In partnership with
Duke Tobin and Zac Taylor spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine this week, and it was…. Not that interesting.
I mean it was worth listening to them, but there wasn’t a lot of concrete information to come out.
They are in a bit of a weird spot since last season was disappointing but they have not yet really gotten to start doing something about it.
Well, they could have done something about it, but they chose not to when Tobin and Taylor were retained.
(More after our first ad break. Please click the ads if you don't mind. I’ll get a little $$, and it doesn’t cost you anything.)
Health, Without the Hassle
Between work, family, and everything else, most people aren’t looking for another complicated wellness routine. They just want something that works.
AG1 Next Gen is a clinically studied daily health drink designed to support gut health, fill common nutrient gaps, and help maintain steady energy. One scoop a day, and you’re covered.
Start your mornings with AG1 and get 3 FREE AG1 Travel Packs, 3 FREE AGZ Travel Packs, and FREE Vitamin D3+K2 in your Welcome Kit with your first subscription.
I realize its was probably bold to start off this newsletter by saying the subjects didn’t say anything interesting, but since you’re still reading you either didn’t believe me or still want to know what they said anyway.
Of course, what I really meant was there was no news.
Nor were there any shocking moments or hot takes.
We did get a few philosophical answers, and you know I always love that sort of thing.
So I uploaded the highlights from Tobin and Taylor to YouTube, and I will include them here as well.
(I also recorded new Cleveland Browns coach Todd Monken.)
I also wrote a column for Press Pros Magazine about the most illuminative part of the afternoon: When Tobin said they are “all in” every year whether it looks like it to outsiders or not.
“So the question is on whether we’re all in or not? I’ve been doing this a long time, and we’ve never not been all in. We are trying to get the best team possible with the resources we have. Last year we went all in. We signed over $400 million worth of contracts going all in. That’s what we do. We want to be all in. We’re trying to put the best roster together every year, and this year is no different.”
Does he really mean that?
Yes, I think he does.
Is there more they could do to build a winner?
That is also likely the case, but this is what we have at this point.
The best news is they made no attempt to shy away from the idea they will be aggressive in trying to improve the team through all means necessary.
“We’re going to look at all areas and try to attack this offseason and fit our needs with the right people. And that’s what our focus is and we’re excited about it because we have resources to go out and do some things.”
More good news: They do actually want to win the line of scrimmage despite appearances to the contrary over the past few years.
We learned that when Tobin was asked about what he could learn from the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl with a dominant front:
“We would like to get to the point where we have a couple of different groups [of defensive linemen] we can deploy in there and keep ‘em fresh and get after the passer. You’ve gotta stop the run to get after the passer, and it was impressive to see Seattle’s defense play and they had a great scheme and congrats to them.”
The bad news continues to be the commitment to the coaching staff despite not much evidence they deserve it.
Tobin said he believes Al Golden is able to win with any type of talent, which his predecessor could not:
“He can take what he has and make a good defense out of it. He can, and I believe that, and I think he will do that. He has a vision for what he wants to be, and I think it’s my job to go out and fill the needs that will fulfill that vision that he has, so yeah, do I have 100% confidence that we’ll get that done together? I do. I believe in Al. I believe in Zac. I think their vision is the right vision, and it’s on the guys in the personnel department with their help to go out and identify guys and see if we can get ‘em signed. It’s a two-way thing. You can want somebody and maybe they go somewhere else and they don’t want you, but we want to identify the right ones then we want to go out and attack and see if we can get them back to Cincinnati.”
And yet… it sure didn’t look like it last year, did it?
I don’t expect them to be great with the personnel they had last year, but I would like to see competitive. Decent would be even better, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
That said, I do believe they will take meaningful steps to improve the team this spring, and we have seen they can turn over the roster pretty effectively in a short period of time.
Now let’s get on with it…
Oh yeah, Taylor spoke as well.
The biggest football takeaway I had was that he felt turnovers were his team’s undoing last year, particularly on offense.
That is good news because it’s something the offense should be able to control to a certain extent — like, quit fumbling so much, dudes! — while they continue to refine the offense.
I’ve also been recording Ohio State interviews at the combine, and you will get those in a future newsletter. If you can't wait, check out my YouTube channel now!
I’ve also got a new Facebook page you can find here.
(And now for one more ad…)
If You Could Be Earlier Than 85% of the Market?
Most read the move after it runs. The top 250K start before the bell.
Elite Trade Club turns noise into a five-minute plan—what’s moving, why it matters, and the stocks to watch now. Miss it and you chase.
Catch it and you decide.
By joining, you’ll receive Elite Trade Club emails and select partner insights. See Privacy Policy.
Thanks for reading!
I’ll be back later this week with more from Indianapolis.
