The Bengals have the first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. LSU’s Joe Burrow appears to be their target. The team has made some forgettable selections at quarterback in its history. A look at the good, bad and ugly.
The late-60s
Dewey Warren and Gary Davis were the first QBs selected in 1968 by the Bengals at their inception. Warren, a sixth-round pick, started four games in his rookie year and lost them all. They drafted Davis in the third round out of Vanderbilt but he did not pan out. Zero NFL stats. The following season Cincy drafted a quarterback from Cincinnati in the first round, Greg Cook. The local boy started off 3-0 and then … doom. In game three versus Kansas City, Cook felt a pop in his right (throwing) shoulder and missed the next three games. His torn rotator cuff went undiagnosed. He continued to play and finished 1969 4-6-1 as a starter. The rotator cuff began deteriorating after the season; during surgery, it was revealed that Cook also had a partially detached biceps muscle. After three operations proved futile, he retired. A 1973 comeback attempt failed and Cook retired permanently.