New Bengals Offensive Tackle Orlando Brown Admits Blowing Geography Question At 2018 Draft, But Marvin Lewis Strangely Denies Story

So, this is a weird story. Apologies for the long headline, but I honestly struggled with where the focus belongs here. So, bear with me as we work through this together. During the 2018 NFL Draft process, Oklahoma offensive lineman Orlando Brown, Jr. met with the Cincinnati Bengals.

OK, so far, pretty normal stuff.

There are plenty of funny stories out there about teams asking players bizarre questions during the pre-draft interviews. So, the alleged question from then-Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis to Orlando Brown is pretty ordinary.

"What is the capital of Spain," Lewis asked the NFL Draft hopeful.

"Uh, Portugal?" Brown answered. (Allegedly, I may have taken some liberties with that direct quote).

Portugal is not the correct the answer. It's another European country. The capital of Spain is Madrid, by the way. Lisbon is the capital of Portugal, if you were wondering.

Orlando Brown is not a geography major, and likely his geography knowledge has had relatively little impact on his football career. Even he laughs about it now.

Perhaps he did "crush" the interview with the Bengals, but they did not draft him. The Baltimore Ravens picked him in the third round. They took him with the 83rd overall pick. The Bengals picked at 77, but passed on Brown for the third time (they took defensive end Sam Hubbard at 77, which has worked out pretty well, too).

However, the Bengals signed Brown this week and he finally gets to play for the team whose geogrpahy test he bombed five years ago.

Former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis strangely denies the Orlando Brown geography story despite no reason to do so

So, what's the story here, Dan? I get it. Strange, but not outlandish, pre-draft question five years ago from the team that signed him this week.

Except, Marvin Lewis completely denies the interaction. Which seems very bizarre.

This is such a strange response from Lewis and I can't quite figure it out. Orlando Brown said this during his press conference. As far as "fact-checking" goes, reporting what a player says directly in a room full of other people is pretty basic reporting.

If anything, Lewis needs to contact Brown about the "facts" of the case.

But what's also weird is that Lewis responded at all. Sure, questions needed to be answered when Dez Bryant was asked whether or not his mother was a prostitute.

But it's not like Marvin Lewis looks like a bad guy for asking a basic geography question. So, feeling the need to come out so strongly against the story actually raises MORE questions.

Even if Brown's story is false, or misremembered, who cares? Again, it doesn't make anyone look bad. Except, maybe Brown. Which makes it even more likely that his recollection is correct.

Lewis coached the Bengals for 16 seasons and currently serves on the staff of the Arizona State Sun Devils.

I don't blame you if you haven't even heard the name "Marvin Lewis" in years. But now you have.

And we need more answers.

What's the real story here, Marvin!?

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.