PFF makes bold prediction for Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow
CINCINNATI — Expectations are sky-high for Joe Burrow's NFL career. Bengals fans view him as a savior. Someone that can turn around a franchise that hasn't won a playoff game since Jan. 6, 1991.
That success could take some time. The Bengals did finish with an NFL-worst 2-14 record last season.
Pro Football Focus decided to take a long-term view of the quarterback position. They didn't make a prediction for 2020. Instead, they asked where these guys would rank in 2025.
PFF believes Burrow is going to be the second-best quarterback in the NFL five years from now.
"Is Joe Burrow going to play well right away in his rookie campaign? Considering the COVID-19-impacted offseason, probably not," Anthony Treash wrote. "But regardless of how he performs out of the gate, we believe he’ll be a star in the NFL.
Burrow’s 2019 season was one of the best in the history of college football, and it was no fluke. He’s far and away the most accurate quarterback we have ever come across. He threw over 70% of his passes beyond the line of scrimmage accurately in 2019, leading the country by 4 percentage points. And that wasn't some massive improvement from the year prior, either — in 2018, he ranked ninth among all FBS quarterbacks in the same metric.
As said in the PFF Draft Guide, Burrow had a handful of phenomenal anticipatory throws on tape last year, flashing some of the most fearless plays under duress. He routinely delivered downfield strikes with 300-pound linemen hurling themselves at him. All in all, it was the best season PFF College has ever seen, and I would be surprised if that’s broken anytime soon."
Burrow was second on the list behind Patrick Mahomes. Clemson's Trevor Lawrence was third, followed by reigning MVP Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Justin Fields and Dak Prescott.
Obviously it's impossible to predict the future, but would it shock anyone if Burrow was a top five NFL quarterback in 2025?
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