Considering it’s only January, the Cincinnati Bengals aren’t doing anything shocking when it comes to the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL draft.
While some portion of the fanbase might want the Bengals to up and declare the Ohio kid and LSU quarterback Joe Burrow the pick, that’s simply not how the process works for numerous reasons (though Adam Schefter is telling anyone who will listen Burrow is the pick).
A new report vibes with this, suggesting info gleaned from the Senior Bowl says the Bengals will consider Burrow, two other quarterbacks and one special pass rusher, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer:
“Also, the Bengals are considering four players for that pick: Burrow, Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Oregon’s Justin Herbert and Burrow’s former Ohio State teammate Chase Young. And as great a prospect as Young is, Tobin conceded this will start with the quarterbacks.”
And Breer caught a quote from Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin that aligns with this quite well:
“We’ll look at the quarterbacks and say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ that’s the direction of our team. And if it’s ‘no,’ then all of the sudden we go to something different. Then all of the sudden we transition to something different.”
Written another way — no shockers here. The Bengals are being quite open in admitting the quarterbacks are the first option. A pass rusher on the level of Nick Bosa is the fall-back plan.
Reading between the lines, everything points to the “due diligence” aspect of the process for what is surely a path that will end up with the Bengals taking Burrow. But that process will be a winding, lengthy path without a defined end date.
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