Longtime NFL Voice Declares Joe Burrow NFL's Best Quarterback Across Multiple Seasons

Former NFL stalwart and Pittsburgh Steeler Merril Hoge isn't placing his former team at the top of the AFC North this coming season.

He sees the Bengals as the big dogs to topple, sporting the league's best quarterback and a defense that got a sure-fire reliable weapon this offseason: Dexter Lawrence II.

Cincinnati traded its No. 10 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft for the veteran game wrecker, and Hoge sees that as the big difference to get Joe Burrow back in the contending mix this fall.

Best On Earth For Years

Joe Burrow post-game press conference, Week 6. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

He's viewed Burrow as the best quarterback on earth for over two years. Hoge played running back for eight seasons in the NFL from 1987-94 and scored 21 touchdowns with the Steelers and Bears.

"No quarterbacks ever won a championship (alone). If that was the case. Two years in a row, the Cincinnati Bengals would have won that. They hadn't been in the playoffs. Okay, so Joe Burrow is the best quarterback in football. Period," Hoge told Trey Wingo this week on The Wingo Network. "Nobody better. Now those other two are awesome too (Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes). Don't get me wrong. I don't think anybody in football goes out taking any one of them.

"We're splitting hairs, but from my playing in this league and studying this league, he's the best. But they haven't been to the playoffs in the last two years. They had the best draft last year ... The reason I say they had the best draft ... Their number-one pick, we know can play. We know he is a difference maker, and he is a force, and he's exactly what they've been missing."

Lawrence should be an instant strong performer in Cincinnati after a pretty seamless offseason, getting used to the city and a new team.

The 28-year-old seems ready to do whatever it takes to win after never reaching the playoffs in New York. That winning spark can vault Cincinnati to a level it hasn't reached since the 2022 season.

"(Lawrence) fits a massive need for the Cincinnati Bengals," Hoge continued. "They made themselves better right there, and we know that, okay, because he can play."

Cincinnati currently holds the eighth-best chance to win its division on ESPN's Football Power Index (32.5%). A nice spot to be, but they'll have to overcome the second-best chance to knock out their first goal of the season.

Baltimore has a 54% chance to win the division.

Check out the full comments from Hoge below:

For more on the Bengals, subscribe to our YouTube Channel and be sure to check us out on your favorite audio platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Amazon. Make sure you bookmark BengalsTalk.com for the latest Bengals news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns, and so much more! We're a one-stop shop for all things Cincinnati Bengals! Join the 65,000+ Bengals fans who subscribe to us on YouTube.

Add us as a preferred source on Google