INDIANAPOLIS — Who wouldn’t want to follow in the footsteps of John Elway and Eli Manning?
Joe Burrow, that’s who.
The Heisman Trophy winner, national champion and consensus No. 1 pick in next month’s draft said Tuesday at the NFL Combine he would have no qualms playing in Cincinnati, which owns the top choice.
“Yeah, I’m not going to not play,” the LSU star quarterback replied when asked if he would report to the Bengals should they select him No. 1 overall on April 23 in Las Vegas. “I’m a ballplayer. Whoever picks me, I’m going to go show up.”
Burrow, who grew up in Athens, Ohio, and initially attended Ohio State, said he would love to play professionally in his home state.
“Yeah, absolutely. It’s 2 hours, 15 minutes from my house,” Burrow said. “I could go home for dinner if I wanted to.”
From his hopes to be the No. 1 pick, to breaking down his hand size and Drew Brees, @LSUfootball's @Joe_Burrow10 had plenty to talk about at the NFL combine ⬇️pic.twitter.com/EltMxwCQxd
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) February 25, 2020
Burrow said on Dan Patrick’s radio show last month it was important for him to keep winning in the NFL, and while he wanted to be the first overall pick, “you also want to go to a great organization that is committed to winning. Committed to winning Super Bowls.”
The Bengals haven’t won a Super Bowl since entering the league in 1968.
Those comments sparked speculation Burrow was skeptical about the Bengals.
“The only thing I’ve said is that I just didn’t want to be presumptuous about the pick,” Burrow said Tuesday. “That’s why I’ve been noncommittal because I don’t know what’s going to happen. They might not pick me. They might fall in love with someone else. You guys kind of took that narrative and ran with it. There has never been anything like that from my end.
“I’ll play for whoever drafts me. I’m just not going to be presumptuous about what they want to do. It’s the draft. You guys have been covering it for a long time. You never know what’s going to happen.”
Elway already has a Pro Bowl receiver in Courtland Sutton and a rising star tight end in Noah Fant. But nowadays, teams have to load up at wide receiver, and this year brings a wealth of talented pass-catchers.
“Oh, I think this is one of the best groups since Odell’s group,” Colorado wide receiver Laviska Shenault said in comparing this year’s crop to the one in 2014 that featured first-rounders Odell Beckham Jr., Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Brandin Cooks and Kelvin Benjamin.
In addition to Shenault, this year’s group features Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb, LSU’s Justin Jefferson, Arizona State’s Brandon Aiyuk and Clemson’s Tee Higgins.
“I think we’re talented across the board,” Shenault said. “I think we check a lot of boxes. I think this class is going to do great things. It’s definitely going to be a legendary class.”
