Bengals increase their lead for first overall pick in 2020

The Bengals entered Week 12 already in first place in the Joe Burrow sweepstakes.

Not only did the Bengals lose to the Steelers, but the Redskins defeated the Lions. That means that the Bengals are the only team in the NFL with less than two wins, and are therefore two games ahead in the race for the first over pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

The Redskins entered the game 1-9, so with a loss and a Bengals win, there would be a tie for last place. A tie with the Redskins wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, since they drafted a franchise quarterback last year. If they won the tiebreaker for number one overall, they would probably draft Chase Young and leave Joe Burrow or Tua Tagovailoa on the board.

With the win over the Lions, however, the Redskins are now in fourth place in the 2020 draft, tied with two other teams at 2-9. The other 2-9 teams all lost in Week 12.

If the draft started tomorrow, the Giants would have the second overall pick, followed by the Dolphins. After the Redskins, the 3-8 Broncos and Falcons would have the fifth and sixth picks, respectively, followed by the 3-7-1 Lions and Cardinals, respectively.

The Bengals have games against the 4-7 Jets, two games against the 5-6 Browns, the 10-1 Patriots, and the 2-9 Dolphins.

It’s also worth noting that the Giants and Dolphins play each other, and the Giants and Redskins play each other. There is still a lot of potential movement over the next five weeks.

The Bengals could still give away the first overall pick, but that would mean they would have to win two games. The way the Bengals have looked so far this season, even with Andy Dalton now the starter again, it will be a journey just to win one.