Last year, ESPN had Cincinnati Bengals‘ signal caller Joe Burrow as the fifth-best quarterback in the entire NFL. On this year’s “Execs, coaches, scouts rank NFL’s top 10 QBs for 2025” list, Burrow has climbed up to No. 3.
Sure, the Bengals had a disappointing 9-8 season and missed the playoffs, but it was through no fault of Burrow’s. He led the NFL in attempts (460), completions (652), yards (4,918) and touchdown passes (43) while throwing just nine interceptions.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler extols Burrow’s virtues and partially makes the case for Burrow as the best in the league.
“Prolific is the best way to describe Burrow’s 2024 campaign, leading the NFL with 4,918 yards and 43 touchdowns on his way to a second Comeback Player of the Year award,” Fowler writes.
“Burrow makes a compelling case as the game’s most accurate quarterback. His 70.6% completion rate against the backdrop of a league-high 652 attempts in 2024 is impressive. His 11.0% off-target rate is also the lowest among starting quarterbacks.”
That is pretty impressive, especially when you look at his pressure rate. Warren Sharp of Sharp Analysis took a look at how often teams got to Burrow last year without even trying.
“Most brutal stat you’ll read today: Joe Burrow has been blitzed at the #1 LOWEST rate of any QB the last 4 years–but–he has been hit within 2.5 seconds of snap at the #1 HIGHEST rate,” Sharp wrote.
“Burrow has been hit within 2.5 seconds 25% MORE than the #2 most hit QB in the NFL.”
Yes, his offensive line is atrocious and ranked No. 27 in the NFL in 2024.
Burrow is the best…but doesn’t play for the Chiefs?
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is ranked No. 1 on ESPN’s list. Yes, they win a ton of games for many reasons, but Mahomes hasn’t lit up the field for a couple years now. And if one wants to make the argument about winning games, that’s fine, but then why is Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts all the way down at No. 9?
A veteran AFC scout even said that Burrow plays the position better than anyone.
“If we’re talking about playing the quarterback position, nobody is playing it better than him,” the scout said. “Footwork, ball placement, the mental game at the line of scrimmage, feel for the pocket, eye level, finding creases to step up and throw — he’s the best right now. And he’s more mobile than he gets credit for.”
“Last season, Burrow became the first player in NFL history with 250 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in eight straight games,” Fowler writes. “And similar to Mahomes, he had much to overcome last year.”
Anyone that had Burrow on their fantasy team last year didn’t need Fowler to tell them that.
Burrow does it without much help
Many will point to Burrow’s success as partially due to the presence of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. They might be the best duo in the NFL and that can’t be discounted. But, his offensive line is a mess and that also leads to a much less effective running game. Chase Brown is decent, but he’s not going to terrify anyone.
And don’t forget about the lousy defense. The Bengals scored 25+ points six times last year in losses. When your defense is giving up that many points, it makes your offense one-dimensional and easier to scheme against.
“I get the guy has two elite wideouts, but their run game was average and the offensive line was not very good either,” an AFC executive said. “On top of all that, their defense was porous and he kept them in every single game for the most part. I thought it may have been his best year, but it didn’t get the same pub because of the other high-profile teams.”
That scout just summed it all up. Quarterbacks of the great teams like the Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills are going to get more love, even if Burrow is doing more with less.
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