Bengals 2021 NFL Draft primer as protecting Joe Burrow the priority

The 2020 season clearly did not go how head coach Zac Taylor and the rest of the Cincinnati Bengals had hoped it would go. The Bengals had the number one pick in the 2020 NFL Draft and selected Joe Burrow who by all means looked to be a hit until his knee injury. Not only did the number one overall pick get hurt but so did their two major defensive free agency signings in DJ Reader and Trae Wayne’s, both of which barely played if at all.

Joe Burrow was starting to come into his own in the Zac Taylor offense and unfortunately, in week 11 against the Washington Football Team, he suffered a torn ACL, MCL and damaged his PCL and Meniscus. Burrow would go on to end his rookie season with a 65 percent completion percentage, 2,688 passing yards, and 13 touchdowns to five interceptions. Burrow also would go on to add another 37 carries for 142 yards and three rushing touchdowns.

After Burrow suffered his season-ending injury the team pivoted to backup quarterbacks Ryan Finley who has since been traded to the Houston Texans and Brandon Allen who recently resigned this offseason to a one-year deal after showing he’s a capable backup in relief of Burrow.

Can Bengals, Zac Taylor turn it around in 2021?

The 2020 season was one filled with question marks about the culture that Zac Taylor was created in Cincinnati and many of the veterans were not on board with the movement. We saw Carlos Dunlap take to Twitter weekly to vent his frustrations with the ball club leaning towards a youth movement before ultimately burning the bridge with the Bengals and their fans and getting traded.

It’s clear that Zac Taylor is trying to make changes and when your leaders aren’t on board that is a recipe for disaster ten out of ten times. After finishing the season 4-11-1, Zac Taylor needs to keep Burrow healthy and show major improvements as a team for him to keep his job at this point.