Former LSU QB Joe Burrow Feeling Comfortable in Pocket, Unlikely to See Much Preseason Time

Since his arrival to LSU back in 2018, perhaps the strongest part of Joe Burrow's game has been his mind. Realizing he wasn't the most athletic or that he didn't have the strongest arm, Burrow knew he needed to be smarter than everyone out on the field.

That came through hours of preparation in the film room and studying his opponents. It's what helped him be so confident on Saturdays and even on Sundays before his injury last season. But the first week of training camp, Burrow had to climb a mental hurdle he couldn't foresee until the pads came on and 11-on-11 periods started.

The Cincinnati Bengals defense is not allowed to so much as breathe on Burrow as the team takes extra cautious protection on Burrow and that knee. But at the same time he needed to start preparing and re-familiarizing himself with pocket awareness, which can only be done through live reps.

It didn't go well early on as reports came out he was missing normally sure fire completions and looking uncomfortable in the pocket.

"I would say right now it's a mental thing, getting back to playing football against top level competition," Burrow said at the time. "Getting back to being able to feel the people around me as opposed to seeing people around me. I've always had a great feel for the pocket. It's just going to some more reps to get that back."

A switch flipped over the last week or so and the second-year quarterback is back to feeling like his old self in the pocket and the Bengals offense has been much more consistent.

"Back to my old self, feeling great, we're getting it rolling," Burrow said. "Still got a ways before the first game but happy with where I'm at. Just getting more reps, no one was panicked and now we're back to normal 10 practices later."

Burrow has been lobbying to play a few snaps of a preseason game just to get his feet wet before the regular season, but to no luck so far. He didn't suit up week one and won't play during week two either. Instead he's been on the headset, taking mental reps about what he'd do against a specific coverage while also helping his teammates, telling them what he's seeing on the field.

The Bengals are even letting him run a few offensive meetings, according to a recent interview with The Ringer. After seeing his rookie season cut short, Burrow has the chance to be one of the true breakout players in 2021 with an improved offensive line and a lethal receiving core.