I just got off work and I really should be asleep right now because I've been working all night I haven't slept in a long time but I just cannot stop thinking about the Cincinnati Bengals week one depth chart and all of the little hidden nuances so uh you know what sleep be gone be procrastinated be delayed we're going to talk about it up next on no buts about it [Music] alrighty everyone welcome to no buts about it I am your host Josh buts and today we are going to be talking about the Cincinnati Bengals depth chart their week one depth chart has been released um and I've seen quite a few articles talking about the surprises of the Cincinnati Bengals depth chart and um maybe there are a few but there's not enough to where I'm freaking out there are some people who are already freaking out they're already making these decisions about uh what the Bengals believe about players what they think about certain players due to the uh where they're placed on the depth chart so first of all let's just take a look right and uh this this is going to be just brief we're just going to briefly look at this and I'll pull it up a few other times so if you don't get everything taken in that you want to uh that that'll be fine because I'll put it up uh another time during the show so uh first of all let's just read off the starters I'll just go top to bottom uh so wide receiver one is Jamar Chase no shock there and then we've got our left offensive tackle Orlando Brown J left guard is Cordell Volson Center Ted Carris Right Guard Alex Kappa right offensive tackle Trent Brown tight end one is Drew sample and that may come as a shock to some but we will talk about that here in a minute about why I think he is listed as such uh wide receiver uh three is gonna be Andre yosias wide receiver two t Higgins quarterback of course is none other than Joseph Lee burrow halfback one is Zach Moss another uh listing we are going to be talking about uh left defensive end Sam hubard then defensive tackle Sheldon rankins a starting defensive tackle as well is BJ Hill right defensive end is Trey Hendrickson linebacker is Logan Wilson we have the other linebacker position Germaine Pratt nickel corner is Mike Hilton no shock there uh then we've got Dax Hill and cam Taylor Brit both starting CB1 and CB2 very exciting as well Gino Stone and Von Bell are the starting safeties for the Cincinnati Bengals this year and on special teams Ryan recau is the starting punter with Brad Robbins having that hip flexor issue uh kicking is money Mack Long Snapper is Cal Adam Mattis another guy whose name I have never been able to say for some reason holder Ryan reow punt returner Charlie Jones and kickoff returner is Chase Brown like I said um if you didn't get into all the depth we will pull that up here again and um so first thing I want to talk about is the tight end position that is the thing that I have seen the most people just losing their marbles over they cannot believe that Drew sample is listed over Mike gaseki on the chart I mean Drew sample has been with the Cincinnati Bengals since 2019 he has been a decent enough player but you know what he cannot catch the ball and uh that that's true and it's ironic because in this photo I have of him he does have the ball in his hand but if you've watched him he has a lot more drops than catches so that is why so many people were excited when the Bengals brought in Mike gaki in free agency from the New England Patriots they wanted Mike gaseki before he went to the New England Patriots so uh a lot of Bengals fans dreams are coming true with this Mike gaseki signing and uh now they're like what the heck why is he behind Drew sample on the depth chart well I'm gonna tell you why I think that is I think that the Bengals are kind of showing us something here um this is the 11 personnel kind of setup and 11 person personel means you've got one running back and one tight end usually in line because you have three wide receivers so if you're not familiar with the numbers uh scheme or the Personnel numbers you've got 11 personnel which is one tight end one running back one tight end then you got 12 Personnel one running back two tight ends and then two wide receivers So you you're basically starting with five and then your first number is the amount of running backs second number is the amount of tight ends and then you subtract those that's your receivers for the most part that's a generalization but like 21 Personnel two running backs one tight end two wide receivers see it's pretty simple but um it can get complicated this let's just focus on 11 personnel right now I believe this is the 11 personnel scheme and if you have been following along with what we have been talking about with Mike gaseki this makes total sense as to why if they are basing this depth chart off the 11 personnel you would want Drew sample in before Mike gaseki on that depth chart and that's because Mike gaseki does not block Mike geki doesn't even line up in the traditional role of a tight end he lines up in the slot and out wide way more often than he lines up in line as a tight end and Drew sample on the flip side is a great blocker he may not be the best Blocker in the NFL but he can block better than Mike geki so if I have three wide receivers out there and then say Chase brown or Zach moss in his running back going out on a wheel route that's four potential receivers that I have I don't necessarily need my tight end to be open I don't need him that but I do need him as a blocker and so this could be a great scheme that we see for the Bengals where they're essentially getting an extra offensive lineman with Drew sample and they already have all these talented receivers you have Jamar Chase who I believe is going to be playing this week um if we don't get the contract today I expect it to come out tomorrow I really I already placed a parlay on him getting a touchdown so I I'm literally putting my money where my