When Joe Burrow boasted about his "leverage" over Bengals before landing in Cincinnati
After winning a National Championship with the LSU Tigers, Joe Burrow was seen as the obvious choice for the first overall draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The 2019 Heisman Trophy winner knew the odds were in his favor for the Cincinnati Bengals to draft him first overall.
In February 2020, Burrow told Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he knew he had a sense of 'leverage' as the NFL Combine and his LSU Pro Day were still to come before the NFL Draft.
“I do have leverage. [The Bengals] have their process and I have my process. We haven’t even gotten to the Combine yet. There’s a lot of things to happen. Right now, I’m focused on being the best football player I can be," Burrow said.
Burrow added that the Cincinnati Bengals just needed to look at his film to see what type of quarterback they would be getting. He solidified his confidence in his abilities and said that he would just be preparing for the upcoming NFL season and not stress too much on the pre-draft activities.
“I’m in this unique spot. You can go watch my film. I don’t have to prove myself at pro day and at the combine. I’m in a unique spot where I can really focus on getting ready for the season,” Burrow added.
It worked out for Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, who now have the 27-year-old quarterback under contract through the 2029 NFL season as part of a five-year contract worth $275 million.
Joe Burrow's dad reflected on QB's journey to NFL after championship run
In February 2020, Joe Burrow's dad, Jimmy Burrow a longtime college football coach also spoke to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Jimmy Burrow said that before his son's final season with the LSU Tigers, he hoped he would have a good enough season to get selected in the middle rounds of the NFL Draft.
“At this time last year, the reality was, ‘Hey, we hope you have a good enough year to be drafted in the middle rounds. If you have a great year, maybe move up the draft board. We would have never envisioned him making the rise that he did," Jimmy said.
During his final season at LSU in 2019, Joe Burrow led the Tigers to an undefeated 15-0 season, leading the NCAA with 5,671 and 60 touchdowns.