Should the Bengals pair Justin Jefferson with Joe Burrow?
Justin Jefferson’s draft stock continues to rise after a breakout season at LSU. He finished with 111 receptions, 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2019.
The Eagles take Jefferson with the No. 21 pick in our most recent mock draft.
Not many expect him to make it past the Vikings at 25, but if he falls to the second round, should Cincinnati pair Jefferson with his college quarterback? The Bengals are going to take Joe Burrow with the No. 1 pick. Would drafting Jefferson be the best-case scenario for both prospects and the Bengals?
“He’s going to be loved by whatever team he gets. The fan base is going to fall in love instantly with Justin Jefferson,” LSU play-by-play announcer Chris Blair said on the Bengals Booth Podcast. “He had a chip on his shoulder and he probably outworked everybody on the team top to bottom and had a breakout season. It was amazing to watch. If the ball was within arms reach Justin Jefferson made the catch and he made it against some pretty good defensive backs in the SEC.”
Jefferson tested well at the combine, posting a 4.43 40-yard dash and a 37.5” broad jump.
A Burrow-Jefferson duo sounds great on paper, but that doesn’t make it a perfect fit on the field. Tyler Boyd primarily plays in the slot and a 32-year-old A.J. Green will also get his fair share of reps there if he’s healthy.
It could be hard to put Jefferson in a position to succeed as a rookie, considering he spent 78 percent of his snaps in the slot last season at LSU. The Bengals could make it work, but head coach Zac Taylor would have to get creative.
Winning Attitude
The Bengals are hoping to instill a winning culture in Cincinnati. It’s why they went after players that had been apart of playoff teams in free agency. D.J. Reader, Trae Waynes, Vonn Bell and Mackensie Alexander are all young, promising players that have postseason experience. Jefferson’s attitude could help the Bengals reach their goal.
“He’s a lot like Joe Burrow in the sense that… I always thought being around him; he walked that fine line between being confident and cocky,” Blair said. “He never really deviates. He’s confident in his abilities and why shouldn’t he be? He’s got the numbers to back it up.”
Green and Andy Dalton quickly set the tone for the last era of Bengals football. They were drafted in the first and second rounds in 2011.
Could the Bengals do it again, this time taking a quarterback in round one and a receiver in round two?
“He is a heck of a player. He’s got speed. He’s got great hands,” Blair continued. “He was part of that trio of receivers at LSU that used the jugs gun on their own without coaches and handled 10,000 passes off the jugs machine — just to make sure that if their quarterback put it in their vicinity, they were going to make the catch. More times than not if it was in the air, Justin Jefferson came up with it.”
He may not fit perfectly with the 2020 roster, but that doesn’t mean the Bengals should pass on Jefferson. The wide receiver room could look much different a year from now. Boyd and Auden Tate are the only two receivers under contract after this season. If Jefferson is their guy, then they should draft him.
