The Bengals Should be Open To This Idea

Joe Burrow, LSU Quarterback

  The Cincinnati Bengals finished the NFL season 2-14, the worst in the NFL, earning them the first overall pick of the draft in April.

It is almost a sure thing that the Bengals will draft the Heisman-winning, national champion, Ohio native Joe Burrow who just had a historic college football season and really closing on the chapter of the Marvin Lewis-era in Cincinnati,  moving on from former Pro Bowl quarterback Andy Dalton. The Bengals obviously have plenty of needs on a team that just went 2-14, while quarterback isn't the biggest on the team, it's always a bonus to get the best one in the draft because it helps to rejuvenate the fan base and help create/change culture in the organization. However, if the Bengals draft Joe Burrow and choose to move on from Dalton, they have to think about depth.

In 2019, the Bengals drafted Ryan Finley, from North Carolina State, in the Fourth round and he won the backup job in his rookie season. Going into this season it wasn't sure what Finley was going to be on the team. There were a few possibilities: A career backup quarterback, an understudy of Andy Dalton for a few years, a mid-season starter. We found out when things got really bad for the team exactly what he would be -- A quarterback to see what we would need in the next draft -- Finley started a total of three games for the Bengals completing 41 of 87 passes for 474 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, resulting in 3 losses. The Ryan Finley experiment was cut short before going back to Andy Dalton as he would lead the team to it's first win against the New York Jets.

As I think about the possibility for Finley's growth with the organization. Also, I think about depth. In 2012 the Washington Redskins had drafted former Heisman winner Robert Griffin III with the second overall selection. While Griffin was the talk of College Football that year, Washington also thought about the draft from a different angle -- depth and drafting the best player available -- one the Bengals should be open to. In April, if the Bengals go in the direction of Joe Burrow, they [Bengals] should be willing to draft another quarterback in one of the later rounds (with plans of trading Dalton). I am not saying that I don't believe Burrow is going to fail. I am saying that you don't know what will happen so you should think about depth! It worked out for the Redskins because Robert Griffin III sustained career-changing injuries and Washington luckily drafted former Michigan State quarterback, Kirk Cousins in the fourth round. Cousins played himself into a contract in 2018 which guaranteed him $84 Million over 3 years.

While I don't know what the future would hold for Burrow in Cincinnati, neither does anyone else.

They always say "the most important position on an NFL team is the quarterback". However, I believe that we have grown to learn that it is the actually the quarterback available to play! The Bengals should be open to drafting the best players available in April, even if it means selecting more than one quarterback.

Current quarterbacks on the Bengals roster: Andy Dalton, Ryan Finley, Jake Dolegala.