2020 NFL Draft: Cincinnati Bengals mock draft building around Joe Burrow

The Cincinnati Bengals are one step closer to the top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. How would they surround Joe Burrow if he’s their top draft pick?

The Cincinnati Bengals got blown out at home against the New England Patriots, and with two games left in the 2019 season they are one step closer to the 2020 NFL Draft and possibly finding their quarterback of the future.

At this point in time, there aren’t many out there who believe that quarterback will be anyone besides Joe Burrow.

For a time, it seemed there was a healthy skepticism with Burrow considering he was having a brilliant season after some duds or just average seasons in previous years, and other players like Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa or Oregon’s Justin Herbert were considered top pick candidates as well.

Then, Tagovailoa suffered a season-ending injury and Herbert showed some of the maddening inconsistency we’ve seen from him in his first three years with the Ducks, paving the way for Burrow, who has not had a single ‘bad’ game in 2019, and even dating back to his last couple of games in the 2018 season.

Burrow won the Heisman, rightfully so, after throwing for 4,715 yards (77.9 completion percentage) and an SEC-record 48 touchdowns with just six interceptions.

He even added three rushing touchdowns and showed off his mobility outside of the pocket.

Burrow is playing with tremendous confidence, and after an ugly game in a loss to Alabama during the 2018 season, Burrow and the LSU Tigers have won 16 of their last 17 games and Burrow has thrown 58 touchdown passes in those 17 games.

He’s been outstanding, showing off an NFL arm with great instincts and consistent improvement. The fact that he has not only played well but dominated in big games also helps.

The Bengals haven’t gotten the chance to see their first-round pick in 2019 — Alabama OT Jonah Williams (remember him?) — in action yet this season, and their rebuild seems stunted by a borderline wasted year one with Zac Taylor as head coach.

There are certainly going to be big-time changes in Cincinnati and the 2020 offseason won’t be the end of their rebuilding process. This mock draft starts with Joe Burrow, of course, but how do the Bengals use the rest of their top four picks to surround him?

Let’s take a look at one possibility.