Butterfly Effect: What if Joe Burrow never transferred from Ohio State to LSU?

Who would be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft?

Burrow is going to be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and play for the Cincinnati Bengals. There’s some drama whether the draft will remain scheduled as-is or pushed pack due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, but there’s zero drama about what the Bengals are doing.

But if Burrow is not the quarterback messiah to deliver the Bengals to a playoff win for the first time since 1991 and the no-brainer pick to be the No. 1 pick because he stayed at Ohio State, who would be the front-runner to go first overall?

Would the Bengals be more interested in Tagovailoa despite his injury history?

Would the Bengals take the other hometown star and take Young to bolster their pass rush in a division with Lamar Jackson, Mayfield and Ben Roethlisberger (for at least one more year)?

Perhaps they’d be interested in former Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert instead?

The best player in the draft is Young. He is bust-proof and could be the best defensive end prospect in more than a decade. He isn’t the quick-fix that teams look for when taking a quarterback, but taking Young is the best in the short-term and the long-term.

Taking Young gives the Bengals a perennial double-digit sack performer but wouldn’t make a tremendous impact on the win-loss record as a rookie. That’s a good thing though because it keeps the Bengals in a position to get the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

With back-to-back No. 1 picks, the Bengals could take Young in 2020 and then Lawrence in 2021.

Would you rather have Burrow and the No. 8 pick in the 2021 draft or Young and Lawrence? It’s an interesting question and one I’d imagine fans who already bought their Burrow No. 9 Bengals jersey would be willing to entertain.

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