2021 NFL Mock Draft: Zach Wilson goes top-5 to Washington, Falcons land Trey Lance

Throughout the first 10 weeks of the season, the talk surrounding the Cincinnati Bengals was two-fold. On one hand, the entire football world was impressed with the play of rookie Joe Burrow. While the team wasn’t winning — and he wasn’t happy with that — he was putting up solid numbers. In 10 games, he had 2,688 yards passing with 13 touchdowns and just five picks. He added another three scores with his legs, as he was clearly ready for the big stage.

On the other hand, the Bengals were not good around him. While some of the offensive weapons had begun to emerge, their offensive line was bad. Many felt they were going to get Burrow hurt and then in Week 11, he went down with a knee injury. An MRI confirmed the fears as he had multiple ligament tears and has a long stretch ahead of him.

Putting all the blame on the line isn’t fair because the injury occurred when he took off and ran but the line is still a major problem. That’s why they take Penei Sewell here at No. 3, which gives them a set of young bookends as he can be paired with Jonah Williams. Burrow is the future and Sewell is going to help him succeed.

The Alex Smith comeback story has been phenomenal but he likely will be out of Washington after this season. And while head coach Ron Rivera says the door is not shut on Dwayne Haskins, the door is shut on Dwayne Haskins.

With that being the case, the Football Team (please keep this name forever, Dan Snyder) gets themselves a new starter in BYU’s Zach Wilson. This season, Wilson has emerged as a Heisman candidate who can destroy teams with his arms and legs. Washington might be rough around the edges this season, but they have a talented defense and they could be contenders sooner than we expect. Especially if they hit on this pick.