The 2021 NFL Draft has now been over for a week now and criticism of the Cincinnati Bengals taking on Ja’Marr Chase against Penei Sewell continues. NFL Spin Zone’s Jarrett Bailey made a list of each team’s worst picks in the draft and said for the Bengals it was Chase.

Bailey had this to say why he considered Chase to be Cincy’s worst choice in the draft:

I’m sorry, Bengals fans; please leave my family alone they have nothing to do with this. But let’s be honest here; they should have taken Penei Sewell.

Joe Burrow’s knee was practically torn in two last season and the best bona fide tackle in the draft was there for them at No.5. Instead of worrying about the health of their brilliant young quarterback, they were busy retrieving his old band together from LSU. I understand they subsequently drafted several linemen, but passing Sewell was a mistake.

This is something Bengals fans need to get used to until we learn more about this draft class. The offensive line was bad last year and was so bad it led to rookie quarterback Joe Burrow to get injured and miss the last six games of the season.

Everything seemed to line up for the Bengals to take Sewell with the No.5 pick due to the quarterback run that was happening with at least the top three picks, but rather than go with the better tackle prospect, Cincinnati added a weapon they don’t necessarily need.

Get used to the Cincinnati Bengals being criticized for their decision to take Ja’Marr Chase.

Chase will likely be a formidable receiver in the NFL, but with Burrow’s injury resulting from poor online play, it’s difficult to defend Cincinnati without taking Sewell. Yes, Burrow and Chase played together at LSU and had undeniable chemistry, but the offensive line is arguably the second most important position after the quarterback and the Bengals passed the best player to the position to add a player to another position that was not much needed.

Bailey’s assessment makes sense and honestly, they didn’t really have any other choice to scratch their heads. Their draft was pretty good for the most part, and people will continue to debate whether they made the right choice in passing Sewell on, but the point is, we won’t know if it was the right move for a few more years.

While Chase wasn’t needed in this attack, Burrow had to be happy to find his favorite target back from his LSU days, and keeping the quarterback happy is the No.1 priority for an NFL team.