Joe Burrow won't refuse to play for Bengals, per dad

LSU quarterback Joe Burrow has a good chance to be selected with the top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft in April, and his father — Jimmy Burrow — says the signal caller doesn’t have a problem with being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals. The elder Burrow told TSN earlier this month that his son was just happy to have the opportunity to be selected so high.

“He’s excited to even be in that conversation and if the Bengals do draft him, he’s going to be happy,” Jimmy Burrow said.

Joe played high school football in Ohio and spent three seasons at Ohio State before transferring to LSU. He then went on to break the FBS record for most passing touchdowns in a season (60) and most touchdowns responsible (65). His father, who served on Ohio State’s coaching staff as a defensive coordinator until 2018, could be a driving force behind where he ends up.

Cincinnati hasn’t said outright that it will select Burrow, but teams almost never do that with top prospects. There are still a few months left to evaluate talent. However, Burrow and his family appear to favor the Bengals as a destination. The best they can do is positioning themselves, and that just might work.

Legendary quarterback John Elway forced his way to the Denver Broncos in 1983 by threatening to join the New York Yankees and play baseball. He was drafted by the lowly Baltimore Colts before being traded to Denver for an offensive lineman, who fourth overall, and two other pieces.

Recently retired Eli Manning followed Elway’s path to a certain degree. The then San Diego Chargers had the No. 1 pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, but Manning wanted to go to a big market. He pushed hard and eventually the Chargers agreed to trade him to the New York Giants. It resulted in the now famous picture of Manning holding up a Chargers jersey very half-heartedly until the deal was done.

Burrow still faces some competition from Chase Young and Justin Herbert for the top pick, but odds are strong he will end up headed to Cincinnati.