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Bengals Select Joe Burrow With No. 1 Pick in NFL Draft
The Cincinnati Bengals selected quarterback Joe Burrow with the 1st pick of the 2020 NFL Draft. Burrow attended Athens High School (2011–14) in The Plains, Ohio, where he posted 11,416 passing yards and 157 touchdowns, plus 2,067 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns for the Bulldogs. Burrow (6-foot-3, 221 pounds) committed to Ohio State but saw limited playing time over 10 games during his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Not wanting to play behind Buckeyes starting quarterback Dwayne Haskins, Burrow transferred to LSU for his junior and senior seasons. Burrow played 18 games for the Tigers and posted 8,565 passing yards with 76 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions. He added another 767 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
During the Tigers’ National Championship win, 42-25 over the Clemson Tigers, Burrow had 463 passing yards and five TD passes plus 58 rushing yards and one score on the ground. Burrow was the runaway winner of the 2019 Heisman Trophy award as he garnered 841 of the 891 first-place votes. He was just the second LSU player to win the Heisman Trophy after halfback Billy Cannon won the award way back in 1959. Burrow received plenty of praise leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft as he drew comparisons to Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Joe Montana.
Here’s why SI’s Kevin Hanson ranked Burrow as the No. 2 overall player on his big board:
Despite facing seven top-10 opponents, Burrow played his best in the biggest moments as he led the Tigers to an undefeated season. Throwing an FBS-record 60 touchdowns and rushing for five more, the Heisman-winning quarterback shows tremendous poise in the pocket and throws with pinpoint accuracy.
2019 stats (Senior; LSU): 5,671 pass yards, 60 TD, 6 INT, 368 rush yards, 5 TD (15 games)
2018 stats (Junior; LSU): 2,894 pass yards, 16 TD, 5 INT, 399 rush yards, 7 TD (13 games)
2017 stats (Sophomore; Ohio State): 61 pass yards (5 games)
2016 stats (Freshman; Ohio State): 226 pass yards, 2 TD, 58 rush yards, 1 TD (5 games)
Stick with SI.com throughout the weekend for in-depth coverage of the 2020 NFL Draft, including the impact of prominent rookies joining new teams, team-by-team breakdowns, fantasy football and gambling reactions, draft grades and so much more.
- Joe Burrow’s Fantasy Football Impact on Bengals
- NFL Mock Draft: One Final First Round Projection
- Overrated and Underrated NFL Draft Prospects
- NFL Mock Draft: Vegas Odds Predict First Round
- SI’s 2020 NFL Draft Prop Betting Guide
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