Joe Burrow, LSU Tigers. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
The Cincinnati Bengals select Joe Burrow with their first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Here is their draft grade for the how they did this year.
First Round
1
Joe Burrow
QB LSU Tigers
There was no other choice, so the Cincinnati Bengals couldn’t screw this one up. Everybody and their brother knew they were going to use the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow. The 2019 Heisman Trophy winner grew up 2.5 hours east of Cincinnati. They needed a quarterback and he provides the organization with a much-needed jolt right away.
Though the Bengals took their sweet time to make Burrow the first overall selection in the draft, there is no way this wasn’t the perfect pick for them. While other quarterbacks taken in this draft could end up having better pro careers than him, taking the “hometown kid” who is coming off the greatest single-season a college quarterback has ever had was the biggest no-brainer in the draft.
Bengals second-year head coach Zac Taylor now has his franchise quarterback to work with. Cincinnati was able to slap future Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver A.J. Green with the franchise tag, so this will aid in Burrow’s development as a professional passer. With longtime starter Andy Dalton still in the building, his presence will help Burrow progress as well in 2020.
This is a phenomenal pick for the Bengals, arguably better than taking Green No. 4 out of the University of Georgia back in 2011. By drafting Burrow, it gives the Bengals a direction and hopefully a bright future. For an NFL franchise this downtrodden, we haven’t seen this much optimism out of a draft pick since Cincinnati took Carson Palmer No. 1 overall back in 2003.