Cincinnati Bengals fans should hope Joe Burrow doesn’t get his way
By Zach Ragan
The Cincinnati Bengals invested a No. 1 pick in quarterback Joe Burrow because the franchise feels like the former LSU football standout has an extremely bright future in the NFL.
Burrow, who won a national championship and a Heisman Trophy at LSU, is already well-respected by his teammates.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Burrow has a lot of influence on roster decisions. He obviously isn’t the final decision-maker, but the Bengals’ front-office makes decisions with Burrow in mind.
While I can certainly understand wanting to give Burrow what he wants/needs in terms of personnel, there’s at least one thing Burrow wants that Cincinnati fans should hope doesn’t work out.
Joe Burrow doesn’t need Ja’Marr Chase in Cincinnati
According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Burrow has been trying to talk the Bengals into drafting his former LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase.
“Word on the street is that Joe Burrow is stumping for Cincy to bring his old Tiger teammate (Chase) to Ohio,” reported Breer.
Chase is one of the top players available in the 2021 NFL Draft. And the Burrow/Chase connection was incredibly fruitful in Baton Rouge.
Perfect fit, right?
Not so fast.
It would certainly be fun to see Burrow and Chase reunited in the NFL. But Chase isn’t what the Bengals need.
The Bengals need more talent along the offensive line — even with their recent signing of offensive tackle Riley Reiff.
Reiff is a nice addition, but he’s only under contract for one year (it’s a two-year deal that voids after the 2021 season, essentially to spread out Cincinnati’s cap hit). Signing Reiff, who is 32, was a wise move, but it wasn’t a long-term solution to the Bengals’ offensive line woes.
Cincinnati absolutely must take an offensive lineman with the No. 5 overall pick. Selecting Oregon’s Penei Sewell or Northwestern’s Rashawn Slater would give the Bengals an offensive tackle to pair with Jonah Williams. That would be a quality tackle duo that could eventually be among the best in the league.
The Bengals could also find themselves in a situation where they could trade down to land one of those offensive linemen while also adding some draft capital.
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I love the idea of watching Burrow throw passes to Chase again, but it’s not the move that would be in the best interest of the star quarterback (or the Bengals).