The Cincinnati Bengals have certainly have one of the most underwhelming histories in the entire NFL. After all, this is an organization that had only been to two Super Bowls and only had a handful of playoff wins up until 2020. Luckily for the city, everything changed in one instant in 2020: with the first pick of the NFL Draft that year, Cincinnati completely reversed their poor fortunes when they selected quarterback Joe Burrow out of LSU. Since then, this team has gone to another Super Bowl and become a perennial contender in the NFL. No one can argue: Burrow is certainly the real deal.
Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback Draws Major Acclaim During Anonymous Polling
While the entire country generally agrees that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL, there is some debate as to who comes in second place. Recently, ESPN Reporter Jeremy Fowler conducted a round of anonymous polling amongst a selection of NFL coaches, scouts and executives and his results paint an interesting picture. In the anonymous polling, Burrow was selected as the second-best quarterback in the NFL. While that may not come as a huge surprise to many, the commentary is fairly typical for the style of play we have come to expect from Burrow.
“Baller. Release. Decision-making. Tough as nails,” An undisclosed NFC offensive coach told Fowler. “One play away from already having a ring. And young so the injury not as concerning.”
While it can be hard to quantify exactly what Burrow does well, that coach certainly gives a pretty terrific description. While quarterbacks like Mahomes and Buffalo Bills superstar Josh Allen may have all of the raw talent and ability to make any play in any possible situation, the personality and leadership traits of Burrow are simply unquantifiable. There isn’t a quarterback alive that I trust to keep the offense calm during a fourth quarter comeback and there isn’t another player in the world that I would want to give pep talks on the practice field.
Part of that leadership ability from Burrow has been displayed in his work ethic off the field. An obvious example has been Burrow’s record recovering from injury: twice already in his career, the Cincinnati quarterback has had to recover from gruesome season ending injuries and, on both occasions, he has beaten his anticipated recovery time and been ready at the start of the season. There isn’t a player in the league that works as hard as Burrow and while immense talent is certainly not something to scoff at, professionals just don’t react the same way to talent as they do to work ethic.
While his work ethic and toughness have earned him praise, he still isn’t without his critics. Another coach went on to document the concerns that many have with Burrow’s game.
“High level in all areas, can’t stay healthy,” an AFC scout said. “No [Joe] Mixon and the Tee Higgins holdout are big concerns.”
Those certainly aren’t small time problems: even the best of them including Mahomes suffered greatly when they lose major weapons. Given the fact that Mixon’s productivity waned in recent years (along with his complete failure his pass protection) and Cincinnati’s ability to replenish talent on the outside, it is likely that Burrow will be able to maintain his elite play for a long time.
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