LSU quarterback Joe Burrow will be remembered as the top overall pick of the 85th National Football League draft, and the 85th draft will be remembered as the first to be altered by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Burrow, who helped the Tigers set an NCAA record with 726 points this past season, was selected first by the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night. Burrow is from Athens, Ohio, and he played sparingly at Ohio State before transferring to Baton Rouge for his final two seasons.
"This is crazy, but it's a dream come true," Burrow said on the ESPN telecast.
Thursday night's opening round marked the first live event in six weeks for one of the four traditional professional sports leagues - MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL. The draft was originally set for the Las Vegas strip but had to be relocated to the ESPN studios in Bristol, Connecticut.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the picks from the basement of his residence in Bronxville, New York, and players participated remotely as well.
"This is different for us, and it's different for you, because it has to be," Goodell said on ESPN. "We have been thinking of those fighting bravely on the front line and those whose lives have been profoundly changed by this unprecedented crisis. We hope this draft can provide a break from these everyday challenges.
"Let us dream of better days and help others."
AP photo by Rick Scuteri / Ohio State defensive end Chase Young was taken No. 2 overall by the Washington Redskins in the NFL draft that started Thursday night.Ohio State produced the next two picks, with defensive end Chase Young going second to the Washington Redskins and cornerback Jeff Okudah going third to the Detroit Lions. Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas was the No. 4 pick, going to the New York Giants, and former Southeastern Conference players made up three of the first five selections when the Miami Dolphins selected Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa at No. 5.
The SEC had three more representatives in the top 10, with Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown going seventh to the Carolina Panthers, Florida cornerback CJ Henderson going ninth to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Alabama offensive tackle Jedrick Wills then taken by the Cleveland Browns.
In leading LSU to a 15-0 record and the national championship last season, Burrow completed 402 of 527 passes (76.3%) for 5,671 yards with 60 touchdowns and six interceptions. His 60 touchdowns set a single-season Football Bowl Subdivision record, as did his passer rating of 202.0.
Burrow is the ninth SEC quarterback picked No. 1 overall, with the first eight having played at eight different schools: Alabama's Harry Gilmer (1948 draft), Vanderbilt's Bill Wade (1952), Tennessee's Peyton Manning (1998), Kentucky's Tim Couch (1999), Ole Miss's Eli Manning (2004), LSU's JaMarcus Russell (2007), Georgia's Matthew Stafford (2009) and Auburn's Cam Newton (2011).
Newton also came off an undefeated season capped by the national title.
By the end of the first round that started Thursday night, the SEC had broken the record it shared for most first-round picks by one league in a single NFL draft, with this year's 15 players eclipsing the 12 selections the SEC had in 2013 and 2017 to match the mark set by the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2006.
LSU led the way with five players drafted Thursday, with four for Alabama, two each for Auburn and Georgia and one apiece for Florida and South Carolina adding to the SEC's success.
The Big Ten and the Big 12 each had five players drafted, the Pac-12 and the ACC had three each and the Mountain West had one. Reigning Big Ten champion Ohio State, with three players selected, was the only school outside of the SEC with more than two representatives.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.