I was listening to Dave Lapham’s podcast today, and on it he had Duke Tobin, the Bengals defect GM, to talk about draft preparation.

Tobin was talking about how he considers campus visits to meet with players-along with game film, obviously, more important than the Underwear show, as he referred to the combine, and then proceeded to talk about scouting tOSU. He said he took a group of about six draft eligible Buckeyes out for dinner, including Taylor Decker, Zeke Elliott, and Vonn Bell. Over the course of the dinner, he noticed how the other five players, including 1st rounders, all clearly deferred to Bell’s leadership, referencing him like “Isn’t that right, Vonn”, whenever answering Tobin’s queries about the team, locker room culture,etc. The Bengals obviously didn’t draft Bell, but Tobin noted that pre-draft interactions with players play an important consideration in free agency decisions a few years down the road, and the Bengals signed Bell, who has become a defensive leader for the team.