11-11-2020, 11:53 AM
(11-10-2020, 02:38 PM)fredtoast Wrote: He has set yardage marks because he is leading the league in pass attempts.
Jameis Winstead had more passing yards than any QB last year. How great do you think he was?
Through his first 8 games Joe has attempted more passes (330) than any rookie QB except Andrew Luck. Luck only had 6 more attempts than Burrow, but had over 130 more yards. Burrows yards per attempt through his firs 8 games (6.88) ranks 28th in league history. Justin Hebert is averaging a full yard more per attempt (7.98) than Burrow. Last year Gardner Minshew (7.60) averaged more than half a yard more than Burrow in his first 8 games. So did one of the biggest draft busts in history, Geno Smith (7.44).
The thing that you're missing is the difficulty in his throws.
Per Next Gen stats, Burrow has the 2nd highest Completion % Over Expected in the league behind Russell Wilson at +5.7%.
He also has the 2nd highest % of throws to targets with a defender within a yard of them at 22%.
Those stats combined together show us that Burrow is making his receivers look better than they actually are by threading the proverbial needle to them while they are blanketed. It's very impressive for a rookie in his first 8 games to be elevating his supporting cast. Usually, it's the other way around.
![[Image: 4CV0TeR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4CV0TeR.png)
