It appears the Cincinnati Bengals have officially moved on from Andy Dalton as their starting quarterback. On Thursday in a unique National Football League virtual draft, the Bengals selected Louisiana State’s Joe Burrow of Ames, Iowa first overall.
Burrow’s selection at number one was not a surprise. He has been projected to go number one for the last few months. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Burrow led Louisiana State University to a National Championship back in January. He led the LSU Tigers to a 42-25 win over the Clemson Tigers.
In a battle of the Tigers from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Burrow was simply magnificent. He completed 31 of 49 passes for 463 yards and five touchdowns. In the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship title game, Burrow also showed NFL scouts he could run as well. He had 14 carries for 58 yards and another major score.
Burrow’s 2019 college football season was also a record breaking campaign. He set a NCAA record for most touchdown passes in a season with 60. Colt Brennan of Laguna Beach, California had the previous record as he had 58 touchdown passes with the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in 2006 as a sophomore.
One must realize Burrow is not going to change the Bengals overnight. They only had two wins a year ago and the Bengals have a lot of work to do to even get out of the basement in the AFC North. Cincinnati now has a centrepiece in their rebuilding project. What the Bengals will now need to show their fan base is some sense of improvement, and they will try with the best quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft.
