Bengals: Fans get their wish as media finally goes all in on Joe Burrow

Fans in Cincinnati see the bulk of national media finally aligned with the Bengals selecting LSU quarterback Joe Burrow.

Not too long ago you could have a discussion about who the Cincinnati Bengals could or would take with the first overall pick. The only caveat being that the name Joe Burrow was at the top of the discussion. For a while, the national media toyed with the idea that perhaps a trade with Miami or even a quarterback with a different name might be better in Cincinnati.

Not now. It would appear that fans can see a general consensus that the Heisman Trophy winner from LSU is bound for stripes, no matter a contrary idea or thought. For Cincinnati, it is the easy and sane pick to make.

The idea of going off-script on the opening night of the 2020 NFL Draft was an interesting idea, but in the wake of a free agency period where the Bengals might have telegraphed an offensive centric draft, no other name need apply. For Cincinnati, it’s a slam dunk in that failure with this pick, depending on how you’d define that, is easily forgivable. He is a local product that had a dizzying 2019 collegiate season. The idea that he is anything other than a solid pick is a far-fetched notion.

Some chatter did pop up last week that the Miami Dolphins were still angling for a trade to acquire the first pick. To read social and local media out of Cincinnati, the talk of the Bengals giving up that first pick is dead in the water.

Probably, and likely for the best. Perhaps the best thing to come from a decision made in January, is that it allowed Cincinnati to build an offseason game plan where their first pick in the draft was a done deal. The Bengals have made smart choices in free agency, and if this is a trend, they could do the same when the draft finally gets underway.

For the Bengals, the obvious looks to be a trusted source for how they might be changing a method of doing business. They needed defensive help and signed it. They need a franchise-type quarterback and look set on drafting him. If this model holds, this organization might finally be getting it right just when it needed to.