Joe Burrow selected by Bengals with No. 1 pick in NFL Draft

Joe Burrow is still the Tiger King. Burrow’s remarkable eight-month rise from Average Joe to Heisman Trophy-winner and national champion culminated Thursday when the Bengals made him the No. 1-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. In a scene unlike any in draft history, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the selection from the basement of …

Joe Burrow is still the Tiger King.

Burrow’s remarkable eight-month rise from Average Joe to Heisman Trophy-winner and national champion culminated Thursday when the Bengals made him the No. 1-overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

In a scene unlike any in draft history, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the selection from the basement of his Bronxville home and a camera sent to Burrow’s home captured his reaction while sitting on a couch with his parents.

Normally, Goodell would have handed Burrow a personalized orange-and-black jersey and the two would have shaken hands on a stage — which, this year, was supposed to be the iconic water fountains outside the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

But this is the draft in the coronavirus era, where stay-at-home orders and social distancing practices forced the entire three-day event into virtual space. A moment of silence kicked off the draft, as images of emotional people in masks, the Statue of Liberty and American flag flashed across the screen. Harry Connick Jr. sang the national anthem and a virtual chatroom of fans, including Michael Strahan, booed Goodell to keep tradition alive.

The next two picks also went as expected. Ohio State pass-rusher Chase Young, considered by many insiders as the safest prospect in this year’s draft, went to the Redskins with the second pick.

The Lions, who had been the subject of reports they might trade down, took Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah with the third pick.

The first three picks went off without a much-feared technological glitch, which is more than can be said for the mock draft all 32 teams held earlier this week.

Just like at LSU, Burrow will play for a team with a tiger mascot — and it seems his marketing team already is at work creating wordplay based off the popular Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” starring self-nicknamed character Joe Exotic.

It was a relatively smooth ride to No. 1 for Burrow, especially after the NFL Scouting Combine, where he shut down speculation he would follow in the footsteps of John Elway and Eli Manning and force a trade of the top pick by refusing to play for the Bengals. He was raised in Ohio, about two hours from Cincinnati.

Whenever he signs, Burrow’s fully guaranteed four-year contract is expected to be worth about $36.1 million, including a $23.8 million signing bonus, per the NFL’s rookie wage scale.

Because of Burrow’s ridiculous breakout season of 60 touchdowns compared to six interceptions, combined with Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s durability concerns, there never was a question of ranking the top quarterback in the draft class.

Tagovailoa entered the season as the presumptive No. 1 pick but underwent season-ending dislocated hip surgery, his third significant injury in three seasons. Because most college pro days, facility visits and private workouts were canceled, teams could not do their usual pre-draft medical evaluations on prospects.

The Dolphins, who entered Thursday with the No. 5, No. 18 and No. 26 picks, reportedly made multiple runs at trading for No. 1 over the past few weeks.

But there was more day-of uncertainty leading up to the official selection of quarterbacks Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals) in 2019 and Baker Mayfield (Cleveland Browns) in 2018 as the No. 1-overall picks.

Burrow is the fourth quarterback drafted in the top six by the Bengals in the last 28 years — joining No. 6 David Klingler in 1992, No. 3 Akili Smith in 1999 and No. 1 Carson Palmer in 2003.

The Bengals have not won a playoff game during that span (last win coming in the 1990 wild-card round), including going 0-4 in games started by three-time Pro Bowler Andy Dalton. Burrow’s arrival likely means Dalton will be traded or cut with no dead money against the salary cap.

Burrow’s game is marked by swagger the Bengals need as they look to climb out of the bottom of one of the NFL’s toughest divisions, where Mayfield and reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson (Ravens) have a head start.

Tagovailoa, Oregon’s Justin Herbert and Utah State’s Jordan Love were the next three quarterbacks on most draft boards. Projections on all three were all over the map, including Love falling out of the first round.