Burrow Ranked As 2nd-Best QB In The NFL By ESPN!

[BFritz21]

ESPN ranked the top ten QBs in the league and ranked Burrow second behind Mahomes!

I love that he's getting this much respect and I think he'll blow the roof off the league with his best offensive line yet!

Quote:Burrow hasn't exactly hurt his standing in the pantheon since last year's voting -- he's still considered one of the game's very best and won a close race for No. 2 -- but his growing injury file has planted a seed of doubt.

He played conservatively early in the season while managing a calf strain, and the wrist injury suffered in a Nov. 16 loss at Baltimore all but derailed Cincinnati's season. Burrow had surgery to repair a torn ligament but is participating in offseason workouts and the early returns are good. His 51.8 QBR of 2023 was far below the previous two seasons.

"High level in all areas, can't stay healthy," said an AFC scout, referencing Burrow's ACL tear in 2020 as part of the bigger concern. "No [Joe] Mixon and the Tee Higgins holdout are big concerns." There's little debate about Burrow's greatness when he's healthy and spinning it. His career completion percentage of 68% is the highest in NFL history through a player's first four seasons (minimum 1,000 attempts).

He hasn't been able to stay healthy but he has also been getting destroyed by defenses because of shitty line play. The article doesn't even mention the line at all, which is surprising to me since he has accomplished so much with bad lines.

Quote:"Baller. Release. Decision-making. Tough as nails," said a veteran NFC offensive coach. "One play away from already having a ring. And young so the injury not as concerning."

Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase are tracking to become one of the all-time great pass-catching duos. Since Chase entered the league in 2021, Burrow has thrown 22 touchdown passes that traveled 20-plus air yards. But while Chase is in the long-term plans, the Bengals franchise-tagged Higgins, who has requested a trade and hasn't signed his tender.

Several evaluators say Burrow is the common denominator who can offset a personnel loss or two.

"Burrow is still probably the most consistent of all the guys," an NFL executive said. "A pure thrower who's in complete command of the offense and comes up big in big moments. He knows when to attack and be aggressive vs. when to take the easy yards. And the dude is so tough."

I like how that scout did mention that Burrow was one play away from a Super Bowl victory and, he doesn't mention it, but the line was the reason for the play failing.

I love the mention of Chase because I think those two put up one of the best seasons ever for a QB-receiver duo.

I think we see his full potential of being a pure passer now that he should have a line that gives him some protection.

It's going to be a big year!

WHO-DEY!