Joe Burrow capped off a truly special season at LSU with a victory over Clemson in the College Football National Championship Game. Following his final game in college, it is assumed Burrow will be selected with the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
First and foremost, it is extremely doubtful that the Bengals will entertain any ideas that don't involve them landing Burrow with the first-overall pick. But, what would a team need to surrender to acquire the top overall pick from the Bengals to select Burrow?
Over the past decade or so, we've seen teams concede quite a few draft picks to trade up and get their coveted quarterback. The most recent scenario that involved a team making a move to select a quarterback early in the first round was with the New York Jets and Sam Darnold.
Previous trades that involved drafting a quarterback
In the 2018 NFL Draft, New York sent the sixth-overall pick, two second-round selections in 2018, and a second-round pick in 2019. All of that was given up so the Jets could select Darnold with the third-overall pick in the draft.
A year before the Jets did it, the Chicago Bears yielded the third overall pick, a third-round pick in 2017, a fourth-round pick in 2017, and a third-round selection in 2018. The Bears gave up all of that draft capital just to move up one spot in the draft to get Mitchell Trubisky.
The last time a team traded for the No. 1 overall pick to choose a quarterback came in 2016 with the Los Angeles Rams. To select Jared Goff, the Rams parted ways with two first-round picks, two second-round picks, and two third-round picks to advance from 15th overall.
Considering those instances, manufacturing a potential trade for the Bengals' top overall pick won't be cheap. That is especially true if the team interested in Burrow is picking outside of the top 10.
Altogether, a team would likely need to compile a package similar to the Rams to lure Burrow away from the Bengals. Hypothetically speaking, let's say the Miami Dolphins are intrigued by the idea of drafting Burrow.
The Dolphins are projected to have the fifth, 18th, and 26th overall picks in the first round of the upcoming draft. Additionally, Miami owns two second-round picks and have even more early-round selections in 2021.
Provided that, the Dolphins would likely have to offer two of their first-round picks, two second-round picks, and swap mid-round selections. This would be what the ransom would look like for any team that's calling Cincinnati for the first-overall pick.
How Burrow's performance this season raises his value
Finding a long-term answer at quarterback is worth jeopardizing the future of the organization. And for Burrow, this is a quarterback who had arguably the best collegiate season in history at LSU.
In the National Championship, Burrow produced 463 passing yards and five passing touchdowns. The senior quarterback also rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown versus Clemson.
Altogether, Burrow finished the season with a 76.3 completion percentage, 5,671 yards, and 60 passing touchdowns. The expected No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft also rushed for 368 yards and five more touchdowns.
Given his gaudy numbers, the price tag to acquire the first overall pick skyrocketed. Regardless of what team tries to call the Bengals, they better be ready to unload a robust trade package to pry away the first-overall pick.
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