With the addition of edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, cornerbacks Mike Hilton and Chidobe Awuzie and Geno protégé Larry Ogunjobi at defensive tackle, the Bengals are poised to start two defensive starters from Taylor’s first game that opened the 2019 season in Seattle. The Fab Five all Zoomed with the Cincinnati media on a March Madness Friday. No question, they said, Burrow was a draw.
“Just seeing what they are building. Over these four years playing against these guys, I seen the type of players that they had and what they were building,” said Hilton, the former Steeler. “Once they brought in Joe (Burrow) to be the franchise guy, he showed me what he’s capable of and that definitely attracted me here. I’m excited to be here and get the train rolling.
With those players in the fold Thursday night and Reiff on his recruiting visit, Taylor adeptly got everyone together in an upstairs room at The Precinct, Ruby’s east side spot. Front and center of his recruiting effort was Burrow and he apparently had Reiff pretty much at hello.
“Just the way he conducts himself,” Reiff said. “Carries himself. Seems like a down-to-Earth Cincinnati-type guy. We just sat there crapped around a little bit. But really impressed with him. … Tough, Midwestern, blue-collar. Comes to work.”
Hilton, who played with Big Ben in Pittsburgh, also sensed Burrow’s big presence. All five of them got to see it when they passed through the rehab space and Hilton saw it at dinner.
“Man, just talking to him. Like I said he has an aura about him,” Hilton said. “He’s a young guy but he commands the room. He takes pride in being the leader of the team and just embraces the room.”
Reiff, 32, is the piece d’ resistance of the Bengals’ week-long free-agent effort spearheaded by director of pro scouting director Steven Radecivic.
The Bengals began the week looking for offensive linemen as well as edge rushers. They had one plan in which if the $15 million reduced salary cap drove down prices, they thought they’d have a chance to grab two edge rushers while also making a run at a guard.
But they also were prepared if the prices were at pre-pandemic levels and, like last year on the first day of free agency, when they quickly got off the linebackers, they adjusted to escalating numbers and went to another plan they had devised.
They knew they had to drop a big number on just one rusher and did when they inked Hendrickson on a club-record $60 million deal on the first night of free agency. Also that first day, they apparently had interest in the best guard on the market, Joe Thuney. But as the bidding skied beyond $50 million, they also knew Reiff was out there and they were noticing there were some good cornerbacks out there, too. They ended up getting two starters in Hilton and Awuzie for what many were paying for one cornerback.
Ogunjobi has been a thorn for the Bengals while playing in Cleveland and they had high marks on him. While they were filling the need for a three technique on Wednesday night, Radicevic was constantly on the phone getting Reiff in on a visit for Thursday.
“My agent reached out to me and was like, these guys are being pretty persistent,” Reiff said. “Would you like to go see what they are all about? I said, absolutely. Not being in this division we really didn’t have much crossover but once I got here I was super impressed with the guys, coaches and I’m excited.
“Tell you truth, if it didn’t work out. I just wanted to see the stadium. If it didn’t work out, I have played nine-10 years, usually you play in a lot of stadiums and I hadn’t played here. If all else went to fail at least I could say I have seen the stadium.”
Reiff was key. The Bengals wanted to give him more than a tour. They didn’t get Thuney, but they also knew they had a shot at Reiff, one of the NFL’s most consistent lineman since the Lions took him out of Iowa in the 2012 first round. A proven protector for Burrow had been a priority all along.