Criticism of the Cincinnati Bengals from many in the national media has accompanied speculation about whether potential 2020 NFL Draft No. 1 pick Joe Burrow wants to play for the team, and current and former Bengals have expressed their displeasure.

Receiver Tyler Boyd and running back Joe Mixon tweeted about how the Bengals have been treated this week by the media, with Mixon retweeted by teammate Sam Hubbard:

Former Bengals receiver Chad Johnson — aka Ochocinco — tweeted that he plans to have dinner with Burrow prior to the draft "to let him know he’s in great hands because that (expletive) city rocks and everybody will love you."

Earlier, Johnson's former Bengals teammate, Willie Anderson, tweeted that he's tired of media reports that Burrow said he doesn't want to play for the Bengals, and encouraged fans to "go in on" media when they report such "garbage." And ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said that the "notion the Bengals have been just horrible ... is ridiculous" and added that the words being put in Burrow's mouth are "just bluster out there."

Colin Cowherd, Jason Whitlock, Bomani Jones and others took Burrow's remarks about having leverage and ran with them — either suggesting that Burrow doesn't want to play in Cincinnati or proposing that Burrow "pull an Eli Manning" and let the Bengals know he won't play for them.

The Enquirer's Tyler Dragon wrote Tuesday about the leverage rookies have entering the draft.

Star-telegram.com columnist Mac Engel wrote that he hopes Burrow "pulls a John Elway/Eli Manning and gets away from that awful franchise." Sun Sentinel columnist Dave Hyde said Burrow should make it clear that he would prefer to play in Miami.

Former NFL quarterback Steve Bartkowski, the first pick in the 1975 draft, told Burrow to "pull an Eli Manning" so that the Bengals don't draft him, per star-telegram.com's Drew Davison.

Davison also reported that Burrow's mother, Robin, isn't sure where the narrative started that her son doesn't want to play in Cincinnati. “It’s a story out there that someone has created that doesn’t have any substance - from our perspective at least," Robin Burrow said.

Dan Patrick and Mike Florio suggested earlier this month that the Miami Dolphins would be better for Burrow than the Bengals, and former Bengals such as Carson Palmer and Solomon Wilcots have questioned Cincinnati's commitment to winning in assessing whether Burrow should try to land elsewhere.

"We're just happy that Joe's put himself in a position where he's got a chance to be drafted really high," Burrow's father, Jimmy, told 700 WLW's Eddie & Rocky last month. "Any NFL team is gonna be an honor for Joe. ... He's put himself to the point where he's gonna have a great chance to be drafted high and play in the NFL. And that's all he can focus on at this point."

Earlier, Jimmy Burrow told a Montreal radio station that if the Bengals select him, Joe will "look at it as a challenge" and will "be confident that eventually they can win a lot of games."