Feeling angst about whether the Cincinnati Bengals will take Joe Burrow with the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL draft?
Don’t.
The NFL wants it this way, remember? For those Bengals fans who haven’t seen the team clutch a No. 1 pick or simply don’t recall, the league prefers if the team holding it doesn’t spoil things. There are exceptions and it isn’t a hard rule — more like an unwritten agreement.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller recently brought up this critical point:
“There is an unwritten rule that teams not tip their hands as far as the top pick, as the league wants the drama and excitement of the selection’s announcement on live television.”
Disclaimer — this doesn’t mean the Bengals have already settled on Burrow 100 percent. They’ve openly told fans since the offseason started that they’ll do due diligence. The phones are on for trades and they’ll consider other passers.
But all this noise? All the speculation that Burrow might not want to play in Cincinnati? That the Bengals might want other quarterbacks? Everything? It’s a byproduct of how the NFL wants things to work, nothing more.
And here we are, vigilantly debating the draft pick in mid-February. Stay strong, Bengals fans.