mouth is here I believe Jamar Chase will be playing week one so you've got Jamar Chase you've got T Higgins and uh one of the more exciting players we've got is Andre yosias and this is another thing that this uh depth chart is telling us it is telling us that Andre yosias will be the week one wide receiver three starter over Germaine Burton and this is another uh move that a lot of Bengals fans were hoping Germaine Burton would be that week three starter but I really like this move because a it is going I think I think Yoshi is just more ready first of all um he's shown that he's ready a long time ago last year and this is going to make Germaine Burton earn it and one of our concerns with Germaine Burton was his attitude and so if you don't hand him that that starting position you make him earn it he's got to pay attention to schemes he's got to pay attention in drills gotta pay attention in practice he's got to work for it that's what the Bengals want they want guys who are willing to work and earn their position and this creates a great way to bring out the best in Andre Yoshi and also the best way to bring out out the best in Germaine Burton but something I do need to point out um just because I've brought it up this entire time and I don't want people to get confused Germaine Burton is listed as the backup for Jamar Chase and that makes sense because Jermaine Burton is much more of a Jamar Chase type player than he is a t Higgins or Andre yosias type player um I am tempted to think that he would that Burton would still be the first off the bench if Yoshi or t were to go down however I could also see Trenton Irwin being uh quick Off the Bench as well it would kind of just probably be an indicator of what the coaches are feeling uh or where the coaches feel Germaine Burton is in maturity and attitude and stuff like that um I I don't really think there have been any issues with Germaine Burton so uh I I see no reason why Germaine Burton wouldn't be the first off the bench but um I I do know Trenton Irwin has also been a very reliable backup uh that the Bengals coaches love so I wouldn't be totally shocked to see Trenton Irwin Off the Bench before Germaine Burton as well so we we've kind of talked about the receivers a little bit we've talked about uh tight end why Drew sample is listed as Mike gaseki don't worry Mike gaseki is going to get plenty of snaps I'm sure probably lined up out wide lined up in the slot a little bit that allows them to also move around Jamar Chase who can who's very versatile and can line up in the slot or out wide um Su the Bengals have so much versatility here that they have brought that we we probably as fans don't even realize yet what all they can plan um but that was the first major thing that I saw where I was like I I don't I'm not worried about that I don't think Drew sample is really outperforming Mike gaseki in practice in the way that we want to see Mike gaseki used I just think this 11 personnel system that the Bengals have listed for their depth chart does favor Drew sample over Mike keki in other Personnel systems um where they need a receiving tight end like a 21 Personnel system Mike gaseki is probably listed as tight end one and then maybe you've got Tanner Hudson as tight end two because he can block and receive if need be let's just move on though to the offensive line so uh once again let's just go down the offensive line one more time I want to make sure I get this depth chart up as much as possible um and the special teams are going to be covered by the ticker a little bit but we aren't there yet so I'm not worried about it just just reading this over again left tackle Orlando Brown Jr left guard Cordell Volson Center Ted Carris Right Guard Alex Kappa right offensive tackle Trent Brown and that's where people are getting caught up that right tackle position people are like what the heck we drafted a guy in the first round we drafted our franchise right tackle in the first round why aren't we starting our franchise right tackle and of course I'm talking about amarius Smiths amarius SM looked great against the Buccaneers he looked phenomenal against the Buccaneers and yes it's a preseason game I understand that you know don't don't put all your chips into preseason I get it but he looked great he looked he was fun to watch however he got hurt he and he had that I believe it was a PE a strain Peck injury and there's no reason to rush him back right now I don't know how long he will be hurt but even if there's this this question about whether he is healthy or not and he's still kind of slow still kind of sore we're playing the New England Patriots week one guys like I know in the NFL any team can win at any time but amarius Mims there's no reason to rush him back when you are pay playing the Patriots week one and then you're playing the Kansas City Chiefs week two I would much rather sit amarius Mims for one week and start Trent Brown who is a very good offensive tackle already he's probably already an actually not even a probably he is an upgrade over Jonah Williams already at that right tackle position there was just injury concerns with him Trent Brown was brought in to be a bridge right tackle and a depth piece I would much rather have Trent Brown play one one week maybe if he has to play next week too fine that's we'll talk about that then but right now we're talking about this week have him play week one and then let amarius Mims be fully healthy going into week two against the Kansas City Chiefs because the Kansas City Chiefs have a much better pass rush than the New England Patriots the New England Patriots weapons on defense that they have are pretty much all in their secondary they relied very heavily on Matt judon um for their pass rush and we kind of saw that after he got hurt last season they didn't really have much of one and now they don't have Matt judon at all they traded him I am not worried about the New England