Where Experts Rank Joe Burrow’s Skillset Among NFL's Best Quarterbacks

ESPN's top analysts broke down the league's passers.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Publish date:
Aug 14, 2023 10:30 AM EDT

In this story:

CINCINNATI — ESPN broke down the ten best quarterbacks across a variety of different attributes this week. Various analysts conducted the assessment of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and others.

Check out Burrow's rankings across all the categories:

Arm Strength: Unranked

Accuracy: No. 1

"Speak with NFL defensive coaches about Burrow, and the first thing they mention is his ball placement," Jason Reid wrote. "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."

Touch: No. 1

"There are ways to generally quantify touch, as Burrow's career completion percentage of 68.2% tells part of the story," Field Yates wrote. "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."

Mechanics: No. 1

"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," Reid wrote. "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."

Field Vision: No. 2, behind Patrick Mahomes.

Decision Making with Ball: No. 2, behind Mahomes.

Compete Level and Toughness: No. 3 behind Mahomes and Josh Allen.

Pocket Presence: T-2nd with Aaron Rodgers, behind Mahomes.

Rushing Ability: Unranked

Second-Reaction Ability: T-5th with Justin Herbert, behind Mahomes, Allen, Rodgers, and Lamar Jackson.

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