Why Joe Burrow should want to play for the Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals are 0-10 and likely to pick 1st overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. In most mock drafts, the Bengals are projected to take the LSU star. With the team being so bad, would the Bengals be a good fit for the Heisman favorite quarterback?

I think there will be a lot of positives for Joe Burrow if he ends up a Bengal this offseason. A big positive will be who Burrow is throwing to his rookie season. A.J. Green, when healthy, is an elite receiver in the NFL, and if he comes back to Cincinnati Bengals next year, Burrow will have his number one receiver. Behind A.J., he’ll have Tyler Boyd, John Ross, Auden Tate, and Alex Erickson rounding out the receiving core. Boyd has proven to be a great number two receiver, and Ross is developing nicely when he’s on the field. Tate is also a development in progress, but he has been a reliable red-zone target and can pull down jump balls.

Burrow would also have options other than receivers. C.J. Uzomah has been a solid target in recent seasons playing behind Tyler Eifert at tight end. If Eifert returns next season, whoever is playing quarterback will have two solid options at tight end with current rookie Drew Sample in the mix as well.

Drafting Burrow could also help the running backs. In college, Joe Mixon was a star on the ground, but he also could make plays through the air. Mixon has been involved in the passing game in Cincinnati, but he’s ultimately been under-appreciated by Bengals quarterbacks. Burrow isn’t afraid to dish it off to his running backs on short passes, and he also hits them down the field. This could benefit not only Mixon but Giovani Bernard as well.

The big question mark for Burrow though is who is going to block for him if he gets drafted by Cincinnati? Rookie first-round pick Jonah Williams will return from injury next season and if he is as good as I think he will be, the Cincinnati Bengals could have their franchise left tackle. Besides Williams, Trey Hopkins has been a bright spot on the Bengals offensive line this season. I believe at this point, the left tackle and center positions are locked down by Williams and Hopkins. If the Bengals can get a lineman or two in free agency and draft one in the early rounds, the line could be improved greatly going into next season.

This franchise is struggling currently, but many fans, including myself, believe Joe Burrow could be the answer. If the Bengals make the right moves this offseason, starting with drafting the Tigers star, he’ll have a solid group of weapons on offense and a potentially decent offensive line. With a young coach and a fan base that will be happy to have him in Cincinnati, I think the Bengals will be a great fit for the LSU quarterback.