No offseason event will reshape the league quite like the NFL Draft. This is where new franchise quarterbacks are found. This is where teams find running backs and wide receivers that will be stars for years to come. This is where teams rebuild offensive lines and defenses and find the missing pieces needed to win a Super Bowl.
This is also where teams draft busts, strike out on prospects, and stay on the wrong path for the next five years. Good drafts have the chance to make NFL front offices and head coaches successful for the next decade, but bad ones can have them unemployed in a year or two. Here are some burning questions that NFL fans are waiting for answers to on April 23 – 25. If you want to hear other draft storylines, check out FantasyPros Football Podcast: 2020 NFL Mock Draft: First Round w/ Trevor Sikkema.
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Every NFL Draft starts with the question of who gets picked first, and this one is no different. The Bengals have been in a steady decline for a number of years. In 2015, they went 12-4 before losing in the AFC Wild Card Round to the Pittsburgh Steelers. They recorded 6 wins (and a tie) in 2016, seven wins in 2017, and six wins in 2018. That led to the firing of head coach Marvin Lewis, who was replaced by Zac Taylor. That coaching change did not help much; they crashed to two wins in 2019 and “earned” the first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Andy Dalton has been the Bengals’ starting quarterback since 2011. They made five straight postseason appearances from 2011 to 2015, but they never won a playoff game. Dalton is just 20-35-1 in his last 56 starts and has not led them to the playoffs in four years. This team is in need of a franchise quarterback to start the rebuild, and Burrow could be that player who changes their fortunes. He led LSU to a National Championship with 5,671 yards passing, 60 passing touchdowns, and six interceptions. It was one of the best seasons in FBS history.
There will be a debate on whether the Bengals would be better off trading for some or all of Miami’s three first-round picks and allowing them to select Burrow while they stockpile young talent. Some other team could offer a blockbuster deal to move up for Burrow. Cincinnati could also decide to rebuild the defense with pass-rushing star Chase Young. After considering all those options, Burrow is just too good for the Bengals to pass up. Franchise quarterbacks are hard to find, and it is not common to have the first pick. The last time the Bengals had the first overall pick was 2003. I cannot see them forgoing the chance to pick a franchise quarterback and rejuvenate a franchise that has not had much success in recent years.
2. Will the Miami Dolphins trade up to select Tua Tagovailoa?
Tagovailoa is going to be the intriguing quarterback of this draft class. At the beginning of the season, many thought NFL teams were going to “Tank for Tua.” The surprise emergence of Burrow and Tagovailoa’s shoulder injury changed the calculus for many teams. Burrow is now expected to be the top quarterback drafted, even though Tagovailoa finished his Alabama career with 7,442 yards passing, 87 passing touchdowns, and just 11 interceptions. The health of his shoulder and questions of his durability going forward will impact how far he falls in the NFL Draft.
The Dolphins, who were just 5-11 last year, need a franchise quarterback. Last offseason’s trade for Josh Rosen did not pan out. Ryan Fitzpatrick ended up starting but he is also 37 years old. He is good enough to be a bridge quarterback, but not good enough to be the center of a rebuild. Fitzpatrick probably made their job of rebuilding more difficult, because his contribution to their late-season victories has them in this spot, deciding if they are going to need to trade up from five to acquire Tagovailoa.
Picking ahead of them, Washington and the New York Giants drafted quarterbacks in the first round last year. The Detroit Lions have Matthew Stafford. Would someone else that wants Tagovailoa trade with one of those teams to hop in front of Miami? Would the Dolphins instead trade up to make sure they are able to select him? Do the Dolphins take Tagovailoa at all, or do they not take the risk on his shoulder and draft the best available players with their three first-round picks? Their fifth selection has a lot of suspense surrounding it; NFL fans are going to have a lot of questions about how it turns out.
