The speculation surrounding the Cincinanti Bengals, Joe Burrow and the No. 1 pick will only intensify the closer the 2020 NFL draft gets.
Case in point, whispers about the Bengals liking Oregon’s Justin Herbert plenty. We’ve noted it doesn’t mean much and we already knew it — but naturally, the chatter has come up.
Elsewhere, NBC Sports’ Peter King sat in the general manager chair and said if he was Miami, he’d throw four first-round picks at the Bengals for the right to draft Burrow:
1. I think, if I were Miami GM Chris Grier, and I liked Joe Burrow clearly above all other quarterbacks this year, I’d call the Bengals and offer four first-round picks for Cincinnati’s first overall pick. I think, if I were Cincinnati owner Mike Brown, I’d say no—under one important condition.
That would mean, estimating things roughly, the Bengals would get the fifth, 18th and 26th pick in this year’s draft, plus a first in 2021.
It doesn’t sound too shabby — with one exception. If the Dolphins are willing to sacrifice that much for Burrow and to avoid taking Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert, it’s bountiful evidence the Bengals should probably stand pat and draft Burrow.
The idea of four first-round picks is nice, yes. But taking the best rookie passer to enter the draft since Andrew Luck and removing the possibility of mistakes (and the Bengals have made plenty in the first round recently) sounds even better.
