When examining Joe Burrow there were a few games I looked at to determine if he could one day be in the upper echelon of quarterbacks who can ‘’carry’’ their respective team. I would like to preface this with yes, I believe Burrow is a very good quarterback. In fact, I even believe he is a B level quarterback. His production for the roster he had and a coach, whom the jury is still out on was phenomenal. There are, however, holes in his game that make me go back and forth on how I feel about his future.
The Positives
To start off with the positives, Joe Burrow has a lot to like about him. Burrow is the son of a coach which can’t be stated enough how much of an advantage that will be. He is already 24 in his second year which in other positions could be a red flag, however as quarterback it is a good thing. To start He is very athletic. the pretty throws seem to overshadow his athleticism. Watching his tape since his LSU days every now and then he is more than capable of sneaking for a first down or extending a play. His short to medium accuracy is top notch. Completing 65 percent of his throws as a rookie while also being third in pass attempts per game as a rookie with just over 40 attempts a game. When you can’t run the ball, the short throws become your run game. And to complete these passes when the defense knew you were throwing makes the feat even more incredible. He also posted an impressive 1.2% interception rate which is only slightly above Aaron Rodgers speaking to how he makes good decisions with the ball. He also accomplished this while only having an average time of 2.3 seconds in the pocket one of the lowest in the league.
The Negatives
Now on to the negatives of his game. I don’t think he has a ton of holes. I do think the few Joe Burrow has are a bigger deal than most think. To start off his arm strength. While it is not the problem some think it is, it isn’t that of an elite quarterback. Through 8 games he was just 7-34 or 20% percent on balls that went 20 yards or more pass the line of scrimmage. He has some really bad misses such as the week two throw vs the brown. Burrow overthrew and lead out of bounds a wide-open AJ Green. Next while his interception percentage is low, he does fumble the ball at an alarming rate. He fumbled the ball 9 times in 10 games. Even though 5 would be recovered by the Bengals that number is still very high. Next year he might not be so lucky. Even still 4 lost fumbles in only ten games is more than you would like. My last big issue with his game is while he is athletic enough too occasionally scramble for a first down, he is not athletic enough to get himself out of trouble as evident again in the Browns game. Burrow would try a spin on Sheldon Richardson and was promptly swung down.
Summary of Joe Burrow
All in all, I think at his best in his prime he will be A- level quarterback. While I do not think he can be an A like a Mahomes, Rodgers, Allen, Lamar, or Watson. He Can be a top ten quarterback into the league. Although his comparison is often Rodgers, I have always seen him as a taller more athletic drew Brees type. Now obviously I don’t think he will be as a good as Brees. They share a lot of similar traits. I think his smarts and accuracy are very Brees like. As well his pocket presence and toughness. This is why despite the offensive line, despite the management, and despite an unknown coaching situation I think Joe Burrow will be enough to bring the Bengals into relevancy.
Emauri (@emaurisports2.0) • NFL – No Limit Jumper