The Cincinnati Bengals used the no. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft to select hometown hero Joe Burrow and immediately vowed: "We'll never pick first again!"
In a widely-anticipated move, Burrow will return to Ohio, where he spent much of his childhood and began his college career, to be tasked with helping transform a franchise that finished last season with a dismal 2-14 record, having started the year 0-11.
It was that disastrous form that gave the Bengals the chance to select Burrow, with the draft system granting first pick to the team with the poorest record during the previous system, and second-year head coach Zac Taylor is determined to make sure the 23-year-old's arrival means it's not an opportunity they will have again anytime soon.
"We will never pick at No. 1 again," Taylor said. "We don't want to pick in the top 10 again. We're looking at this as the only time you're going to get this calibre player to add him to the program, so obviously this is a big deal."
Burrow was a near-certainty for the number one pick, having enjoyed one of the finest seasons in college football history last year, leading the LSU Tigers to the National Championship with an undefeated 15-0 campaign.
In the process, he broke the all-time FBS record for touchdown passes in a single season and was named the Heisman Trophy winner, taking the vote by the biggest margin in the award’s history.
In his junior year, however, Burrow was far from a leading prospect and he has been as blown away as anyone by his progress.
"To jump up to No. 1 overall is crazy to me," he said. "But it's a dream come true. I wasn't very good my junior year. I worked really hard to get better, my guys worked really hard to get better, and we jelled as a team."
Burrow is the third quarterback to be drafted at no. 1 overall in as many years, following in the footsteps of Baker Mayfield (Cleveland Browns) in 2018 and Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals) 12 months ago.
The Bengals have been operating with Andy Dalton under-centre since he was selected early in the second round of the 2011 Draft. However, the three-time Pro Bowler’s days as a starter in Cincinnati have looked numbered for some time, with last year’s turgid form culminating in a fourth successive losing season.
