my early pick to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, and No. 9 is the biggest reason why.

Bengals fans won’t have a problem with any assortment of Burrow-Allen-Mahomes at the top these days — though especially notable is the writeup mentioning the Bengals as the pick to get back to the Super Bowl.

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Jermaine Burton tabbed as perfect scheme fit with Bengals

More praise for the Bengals-Jermaine Burton fit.

The Cincinnati Bengals drafted wide receiver Jermaine Burton in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft for many reasons.

One of those was for the way he can bridge the gap for the offense as the wideout room around him changes.

Burton’s ability to play multiple spots and provide different things for the offense is part of the reason he’s listed as one of the seven picks landing in an ideal scheme fit by Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine:

Burton has a great chance to become the kind of receiver that Burrow loves to throw the ball to. He has the route-running to play in the slot and take over Tyler Boyd’s role in Year 1 with the deep threat potential to be in Higgins’ role in Year 2.

No doubt the Bengals liked Burton’s scheme fit and clearly viewed him as a steal in Round 3.

And Burton could very well end up as the primary slot receiver (perhaps splitting those reps with tight end Mike Gesicki depending on alignment) as a rookie.

If — and it remains a big if regardless of the outlook now — the Bengals lose Tee Higgins after 2024, Burton could indeed slip to the boundary.

Given the way the Bengals like to move Ja’Marr Chase to the slot to create mismatches anyway, Burton could see plenty of reps in both spots as a rookie, too.

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Joe Burrow mentioned with notable stat in bold 2024 season predictions

Can Joe Burrow accomplish this feat in 2024?

What the Cincinnati Bengals offense and Joe Burrow looks like in 2024 has been a topic of debate since before last season ended.

Some of the question marks that started the discourse have come to fruition — mainstays like Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon are gone, the right tackle spot is in flux and new arrivals such as Mike Gesicki hint at changes in schematic approach.

For some, though, there’s still plenty of reason to believe that Burrow will put up huge numbers.

Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport, for example, listed a few bold predictions for 2024 and listed Burrow leading the league in passing yards as one:

Add in the NFL’s most brutal division in the AFC North, and you have a scenario where the Bengals are going to be embroiled in quite a few back-and-forth affairs. It’s going to fall to Burrow more than ever to carry Cincinnati’s offense. That’s going to lead to the biggest passing numbers of Burrow’s career—and more yards through the air than any other quarterback in the league.

Burrow doing so certainly isn’t impossible now that his injury recovery seems to be on track.

The likely shift to more under-center looks with weapons like Gesicki and new running back Zack Moss should play a role in his being a stat contender across the board.

Naturally, if Burrow’s pacing the league in key stats, there’s a chance that would mean the Bengals are in contention, too, so it’s a bold prediction fans will surely like.

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Titans’ Cedric Gray talks green dot, T’Vondre Sweat’s snoring

The Titans gave rookie LB Cedric Gray the task of calling plays for the defense on Day 1 of rookie minicamp.

The Tennessee Titans are in search of who will be the defensive play-caller on the field during the 2024 campaign after the departure of Azeez Al-Shaair, and fourth-round pick and linebacker Cedric Gray is among the candidates.

Of course, Gray has to earn a starting job first, something that isn’t a given, even with the lackluster options the Titans have at the position aside from him.

Just in case, the Titans are getting Gray some experience early on, as the rookie was calling plays on defense during Day 1 of rookie minicamp.

“It was good,” Gray said, according to Jim Wyatt. “That’s something in the job that I want to be able to have. So being able to go out there and do that for the first time today, it was (great).”

Gray has been getting to know his new teammates since joining the Titans. In fact, he is roommates with second-round pick and defensive lineman, T’Vondre Sweat.

But there’s one problem: Sweat snores, and really loud.

“It’s pretty bad,'” Gray said. “It’s pretty loud, but it wasn’t too bad. You have to go to sleep first, that’s the key.”

If you see Gray lagging at practice in the near future, it could very well be because he was up all night due to Sweat’s snoring, so give him a break.

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Titans’ JC Latham details working with OL coach Bill Callahan

Titans first-round pick and OT JC Latham touched on what it’s like working with OL coach Bill Callahan.

The Tennessee Titans are hoping that first-round pick and offensive tackle JC Latham can make the switch from right tackle, where he played in college, to left tackle, where the team needs him most.

Thankfully, Latham has quite a helping hand to achieve that feat after the Titans hired esteemed offensive line coach Bill Callahan this offseason. If there’s anybody who can get Latham ready to go, it’s Callahan, who is a believer in Latham being able to make the switch.

“No. 1, his athleticism, and then, of course, all of the measurable traits that he has. And then you add in size, power, strength, and it adds up to making that move (from right tackle to left tackle),” Callahan said of why he thinks Latham is capable of going from right to left tackle. “I think if you have the athleticism and you have strength and you have the muscle memory to change some skill sets, I think it’s doable.”

Callahan and Latham finally took their work to the actual practice field on Friday for the first day of rookie minicamp. Thanks to videos from beat writers, the veteran coach could be seen working extensively with the rookie.

Latham got his hands on one of the sleds Callahan invented and after having some trouble initially, the Alabama product finally got the 360-pound sled moving.

