Lately, the scouting combine is a funny thing to reminisce about for the Cincinnati Bengals.
There’s Joe Burrow’s tiny-hands saga. And on a more serious note, there’s the fact a brief 18-minute interview with Burrow at the combine told the Bengals everything they needed to know about him and essentially cemented the No.1 pick.
Bengals brass interviewed by Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com say Burrow’s stunning recall of plays in the brief interview and his understanding of how, why and when before and after the snap was stunning.
And what’s especially interesting is at least one of the guys in the room already knew Burrow was the No. 1 pick.
Director of college scouting Mike Potts said he knew Burrow was the pick in early November 2019 after Burrow led LSU to a 46-41 win over Alabama on the road.
“Two, three, four questions and you know,” Potts said, according to Hobson. “Sharp. Good conversation. Very bright. Came off as professional, serious. The kind of guy you would want leading your organization.”
In that game, Burrow out-dueled Tua Tagovailoa, going 31-of-39 with 393 yards and three touchdowns.
Notably, the recall Burrow showed in the meeting that stunned the Bengals also explains why he put up an amazing score on an S2 Cognition test, too.
This tale is something all fans should keep in mind too — all of that pre-draft speculation? At least one critical member of the decision-making process knew the pick before the holidays and the rest probably weren’t that far behind him, either.
