The Bengals have the first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. LSU’s Joe Burrow appears to be their target. The team has made some forgettable selections at quarterback in its history. A look at the good, bad and ugly.
The late-60s
Dewey Warren and Gary Davis were the first QBs selected in 1968 by the Bengals at their inception. Warren, a sixth-round pick, started four games in his rookie year and lost them all. They drafted Davis in the third round out of Vanderbilt but he did not pan out. Zero NFL stats. The following season Cincy drafted a quarterback from Cincinnati in the first round, Greg Cook. The local boy started off 3-0 and then … doom. In game three versus Kansas City, Cook felt a pop in his right (throwing) shoulder and missed the next three games. His torn rotator cuff went undiagnosed. He continued to play and finished 1969 4-6-1 as a starter. The rotator cuff began deteriorating after the season; during surgery, it was revealed that Cook also had a partially detached biceps muscle. After three operations proved futile, he retired. A 1973 comeback attempt failed and Cook retired permanently.
The early-70s
In 1971, Ken Anderson was taken 67th overall out of tiny Augustana College. He wound up as one of the best picks in franchise history. Anderson threw for almost 33,000 yards and 197 TDs in a career that kept him as a Bengal through 1986. Anderson dominated, starting 172 games. In 1972, James Hamilton was a 13th-round pick out of Arkansas State. No magic. No stats. The same result occurred when Ted McNulty was chosen out of Indiana in 1973 in the 15th round. The 1974 QB pick was Mike Boryla from Stanford, who was chosen in the fourth round. Boryla had no stats with Cincy but did make 19 starts for the Philadelphia Eagles.
The mid-70s
More leans picks for Cincy in the middle of the decade. They chose Gary Sheide (third out of BYU) and Tom Shuman (sixth, Penn State) in 1975, Bob Bateman (seventh, Brown) in ’76 and Lynn Hieber in (IU-Pennsylvania, ’77). If you haven’t heard of them via NFL careers, don’t feel bad. These years actually saw John Reaves (pictured) come over from the Eagles and see some action for Cincy.
Late-70s
The late-70s provided another trio of quarterbacks. Tom Duniven (sixth, Texas Tech) played one game for Houston in his NFL career. In 1978, Rob Hertel (fifth, USC) threw four passes and completed one. The most famous of the group, of course, was Jack Thompson, taken with a first-round pick, third overall, out of Washington state. The Throwin’ Samoan made five starts in four years as a Bengal and was a bust.
The early-80s
More no-names came through the draft in the first three years of the next decade. Mike Wright (12th, Vandy) provided no stats. The next year, Mark O’Connell (12th, Ball State) also failed to produce any stats. In 1982, Dan Feraday (12th, Toronto) completed the trio of 12th-round picks who did not deliver a single NFL stat. Pictured is Ken Anderson who continued to dominate the position.
The mid-80s
In 1983, Jeff Christensen was a fifth-round pick out of Illinois. He saw time with Cincy, Cleveland and Philly. His lone NFL stats came as a Brown, going 1-1 in two starts. He has become a quarterbacks guru/trainer. The Bengals finally found a quarterback who stuck and did well with the team in 1984. They selected Boomer Esiason out of Maryland in 1984 with the 38th overall pick. The lefty became the face of the franchise for 10 seasons, throwing for more than 27,000 yards. With Esiason entrenched, the Bengals next chose a QB in 1986. It was Doug Gaynor (fourth, Long Beach State). Gaynor threw three passes, completing all of them, in his lone season.
The late-80s
The team didn’t need to focus on QB with Esiason leading the way. It did choose a pair of QBs in the 1989 draft. Erik Wilhelm (third, Oregon State) saw minimal action in his six seasons as a backup. His lone start was a loss, Overall, Wilhelm threw five TD passes against six picks. Bob Jean was a 10th-round pick out of New Hampshire and offered no stats.
The early-90s
In 1991, Donald Hollas of Rice was a fourth-round choice. He made two starts, both losses, before leaving in 1994. He resurfaced with the Raiders in 1998. The Bengals made a play for their next franchise QB in 1992. David Klingler (first, Houston) set all sorts of yardages marks with the Cougars. Unfortunately going from one breed of cat to another did not work out. He was 4-20 as a starter and was gone in 1995.
The mid-90s
Only one selection in these years and it was John Walsh (seventh, BYU) and there were no NFL stats for this Cougar. The head coach for many of these years was David Shula (pictured)
The late-90s
Once again, the Bengals looked to make a splash at quarterback. With their final first-round pick of the decade they drafted Akili Smith (Oregon, first). The third overall pick in 1999 disappointed. He played for four seasons and was 3-14 in 17 starts. Another high pick that went bust.
The early 2000s
The Bengals struck in 2003 with the first overall pick. They drafted Carson Palmer, the Heisman winner out of USC. Palmer played seven seasons in Cincy before getting into a battle with management. He was 46-51 as a starter and threw 154 TD passes. Palmer led the NFL with 32 TD passes in 2005.
The mid-2000s
Casey Bramlet (seventh, Wyoming) was a non-factor with the team after being chosen in 2004. Reggie McNeal (pictured left, sixth, Texas A&M) saw little action and actually was moved to wide receiver after playing QB for the Aggies. His stat line shows one rush for eight yards. He did play a handful of seasons in the CFL. Jeff Rowe (fifth, Nevada) was chosen in 2007 and shows no stats in two games.
2011: Andy Dalton
The Bengals dipped into the QB pool and came up with Andy Dalton (second, TCU). He has been the franchise QB for the better part of the past decade. Dalton found a great target in A.J. Green, who was the first-round pick in 2011. Dalton has thrown for 31,594 yards and 204 touchdowns.
2014: AJ McCarron
AJ McCarron came to Cincy from Alabama, where he was national championship QB. McCarron made three starts in four seasons with the Bengals
2019: Ryan Finley
Ryan Finley was a fourth-round pick out of North Carolina State. He was winless in three starts, throwing two TD passes and two interceptions.