“At ‘Bama, we have a sled similar to it, not exactly like that, but we just put our coaches on it,” Latham said, per John Glennon of Nashville Post. “So it’s kind of the same in that sense. But it really emphasizes technique.

“On my first rep, where [Callahan] wanted us to move it, I kind of shot out my hips and kind of got [the sled] straight up, and if you get it straight up, you’re not going to move it as a D-lineman. It will be a stalemate. So you really kind of got to gradually drive as you rise with your hips. So that’s something that I was learning as I went. But it really emphasizes [technique].”

Latham went into detail about Callahan’s approach to teaching, which includes a very direct way of telling a player they didn’t do well on a particular rep.

“He’s very, very intricate with the detail of the work,” Latham said. “And he’ll let you know, if you had a bad rep, he’ll just tell you your rep sucked. But if you did good, he’ll let you know you did good. He’ll let you know areas to improve in and he’s really intricate.”

Latham also talked about how it is working with Callahan when they’re not on the field and rightly called him “a great coach.”

“Even in the meetings, he’ll show us the film, what it should look like, how it’s supposed to be done,” Latham explained. “He’ll talk to us about it. And then he’ll even just grab one of the guys and be like, `Hey, let me see you do this, do this, do that.’

“He grabbed me out earlier when we were in the meeting and we were going over our stance, and I was in my stance for like two minutes, so [he was] just trying to show us and show me how to keep the knee bend and the weight distribution and all that. But he’s a great coach.”

Latham clearly isn’t taking his opportunity in the NFL lightly, as he looked to be in great shape. That, along with having a guru like Callahan, should make fans confident that Latham will be successful in making the switch.

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Jermaine Burton reveals Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase reached out to him

Jermaine Burton got contacted by Chase and Burrow pretty quickly.

Cincinnati Bengals rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton linked up with two of his new teammates in a hurry.

Friday — the same day Burton put up some notable highlights in practice — the third-round pick revealed that Ja’Marr Chase has already reached out to him.

As captured by CLNS Media’s Mike Petraglia, Burton revealed that Chase contacted him and said he’s a big fan of the rookie’s game and is excited to get to work.

Burton also said he’s had playbook conversations with Joe Burrow, too.

The wideout link is notable though, given that Burton could find himself as the third wide receiver in the offense alongside Chase and Tee Higgins right away, with Tyler Boyd now a member of the Titans via free agency.

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Titans’ T’Vondre Sweat working with nutritionist to target play weight

After Day 1 of rookie minicamp, Titans DL T’Vondre Sweat was ready for the questions about his weight.

One of the concerns about Tennessee Titans defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat coming out of college was his ability to keep his weight in check, something that will be the difference between him being an every-down lineman or not.

Sweat, who was listed at 366 pounds at the combine, says he’s working with a nutritionist with the goal of finding an ideal playing weight, although he’s not sure what that weight is yet.

“Right now, before anyone asks, me and my nutritionist and my coaches are looking to find that perfect weight for me to play at,” Sweat said, per Jim Wyatt. “I don’t know that perfect weight. But, y’all (will) see when y’all see.”

Of course, Sweat works on the inside, which means he can’t be too light if he wants to do his job well. But being too heavy can impact his conditioning and ability to get after the quarterback.

Sweat was moving quite well on the first day of rookie minicamp on Friday. Despite a little rust from not having played football in awhile, the rookie was pleased with how he felt on Day 1.

“I felt great. Just being here, in Nashville, it’s amazing. It was awesome to be out there today,” Sweat said. “Anyone, when you haven’t played football in a minute, of course you’re going to come out with a little rust. But once you’re going, you’re going.”

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Bengals had starter grades on rookie TEs Erick All, Tanner McLachlan

The Bengals had high grades on both rookie TEs they drafted.

The Cincinnati Bengals have high hopes for the pair of tight ends they selected in the 2024 NFL draft.

That much the Bengals made clear with comments about fourth-rounder Erick All right after the draft ended.

But hearing the team talk about All and sixth-rounder Tanner McLachlan as spring work for rookies begins really hammers home the point.

“We had starter grades on Erick and we think McLachlan is an explosive, dynamic weapon in the pass game,” Potts said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “We think he can be a potential difference-maker going into the future. We were really glad with how the value played in the sixth round. We thought he was going to go higher than that.”

For now, both rookies very much sit behind new arrival Mike Gesicki, Drew Sample and Tanner Hudson on the depth chart. All could even start the year on the PUP, depending on the injury progress he’s made from the issues that dinged his stock in the first place.

Clearly, though, the team believes it might have two guys who can eventually sit at or near the top of the depth chart, with the climb starting right now.

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Titans rookie minicamp: Best photos from Day 1

The Titans had their first session of rookie minicamp on Friday. Here are the best photos from it.

The Tennessee Titans began their rookie minicamp on Friday, May 10, and will be back on the field on Saturday, May 11, before wrapping things up on Sunday, May 12.

The first day of rookie minicamp gave us our first look at the Titans’ 2024 NFL draft class and undrafted free-agent signings, of which the Titans have 16. We also saw a pair of former first-round picks trying out in cornerback William Jackson and edge rusher Shane Ray.

Before we get to the photos, here are some stories from Day 1:

Bill Callahan invented his own sled

Titans trying out former first-round picks

Titans make UDFA deals official

Titans’ rookie minicamp roster

Now, the photos: