After his offseason that ranged from a tailor-made contract extension to the Taylor Swift wedding, captain and left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., welcomes you to Bengals training camp. It opens this weekend when rookies report and then turns to the field in Wednesday morning's first practice.

When he sat down with Bengals.com senior writer Geoff Hobson last week at Paycor Stadium on the brink of his fourth season with the club, Brown offered a Who Dey brew of optimism stirred from a vat of team chemistry sprinkled with key offseason additions.

"We weren't as close as we are now," Brown says. "And talent aside, to me, the togetherness is what's going to set us apart from any other team that I've been on since I've been here."

Brown also expounds on how Joe Burrow expanded his leadership, why he guarantees his offensive line is going to build on being the best group up front in the Zac Taylor Era, and if he ever allows himself to envision a Super Bowl parade in Cincinnati.

The Conversation

GH: OK, we'll get this right out of the way. What was it like being at the Wedding of the Year between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift earlier this month?

OB: It was awesome. To be part of that with one of my good friends and old teammates, it was nice to support them. I really enjoyed it. He's a tremendous guy. It was really special to be a part of that and celebrate with them.

GH: From the news reports, it sounded like there were a ton of celebrities. What was the most amazing thing you saw?

OB: That's a good question. Seeing some of the Hollywood people there, that was like, wow. I think seeing (Bengals tight end) Mike Gesicki, that surprised the hell out of me. That threw me off. That was my big thing.

GH: You won a Super Bowl ring with Kelce in Kansas City, which is probably a big bond.

OB: Oh yeah, for sure. I mean, anytime you cross that part of the fence line, it's a different type of relationship you build with the guys, you know what I mean? It's just a tough feat to do, and to commit to that with a group of men and go accomplish that, I think it is its own separate bond for sure.

GH: So that gets me right to the next topic. Can this team do what that team did?

OB: Yeah. I feel like over the past few years, I think for us, it's been about building our locker room culture and really establishing who we are in terms of our locker room. Our identity and each guy's role, and the importance of embracing that role, and mastering it and making the most of it. To me, we've got all the pieces to get the job done.

I think it's about, for one, putting the work in here, starting on the 29^th when we hit the field as a team, and just continuing to build every day. Understanding the importance of resiliency, being able to lay it all on the line for one another, and real commitment to the task at hand day-to-day.

GH: How is this team different from the one you first played on in 2023 right after winning the Super Bowl with Kansas City?

OB: To me, just togetherness. I can't really speak on '21 and '22 (Bengals), but I think just being player-led is so important, and we've got guys that are really committed. Especially starting with our leaders. We've got a lot of togetherness in here, man. A lot of guys that really genuinely love each other, spend a lot of time off the field together, both sides of the ball. I think that was an element that was missing when I got here, for whatever reason.

But speaking on what we have now, it's really special. I think the bond is what's most important when you talk about being able to push through those close games and those dog fights.

GH: Who do you think has been key in that?

OB: Definitely say Number Nine (Burrow). You know he's our engine, man. He's been a large part of just creating that type of bond with everybody and helping put all those things together. I've done some things myself. Ted’s (Karras) done some things. Dexter (Lawrence II). Ja’Marr (Chase). Tee (Higgins). And even some of these younger guys taking that initiative to make sure that happens as well.

GH: Is it just off-field stuff?

OB: Off the field, yeah. Nothing even in the building. I think that kind of stuff is minimal. To really be able to build that relationship, you've got to spend time with guys outside the building, and we've done that a lot this whole season.

GH: It seems like Joe bent over backward to do that.

OB: It's just who he really is, and he understands what it's going to take. He's just maybe even taking a little bit more of an initiative to be himself even more. Let guys in even more, and let that continuity just brew.

GH: He's got a tough job as both the leader of the team and the offense, and then having a feel for the off-field stuff, too.

OB: Yeah, yeah. He's been a part of these winning teams and winning the Natty in college, and obviously all the success that he's had. Sometimes I think when you get hurt and you have time away from the game, speaking from personal experience, and you have a chance to kind of watch it from a different perspective, your third eye matures a little bit, and you have a little bit more understanding or appreciation for the process and kind of what it takes.

I think for him, not to put words in his mouth, but he loves the game. I mean, and I love the game a lot, but it's hard to find a guy who loves the game more than Number Nine. But I think he just has a real understanding of what it takes, and he's really made that raw commitment to it.

GH: What is the most fun thing off-the-field you've done with Joe?

OB: Gosh, I think for us, for the last day of minicamp, I threw a house party. Invited everybody, and their wives and their girlfriends. Everybody showed up. We had a blast. It was awesome. It was great because so much of that was just guys being able to hang out and not stress about a game or practice or anything like that. It was just great vibes and energy and guys talking about football and how excited they are for the season.

GH: Do you think you could have done that a couple years ago with nobody showing up?

OB: I imagine a lot of guys would have showed up, but to me it just speaks on our continuity and commitment to one another. Like I said, it was just great energy, and that's so important when you talk about building a winning culture.

GH: How do you think the offseason cemented that chemistry?

OB: A lot because so much of it, too, is bringing in the right people, and upstairs is doing their part in bringing in the right men in here and guys with the right mindset, leadership traits, and winners. All of that is so important, and these moves that we made, even with some of these rookies. There are guys that love the game of football and also great men.

GH: Any rookies you have in mind?

OB: Honestly, this class has been awesome, man. But I think guys like Cashius (Howell), Connor Lew, Bobo (Tacario Davis), those are guys that stick out to me. Landon (Robinson). Guys that really work hard and love the game of football.

GH: Your thing is you stay in Cincinnati the whole summer and work out here with Joey Boese and his strength staff of Garrett Swanson and Diamond Simmons. What kind of shape are you in?

OB: I'm in great shape. I'm ready to go. It's going to be a great season. I'm really excited to get out there with the guys. I don't feel 30. I feel better today than I did at 23.

GH: You turned 30 back on May. 2. Have you thought about that?

OB: I hope to be doing it until I'm 40. I feel amazing. My body feels great. My mind is great, and I'm just really healthy.

GH: Did you change your workout regimen at all?

OB: No. One thing about Boese and Garrett and Diamond, everything is very … _ I call it traditional. I really feel good work is hard. But for me, it's something to that type of preparation, getting ready for a season, and physically being able to push through that to prepare yourself. My training is very traditional. It's deadlifts. It's back squats. It's bench presses. It's 110s. It's half-gassers. It's speed work. It's chain work. It's very traditional.

GH: You could train anywhere. Miami. Dallas. Why here?

OB: A lot of it is having that mental (edge). It's not like in college, where you never really get away. You're there year-round, and it allowed me to kind of stay in that mental state where at times in my career, when I would go train other places, I felt like I may lose that to some extent by August.

And the thing about being here year-round is I continue to keep my same routine. The work is amazing with our strength staff here. It really just puts me in the best mental and physical shape that I can be.

GH: Why do you like those guys? You're always in the strength office talking if you're not out on the floor.

OB: It's just the relationship that I build with them. I take nine days off from our last game to the start of my off-season program, so I spend a lot of time with them.

GH: Before you fractured two bones in your knee halfway through the 2024 season, people were saying it was about the best you had played while in the league. Are you back to that? Or did it take a while to get back to where you were?

OB: I think for me, for whatever reason, I feel like around that Thursday night game (last year's Oct. 16 win over Pittsburgh) is kind of where things started kind of back clicking for me. That game kind of put me back in a much better spot in terms of my approach and things like that. I can't really say I was dealing with the injury after the injury, but for whatever reason, I wasn't necessarily struggling. But I don't feel like I was playing my best ball up until that point. I feel great about it. For me, a lot of it is just the feel of the sport, and just letting it come to you.

GH: I know we like to say this team goes as Burrow goes, but I think the underlying thing is that any team in any league goes as the offensive line goes. And this is the best offensive line of head coach Zac Taylor's eight seasons here. Since you've been here, obviously.

