The Bengals would be well-advised to draft Joe Burrow, and it seems all but certain they will.
However, Cincinnati selecting the LSU star isn’t quite a guarantee.
After a simply horrid 2019 season, the Bengals own the first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Considering they benched signal-caller Andy Dalton during the season and moving on from him seems inevitable, Cincy has an obvious need under center.
But according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, the Bengals have not “definitively” decided they’re taking Burrow.
“Certainly they have not decided definitively that it is going to be Joe Burrow, but you talk to some of these Bengals coaches and they are as effusive in praise as (director of player personnel) Duke Tobin is,” Rapoport said on NFL Total Access. “They love this guy as a prospect. Obviously, it would be a major surprise if the Cincinnati Bengals do not take LSU star quarterback Joe Burrow.
“But there are a couple things we learned from Duke Tobin on the ‘Rap Sheet and Friends Podcast.’ One: They are going to consider at least some of the offers that they may get, and there’s going to be some. There’s going to be significant interest from a couple teams, maybe more than a couple, about potentially coming up to No. 1. It would be expensive, but of course the Bengals don’t want to take anything off the table at this point. And then the other thing: They love Burrow as a prospect. One of the other things Duke Tobin mentioned, so often you get prospects who have peaks, have valleys, you have to explain why they had bad games. Burrow did not have any bad games, he was nearly flawless during his college football season.
If quarterback is the position the Bengals want to address with the top pick, it would be ridiculous not to take Burrow — who went scorched earth this past season en route to a Heisman Trophy and national title. He finished the 2019 season leading the nation in passing yards (5,671) and touchdowns (60) while throwing just six interceptions.
