Hall of Famer Kurt Warner Likes Comparisons to LSU Football Quarterback Joe Burrow
With a talent like Joe Burrow's, naturally the comparisons are going to come swarming in. Burrow proved to be one of the most accurate passers to come out of the college ranks, completing 76.3% with an NCAA record 60 touchdowns en route to a Heisman trophy and national championship win.
From Tom Brady to Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck, Tony Romo and Carson Wentz, the mind boggles when hearing just a few of the names that the Athens native has drawn comparisons to. One of the popular comparisons has been Hall of Famer Kurt Warner and earlier this week Warner was asked about the parallels between him and Burrow.
"I actually had seen that a couple times out there, people making that comparison. And I kind of like it, based on what I’ve seen,” Warner told Arizona Sports’ Doug & Wolf.
“If you go back and look at what they did at LSU, like 80% of the time, they went five out. Five-man protection, get everybody out, put it in the quarterback’s hands, deal the football. The accuracy part of it, the ability to make the throw down the field. But where he thrived was quick decisions, accuracy and decision-making. And that, to me, is exactly how I played the game."
Though it's only been a month since the LSU star was taken No. 1 overall by the Bengals, he's already starting to earn the respect of his NFL teammates. Former Ohio State Buckeye and New Orleans Saint Vonn Bell signed with the Bengals during the offseason.
Bell played alongside Burrow during the 2015 season at Ohio State and said even as a young freshman, he was one of the more respected players because of his mental toughness.
"His warrior mentality," Bell told Dan Hoard on the Bengals Booth Podcast. "This guy [was] taking shots from everybody. He never had that quit in him. He always had a knack of talent. He had that confidence. He had that swagger. That's why I really knew if he gets a chance, he could be a special player."
Burrow has also been trying to get his weapons together for some light throwing according to All-Pro receiver AJ Green. Green, Tyler Boyd, Joe Mixon, John Ross and Tee Higgins is a solid start from a talent perspective at the skills positions.
"We've been talking back and forth. We were talking (texting?) yesterday and I know he wants to get together and throw somewhere," Green told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. "He's one of the best. With his attitude toward the game, the adversity he went through to get to where he is, you've got to appreciate that from a guy who's been an underdog to being an (overall) No. 1 draft pick and Heisman Trophy winner. You have to respect his grind and his process the way he goes about his business each day."
Former Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, another Heisman Trophy winner that arrived to Cincinnati with an entire organization to uplift, had some sound advice for the 23-year-old Burrow in his sit down with Warner.
“The best thing he can do is go in there and work his butt off,” Palmer said. “He’s a hometown kid. He grew up an hour northeast of downtown Cincinnati. That city’s in his blood. He’s got family and high school teammates and teachers and so many people pulling for him. He’s going to have a ton of support."
