Bengals lock up 1st overall pick with 14th loss of season
The Cincinnati Bengals will pick first overall in the 2020 draft after their Week 16 overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins ensured they'll finish with the NFL's worst record in 2019.
The Bengals have selected first three other times, most recently in 2003 when they took quarterback Carson Palmer.
1st overall picks in Bengals' history
| Year | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Dan Wilkinson | DT |
| 1995 | Ki-Jana Carter | RB |
| 2003 | Carson Palmer | QB |
| 2020 | - | - |
Cincinnati needed to win its final two games to have any chance at escaping the basement of the league standings. The Bengals put forth an admirable effort Sunday, erasing a 23-point deficit over the final 6:11 of regulation before ultimately falling in the extra frame.
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, who won the 2019 Heisman Trophy, is widely considered the favorite to go first overall in the draft, which begins April 23 in Las Vegas. Burrow is an Ohio native and began his college career at Ohio State, which is a 95-minute drive from Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.
The Bengals and first-year head coach Zac Taylor will wrap up their schedule against the Cleveland Browns in Week 17.