ESPN "Ranking top 10 QBs by trait" Article

[CJD]

ESPN published an article today that ranked the QBs in the NFL based on their traits (top 10 strongest arms, top 10 most accurate etc).

There are 10 traits that are considered:
Arm strength
Accuracy
Touch
Mechanics
Field vision
Decision-making
Compete level and toughness
Pocket Presence
Rushing ability
Second reaction

Before reading on, I want you to just take a guess how many Burrow made the top 10 in.


Okay, the answer is 8 (you can probably guess which two he didn't make the top 10).

Even more than that, he is in 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in 7 of those 8 categories.

If you have ESPN+, this was an enjoyable article to read:
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38151402/nfl-quarterback-council-2023-ranking-top-10-traits

Here are a few snips of the three traits he ranked #1 in.
Accuracy:

Quote:Best of the best: Speak with NFL defensive coaches about Burrow, and the first thing they mention is his ball placement. What jumps off the game tape, they say, is that Burrow not only invariably places the ball in good windows for receivers to attempt to make a play on it, but he also has a knack of delivering passes with ideal touch on every throw in the route tree. That combination regularly leaves defenses frustrated. And Rodgers -- entering his 19th season -- is No. 2 behind Burrow because, more often than not, he still puts receivers in a great position to succeed. -- Jason Reid

Touch:

Quote:Best of the best: There are ways to generally quantify touch, as Burrow's career completion percentage of 68.2% tells part of the story. But touch is about more than that, as Burrow has an uncanny ability to blend accuracy, velocity, trajectory and feel that leads to making throws into tight windows look far easier than they actually are to complete. -- Yates

Mechanics:

Quote:Best of the best: Burrow's completion percentages in each of his first three NFL seasons speak for themselves: 65.3%, 70.4% and 68.3%. But the foundation of those sparkling numbers is Burrow's nearly flawless mechanics. His footwork on drops, his arm angles on throws, his throwing delivery -- Burrow is a model of efficiency at all of it. And although Rodgers comes in at No. 2 on the list, he might be the greatest of all time in this area and remains masterful. -- Jason Reid

[*ochocincos*]

(08-14-2023, 02:37 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: ESPN published an article today that ranked the QBs in the NFL based on their traits (top 10 strongest arms, top 10 most accurate etc).

There are 10 traits that are considered:
Arm strength
Accuracy
Touch
Mechanics
Field vision
Decision-making
Compete level and toughness
Pocket Presence
Rushing ability
Second reaction

Before reading on, I want you to just take a guess how many Burrow made the top 10 in.


Okay, the answer is 8 (you can probably guess which two he didn't make the top 10).

Even more than that, he is in 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in 7 of those 8 categories.

If you have ESPN+, this was an enjoyable article to read:
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38151402/nfl-quarterback-council-2023-ranking-top-10-traits

Here are a few snips of the three traits he ranked #1 in.
Accuracy:

Touch:

Mechanics:

Assuming the two are arm strength and rushing ability, right?
I could see him maybe not ranking with pocket presence because he gets sacked so much, but I don't associate that with bad presence. He just tries to do too much and had a horrendous pass blocking OL.

[CJD]

(08-14-2023, 02:48 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Assuming the two are arm strength and rushing ability, right?
I could see him maybe not ranking with pocket presence because he gets sacked so much, but I don't associate that with bad presence. He just tries to do too much and had a horrendous pass blocking OL.

Those are the two! 

His pocket presence ranks as second, behind only Patrick Mahomes!

This was written for that section. Not about Burrow, but he is mentioned, drawing comparisons to Tom Brady in regards to his pocket movement.

Quote:Biggest surprise: I didn't think Hurts would end up this high on the list. The subtle pocket movement that we witnessed Tom Brady do so well shows up with guys like Burrow, Rodgers and Mahomes, but it's harder to find in many quarterbacks. I wasn't expecting to see Hurts at No. 6. -- Hasselbeck

[Mike M (the other one)]

(08-14-2023, 02:48 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Assuming the two are arm strength and rushing ability, right?
I could see him maybe not ranking with pocket presence because he gets sacked so much, but I don't associate that with bad presence. He just tries to do too much and had a horrendous pass blocking OL.

Those are the two i would guess as well and i looked they are the two.

Although he led the league in Long Ball TD's in 2022. He's just got an uncanny knack of ball placement that doesn't require having a cannon for an arm.

[*PhilHos*]

Found this little tidbit:

Under the Second Reaction section (basically throws made on the run while out of the pocket) where Burrow was tied for 5th with Herbert:

Quote:Stat to know: Herbert led the league last season in number of throws while moving at least 8 mph, per NFL Next Gen Stats, with 120. While Burrow trailed way behind in quantity (47), he made up for it with incredible efficiency, generating 0.53 EPA per play on those throws. No other QB was higher than 0.32. -- Walder

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

What is crazy is the 2 traits he didn't make in the top 10 aren't weaknesses either...

Burrow has decent arm strength and can be a good running QB when needed. Dude doesn't have any weaknesses.

[Speedy Thomas]

(08-14-2023, 04:54 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: What is crazy is the 2 traits he didn't make in the top 10 aren't weaknesses either...

Burrow has decent arm strength and can be a good running QB when needed. Dude doesn't have any weaknesses.

I was thinking the same thing. I actually thought he would squeeze into the top 10 on running ability.  His first NFL TD was not a pass -- it was a 20 yard run. 

These are subjective categories, but if it were possible to rate on leadership, courage, and toughness, he would be top 3 on them, too.  I'm remembering a former Bengals #9 with all the physical gifts who wouldn't.

[Nicomo Cosca]

I agree with a lot of their rankings but I’m not sure there’s any QB “tougher” than Joe Burrow. Dude has taken an absolute beating his first few years and still plays at an elite level.

[*michaelsean*]

I don’t know how you put anyone ahead of Mahomes for arm strength. The reason he can make those crazy throws is because of crazy arm strength.

[tms]

Great article, thanks for posting. I like the structure of it. I think they did a good job of not worrying about Overall rankings, since those would have set us off. Can't disagree with many of these individual categories.

I might have a small bone to pick with Toughness, tho. I'll give them Mahomes, but I don't know about Allen. Burrow's just a force of nature in that sense. Allen was bullied off the field in January, for example; I don't think Burrow's ever been (or ever will be) bullied off the field. That's just a personal opinion.

Decision-making is a great category. I don't know what the best way is to measure something like that, but I figure pick-sixes are a good place to start, and Burrow has had twice as many as Mahomes over the past two years (4 to 2). But other than that, he's had to play at a much higher mental speed than anyone in the league, including Mahomes, and he's done it with aplomb. I think the risks that he takes are calculated even if they end up in the worst case outcome (i.e., pick-six), and he'll earn that credit as he gets older like Rodgers did.

What's more, his decisions off the field are excellent too. He's a consummate professional who keeps his private life private. His "noise factor" (e.g, Jackson/Brittany Mahomes, Ayahuasca adventures and darkness retreats, etc.) is minimal. Kind of reminds me of Peyton Manning in that regard. Makes life easy on his teammates, which should count as decision-making in its own right. I don't know if that belongs in an analysis like this but it belongs somewhere. I just love Joe Burrow, man. His football traits are only one-upped by his non-football ones.