Joe Burrow: 'Would've Told You You Were Crazy' About Going No. 1 a Year Ago

To nobody's surprise, the Cincinnati Bengals selected LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft on Thursday.

But Burrow's ascent over the past year was unexpected. He even admitted as much. 

"I would've told you you were crazy," Burrow said when ESPN's Suzy Kolber asked him what he would have said a year ago had someone told him he was going to be the No. 1 pick.

But once he officially became a Bengal, Burrow quickly transitioned to business mode:

Burrow shot up draft boards after having one of the greatest seasons in college football history, throwing for 5,671 yards, 60 touchdowns and just six interceptions while completing an absurd 76.3 percent of his passes. 

He won virtually every award in the book, including the Heisman Trophy, and led LSU to a national championship. In the process, he went from being a middle-round prospect to the obvious selection at No. 1 overall. 

"I wasn't very good my junior year," he said on the ESPN broadcast regarding his climb up draft boards. "It's pretty simple. I worked really, really hard to get better. And so did my team. We worked really, really hard. I just wasn't as good as I was my senior year."

For the Bengals, the selection was a no-brainer:

Burrow won't be without weapons in his rookie season, either, as he'll be joined by running back Joe Mixon and wideouts A.J. Green and Tyler Boyd. That trio should help simplify Burrow's transition to the NFL.

The young quarterback has gone from being buried on the Ohio State depth chart to a little-regarded transfer at LSU to a solid junior to the best player in college football and the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. It's been a wild ride, but the real journey is just beginning.