Joe Burrow Narrowly Cracks Top Tier of NFL Quarterbacks During 2026 Offseason

Quarterback rankings from plenty of outlets are flowing out this offseason as NFL teams prepare for the start of training camps at the end of the month. CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo took a stab at tiering all 32 starters this week, and Joe Burrow just made the cut in the top tier.

DeArdo essentially ranked the Bengals' top player fifth among all quarterbacks behind Matthew Stafford, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson.

One Of The League's Best

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow speaks Saturday, September 9, 2023 at Paycor Stadium after signing his record-setting contract, Burrow became the highest-paid player in NFL history with his five-year, $275 million extension. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The 29-year-old played in just eight games last season, passing for 1,809 yards, 17 touchdowns, and five interceptions on a 66.8% completion rate.

"Burrow is probably as good as the aforementioned players, but injuries prevented him from receiving similar accolades. Now healthy, Burrow has lofty goals for himself and his team in 2026," DeArdo wrote.

He made those heights clear to the media before the end of Minicamp last month.

The former national champion at LSU compared this Bengals roster to the title talent he had during his final season down south in 2019.

"I think that's great," Burrow said about the rising pressure this offseason. "Put pressure on guys. I love it. I thrive in it. We'll find out who else does. I know that we have the kind of people who want to be in that spot. I want everybody talking about the Bengals.

"I want everybody talking about what I'm saying in my press conferences. You go back and watch what I said before the 2019 season at LSU. I feel very similarly about this team. I'm so excited to get started and get moving, and I wish we could ramp this right into training camp so we can continue to improve, because I feel like there's so much greatness we're going to achieve this year. I'm just excited to get going."

The urgency is as high as it's ever been in the Bengals locker room.

A Super Bowl victory run like Burrow envisions would likely shoot him up to arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, especially if he does the rare double dip of an MVP and Super Bowl in one season.

Stafford didn't quite pull that off this past winter, but he already had the Super Bowl, and the 2025 MVP season jolted him to the top of this list.

"A lot of urgency this year," Burrow continued. "Certainly, we have everything we need. We're deep at just about every single position on the team. We've talked in the locker room this year. You wonder who's going to make the team, you wonder about the bottom guys.

"There's a lot of competition at those spots on the roster at the end of that list. So this is the first year that is really the case, in my opinion. Exciting place to be when you have too many good players, so it's our job to try to find a way to make this a cohesive unit, and like I said before, build that trust and build those relationships, so we can go out and execute."

Check out the full tiering here as the NFL's most accurate passer tries to reel in the top spot this coming season.

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