Joe Burrow is ready to meet coach Zac Taylor's challenge to compete with veteran Andy Dalton to be the Cincinnati Bengals' starting quarterback.

There was little surprise on the opening day of the NFL Draft when the Bengals selected Burrow as the number one overall pick after his record-breaking season with LSU.

Taylor said the expectation is Burrow will compete to be the team's first choice QB, though was non-committal when asked if he will be the opening-day starter for the team.

Burrow is ready to compete with Dalton, who has been with the Bengals since 2011.

"That's [competing to start] exactly how I expect to do it as well," Burrow told local reporters on a teleconference call.

"I'm going to come in and compete and try to be the best player I can be."

There will be plenty of eyes on Burrow after being selected first, yet the man himself says he would have applied the same internal pressure wherever he went in the draft.

"I mean, for me, it doesn't matter where you get picked," Burrow added. 

"I could have been the 189th pick, I could be number one. I'm going to work the exact same and try to be the best quarterback I can be for this city."

In the Bengals, Burrow has joined a team that has endured four straight losing seasons and went 2-14 in 2019.

Indeed, the franchise has not won a playoff game since the 1990 season and Burrow is well aware of the expectation from a hungry fanbase.

"I'm on social media like all us young people, so I see it and I'm hoping – I don't want to say 'hope' – I'm going to work as hard as I can to bring winning to Cincinnati," he said. 

"And I know the people around me will as well. The culture that coach Taylor is building, I'm very excited about it.

"The thing about the NFL is there's good players everywhere. A couple injuries here or there can really change a season and change you from a playoff-calibre team to a 2-14 team. 

"So, we have what it takes. Whatever they need me to do, I'm going to do it. Hopefully I can bring something to the team that is positive and brings about wins."

Burrow threw a record 60 touchdowns and completed 76.3 per cent of his passes as he led LSU to the National Championship.

The next task is transitioning from college football to the demands of the NFL and Bengals head coach Taylor has no doubts Burrow has the ability to do just that.

"We selected him because we know he's going to be able to handle all of that," Taylor said. "It's just a matter of accumulating those reps as quickly as he can.

"He was a championship-calibre player in high school and college, and he's helped those teams play in the biggest game there was. 

"That expectation does not change now that he's a Bengal. We expect him to come in with that mindset. Everyone we bring in that building will be held to that standard.

"He has an earned confidence. It's a confidence he's earned because he put the work in. He's achieved success on the field with a National Championship. 

"I can tell he doesn't take that for granted. He knows that he has to continue to work even harder than he ever has before at this level. 

"There's new challenges he hasn't faced before. You can tell he's very comfortable in his own skin, and comfortable with what we're asking him to do."