2020 NFL Draft: Cincinnati Bengals make Joe Burrow franchise QB at No.1

Instant analysis of the Cincinnati Bengals taking Joe Burrow with the first overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft.

After months of speculation, the 2020 NFL Draft is here and the Cincinnati Bengals find their franchise quarterback. With the first overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals pick Joe Burrow from the LSU Tigers.

Joe Burrow has the intangibles to be a successful NFL quarterback with superb accuracy, arm strength, deep accuracy, poise under pressure and pocket presence. He does have a couple of weaknesses that have lowered my grade on this pick. The fact he was a one year wonder in college and is not the most mobile amongst the other quarterbacks in the 2020 NFL Draft class.

He struggled at Ohio State his first two seasons before transferring to LSU where he still had a rocky 2018 season. His 2019 season was the only season he shined and makes me wonder whether or not he can perform at a high level consistently in the NFL.

In 2019, he threw for 5,671 yards, 60 touchdowns and had six interceptions. His completion percentage was incredible at 76.3%, but the season before he only completed 57.8% of his passes.

Burrow is an immediate starter and an obvious upgrade over Andy Dalton and Ryan Finley. Dalton has been a starter for the Cincinnati Bengals for the past nine seasons and has had some success. The fact is he has failed to get the Bengals to the playoffs since his first four seasons as a pro. Also when they made the playoffs with Dalton he failed to win one playoff game. He is a good quarterback, he just is not spectacular.

Finley was a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft and started three games last season after Dalton was benched at the midway point of the season. Eventually, Dalton regained the starting job after Finley’s unmemorable performance.

The Cincinnati Bengals hoped Finley would have been the answer to all their problems but after a staggering 47.1% completion rate the Bengals need for a franchise quarterback were more than ever. Dalton and Finley together only won two games all of last season. The Bengals had to address the need for a quarterback but did they choose the right one?

Burrow is undoubtedly worth the risk and by no means do I expect him to be the next JaMarcus Russell, though I have my doubts if he is the best quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft class. Time will tell for sure and I give the Cincinnati Bengals an overall of a “B” grade on the Burrow pick.