/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69168491/usa_today_13678103.0.jpg)
With the NFL draft only one week away, teams are starting to pinpoint who they will select when they go on the clock.
For the Cincinnati Bengals, the fifth-overall pick is one that still seems like it could be up in the air. Will the team choose Penei Sewell to help protect Joe Burrow or will it be his former teammate Ja’Marr Chase?
That question likely won’t be answered until Roger Goodell announces who the team selects with that pick on April 29th, though all of the recent buzz has been that Chase will be the pick.
Joe Burrow has now made it known though that he has not, and will not give the organization his input on what to do with the fifth pick.
As a guest on the Cris Collinsworth podcast, Burrow made it clear he’s not pushing the team toward any player. He did, however, offer this praise for Chase.
“Certain receivers just have a way of getting separation at the top of the route. Whether they’re accelerating past them or they get a little push, whatever it is, he’s got that receiver ability to just run past people. He ran a 4.38 [40-yard dash]. I think that’s what it was. I didn’t expect it. Nobody is catching him, though. He just has a great way of getting open. He has a great feel for zone, great feel for man. He just really understands it all. He’s a complete player.”
He finished this part of the conversation by saying this:
“You really can’t go wrong. There’s so many great options. That’s the perk of picking so high and not being a very good team. But I’m very comfortable with Ja’Marr. Like I said, we have great chemistry talking to him all the time, but we’re in a good position.”
As long as Burrow comes back and is close (if not to) 100 percent, adding Chase to make a trio of Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and himself sure would make for an electric offense that could get down the field in a hurry.
It is no secret that Burrow is extremely comfortable with Chase. In 2019, the duo helped lead LSU to an undefeated season, culminating in a National Championship.
Whether it is Sewell or Chase, either option is going to be helpful for the Bengals in the long run.