3. Do the Los Angeles Chargers or New England Patriots take a quarterback in the first round?
I would throw the Pittsburgh Steelers into this question, except their first-round pick belongs to Miami. They will still need to think about finding a replacement for Ben Roethlisberger, who recently turned 38 years old and played only two games last year due to an elbow injury. However, without a first-round pick, they will not be in a position to find his successor early in this draft.
The Chargers have already announced they are not going to pursue Philip Rivers in free agency, which means they will have a new starting quarterback for the first time since 2006. The Patriots have not been able to work out anything with Tom Brady, and they would be looking at a new starting quarterback — not counting his ACL tear in 2008 and suspension to start 2016 — for the first time since 2000.The Chargers have the sixth pick in the NFL Draft, but they are behind the Dolphins. They would need to move up to take Tagovailoa. They could also stay put and draft Oregon’s Justin Herbert, assuming no other takers jump in front of the Chargers. Seeing as Tyrod Taylor would be their starter if the season started today, it seems likely they address the position either in free agency or in the first round. They may end up doing both, depending on the age and length of contract they give a quarterback in free agency.
As for the Patriots, they are not selecting until the 23rd pick. They could go with Utah State’s Jordan Love or Washington’s Jacob Eason. They could also sign a stopgap option and go draft a quarterback later. We will receive some answers once free agency officially begins on March 18. Even if they sign a veteran, both teams figure to go quarterback at some point in the 2020 NFL Draft. Fans will wonder who they select to usher in a new era for both franchises.
4. Will the 2020 NFL Draft equal 2004 with seven first-round picks at wide receiver?
The most wide receivers taken in the first round was back in 2004, when Larry Fitzgerald, Roy Williams, Reggie Williams, Lee Evans, Michael Clayton, Michael Jenkins, and Rashaun Woods comprised the seven selected. It was a pretty disappointing class, as only Fitzgerald lived up to his potential. Roy Williams and Evans had respectable careers, but nothing worthy of their first-round status.
This year’s class has a chance to rival that 2004 crop in terms of the number of players with first-round grades. Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III, Tee Higgins, Laviska Shenault Jr., Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb, and Jalen Reagor are all being talked about as first-round wide receivers. All of them have the potential to be a future star in the NFL.
Fantasy football fans and NFL fans will both be interested in these wide receivers, because they are the explosive players in an offense. Fans do not like drafts dominated by offensive and defensive linemen, as those are not the glamour positions. Wide receivers make the exciting plays downfield and bring big-play ability to an offense. That is a sexy position, and this draft has a chance to see a number of big playmakers go in the first round.
5. Does a running back go in the first round?
There was a time when it appeared a running back would never go in the first round again. None were taken in the opening rounds of 2013 and 2014, leaving some to wonder if the move toward backfield committees would prevent running backs from ever going that high again. However, Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon were both taken in the first round in 2015. Since then, at least one running back has gone in the first round.
This year, there are two running back who could go in the back of the first round. D’Andre Swift saw limited action as a freshman at Georgia behind Sony Michel and Nick Chubb, but he still had 81 carries for 618 yards and three touchdowns. He followed that up with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons and finished with 6.6 yards per carry. After running a 4.49-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, he is being projected as a late-first or early-second selection.
Jonathan Taylor is also hoping to go in the first round. He had back-to-back 2,000-yard seasons for Wisconsin and narrowly missed another as a freshman by just 23 rushing yards. His 6,174 rushing yards ranks sixth in NCAA history, and the five players in front of him all played four college seasons. Had he stayed for his senior year, he could have owned every career rushing record in NCAA history.
Taylor owned the 40-yard dash with a 4.39-second run, but that still may not be enough for him to go in the first round. While he put up great numbers, he played on a team that usually has one of the best offensive lines in the country. Wisconsin backs have also been a mixed bag in the NFL. Some front offices will not want to use a first-round pick on a running back that dominated in an offense that always boasts one of the country’s best running games. Running backs can have an immediate impact on a team and are the glamour position in fantasy football, so both fantasy football players and NFL fans will want to see if their team will add one of these two promising potential stars.
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