It’s all about the long-term future of the Cincinnati Bengals from here in the wake of Joe Burrow’s season-ending injury suffered in Week 11.
And the loss to the Washington Football Team has the Bengals in a noteworthy spot in the 2021 NFL draft order — third overall.
The Bengals sit at 2-7-1 coming out of the loss, with the New York Jets (0-10) and Jacksonville Jaguars (1-9) in front of them.
Barring a stunner of a development for these Bengals with Ryan Finley under center, they’re primed to hold on to that third spot the rest of the way.
They might not climb higher — but they might no need to. With New York and Jacksonville likely to take quarterbacks, the third pick could leave the Bengals with their choice of the best outright non-passer available in the draft.
On first pass, that’s an offensive tackle or an edge rusher for the defense, though trading out for a treasure trove of picks is something worth considering, too. Rest assured we’ll have plenty of time to break it down and run through the scenarios in the coming weeks now that Burrow’s out of the lineup and draft positioning is now the main focus.
