Should the Bengals do it? Will Joe Burrow be the number one overall pick? And there you have the big question for upcoming NFL 2020 Draft.
Ok, look, before we get started, I need to make something clear. I like Joe Burrow the football player, I love Joe Burrow the person, by all accounts, he’s a great young man, has rock solid parents, and has a fantastic life ahead. If we had more Joe Burrow’s, the world would be a better place. Am I clear?
Full disclosure, I’m a Buckeye
Saw Joe while he was at Ohio State
I think he was a better choice to be starter then Dwayne Haskins
That choice led him to transfer to LSU (you’re welcome Tiger fans)
Now that we’ve gotten all that out of the way, let the Old Man Rant.
The Reality
Prior to this past season, Joe was a 58% completion passer. He had average arm strength. He had issues getting the ball out past the yard marker, especially to the left side (across his body). NFL draft experts had him as a 4thround grade, some rated him as a low end 3rdround grade. Did he make reasonably good decisions, yes. Did he throw many interceptions, no. Was he a leader, absolutely.
Guess what, he’s still all those things. The only difference is Joe Brady, (the LSU Offensive coordinator) came in, installed a Burrow friendly offensive scheme, one that hid every weakness, and Joe flourished. He had a fantastic season. One. One season. Now he’s number one overall???
So he had a great season, arguably the best college season a quarterback has ever had and I acknowledge that and give him COMPLETE credit for it! Does that one season mean he deserves to move over hundred spots up in the draft? A 4thround pick would be somewhere around pick 97–128, now Joe Burrow is the number one overall, first, can’t miss, franchise altering, above all others? That’s what everyone wants us to believe. Really?
Choices
Maybe I should approach this a different way. If you were the Bengals, a perennial cellar dweller, coming off yet another losing season, and you had two choices, which of these would you pick?
Choice A:
Select Joe Burrow with the number one pick
Proceed with the rest of your draft plan
Picks at 33, 65, 107, 147, 180, & 215
Choice B:
Trade the number one pick to the Dolphins
Receive three first round picks
This adds picks at 5, 18, & 26
Follow original plan for remaining picks
Cincinnati’s defense is bottom five in sacks, yards per rush attempt, yards per pass attempt, and takeaways. The offensive line needs help too. They gave up 48 sacks last season, 10th worse in the league. Think some of those additional first round picks could help improve any of those numbers?
What’s the Real Question?
Be honest, you know the Bengals need to add more talent to their roster, add depth, to be able to compete, and maybe compete for the division. If you were the General Manager of the Bengals that deal with the Dolphins would be a hard one to pass up.
So maybe the question isn’t whether Joe Burrow is number one overall. Maybe the real question; is Joe Burrow the best pick for the Bengals? If I was the Bengals General Manager, the answer would be an easy one. Grab those picks and restock the cabinets, because the Ravens, Steelers, and Brown’s sure aren’t standing pat.
What would you do?
Guess we’ll find out what the Bengals will do in about two weeks.
You can follow me on Twitter @Slymsuknhogs let’s continue the discussion. And don’t be shy about checking out all the other great BellyUp content. Find us on the Web, BellyUpSports or on Twitter @BellyUpSports and @BellyUpFootball