OB: And we've got a great group. We talk about continuity and culture. Our culture in our room is so special, just from guys spending time together in the offseason, outside of the building. In season, offseason. We've got real relationships in there, man. (Coaches) Scott (Peters) and Mike (McCarthy) have been a big part of us developing that and growing in that area. For us to take that next step as a team, we've got to take that next step up front and be even more dominant.

GH: How much better can this line be building off the last eight games? (When they were tied for allowing the NFL's sixth fewest sacks while throwing the third most touchdown passes.) How good do you expect this line to be?

OB: I expect this to be the best in the league. I think that we've got everything we need. We've got continuity, and most importantly, we've got great depth. And we've got a unit that's played a lot of football together. We've got a lot of snaps together. So much of the offensive line is just having that feel for one another, and with the reps that we have and the time spent, I guarantee it'll show.

GH: Do you think the offense is evolving as well? It doesn't seem to be as reliant on passing the ball. Last year had to be the best running it in Zac's time.

OB: We've definitely grown a lot. A lot of what we've moved towards definitely makes it a little bit more O-line friendly. But at the end of the day, still have to do your job.

GH: More O-line friendly?

OB: Really, just how a game is called. I think with our personnel being different, certain areas being better, it just allows our coaches to have more confidence calling different stuff.

GH: What do you think makes Zac a good enough coach to be going into his eighth season here?

OB: He's amazing to play for. I always say I'd kill for Zac, too. It's really just been his understanding of how to approach day-to-day, his ability to know how to get the most out of guys, and allowing guys to truly be themselves.

I think that's something that he's shown throughout his time here, and something that's only going to get better as we continue to build our locker room closer.

GH: Can you compare the Bengals to the Chiefs when they won it all? Is this team comparable?

OB: I think the beauty of how we do it is, it's just our way. It's the Bengal way. Their philosophy, what makes them great, is similar in a way. But just like with any winning organization … we can say the Seahawks, for example. But to me, I think the beauty in it is when it's all said and done, we have done it our way.

GH: And how would you define the Bengal way?

OB: Just through being the closest team in the world, the hardest working team in the world, and just having that real, raw continuity and determination among each other day to day. It's really neat, but at the end of the day, it's kind of what it takes to win this league.

GH: What do you envision in a training camp with Dexter going against you guys on the offensive line? What's that going to be like?

OB: Competitive. He's one of the best in the world at what he does, and it's going to be super competitive.

GH: Has he said anything to you about what's about to unfold?

OB: Oh no. But, you know, iron sharpens iron, and every day will be a tough task, and we all look forward to the battles.

GH: What do you think about all the stuff that's been written and said about this team in the offseason? Do you think you're going to sneak up on people?

OB: I think there's something to being an underdog. I'm never against that. But this is one of the beauty of sports. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. We'll see when the lights come on.

GH: You grew up in the AFC North and have played on two of the teams. This season you're the only team in the division that has the same coaching staff, and it doesn't have a Bill Cowher, or Mike Tomlin, or John Harbaugh. Is that an advantage because of the lack of turnover?

OB: Sometimes the benefit of turnover can be really strong. Harbaugh, Tomlin, and (Kevin) Stefanski are amazing head coaches and great at what they're doing, and they've been doing it for a long time. Sometimes change is good and strong. I think at the end of the day, we're still going to have to go win games. Is it going to be easier? I doubt it.

GH: Do you ever envision a Super Bowl parade in Cincinnati?

OB: I do, and I imagine it'll be like when Argentina won the World Cup. It's going to be like a South American country around here. I do envision that.

GH: You can see Fountain Square?

OB: I can see everybody in orange and black. School's out. The whole city is going crazy. For me, when I signed here, that was a big, big goal of mine. To be able to bring that here to this city and be a part of that.

GH: Is this your best shot since you've been here?

OB: I think we've had some really good teams in the past, man. But to me, we weren't as close as we are now. And talent aside, to me the togetherness is what's going to set us apart from any other team that I've been on since I've been here.