Published Apr 23, 2020
Cincinnati Bengals take Joe Burrow as No. 1 NFL Draft pick
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Julie Boudwin  •  Death Valley Insider
Managing Editor
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@Julie_Boudwin

There's no surprise here -- the Cincinnati Bengals selected Joe Burrow as the No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Thursday night.

"I knew I was going to have a really good season because I knew we had really good players coming back. I had great coaches and we were work really, really hard to do it. But to jump up to No. 1 overall is crazy to me," Burrow said on the ESPN broadcast. "It's a dream come true."

The Bengals finished the 2019 season with a 2-14 record to secure the top pick. In 2003, the they selected quarterback Carson Palmer with the No. 1 pick.

The last time an LSU Tiger was taken at No. 1 was in 2007 when the Oakland Raiders took JaMarcus Russell and running back Billy Cannon in 1960 by the Los Angeles Rams.

Ed Orgeron said earlier this week that he believes Burrow has all the right tools to have the same success in Cincinnati that he did in Baton Rouge.

"You know, Joe didn't play in three years, and he came here and he earned the respect of the football team," Orgeron said of Burrow. "Joe wasn't the Heisman Trophy winner when he got here. He developed, he got better, he kept his mouth shut. Obviously, we all heard the stories (about other No. 1 picks) going to this team or that team, they haven't had a good record or whatever.

"Joe has not had a silver spoon in his mouth all his life. I think Joe has had to fight all his life. And I think if he does have to fight, and it may be Cincinnati, he's willing to fight for that. And he's willing to build a team. And he's willing to go through adversity if he has to.

"Nothing was promised to him here (at LSU). He came here with faith and built a championship team. And I don't see why he couldn't do it at Cincinnati."

The former LSU QB shot up draft boards after producing arguably the best college football season ever for a quarterback in 2019. The Heisman Trophy winner capped off his senior season by setting the NCAA FBS record with 60 touchdown passes with 5,671 passing yards and a 76.3 completion percentage (402 of 527 passes). He ended his college career with a perfect 15-0 season and handled Clemson, 42-25, to win the College Football Playoff National Championship in New Orleans in January. He threw for 463 yards and five touchdowns in that game.

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Not only did Burrow win the Heisman, but also took home the Manning Award, the AP National Player of the Year award, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Award and the Johnny Unitas Award.

In his two seasons at LSU, after transferring from Ohio State, Burrow owns LSU career records for total yards (9,332), touchdown passes (76) and completion percentage (.685).