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Joe Burrow is officially the next franchise quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Bengals made the move official Thursday night with the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, anointing Burrow as the one to take over in place of veteran Andy Dalton.
Burrow arrives as one of the best quarterback prospects to enter the draft since Andrew Luck. He arrives as instant-starter material, a match that sparks a fuse leading to a groundswell of fan reengagement. He arrives with confidence, plenty of proven success and a hometown-kid storyline that writes itself.
There wasn’t any other way for the Bengals to go. As a player, the only realistic knock anyone could find on his tape from last season was a perceived lack of arm strength compared to others in the draft class. But even that was admittedly a shrug-worthy thing smart coaching and scheme can make irrelevant. A few whispers of “one-hit wonder” questions were stamped out by Burrow merely getting healthy, refining his game and hitting on an expected upward developmental track.
Burrow’s arrival, on paper, should make the entire Zac Taylor-led attack better. He’s got more pocket presence and composure when things break down compared to Dalton. In fact, keeping his eyes up and making big plays in a mess is something most would argue is his best outright trait.
While an odd summer process due to coronavirus restrictions could lead to concerns about Burrow’s ability to adapt to the pros well right out of the gates, what Taylor runs in Cincinnati isn’t all that different from what he ran at LSU. And while the Bengals and Burrow were maxing their permitted communication time together before the draft, they were indeed going over the offense.
It helps that the roster around the quarterback should be much better in 2020 too. If all goes according to plan, first-round tackle Jonah Williams from last year will start on the left side. A.J. Green will be back healthy. The line up front will take an overall leap and the complementary defense should be better through free-agent upgrades and additional experience in a new scheme.
The Burrow pick does muddy the outlook for Dalton’s future. Presumably, the Bengals don’t want to carry his $17 million cap hit next year to be a backup. There’s a chance he sticks if a restructure happens, though a trade or cut is still possible.
For now, the easy part is out of the way — the Bengals made the right call. Now the attention turns toward getting him as ready as possible to get the franchise going in the right direction again.
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