The 2021 NFL Draft has now been over for a week and the criticisms of the Cincinnati Bengals taking Ja’Marr Chase over Penei Sewell continue. Jarrett Bailey of NFL Spin Zone put together a list of every team’s worst pick in the draft and he said for the Bengals, it was Chase.
Bailey had this to say as to why he considered Chase to be Cincy’s worst pick in the draft:
"I’m sorry, Bengals fans; please leave my family alone, they have nothing to do with this. But let’s be honest here; they should have taken Penei Sewell.Joe Burrow’s knee was practically ripped in twain last season and the bonafide best tackle in the draft was there for them to take at No. 5. Instead of worrying about the health of their brilliant young quarterback, they were occupied with getting his old band back together from LSU. I understand they subsequently drafted multiple linemen but passing on Sewell was a mistake."
This is something that Bengals fans need to get used to until we know more about this draft class. The offensive line was bad last year and was so bad that it led to rookie quarterback Joe Burrow getting injured and missing the final six games of the season.
It all seemed to line up for the Bengals to take Sewell with the No. 5 pick because of the run on quarterbacks that was happening with at least the top three picks but rather than go with the best tackle prospect, Cincinnati added a weapon they didn’t necessarily need.
Get used to the Cincinnati Bengals being criticized over their decision to take Ja’Marr Chase.
Chase is probably going to be a tremendous wide receiver in the NFL but with Burrow’s injury coming as a result of the poor o-line play, it’s hard to defend Cincinnati not taking Sewell. Yes, Burrow and Chase played together at LSU and had undeniable chemistry but the offensive line is arguably the second most important position after the quarterback and the Bengals passed on the best player at the position to add a player at another position that wasn’t a big need.
Bailey’s assessment makes sense and honestly, they didn’t really have any other head-scratching picks. Their draft was pretty good for the most part and people will continue to debate if they made the right choice in passing on Sewell but the fact of the matter is that we won’t know if this was the right decision for a few more years.
While Chase wasn’t needed in this offense, Burrow had to have been happy to have his favorite target back from his LSU days, and keeping the quarterback happy is priority No. 1 for an NFL team.