NFL mock draft with every college football player eligible: Do Bengals take Joe Burrow or Trevor Lawrence?

Lawrence may end up as a higher-graded prospect when he finishes his third year at Clemson — provided we get a full 2020 season — but the Bengals can’t afford to pass up the hometown kid who dominated college football this fall.

Burrow, an Athens, Ohio native and former Ohio State quarterback before transferring to LSU is the pick for the Bengals who want to avoid any bad press by passing on Burrow after he had the best season any quarterback has ever had. His 60 touchdowns last year were a record and he outplayed Lawrence in the head-to-head matchup when LSU defeated Clemson in the National Championship Game.

The Bengals couldn’t go wrong with either Burrow or Lawrence but choose to go with the hometown angle.

The quarterback may or may not be the biggest need for the Washington Redskins in the first year under the direction of head coach Ron Rivera, but passing on Lawrence would be a fireable offense at this spot. It’s understandable how the Bengals could pass him up, but the Redskins can’t.

Dwayne Haskins didn’t light it up in his time as a rookie last year, but he didn’t entirely embarrass himself either, but prospects like Lawrence never are available with the No. 2 pick. So while Chase Young is really enticing for Rivera who could envision him as the next Julius Peppers, the potential with Lawrence is too much.

Quarterback is the most important position in sports and Lawrence may be the best prospect since Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning so it’s really a no-brainer to go with Lawrence.