Mike Brown's Cincinnati Bengals once famously turned down a war chest of nine picks the New Orleans Saints were offering in the Ricky Williams draft to select quarterback Akili Smith.
Keeping that background in mind, it seems safe to assume any offer the Bengals might get for the 2020 No. 1 overall pick (and the right to draft Joe Burrow) will be dismissed.
Coach Zac Taylor told the Dan Patrick Show on Monday that he didn't see a scenario where Cincy would trade the top pick.
"It doesn't look that way. If there is a guy there that you believe in that can really change the franchise over the next 10-15 years, then that's a hard thing to pass up on," Taylor said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer. "You know, people all the time ask me what would it take to give up that pick and if there's somebody there that people are willing to give up a lot for, that they believe in, then that just really verifies what we think about those players as well."
There have been brief clusters of speculation that teams like the Miami Dolphins, who own three first-rounders, could offer the Bengals a package that Brown & Co. could not refuse. Those rumors haven't lasted long.
The presumption remains that the Bengals will select LSU Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow when the draft opens on April 23. The team has reportedly maxed out its virtual visits with Burrow, which consists of three one-hour video or telephone conferences per week.
It's clear the Bengals are trying to get to know as much about Burrow as possible during the pre-draft process.
"He's got a great edge to him, I think that's the best way to put it," Taylor said. "You know, you can talk about confidence and all that stuff to quarterbacks, but he's one of those guys that put in the work, so he's got the confidence in his abilities because there's not a lot of unknown out there for him.
"We've gotten to know him. We've gotten to know a lot of the guys during this conversation over the last couple of weeks. We really maxed out that time talking to him. We feel comfortable with all those guys there at the top."
The assumption is Burrow will be the No. 1 pick and head to Cincinnati to play in his home state of Ohio. Taylor, however, isn't ready to announce the pick just yet.
"I think we're really comfortable with the direction we're headed," Taylor said. "I'm not quite ready to make any major announcements yet, but I think we've done our homework here the last three or four months and kind of vetted all these guys out and feel really comfortable with the direction we're headed."
