Edit: This post assumes Joe Burrow is going to be drafted by the Bengals next week.

It is well established that rookie QBs have moments of struggle during their first season in the NFL.  Many people within the Bengals organization will work to support Burrow be the most successful QB and NFL player he can be during his first year.  The question I pose, who is the most important for Joe Burrow and his success during his rookie season?

Rationale:
I selected five options for this poll that I thought could have a positive influence on Burrow by supporting his success as a QB.  I'll let those viewing this thread infer as to why the five options were provided for voting.

I'm interested in reading which option people selected and why.

If you participate in this thread, it's appreciated!

I went with other. The other being AJ Green. If he stays healthy, and his game hasn’t completely fallen off a cliff, Burrow should have a pretty good season.

(04-16-2020, 11:17 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: I went with other. The other being AJ Green. If he stays healthy, and his game hasn’t completely fallen off a cliff, Burrow should have a pretty good season.

I was close to putting AJ Green as the final option, but decided to go with the generic other in case people have different ideas to share.  Agreed dude, AJ Green is vital to his success.  Any rookie QB would love throwing to an All-Pro WR.

A healthy AJ Green

(04-16-2020, 11:21 AM)TecmoBengals Wrote: I was close to putting AJ Green as the final option, but decided to go with the generic other in case people have different ideas to share.  Agreed dude, AJ Green is vital to his success.  Any rookie QB would love throwing to an All-Pro WR.

Actually, AJ has never made All Pro. 7x Pro Bowler isn’t too bad though.

(04-16-2020, 11:25 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Actually, AJ has never made All Pro. 7x Pro Bowler isn’t too bad though.

Oops. Any rookie QB would love throwing to a Pro Bowl WR. 

Zac Taylor

You have Brian Callahan listed as the OC, but if Zac is still calling plays, he's really in charge of the offense. No QB in the league would have thrived in Zac Taylor's 2019 offense. If 2020 is more of the same, it'll be a mulligan on Burrow's rookie year at best, and a career hindering setback in his development at worse (think Alex Smith).

I went with Jonah Williams. I'm hoping he develops into an elite talent and helps solidify the line so Burrow is standing upright more often than not. I think Jonah's development could go hand-in-hand with Burrow's own professional growth as an NFL player.

(04-16-2020, 11:36 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: You have Brian Callahan listed as the OC, but if Zac is still calling plays.

Callahan is listed as the OC on the team website.  I understand Zac is the play caller, or at least was, but they do also have Callahan on the staff as the OC.

Taylor over Williams

Taylor hasn't accomplished anything but is the man that Cincy trusts with this potential star. Taylor not only has to put the players in position to win, but not be the scapegoat as the FO has already done a good job

It should be the HC by a landslide, but we're lying to ourselves if we think any confidence in the OL as a whole is potential in place of production. We hope the best for Williams, but he is the only potential stud OL on the roster today. We assume too much if we say that coming off an injury and no rookie season that Williams will fix the line. We do the same to Joe when we assume that even with the greatest season in NCAA history that he can run for his life and will them to victory. Williams being a close 2nd signifies the need for one more starter on the OL.

LT position has to be stable. Bad protection on his blind side is the surest way to wreck a young QB.

It all starts in the trenches went with Jonah and the O-line.

They give Burrow time and open up holes in the run game and it will take pressure off of Burrow as a rookie.

Jim Turner, He has to coach up this O-line to keep Joe clean.

That should be the mantra for this season.

Keep Joe clean.

Other- practice time.

We all saw what Burrow did at LSU in 2018. I stopped watching the 2019 games because they were all pretty much top tier. I went back and watched all of the 2018 games. People tend to forget that Burrow had essentially no offseason with the team prior to the Miami game. They also tend to forget that he had them in the top 5 for most of the year. The key difference other than the new system was (according to Burrow) that he had time to work with all of his WRs. That hard work showed up at the end of the year, but it was a struggle early on, even though they were winning games.

(04-16-2020, 02:13 PM)masonbengals fan Wrote: Jim Turner, He has to coach up this O-line to keep Joe clean.

That should be the mantra for this season.

Keep Joe clean.

Absolutely, I'm also hopeful the draft yields some personnel that can help keep Joe clean.  Whether it be an OL, blocking TE, or even a late round FB, I want to see picks that support Burrow.

Two things know one has mentioned
1.) Joe Mixon and the Running game. If they can run like they did in the final 8 games of last season it will put less pressure on Joe. Also helps the play action game + puts more people in the box.
2.) The Defense if they play like they did the last seven games then it will definitely help Joe. Better Field position + he doesn't have to score every time he goes out there should help him.

Hopefully we can limit his attempts to 25 to 30 times a game; BTW I see a big year for him and the team.

(04-16-2020, 02:11 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: It all starts in the trenches went with Jonah and the O-line.

They give Burrow time and open up holes in the run game and it will take pressure off of Burrow as a rookie.

(04-16-2020, 04:40 PM)J24 Wrote: Two things know one has mentioned
1.) Joe Mixon and the Running game. If they can run like they did in the final 8 games of last season it will put less pressure on Joe.  Also helps the play action game + puts more people in the box.
2.) The Defense if they play like they did the last seven games then it will definitely help Joe. Better Field position + he doesn't have to score every time he goes out there should help him.

Hopefully we can limit his attempts to 25 to 30 times a game; BTW I see a big year for him and the team.

I mentioned the run game.

(04-16-2020, 04:40 PM)J24 Wrote: Two things know one has mentioned
1.) Joe Mixon and the Running game. If they can run like they did in the final 8 games of last season it will put less pressure on Joe.  Also helps the play action game + puts more people in the box.
2.) The Defense if they play like they did the last seven games then it will definitely help Joe. Better Field position + he doesn't have to score every time he goes out there should help him.

Hopefully we can limit his attempts to 25 to 30 times a game; BTW I see a big year for him and the team.

Yep, having a decent running game will help tremendously ! Be able to pick up some 3rd and 3's and keep drives going and so on. It's a young QB's best friend.

But I went with ZT. He has to do a 180 from last season on the playcalling/schemes. He's got to put together a plan and get it working probably with a shortened pre season.

He's going to have to do a lot to prove he's an NFl caliber HC and with a rookie QB.

Zac Taylor, Brian Callahan, and Dan Pitcher will all be fairly equal in terms of designing the offense, building a gameplan, and having Burrow ready for Sunday.

If I was to pick a player it would be Trey Hopkins who will be instrumental in helping Burrow set the protections and helping him recognize what defensive fronts are doing pre-snap.

Don't know if he is #1 or not, but Tyler Boyd is money on third downs. Guys like that don't put up huge yardage numbers, but they are crucial to the offense.

If everyone stays healthy our trio of "starting" WRs (Green, Boyd, Ross) will remind some people of Chad, TJ, and Henry. If not in talent level at least in the roles they play. And just like back in those days, todays offense probably won't throw a lot to the TE. Housh used to do the dirty work and grind out a lot of those short first downs that TEs usually handle. Boyd is very good at this also. That type of receiver is gold for a rookie QB.