Patriots pass rush this week with Trent Brown Starting Over amarius Mims maybe and maybe it's gonna be longer than one week that amarius Mims is out maybe he sits back and uh takes two three weeks off that's fine I would much rather a Marius Mims um get healthy be ready to go and not um rush back from injury because I want him to have a long career protecting Joe bur and uh rushing back from injury does not help that so once again not a concern not really a shock to me but some people were freaking out and losing their minds uh the only other offensive line note that I have is Ted Caris starting at Center and that might be a weird one to some people but I think it is something to watch watch because Cordell volson's uh position at left guard is not at all safe and that is because um Ted Carris can play left guard and you're some of you who haven't been paying attention are saying how are we going to move our Center Ted Carris to left guard that we just extended we just gave him a new contract why would we do that well you would do that because the Bengals seventh round pick Matt Lee looked great at Center he didn't allow a single pressure throughout all of preseason and all of his pass protection snaps he looked great and Matt Lee cannot move he cannot play left guard or Right Guard he is a pure Center that's part of the reason he fell to the seventh round but Ted Carris has that experience we can move him so Ted Carris is a leader on that line and it's not going to be a quick Swift transition it's not just going to happen overnight and that's why it's not happening week one but I would pay very close attention to maybe if the Bengals get really far ahead and we get into that situation where uh they start pulling the starters because you know don't want them to get hurt in a game that they've already won in the third quarter I wouldn't be shocked to see Matt Lee getting some Center snaps and maybe seeing how Ted Caris does over at left guard see see how that works because I think I think eventually we're going to get to the point where the best way to get all of our offensive lineman our best offensive lineman on the field is going to involve Matt Lee starting at Center and Ted Carris starting at left or right guard um so we'll see what happens with that but I'm just saying keep an eye on that um they did also list Jackson Kirkland as the backup for Cordell Volson Kirkland Kirkland had Shining Moments and he had some uh dull moments um and Cody Ford as well is kind of one of those guys where uh I don't know if I feel as confident with them coming in as I do with my other plan of moving Ted Carris to left or right guard bringing in Matt Lee at Center and then making Cordell Volson the first guy off the bench I'd feel a lot uh better about that move than would about a lot of other um things that the Cincinnati Bengals could do but I am not the offensive line coach Frank poock is and you know what this is the year that he's got to earn his paycheck because honestly if this year Joe burrow dies again uh he doesn't really have an excuse they invested in the o line heavily I I don't know what to tell you Frank Pollock you're on the hot seat in my mind next let's move on to the defense and uh really the only major thing I want to say here is uh KJ Henry is on the depth chart yes he's buried but this was a waiver wire pickup from the commanders um he was cut for 53 man roster and I believe he was like four or fifth round pick I haven't done a ton of research into him if I'm being honest with y'all but um the fact that he has made it onto the depth chart is good because the Bengals have no defensive end uh depth like it's it's bad out there cam sample's injured um miles Murphy's gonna be injured for the first few weeks I mean let's let's just look at this I mean you got Sam Hubbert and Trey Hendrickson obviously and then Joseph asai is Hitman if we're being honest with ourselves Cedric Johnson's a rookie he looked really good in the preseason um could potentially be a great player so I won't write him off but KJ Henry just having him on the dep chart makes me feel safer um helps alleviate any fears if someone there was some freak accident where either Trey or Sam had to leave the field for even a few snaps just praying that doesn't happen but if it does because we have the depth to uh hopefully counter that um also not having Chris Jenkins start is I know this isn't going to be a popular opinion but I'm glad they're not having Chris Jenkins start week one because he did not look great in preseason against the Run um and the Patriots really their only offensive weapon is going to be if I want to start our uh rookie defensive tackle against a run heavy offense and get him worn down quickly we'll see what happens but uh I do want to see Sheldon rankins I'm glad he's starting haven't really talked about him much since the Bengals signed him in the free a free agency period um so they brought him in Let's uh get some pass rushes let's figure out this run defense because that is going to be a big part of uh winning in the AFC North when you have Derek Henry Nai Harris I mean Lamar Jackson obviously and then yes I know Nick chub is injured but you have Jerome Ford in Cleveland and Jerome Ford isn't bad like he's kind of fun to watch to be honest with yall so um those are some of the big things I noticed let me know what you noticed down in the comments um I'm not able to notice everything uh again we we talked about uh offense defense we talked about where Ryan row is starting over Brad Robbins didn't necessarily win the punter battle but he kind of did by default due to the injuries um let me know what you are most excited about for this regular season game below and uh what did I miss that I should pay attention to this week when the Cincinnati Bengals play the New England Patriots and open in Orange but until next time I'm Josh buts for no buts about it go do something nice for someone