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2021 NFL Draft: Bengals status after Joe Burrow injury

By Sayre Bedinger

Nov 22, 2020; Landover, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) shakes hands with Washington Football Team defensive end Chase Young (99) prior to being carted off the field after injuring his left knee in the third quarter at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 22, 2020; Landover, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) shakes hands with Washington Football Team defensive end Chase Young (99) prior to being carted off the field after injuring his left knee in the third quarter at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cincinnati Bengals 2021 NFL Draft status after Joe Burrow’s injury.

The Cincinnati Bengals have lost number one pick Joe Burrow to a season-ending knee injury, a scary play which the team and Burrow determined to be a season-ender rather quickly.

Burrow was enjoying a very nice rookie season in the NFL, establishing himself as a leader on the Bengals and really showing that his big year at LSU was not an outlier but a true indicator of future NFL success.

The Bengals’ last few top selections have had either a rough go or rough injury luck. John Ross, their top pick in 2017, has missed a ton of time with injury. Billy Price has battled injuries and was flat out benched for his poor play. Top 2019 pick Jonah Williams suffered a season-ending injury in his rookie offseason.

Now, Burrow.

The 2021 NFL Draft awaits the Bengals, whose evaluation process for the 2020 season is incomplete without Burrow on the field, even though Burrow has done plenty to show that he’s worthy of building around.

And there is no question where the Bengals have to go with their top 2021 NFL Draft and 2021 offseason assets: Offensive line.

The Bengals need to invest heavily in the offensive line in order to make sure something like this doesn’t happen to Burrow again. Of course, this is the NFL where injuries are unfortunately common and they can happen on any given play.

With that said, Burrow’s injury came on a play where he was merely hit, not sacked, and he’s been sacked 32 times in 10 games. The Bengals’ offensive line has not done Burrow any favors this season and ultimately, it was a bad loss on a rep by left guard Michael Jordan that resulted in the awkward hit on Burrow.

The Bengals, as it turns out, land in a very fortuitous 2021 NFL Draft position as a result of this injury. If there is a silver lining to be gleaned from such a terrible injury, it’s the fact that Cincinnati is now third in the 2021 NFL Draft order behind the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jets and Jaguars are obviously going to be in the quarterback market. The Bengals, even with Burrow’s injury, are not.

This would put Cincinnati in the perfect position to snatch up Oregon left tackle Penei Sewell, widely regarded as the top offensive line prospect not only in this draft but perhaps over the last 10-15 years.

Sewell himself can’t fix the Bengals’ offensive line, but he can certainly make it a lot better. He could take over the left tackle position while 2019 first-rounder Jonah Williams could move inside to guard or over to right tackle.

The development on Sunday for the Bengals was obviously not something anyone wanted to see. Hopefully, the Bengals are able to properly surround and protect Burrow the best way possible in the 2021 NFL Draft.

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