What if the Bengals trade the No. 1 pick?

Cincinnati Bengals, NFL Draft

What if the Cincinnati Bengals actually accepted a trade offer to move off the No. 1 overall pick?

It’s not in their nature, but now is a great time for the Cincinnati Bengals to change their stripes.

Long ridiculed as one of the cheapest franchises in the NFL, the Bengals are sitting on one of the best assets any organization could hope for: The No. 1 overall pick. By going 2-14 last year, the Bengals “earned the right” to take whomever they so desired with the top selection. They are expected to take Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow out of LSU first overall. What if they don’t?

How could they? The Bengals were terrible last year. Burrow grew up three hours away in Athens, Ohio. He is coming off the greatest single-season a college football quarterback has ever had. There has not been a more confident quarterback coming out of the draft arguably ever. Yet, the Bengals could get a king’s ransom for that top selection, adding napalm to their rebuilding fire.

If the Bengals were to move off the No. 1 pick, they could say goodbye to Burrow as their franchise savior and very likely their chances of landing Tua Tagovailoa, too. Both are locks to go in the top five, but should there be any movement by a quarterback-desperate team, they could go one and two. For that reason, you have to believe they’re coming off the board in the top three.

Since we can’t reasonably expect the Bengals to have Andy Dalton be their starter again, they have to draft a quarterback in the top 10. The Bengals can’t put their fans through another season of hell to try to outflank the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars for either Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields next year. Fortunately, there are two other quarterbacks worth taking.

Cincinnati could move off the No. 1 pick in a deal with teams like the Miami Dolphins picking at No. 5 or the Los Angeles Chargers picking at No. 6 and still get a great quarterback then. Sure, the Bengals will have to accept they passed on Burrow and Tagovailoa in favor of Justin Herbert or Jordan Love, but they will have gained draft capital they wouldn’t have otherwise had.

Herbert has the strongest arm of the bunch, as his ball would cut through the wind of the harsh AFC North climate. Love is a dual-threat playmaker who could add some excitement to a football brand that just doesn’t have it. With a few extra draft pieces in place this year, next and possibly coming in 2022, the Bengals will have a great quarterback prospect and more bites at the apple.

This all sounds reasonable in theory, but the Bengals are never going to move off the No. 1 pick. No Godfather offer will sway owner Mike Brown‘s opinion on Burrow. In short, it’s the safe pick and the Bengals always play it safe. By taking Burrow No. 1 overall, you’ve got a “hometown kid” coming home to save a moribund franchise. Ohioans love this narrative, and so does America.

If Burrow doesn’t live up to lofty expectations, nobody will blame the Bengals for taking him. It’s not like they haven’t had good quarterbacks over the years. Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason won NFL MVPs and led the Bengals to the Super Bowl. Carson Palmer and Dalton led the Bengals to the playoffs. Even Jeff Blake could really spin in it his prime in the mid-1990s.

Ultimately, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, much less an aging cat. The Bengals are going to do what they’re going to do. Nothing is going to stop them. The Geauxt will become Cincinnati’s Joe Exotic and the Bengals will be welcoming more fans to The Jungle to watch these big cats play on fall Sundays. If the Bengals trade the No. 1 overall pick, that would be news to the world.

Veterans Advantage, Inc.

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